This was one clusterfuck of a day, and it's only half over. I'd be willing to bet every woodworker out there has had one or two. I know Mikey P (in Ohio) has had them. And Kris in Arkansas. And both Richards, too. And let's see, who else can I add in there? Jay? Rob G? Lupe? John? Julie up in the frozen tundra? Melody? Just about everyone I know!
Yup, we've all had bad days in the shop. And somehow, I'm reminded of that old saying about a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work.
Well, what if your recreation is your work?
Can I just complain (OK, whine?) a little bit?
It all started when I headed to the shop early in the day, to get a jump on this piece that I need to finish in T minus 13 days and counting.
But first, the saw was a little out of adjustment, and I needed to cut some compound miters. I couldn't get the blade to tilt far enough, so I called my buddy Darrin, who works for SawStop. His thorough understanding of this saw makes swoon.
I wouldn't have guessed that adjusting the tilt stop was going to turn into an all day affair.
Do you have any idea how tired your arm can get when jammed inside a tablesaw, trying to loosen an upside-down bolt?
The only good thing I can say is that I'm glad I don't have bald spot on my dome like so many of my buddies - these photos would make me cringe.
More adjustments. I had to tilt the blade back and forth from 45˚ to 90˚, over and over.
During that time, I only dropped my socket into the cabinet a couple of dozen times.
Right in the middle of this - and I'm not kidding you about this - a hooker showed up, asking for a donation, and later, two Mormans, wanting to talk scripture. I couldn't make this up if I tried.
I should have been drinking something a helluva lot stronger than coffee.
Just when I finally thought I'd gotten everything where I wanted it - the battery died in my angle gauge.
That's OK, I can do old skool, so I pulled out my trusty combo square.
Just when I thought I was in the clear, I noticed the insert was totally jacked.
WTF?
Is there a poltergeist in my shop?
Pull out the allen wrenches and more tweaking.
Right about then, I noticed my phone. I'd been using the calculator on it, but now it had switched to a scientific calculator.
Uh... if anyone knows how to switch it back, can you e-mail me?
So... OK, I can't get either of these to work.
Of course, I didn't have a spare battery.
By now, the shop was a mess, I was feeling pissy,
and there is a class in just a few hours. Only one thing to do....
SWEEP
As I was sweeping, trying to put all of this wasted time into perspective, something dawned on me. I had a spare.
Tough times call for tough measures - so I headed to Capriotti's for lunch.
Like Clint Eastwood said - you've got to know your own limitations, and I was just about at the tail end of mine for the afternoon.
I'll be fine tomorrow, thanks for letting me bitch. Have a clusterfuck shop story to share? Add it to my comments section!
I need a good laugh!
