You know you're having a bad day when...

[squbrigg]

Hi folks,

"Some days you get the elevator, some days you get the shaft!"

An old saying I use to swear by, and it still holds true.

Been carving the yards for my Marco Polo model and ran into this. Had 14 yards of different lengths and diamaters to do, carve to tapers, then sand smooth and then carve the yardarms, the ends of the yards. Numbers 1 through 13 went well, (or did as soon as I figured out how I was going to do them and get consistant results).

Number 14 was the problem, it was the mizzen gaff and after four attempts I quit for the day. There are just some times that you have to walk away for a while! Know that feeling? Head Bange

So this morning, fresh and rested, though with trepitation....I attempted a fifth .....and zip.....it went as smooth as silk! Carved smoothly, and sanded to perfection and didn't break!!! So, swept the four broken gaff's into the trash and came up for breakfast.

I guess I was just being told, by a higher authority, when to quit for the day! Do you ever get little messages in your carving like that?

Bob

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Re: You know you're having a bad day when...

A number of years ago, I was working on a pueblo painting and it needed a curved wall with the sunlight shining on one end of the wall....I worked and worked and nothing, wall looked flat! So, I just left it......for 3 days, everytime I would walk by the painting I would look at it, nothing, finally about the 3rd day, "viola" it came to me! Now the painting has a curved wall with sunlight on one end LOL

[whitecree]

Re: You know you're having a bad day when...

I get this fairly often. Being the stubborn sort, I generally ignore the first warning shot across the bow. To my regret.

I was carving a canoe bowl a while ago out of a nice chunk of yellow cedar. Had it nicely shaped, cut the model lines into it, did a rough sanding and started in on the hollowing. I use a drill press with a 3/4" Forstner bit to take the worst of the wood out of the way, but my drill press, being an ancient rebuilt thing I salvaged from a scrap heap, has no depth gauge, so I usually play around with the table elevation with the drill fully extended, using my forehead as a brake to keep the winding arm of the press fully extended while I set the table to the proper depth. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, my first warning all was not well was when I blinked hard at a bit of dust floating past my eyeball, the knob on the winding arm of the drill slipped from my forehead, whipped around and clonked me right between the eyes.

After blinking the stars from out of my eyes, I got up off the floor, and finished setting the depth. Flip the press "on", hold the work firmly in one hand, wind the press down and bore away. Ahhh, woodchips flying, the spicy aroma of yellow cedar, and the bit caught on a hidden pin-knot and whipped the wood around and smacked my knuckles a good one.

Does this boy learn his lesson? Hollow laugh!

A length of nylon cord wrapped and cinched about the bowl, holding it down to the table, and continue boring. Now for the last little bit to bore out, and I can finish up with a bent knife, except I seem to have mis-set the final depth and bored a hole right through the bottom.

Okay, I finally got the message, dusted myself off and gave up for the day.






Go ahead, it's okay to laugh. I am.

[carver6]

Re: You know you're having a bad day when...

Boy, do those stories sound familiar!! I'm just like the rest. Just keep on keepin' on, til I finally figure out I should just walk away for awhile. Just for a few minutes, drink a coke, cupa joe......just anything to take a break. What ever I'm trying to accomplish will "usually" fall into place. If not I'll leave it for an extended rest period........days or weeks.Head Bange