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11:00 pm
April 21, 2010
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I know a few things went wrong today while trying to weld up some cable, heat to low being one and I begin to wonder if while at heat having a power hammer to deliver the needed force to such an interesting dynamic as cable to seal the welds. Or was it that piece of cable itself or some other unknown that screwed the weld up. I know mentally it can be several factors that screwed the pooch on this one, it doesnt lessen the feeling of failure when the day before I was able to do it. It wasnt pretty by any means but I did get it done. It was a different batch of cable I used, little thicker than the first.
I read someone say the other day dont get attached to the things you are making, but its kinda hard not to when you are putting your heart into it. I dunno maybe im just an ijit over thinkin this to much
4:20 pm
NWBA Member
April 22, 2010
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We all have failures all the time.
Hopefully, as you get older and more experienced, you have fewer of em, but that doesnt mean it still doesnt happen.
As you get better at doing things, the failures are less basic mechanical stuff, and more about ideas and your ability to see what you want to do, versus the physical reality of making it.
I spent a couple hours on Monday cutting some parts out of pricy, special order, stainless steel- then sanding em, bending em, and getting em all ready- only to put the first one in, and find they looked like crap.
Just not the right part for the location, visually.
So, they get put on a shelf, use the material for something smaller, later.
And I started over, yesterday, cutting up some different, pricey, special order material, devising a new technique to attach it, and not looking back.
One thing that gets you over micro-obsessions with failures is having employees- I have had employees, off and on, since about 82, and they have made every mistake its possible to make, and a few that I would have thought, beforehand, were impossible. Lots of time wasted, tools broken, and material wasted. If you cant learn to just set it aside, and do it again, or, show them how to do it again, you would have a mental breakdown the first day.
Employees, like kids, either kill ya or build your character.
So far, I am still alive, and I have had both. (kids, and employees, that is)
5:33 pm
March 22, 2010
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How about a kid that is an employee? My 18 year old has been working for me now for about 4 months.... An oportunity to share the best and worst of both category's
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
10:15 pm
NWBA Member
April 22, 2010
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My 19 year old has been working in the shop a bit lately as well- it is a potentially good, or bad situation.
My younger one is a big pain to try to get work out of, but the 19 year old needs the bucks, and actually has been a pretty good employee, doing boring repetitive jobs well, without complaining.
Kids, however, have ways of screwing with your mind that no employee can match...
12:29 am
April 21, 2010
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Shoot I wish I had decided to do this before I got hurt, but I do the best I can. Heck I cant even find work, tell your son he should be greatful for his health and a job.
6:57 pm
September 13, 2010
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My son is 16 and not so easy to get work out of. It is starting to look like he is going to end up working in the shop. It is going to be hard to not give him special treatment over the other employees, I said he should look into working at a different shop.
2:58 am
March 22, 2010
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morsedog;2688 wrote: My son is 16 and not so easy to get work out of. It is starting to look like he is going to end up working in the shop. It is going to be hard to not give him special treatment over the other employees, I said he should look into working at a different shop.
Well shoot we could trade kids....:nerd:
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
1:39 pm
August 14, 2010
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morsedog;2688 wrote: My son is 16 and not so easy to get work out of. It is starting to look like he is going to end up working in the shop. It is going to be hard to not give him special treatment over the other employees, I said he should look into working at a different shop.
My son is 21 now and I've fired him twice from the shop. According to him 'special treatment' means coming down like a ton of bricks doing my wrath of god imitation.:furious:
According to me it is pretty special if I don't fire you for missing both your first and second days of work. :banghead:
This is sort of relevant to the original topic of shop failures too. Stop, try an figure out what went wrong, try to figure out what to do differently. I think it's important to separate a failed piece of work from personal failure; burning your work or your finger does not make you a bad person or even a lousy smith. It is just a different way of paying for lessons.
8:10 pm
June 3, 2010
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I worked in my Father's shop starting around 8 and till I was out of high school. Oh, I got special treatment alright, while he never shouted at me except to be heard over machine noise I didn't get let off lightly on most anything. Seemed I got handed the stinky end of the stick all the time. I didn't but it sure felt that way. Everybody worked in a capacity best suited to them so if all a guy can do is sweep and wipe machines it needs to be done so get to it. Once I started learning to spin that's where I spent my time at the lathe: trimming, rolling beads and sharpening corners, polishing, holding torch or spinning from blanks.
While I can't say I enjoyed working in Dad's shop I certainly appreciate what I learned now. Failure analysis was a MAJOR part of production metal spinning, as was paying very close attention to cause and effect. Iif you're not ahead of the game metal spinning you lose, sometimes in a BIG way as in missing body parts and blood.
The only way to avoid making mistakes is by doing nothing. If you're doing things you'll make mistakes, some beyond your control but every one is a chance to learn. There are few things that'll slow learning and success like emotioinal attachment to a thing, be it a material, technique, feeling or whatever. I make mistakes all the time but I LIKE the steep part of the learning curve.
Frosty the Lucky.
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