Or then again, maybe not...

Literally within minutes of Blogging my denial of access to UKWS all was well and I could get on again. Is there a moral there? Whinge to your Blog and everything will be made right? In that case I need to whinge about my latest review 'cos it's proving to be, er, tricky...

Gagged!

Oh woe is me, for I am undone. But even having done myself up again it's not good news. No matter what I try I can't get on to UK Workshop for my daily fix. The horror. It's not nice to be twitching like this, and breaking out in sweats ain't becoming. Every 3 or 4 minutes I try the site again, and every time it's "the operation timed out etc etc". Sob. I even tried with Explorer, just in case it was having a hissy fit about Mozilla, but to no avail. With help from Sig I've eliminated the probable cock-ups at my end, so I'm coming to the conclusion C has decided the only way to get me to be quiet is to prevent me getting to the site at all...

Nah. only joking.

Although...

West side story

Or maybe East side. Ah, there's the problem. Where exactly is the best place to put the Creature from The Black Lagoon, AKA the Maxi? On the West wall? Or the East? I thought I was set, and now I keep having 12th and 13th thoughts. Back to procrastination again, as I avoid going into the workshop at all so I don't have to do anything about it. But I must; the old man wants his bench and I need to get on with the tables for the folks which means the workshop has to be in a workable state again - soon. Urgh.

But on a more depressing note, it's my birthday tomorrow. Oh joy. The only ray of light is at least I know I've got a couple of good books on the way; I know this 'cos I bought them myself... Other than that I have no idea which pearls of toolish loveliness may be en route chez Alf (ooh look, a linguist). If any... Sigh.

But on a lighter note, the move of UK Workshop to a new server seems to have gone all right. This is Good News, 'cos at some point Cornish Workshop has to get moved there too. I have a feeling I'm going to need a password to move the name along with it, which worries me. I probably know it. Almost certainly I probably know it. The key question is; will I certainly know it when I need it? Oh deary me...

Old, so old...

To have one grey hair is a misfortune. To find two is worrying. Now I've found a third and that's it really. Over the hill, a has-been, one foot in the crematorium, this woodworker is as good as being no more. Of course I'm sure it's just a complete coincidence that this crop of washed out folicles has appeared just when I'm trying to make spokeshave handles. I mean it can't possibly be that reviewing is prematurely aging, can it? Aye, and there's the rub. It's not really premature is it? Oh me. So old... But then I always get like this on the run-up to my birthday. I'll be suicidal by the 30th...

But on another, much more important, note; what is it with Polos? The round, holey, minty sweets, not the Vee Dub. They must make millions of 'em, right? In state of the art, specially built I expect, Polo-making machinery. (And incidentally, what do they do with all the centres...?) So why is it you sometimes get a, well, soft Polo? You set out to suck away at it without busting through to the hole, in the time-honoured tradition of time-wasters everywhere, and suddenly it's crumbling in your mouth and the new world record is a washout. It's like dodgy pottery that hasn't been properly fired. Why can't the polo machine make them consistent? I blame Nestle. Look what they did to the Rolo packet. Taking away that extra one, and now they can't make decent Polos. The world's going to pot, it really is.

Sorry? What? Musing from the workbench you say? Yeah? So? Can't a person muse on Polos while they're at a workbench...?

Typing the hind leg off a saw horse

So I've hit the 4000 post mark on UK Workshop. Is this a moment for congratulation? Should I bask in the knowledge that my words or, ha hum, wisdom have so readily fallan upon the ears of a grateful populace? Or should I be hiding in a corner and promising to really shut the hell up this time? My instinct is the latter. Hell's teeth, I'm almost 2000 posts clear of the next highest (hiya, T!). For the love of Mike, somebody tell me to be quiet!

Ironically, I've felt compelled to type yet more in order to voice this sentiment. I think it's an illness...

Ahhh, rust.

For the first time in what seems an age I came back from the car boot having actually bought something. Okay, so it's nothing major - a Marples honing guide (with instructions!) - but at least it wasn't a total washout. Also saw a Disston back saw that was virtually worn/rusted away, and for a moment I thought I'd found the Yankee hand drill, who's number escapes me, with the ratchet that I've always wanted. Well I had, but the ratchet mechanism was shot. :~( Oh well, I'm getting closer to one. The nearest I'd got before this morning was a "you should have been here yesterday, we had one of those drills which go forwards and backwards and stuff". Anyway you could say I found two great tools, just about 40 years too late to save them...

I Googled for the honing guide and found an example here. Now either I've just made the buy of the century and can expect a twelve-fold return on my investment, or they're a tiny bit optimistic... But if anyone reading this wants to offer me that much for it, it's a done deal. ;~)

*£$%&! plywood

Jewsons delivered easily the worst, and most expensive, Far Eastern ply I think I've ever had from them. Voids all over the place, patched like a quilt, and splinters out like it's trying to turn me into a pin cushion. Grrrr. Might give Travis Perkins a shot next time. On the plus side I decided to indulge in a few housings, or dados if you must, just so I could play with the router. Ooo, s'good. Looks bulky but doesn't feel like it when in use. The Wealden 1/2" straight did a nice job too, but the "Dakota" clamp guide was rather too tempremental for my taste. A nasty tendency to slip if you're not absolutely on the ball with it, while the old Clamp'n'guide was rock solid. Pretty glad I didn't pay full whack for the Dakotas.

Workshop reorganisation

Don'tcha just love 'em? The desperate scramble to find somewhere to put X while you move Y to A in order to then change Z round with B... All to facilitate being able to work at the bench from all sides. I must be mad. Anyway, progress so far:



Next task is to clean up round the lathe. You can bet I'm really looking forward to that...