It's Alive

OK, I am four weeks into a project I thought would only take four to five weeks. It is going to take a few more weeks, but since I’m enjoying the project, that’s okay.  Last week, though, was a really big week at the Toybox.  It was the first time the sander began to look real.  Even more importantly, I plugged the beast in and it actually ran, assuring me there were no mistakes in the direction the motor revolved or errors in wiring. This was a monumental moment, akin to a car guy starting an engine he built for the first time. It was awesome.

With any start-up  whether a project like this, a hot rod built from the ground up, or a company purchased, there are always necessary tweaks. In the case of this project, I encountered an issue with the drive belt rubbing against the side of its pathway. As is many times the case, the issue was really created because I had been a bit short-sighted.  I decided that in order to get the correct speed at the face of the sanding disk, I would use the small diameter pulley on the motor and
the large diameter on the sanding disk, giving me RPMs I wanted. The problem was that this allowed the belt to rub at the top, making slightly more noise than hoped for. Classic shortsightedness. So, I did what you do in those cases.  First, I tried to convince myself that it was really okay and the extra noise would be part of the sander’s character.  When I realized that wasn't true and it would actually drive me crazy, I spent a few days thinking about what I could do. It struck me that if I used the second groove on both pulleys the amount of reduction achieved would be the same, yet I would then pick up about a quarter of an inch allowing the sander to run much more quietly. Tweak achieved.

Working through this exercise caused me to consider the manner I work through things in other areas of my life.  Generally before I move forward on something I spend time thinking about the way the task should be achieved, and I am usually self-confident enough to believe I have the right answer. I suspect most of us are like that. But when I stop and think about the real world example I just worked through, it occurs to me that usually, maybe even always, there is a better way to be discovered. Maybe I should look at the problem through fresh eyes or review the work with someone else.  There is nothing exceptionally new or profound there, but it is good to relearn things.

My challenge going forward is that even if I know I am the smartest person in the room, I should still listen and process information that comes at me so the end product is the best it can be. After all, that is really what we are going for … right?

Now that I am past this sticking point, I think the rest of the project will come together nicely. All I really have left to complete is the table and the dust collection box under the table. The parts are already roughed out it should go quickly. I am excited to finish this and be able to start using it. It will make my woodworking much more finished and cleaner than it has been to this point. It is also going to be a necessary tool when I start working on my next projects. These include building a router table for the shop, doing restoration work on my dad's old Delta lathe, and then begin the process of restoring an old treadle sewing machine into a case. These projects all have their own challenges and their own rewards.

Stick around. I can’t wait to see how they turn out.