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This week was unseasonably warm, and each day after work I felt good
enough to play with tools, and so I made a box out of a piece of particle
board that had been a on a book case that was thrown out near the school my
wife works at. I was able to cut it in half and get the four sides I
needed from the same piece.
To break the material down small enough to fit the pieces into my scroll
saw [1] I used a hand saw (Western style, cut on the push) with clamps
holding the material down to my saw horse.
I must be honest, I am tired of using a hand saw for this operation. The
process is slow, especially if it is to be done right, which at least I did
that this time, but even if I could make it some kind of spiritual exercise
of patience, after too long, it just becomes murder on my back, and I am
not looking to add mortification of the flesh to my spiritual rituals. At some
future point I will probably buy one a table-top band-saw or a "Blade Runner,"
which is accepts jig saw blades but has the blade mounted upside down with a
fence that allows for straight cuts [2].
But it still got done, and the doing gave me excuses to take breaks and
look around. All in all, it wasn't too bad -- it beats working (for other
people) and was a fine way to spend those late afternoons and early
evenings. Maybe I can take more breaks if I have to saw like that. . . Or
maybe I can just toughen up.
=
[1] To be fully accurate: the other limiter is where my workbench is placed
and some other storage on the other side. The benefits of having them
there to place pieces after they are cut probably outweighs the hassle as I
rarely run into this problem, working as I do with pretty small stuff.
[2] I'm not too far away from earning enough points to release another $100
to enjoyment spending. I have $20 left over from the last round, and that
just about adds up to the cost of a Blade Runner. However, I don't like
working in the shop with no safety net for incidentals, so I think I am
going to save up at least two rounds before I buy it, or, again a mini-
band-saw. For a treat on this round I am thinking of pricing some nicer
clamps, or if that turns out to be too pricey, another utility knife, so I
can have it to carry around.
==
I love to hear from people. My email is the handle minus "net" (so, a work by
Voltaire that starts with "c"), at sdf.org.
While we're adding boiler plate: this work is hereby in the public domain. Do
what you want with it.