March, 2021

Looks like we’ve survived the sub-zero temperatures February threw at us as winter tries to hold on, so now it’s time for the spring showers, one last “freak” snow storm that March always tries to throw at us, and then we’ll be back to outdoor life. While it may just be the backyard with no one else around, hopefully we’re making progress toward getting back to some sense of normal life!

As an FYI, the Youthbuild facility suffered significant damage when a pipe burst during the subzero weather. The good news is the damage was confined to the classroom portion of the building and no water made it into the training center portion of the facility, which is where we store our equipment. While that won’t directly affect the club, it will undoubtedly impact some of the remodeling being done as time, money, and effort is refocused toward fixing the damage.

There is still no decision on when we’ll start back to meeting in person for meetings, that decision will likely be tied closely to our Governor’s mandates and restrictions for the Youthbuild facility, both of which seem to be moving in a positive direction. The March meeting will be ONLINE ONLY, as we’ll be remote broadcasting from Bill Schulz’s shop for the demo.

There won’t be a whole lot of club business to cover at the March meeting, since things have (thankfully) been pretty quiet lately. But, as and if things start to open up, please let me know if there are any festivals, town events, or other activities that might be appropriate for the club to demonstrate at. My sense is as things start to open, there will be a LOT of events happening as pent up demand for something to do is unleashed. Could be fun to show off our new lathes and what we can do with them.

Despite the pandemic, or perhaps because of it, our club has grown in size. I think that’s a VERY good thing! If anyone hasn’t paid their club dues for 2021, Jeff Hindman should be reaching out to you. We’d love to see you stay and be a part of the club’s continued evolution. Our Facebook group now has 176 members. I can only speak for myself, but that’s a LOT more members than I ever expected we’d get. If you’re on Facebook, please remember to check out the group page every once in awhile. There’s some interesting projects being posted and the comments are fun to scroll through.

As I started writing this, it was well after midnight and I took a pause to try to work out the To-DO lists I have saved on my computer. Seems I have too many of those these days. One for my daughter who just bought a house and has a hundred little things that need to be done that neither her or her boyfriend have the skills to do. Another is for the club and has thankfully been shrinking since the first of the year. A list of everything needing to be done for another daughter’s upcoming wedding. One for all the outdoor spring projects I want to do at my house and a list of the supplies I’ll need and yet another list for all the inside projects and supplies that need to be done.

The last list is a running list I keep of all the turning projects that make up my “someday I want to make this…” list. Since it’s always been in my head, I decided it was time to put it down on paper, thinking that would be an easy thing to do. Turns out, what I’m trying to create is absolutely impossible. For example, I have this picture in my head of a bowl that has open spaces patterned all through it, and in each open space is an inlay of some kind that tells one part of a larger story. Sounds simple, but putting that into words is like trying to describe the Mona Lisa to a bunch of grade school art students and expect them to be able to see the finished piece. I realized quickly that words won’t work, so I’d need pictures. I started sketching out what I was seeing in my mind and realized that I have an ability to draw that is on an equal level with those grade school art students. Trying to draw using software certainly didn’t help! I decided for this list, I’d just use an old notebook that I can keep in the shop and review when I’m looking for inspiration. Then I remembered I already had some old notebooks in one of the boxes of crap still left to unpack from the old shops and started hunting.

For someone easily distracted by anything shiny, I should have known better. By 1:30 in the morning, I had stumbled over a box of uncompleted projects and set studying each one of them to try to remember what my intent had been when it was relegated to the box. Some I remembered, but some would most likely become something not intended when they were initially turned. By 2:00, I was elbow deep into a box that had miscellaneous bits and pieces of old tools, jigs, and “stuff” that may or may not have still been work keeping. By 2:30, I was rooting through a blue tote that had stray tools used either as I was trying to get out of the old house or that I had used at the new house before moving all the stuff in. At the 3:00 hour, I decided I’d better get to bed.

The next morning, I went back to the shop and found the stash of old notebooks I was looking for within two minutes. I opened the notebook on top and there was a list that I had started at least 7 years ago, titled “projects to make”. SCORE! As I looked down the list, I realized that I had tried to describe the project with words, not pictures, and there was no way I was going to know what the entry meant. There were also references to rough-outs I’d (apparently) already made, but there was no way to match the list entry with one of the uncompleted projects from the boxes. I now know know what it feels like for a running back to run 90 yards for a touchdown, only to have it called back because someone on the interior line flinched too early. Oh well, I guess I’ll just start over, only THIS time, I’ll remember that the purpose of documentation is to make sure whoever, or whenever, someone reads it, they can absolutely understand what the point is and I’ll also label the blank that matches the project, if I have it. I’ve started a new list, but now, I have a whole lot more to put on it, so I’ll most likely be up really late again…

Until next time, thanks for reading, stay safe, keep your shop organized, and remember to feed your creative side, because it will pay off someday when you’re looking for inspiration.