A most wonderful night in the shop
Mike in Mystic
>Sometimes NOT accomplishing much in the shop makes for the most satisfying of times.
My mother and father are visiting at the moment on the occasion of my son's first birthday. They live in WA state and I'm in CT so the visiting is not nearly as much as we'd both like, but c'est la vie.
At any rate, I had headed out in the shop to finish a very basic storage shop cabinet I've been working on and I'm not out there for 2 minutes when my Mom pops her head in. To my surprise she starts asking questions - "What's that tool do?" "A clamp? what do you need those for?" "that's a pretty cabinet" (spoken about a butt-ugly MDF affair - you can tell she's my Mom, eh? hehe). The best one was a birch plywood cabinet that she said she'd love to have in her kitchen hehe.
Anyway, that was fun in and of itself, but it get's better. After my Mom went back outside my Dad show's up (just as I'd put the glue on some drawer parts, but that's o.k.). Now, my Dad has Type I diabetes and unfortunately he's now legally blind as a result, but that doesn't slow him down much and he's still the most positive person I've ever met.
Even with his poor eyesight he correctly identifies every tool in the shop. He doesn't remark on the lovliness of my shop cabinetry, though - how rude! hehe
Well, we start talking and he eyes the LN 4.5 sitting on my workbench and remarks how he never really learned how to use a plane (my Dad was an electrical engineer and never really learned woodworking). So, I pull out a piece of rough pine from the scrap pile and give the plane a swipe - needs to be sharpened. So, I pull out the MK-II and my Dad is really into it, commenting on the abrasive properties and such. He was pretty impressed when even he could make out his reflection on the plane back and all that.
So, I set up the board on the bench and tune it for wispy see-through shavings. The board was in pretty bad shape, but I smoothed a small portion so he could feel the difference. Then I hand him the plane and let him have a go - he immediately uses the wrong stance, extending his arms, no power - what do you know, I've actually learned something, eh. So, I quickly explain the mechanics and let him try. He get's it right off. So, I go back to my drawer to finish it up for about 10 minutes, leaving him at the bench. When I finish and ask how he's done he shows me the board. He perfectly flattened the entire surface and had a wonderfully large pile of wispy shavings to show for it. He looked absolutely tickled, too, despite not really being able to see what he was doing - he did it all by feel. He took the pile of shavings in to show Mom :)
I had him autograph it for me and I'm going to find a place for it somewhere in the shop to remind of this moment.
I sure wish he lived closer. I'm sure I'd have him building great stuff in no time.
And I didn't even mind not getting much of my project done. Didn't mind at all.
Mike
