I had the idea that I wanted to build the extended stem for Francis/es yesterday so I went looking for my Dremel cutoff wheels to cut the metal bits. This brings me to a fundamental question: What is the difference between taking something that isn’t put where you think it should be and putting it “away” where you think it should go without telling the person it belongs to and then forgetting where you put it, and hiding that thing? Mrs. the Poet did not like where I had put my cutting wheels away, so she put them “away” and forgot where “away” is. I spent all day Saturday trying to find them and never did.
So after church this morning I went to the hardware and bought another pack of cutoff wheels and some other supplies I needed to get, like the glue to put my shoes back together after the soles melted free from the uppers last week walking on the sidewalk that had been baking in the sun all day. This is not the first time that has happened, but this time when I went to get the glue the remainder of the tube was all dried up and no longer usable as glue.
So, armed with a fresh pack of cutoff wheels and a side milling cutter I attacked the extended stem like a madman. I measured, twice, and cut the extender tube to length. I then cut the donor stem in two pieces, one end to attach to the bottom of the extender so that it fits the steer tube, and the other to put in the top of the extension tube to attach the handlebars. If one could measure the level of enjoyment in a task undertaken voluntarily that could just as easily been left undone by the degree of dirt accumulated during that task, I enjoyed the hell outta cutting and fitting the parts to the extension. I had to stop before I was quite done, but really close to getting done with only a tiny bit of fitting to get done. Just as well, the shaping stone I was using was about to fall apart it was so worn out, so I have to pick up another one tomorrow before I read and filter the Feed. When I took my shower the first rinse and hair shampoo was black, the second a light grey
On another note but still on the extended stem build, side milling cutters should only be used with heavy gloves and a heavy apron when working with metal. I was covered in thousands of needle-sharp shavings about 1/8” long from doing the rough shaping with this cutter after doing the straight cuts with the cutoff wheels. The shirt and pants I was wearing had to be washed separately from the other laundry to keep the shavings from getting on the other clothes. T-shirts are about the worst thing to wear when using one of these cutters. Just so you won’t make the same mistakes I did. It has been said a smart person learns from his mistakes, a brilliant person learns from other people’s mistakes so he won’t have to make that mistake himself (or herself). I’m offering the chance for you to be brilliant by wearing a long-sleeve woven shirt with a vinyl or leather apron to keep the shavings out of your clothes. Be super brilliant and wear over-the-elbow leather gloves to keep the shavings off your hands, too. I have said that no repair will work without a blood offering to the deities, but this won’t do it. All the shavings will do is make you hurt for a few hours, they won’t draw blood while they hurt.
There was a Sprint Cup race in MI this weekend, but I was busy building bike parts, so I have no clue who won or how the races went today, or yesterday with the CWTS supporting race. I know I missed a good race or two, but building the extended stem while I could remember how to use the tools was more important. I think I mentioned that skill sets are another thing that wanders in and back out of my brain, fortunately they tend to wander away much more slowly than my words. Anyway, race, on TV, I didn’t watch.
And I have changed my wish list a bit for my Death Day celebration, instead of a new string trimmer I want one of the string trimmers in the garage made functional. The motors spin, but the string reel won’t dispense fresh string anymore. Fixing one would be better than buying a new one. I still want those d6 for my RPG group sessions, but I think the string trimmer working would be more important than dice. If you aren’t close enough for fixing the trimmer the dice are cheap and mailable.
PSA, Opus the Unkillable Badass Poet
Witch on a Bicycle 