Full Friday

Rage Against The Wood

Third Friday off and I spent the majority of the day working on my pipe and I spent the greatest part of the “working on my pipe day” just getting things ready. I actually found my Dremel tool (rotary drill type tool”. Dianne recently got me a kit of parts for the tool, more blades, sand paper parts and other parts . I use the Dremel to shape the wood piece I am working on. The Dremel works great when I can get the thing to work.

You see I am a quadriplegic my hand just barely work. I am grateful for for the level of mobility I have in my hands but, I sure get frustrated trying to use tools designed for people with full use of their bodies. To use the Dremel a person really needs to have full use of both hands. The Dremel spins a bit in it's jaws. You have to press a button on the Dremel to freeze the spinning device and with the other hand you have to use a very small wrench ( which comes with the tool) to loosen the jaws and place the new device in the Dremel and then tighten up the whole tool. If this is not enough the there are small drums on small shafts that you slip a sanding ring on. Then you have to turn a microscopic screwdriver to expand the drum to snugly fit the the sanding ring. I cannot do that part so I was having to take the little drum into the house and Dianne tightening the drum then I was going back to the garage and place the sanding drum into the Dremel and tighten the whole mess up. This process took forever but I finally got to working on the pipe and made fairly good process when I realized I needed to make some sort of jig to hold the piece of wood so I could better work on the piece. What I figured I needed was a bolt or something to be drilled into the center of the wood which would allow me then to vice up the piece which would expose the pipe bowel where I could reach the wood and work the piece.

I went next door where my friend Albert lives and who has a perfect little wood shop. I explained to Albert what I needed he understood but the process took longer then I had anticipated. Albert did have the perfect bolt though. He drilled the bowel and took it back to my wood shop and was able to really make some progress. I got a lot of the major wood off the bowel. I still have hours of work on the bowel to do before I drill the final hole for the bowel and then I need to drill the hole for the stem.. But am doing this and I am enjoying the process. Working in my woodshop really grounds me and makes me focus on what I am doing. I really am able to think when I am wood working. In fact the Dremel is almost too much tool for me. I could use some of my wood files for the wood “cutting” process but that would take for ever... literally.

What I failed to tell was my trip up to the DI (local second hand store). When I started to work in the garage I noted that the radio I was using last week feel off the bench and shattered never to work again. I needed my NPR and toons! I was pleased to find a great radio which works wonderfully. I came back plugged in and worked a couple of hours. Dianne wanted to go to Over the Hedge and that is what we did. Too much popecorn, too much Mr. Pip an way too many kids. A very full day.