20-20 hindsight

[Wayne]

So there I was trying to fire weld a small ring on the end of a bar for a fire crane - all the other welds had gone perfectly but this one just kept beating me. After the third failure I decided to call it quits and have a shower and it was here I had the eurika moment - why weld? why not jump up and punch the hole instead?. some times I can be so dumb I could slap myself!!!

[Francis Trez Cole]

Its not dumb it looking at it in a new light. You can get tunnel vision sometimes. I myself set out to do a project one way and sure enough before the job is done I have come up with other designs for the same item. Then it really hits you when a Kid ask why don't you do it this way. Thats a homer moment.

[CBrann]

You mean I am not the only one that sees 3 or 5 easier ways .. after the project is finished... and then forget before repeating the project the next time?

[pkrankow]

You mean I am not the only one that sees 3 or 5 easier ways .. after the project is finished... and then forget before repeating the project the next time?

That's what notebooks are for.
Phil

[Frosty]

So there I was trying to fire weld a small ring on the end of a bar for a fire crane - all the other welds had gone perfectly but this one just kept beating me. After the third failure I decided to call it quits and have a shower and it was here I had the eurika moment - why weld? why not jump up and punch the hole instead?. some times I can be so dumb I could slap myself!!!

No, not dumb at all. There's been plenty of good replies already but what the hey I might as well chime in. Eh?

A couple points; First any of us can get stuck on an idea and later think of a faster or better way to do a thing. Second it takes a little stubborn in yer blood to pit yourself against STEEL and expect to win regularly.

So, what's the worst thing that could've happened in this case? Oh, that's right, you changed method and finished the project. right? So, how's the other side of that look? Oohhh, you successfully weld the ring on and get to avoid the almost universally upsetting prospect of . . . UPSETTING!

I don't know about YOU but I'll take a chance on an alternative to upsetting anytime.

Just so long as a person is willing to try a new direction at need stubborn is a good thing. Keep at it brother, good on ya.

Frosty the Lucky.

[Dragons lair]

That's what notebooks are for.
Phil

Phil, what do you do when ya forget where the notebook is?
Ken

[CBrann]

pkrankow.... Well a couple of things on that... you have to know where it is.... you have to write in it... and in my case .. my handwriting is horrific!! so I would have to be able to read it again later...so I have tried that before...

on another note.. what kind of language do you use to communicate your ideas or intentions about working on a project... I find it difficult to get the clarity of concept in a process. ... words that will translate back into a finished project... I use the words .. draw, fuller, bend...etc.. but there is always something missing in my descriptions... usually the part of the process that I reworked.. that I just can't get onto paper..

cliff

[pkrankow]

The act of writing it down improves your memory of the idea. So even if you cannot find the notebook, you will have better retention of your ideas. I tend to draw more pictures than written words, in part because of my handwriting. I will also write out the process in words (and pictures) for more complex projects, in a large part to get the order of operations down, but also to make the project easier by forcing myself to think all the way through it. Annotations afterwords can just be written in, but this does expect you to have the notebook still.

I am good about keeping track of the notebook I am using, but once it is full it might as well not exist any more, so I do understand this dilemma. I have thought about separating the notes into two or more notebooks, house projects, shop projects, etc. but I would probably loose any additional notebooks and go back to one book.

Using a better quality notebook than a spiral student notebook seems to help also. I am able to keep track of the book better. I am using a bound grid paper pad currently, and have gone halfway through it in a year, but it has bathroom remodeling ideas, plumbing projects, parts lists for the laundry, landscaping ideas, as well as my forge projects and such.

Phil

[Dan W]

Decent notebooks are a must for any profession. I have a file cabnet in my shop and keep everything I feel I can use from this forum, my internet surfing and my local blacksmith friends.
Besides, I'm married to a retired English teacher, I have to keep good notes.

[Frosty]

I agree, it's hard to overstate the usefullness of notebooks in learning any craft. There are some valid "complaint" aspects already stated though. I'm thinking the most valid are: "How do I SAY what I need to say" being the MOST important or valid, IMHO. As already suggested, sketches, drawings and or pictures are HUGEly important to saying what you need to say. A picture IS worth a thousand words. You betcha.

Poor handwriting ? I'd say a notebook or twenty sounds like just the practice you need to me.

Well, THAT leaves the "WHERE did I PUT that pesky notebook . . . A-G-A-I-N?" complaint. Okay, that's a good one too, I've misplaced or misremembered the placment of so many things I have to put this one near the top. Oh yeah, BIG time! Now, where'd I leave that darned. . . TOP?

Okay, so what do we do about the "misplaced and or misremembered placement of the notebook and or other important but mysteriously highly camoflaged stuff? How's this for an idea? Forge a wall hook or six to hang the notebook from? We could put one next to or handily near the anvil, another near or next to the work bench and maybe even another next to or near (that's HANDY to you folk not up on Frostyisms . . .Yet ) the drawing table or CAD equiped computer, etc.

Is THAT a win win idea or WHAT? Not only does it get your notebook out of the way and give it a handy place or places to always be when you want or need it but it even gives you something practice in the fire! Did I say WIN WIN? Well?

So, that leaves the other mysteriously disappearing handy stuff gripe. How about forging some shelf brackets, say a pair per location and making some shelves for all the above considered locations? WOW Dudes and Dudesses! Handy little shelves to hold our notebooks and other oh SO necessary useful THINGS we want close but out of our way! But WAIT there's MORE! Some more practice sessions in the fire? Is THAT a win win or WHAT!

My goodness, not only is the age old, "where'd that pesky notebook go? The even more annoying "where'd the gremlins put my oh so useful widget THIS TIME?!?" Questions get solid gremlinproof answers BUT we HAVE to FORGE THEM too! Does it get any better than that? Noooo, it doesn't get ANY better than that my leetle friends. Take it from Uncle Frosty, he wouldn't mislead you on something like this. Seriously, where so the knee slapping punchlines come in? Hmmmmm?

Right, I THOUGHT so.

Oh yeah, don't forget youll NEED to forge the hook or hooks to hang a chalk board. Working sketches are just SOOOOO handy.
Frosty the Lucky

[Mainely,Bob]

One question Frosty,Does soapstone work on a blackboard?More importantly can you erase it? :o

[Glenn]

Time off from a project to get a cup of coffee, eat, sleep etc gives the brain time to relax and process information.

Poor writing abilities are no excuse as the Egyptians used hieroglyphics or pictographic script and did rather well. Modern man has some problems figuring out what they were saying but they were recording all of history. One person recording one craft should be a lot easier to decipher. This is where a digital camera is your best friend. Whitesmith uses a camera on many occasions when working on a car engine or other project. Once taken apart and the problem fixed, you refer back to the camera and reverse the order of the photos to put it all back together. The more photos you have the easier the process. This is just pictographic script made easy with today's technology.

When in the shop, photograph the soapstone drawing on the floor before it gets erased. Photograph the jig set up for making that one part, the overall layout, how you test fitted all the parts etc.

How do you think IForgeIron got started? People wanted a copy of my spiral bound notebook and the notes I had made when working on projects. From there it was cleaned up a bit, photos were added and Blueprints were created.

[Frosty]

One question Frosty,Does soapstone work on a blackboard?More importantly can you erase it?

Bob: Yes and Maybe. If you work at it, probably. No guarantees though.

Frosty the Lucky.

[Jeddly]

Sometimes when I am searching for a word, and cannot for the life of me figure it out, I will just make one up. The hard part then comes when I am trying to explain said word to someone. haha

Notebooks are a great idea, but I am not a very good artist at all. So, I usually just write my thoughts down, and picture the object in my head for a while.

Jed

[Frosty]

Sometimes when I am searching for a word, and cannot for the life of me figure it out, I will just make one up. The hard part then comes when I am trying to explain said word to someone. haha

Notebooks are a great idea, but I am not a very good artist at all. So, I usually just write my thoughts down, and picture the object in my head for a while.

Jed

Making up words is fine Jed, I do it all the time. What I find difficult is remembering what the pesky things meant at a later date. Explaining them to other folk is no problem, I just make that up to.

I'm no sketch artist either, even my stick figures stink, that's why I use graph paper, lots, almost all my free hand sketches are on graph paper it helps me scale and porportion things.

Coming out sometime soon? There's no heat in the shop so picking a day it's in the teens or warmer will be easier on both of us. Shoot me a message offlist and I'll give you my Cell# (if I haven't already) so we can coordinate. I'm still doing therapy mondays, wednesdays and fridays so it leaves us Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as potential play dates.

Fair warning though I've discovered I'm not nearly as controlled as I used to be it'll come back with practice but I have some getting back to do. I'm just slow and every blow has a mystery aspect it didn't used to. Darned TREES!


Frosty the Lucky.

[pkrankow]

I use graph paper because I too am a lousy artist. Here's something that I learned from a friend while in drafting class:

Drawing straight lines, put the pencil tip at the start positions and look (focus/stare/concentrate) at the end point, then simply move the pencil tip to the end point. With not much practice you will be drawing straight lines.

With well placed straight lines you can illustrate a lot of concepts. In practice for sketching it is sometimes easier to place the pencil tip at the new end of the line and draw back to the rest of the sketch where there is a reference to look at, or to make a mark then draw to the mark.

Phil