So I'm selling the mitre saw I bought.
Stop laughing at the back.
Why am I selling it?
It's not the right tool for the job. It's not accurate enough. And, let's be honest, I'm not the best woodworker around. The mitre cuts are close, but just a little out. When I assemble the cut stock to make the frame, there are gaps.
Not huge gaps, you understand. Nothing that would make the average joiner blink an eye, but unacceptable in a picture frame.
I've tried fixing this. Test cuts every time I set the blade, the cut pieces examined against a compound square. Excess wood shaved off with a block plane and a mitred shooting board. I even built a rotary framing sander from an old grinding wheel.
All to no avail.
Failure is not always a challenge. Sometimes it's life's way of telling you to try a different approach.
I'm a handy sort of chap. I could, for example, in theory, learn how to make my own shoes. But there are many excellent reasons why I don't.* Similarly, I have never tried to do my own dentistry. Just last month I also discovered that I really, really shouldn't attempt plumbing.
And I'm not going to do my own framing any more, but I'm going to pay someone else to make a really good job of it.
What valuable life lesson can we draw from my humiliating about face?
'Enthusiasm and determination are no substitute for surly acceptance of one's own inadequacy.'
Sounds a little harsh. Let's put a better spin on it.
How about this:
'When a task requires resources and skills you don't possess, pay an expert to do it.'
Better. Here's a cloud study:
Stop laughing at the back.
Why am I selling it?
It's not the right tool for the job. It's not accurate enough. And, let's be honest, I'm not the best woodworker around. The mitre cuts are close, but just a little out. When I assemble the cut stock to make the frame, there are gaps.
Not huge gaps, you understand. Nothing that would make the average joiner blink an eye, but unacceptable in a picture frame.
I've tried fixing this. Test cuts every time I set the blade, the cut pieces examined against a compound square. Excess wood shaved off with a block plane and a mitred shooting board. I even built a rotary framing sander from an old grinding wheel.
All to no avail.
Failure is not always a challenge. Sometimes it's life's way of telling you to try a different approach.
I'm a handy sort of chap. I could, for example, in theory, learn how to make my own shoes. But there are many excellent reasons why I don't.* Similarly, I have never tried to do my own dentistry. Just last month I also discovered that I really, really shouldn't attempt plumbing.
And I'm not going to do my own framing any more, but I'm going to pay someone else to make a really good job of it.
What valuable life lesson can we draw from my humiliating about face?
'Enthusiasm and determination are no substitute for surly acceptance of one's own inadequacy.'
Sounds a little harsh. Let's put a better spin on it.
How about this:
'When a task requires resources and skills you don't possess, pay an expert to do it.'
Better. Here's a cloud study:
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* Not least being that it would be weird. Who does that?
