Do You Have A Creative Mind? I Don't!

Janderso

Janderso

Jeff Anderson
H-M Platinum Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2018
Messages
8,397
Here I have been blessed with a nice home, a supportive and wonderful wife that I adore, the shop is well lit, has climate control, 3-phase and all the important machine and hand tools to do some fine work..
So far I have made a few parts, done some work for co-workers and made some simple tools.
I will continue to make some fixturing-hold down tools but I don't know what else to do.
I had plans to buy older American iron machine tools I found on Craigslist and refurbish them just to resell.
If you have ever gone through that process it's a labor of love, I don't think I could part with a newly rebuilt usable machine tool.

Do you suffer from a rigid mind?
Do you see straight lines when other people see curves?
Do you see black and white while others may see beautiful colors of the rainbow?
Oh how I suffer.
 
Jeff I don't know about the creative part but I get too many projects going at once and therefore progress on each one seems to crawl sometimes
Maybe you enjoy the rebuilding part more than the using part?
Years ago my brother wanted to buy old cars and fix them up to sell- problem was we fell in love with all the little quirky cars he brought home and couldn't part with them either- one of them, a Datsun 411, was so cute- I still remember it
Mark
 
For me, machining has been to support my other interests. (Primarily Amateur Radio and motorcycles.) And, of course, stuff around the house and stuff for friends. These keep my project list overflowing.

As you might expect, machining has become yet another hobby with it's own set of fascinations. I kinda admire the guys who build up a full-on machine shop just for the sake of doing so. They seem to really enjoy the process of perfecting what they have and are always on the hunt for ways to improve their shop and their capabilities. It seems so idyllic and peaceful..

I will admit that sometimes I go out to the shop and just sit there, enjoying what I see. It's a great place, full of fun and interesting things. Hey, TOOLS! The smell of VACTRA! What could possibly be better?

Invariably, after a bit of this sort of "shop meditation" something will catch my eye and the next thing you know, I'm looking for just the right piece of stock because there is suddenly an overwhelming need to build Project-X (whatever that might be). Letting the old brain relax for a little while usually leads to all sorts of mayhem inspiration.

MK
 
Janderso said:
Here I have been blessed with a nice home, a supportive and wonderful wife that I adore, the shop is well lit, has climate control, 3-phase and all the important machine and hand tools to do some fine work..
So far I have made a few parts, done some work for co-workers and made some simple tools.
I will continue to make some fixturing-hold down tools but I don't know what else to do.
I had plans to buy older American iron machine tools I found on Craigslist and refurbish them just to resell.
If you have ever gone through that process it's a labor of love, I don't think I could part with a newly rebuilt usable machine tool.

Do you suffer from a rigid mind?
Do you see straight lines when other people see curves?
Do you see black and white while others may see beautiful colors of the rainbow?
Oh how I suffer.
Click to expand...

Jeff , I had a nice shop at one time . I did things for fun and back then it WAS fun . I then started machining parts for companies and got paid for it . The fun was not in the equation any longer . I stopped the business back in 93 and moved 2 houses up the street . Since that point on , I myself have nothing to make . I have 15 or 200 of whatever I need or don't need ! :grin: The fun back then was going to the auctions and building up the shop and tooling , meeting people in your trade , experimenting and continually learning . We don't have the auctions around here any longer since the market place has become global . So anyway , I got into restoring older high quality lawn tractors . CCs , Harvesters , Deeres etc . The machine tools supported me in doing that .

I spent all day yesterday hauling buckets of tooling down into the basement and sorting them out . In a single small drawer were 173 countersinks and spotting drills . You wanna talk about end mills ? 1000s , for what ? Why would I ever need any more than 100 end mills for what I do , and I've been taking them into work for 2 years because they don't supply me with them .

I told the wife yesterday I need a new hobby . We used to travel regularly for the kids sports but last year was the end of that . I'm going to back the tooling down to a reasonable amount and find something interesting to do in the time I have left . I'll make parts I'm sure , but I won't be sorting thru 10s of thousands of tooling much longer …………………..I'm getting there . :)
 
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Creative mind? no. Mechanical yes. I can picture, Design, fix, and make mechanical things, but seeing how two colors will work together? not me. Helping the Better half pick out material for a project of hers? nope, sorry. When the Wife asks if this color pants go with this shirt, usually the answer is yes, gave up a long time ago trying to explain that I cannot picture color coordination.
 
So the real question is: Now that I have it, what do I do with it? :)

If I had to go out into the shop and figure out a project just to make chips, I would be lost. Like Meta Key my shop was put together to support other activities. I want a well equipped shop to be able to build or repair any project I decide to tackle, just another set of tools in the box. I never liked machining just to do it, it is really not a hobby for me and I have never considered myself to be a machinist. I do enjoy the problem solving aspect of the work.

If I need a special tool or other piece of hardware, I'm more likely to buy it off the shelf if it's available. All of the projects I have posted on H-M over the years were done to facilitate another project that was the real end goal. Sometimes I do modify machine tools to increase productivity or simply make them easier to operate.
 
Meta Key said:
I will admit that sometimes I go out to the shop and just sit there, enjoying what I see. It's a great place, full of fun and interesting things. Hey, TOOLS! The smell of VACTRA! What could possibly be better?
Click to expand...
Exactly, my definition of a "MAN CAVE".
 
I agree with, machining isn't fun unless there is a purpose.
Last night after dinner, I took a piece of brass hex stock and made a perfect 1" long, 5/16" x 18 TPI bolt. Why?
Just to kill some time before bed time. My skills have greatly improved from a year ago.
I need challenges to make it fun. That rotary table for example, That thing has me scratching my head, I need to practice with that.

I love the smell of machine lubricants too. Growing up around a Ford garage gives me peace of mind when I go into a shop.
 
The smell of Kroil and diesel fuel , MMmmmmm………………...good ! :grin:
 
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