I'm going to have to quit looking here!

[Wareagle]

You guys have great ideas, and do exceptional work. No doubt about it.

Everytime I look at this board, I am getting another project idea for some sort of neat tool here, or and idea on how to change this or that to make it better. The problem with all of this is I want to do every one of them, and by the time I get all of this stuff done, I will be in my grave! I am now finding myself thinking that I need to make a tool to make a tool All that will be left in my estate is shop made tools. Any of you all feel the same way?

All kidding aside, I enjoy seeing the different ideas shared here. And I will continue with the BBS...

[rgsparber]

I sure feel this way. After I retired, things go even "worse"!

Rick

[dp]

I'm a sucker for afternoon projects - those you can do that day with what's in the scrap pile. Frank Ford's a bad influence in that regard, and the recent thread on dial indicators mounted to the QCTP started me up on another one I'd been meaning to get done.

A week or so ago I finished my carriage stop and crossfeed stop projects. Hell, I've built tools I've seen here I'll probably never use but every one was a one-afternooner and just plain fun to do. I can see where a CNC in my life would be a disaster as Bob Warfield and I are apparently addicted to cool stuff. He's another bad influence

[JRouche]

Some times I also feel similarly.

Then I got to thinking, I love tools and tooling. There is nothing wrong with dedicating your time working with tools to make tools or improve tooling. You don’t have to be making an internal combustion engine, steam engine, firearm, model or any other non-tool to be having fun.

There are some who make unbelievable models and engines with hundred and fifty dollar lathes. Then there are others who don’t make any models or engines. But they may enjoy perfecting that same hundred and fifty dollar lathe, tweaking and tuning it while never actually making anything not associated with the lathe.

Just because you don’t turn out a project once a year, maybe never turn out a project, does not separate you from anyone else involved in the life of metal working.

Carry on tinkerers and tweakers.....JRouche

[pntrbl]

I think I've got this figured out. We make things to make it easier ... to make things! It's simple.

SP

[dp]

I think I've got this figured out. We make things to make it easier ... to make things! It's simple.

SP

Which we never have the tools to finish.

[BadDog]

Until we make the tool to finish the tool.

[dicks42000]

I think that we'd all have to agree that most of us on here need "therapy".
Wether we do this for fun, for a living or for a profit, we all seem to have similar symptoms....
Some are lucky to have a nearly finished & fully equipped shop and can start right in on building what ever, others of us are in some intermediate stage of tooling construction & some are just getting a lathe, mill, etc. equipped & running, tweaked the way they want.
Sometimes we just do a project "because we can". I started a project jpurney a few weeks ago...built the little hacksaw to cut some steel cause the Wells saw is too heavy to move, cut the steel for the horiz. "engine mill" project on both saws, assebling the horiz. mill cause I always wanted one to cut gears with. Wanted to cut gears on a mill "because".
No doubt the next two little projects will be a height gauge from a dig. caliper (for precision layout for the gearbox the gears will be used in) & an indexing head using Atlas change gears for the mill. Already need to build a cutter grinder rest (as seen on here).
Of course I spent this afternoon after work changing the motor on the vertical mill so I can continue.....
It's a weird inter-relationship, fix the tools so you can make some tooling to build a machine to make parts for a useless project....
That's being an HSM.
Rick

[Evan]

Hmm. I use my tools to make tools. But, I also make many things to accomplish other tasks or to repair equipment needed for purposes other than shop work as an end in itself. I'm just about finished with my garage shop renovation and expansion. The motivation for this is partly that I want a nicer shop but also to make it easier to make some decorative iron gates and railings for our property.

[Lew Hartswick]

Hmm. I use my tools to make tools. But, I also make many things to accomplish other tasks or to repair equipment needed for purposes other than shop work as an end in itself. I'm just about finished with my garage shop renovation and expansion. The motivation for this is partly that I want a nicer shop but also to make it easier to make some decorative iron gates and railings for our property.

Evan quit being so serious. :-)
...lew...