Sanders aren’t just for sanding

Workshop - The quarter sheet DeWalt (check out its background here) is still going strong and is perfect for how I work.  For example, on a stool I'll often sand the middle of the front rungs to mimic the wear usually caused by years of fidgeting feet. As such, a sander for me is more a sculpting tool than a timber finisher.

Consequently, I tend to use the edges and corners of the sander, wearing out those parts of the paper well before the middle is spent.  That’s where the quarter sheet sander is great, the edge to middle ratio is definitely in my favour. 

If you use sanders like me I’d recommend giving a quarter sheeter a whirl, and the DeWalt in particular.

Thought - The “edge to middle ratio”, what an interesting analogy for the public and private faces we have.   With the sander, the closer the edges are to the middle the more even the wear.  Is the same true for us? 

I like the way The Message puts this idea… "And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.” Matthew 5:33-37, The Message.

A metre isn't always a metre

Workshop - I purchased a 1.2 metre long steel ruler a while back, figuring that it would be more accurate than a tape measure for laying out the leadlight for our house.  It took me a while to twig as to why my leadlight cartoon wasn’t square. After exhausting every other possibility I put the ruler against a steel beam and sure enough, it bowed by a couple of millimetres in the middle - enough to make a precise drawing imprecise.  

I took the ruler back to the shop, who were disbelieving until I held it against a flat steel shop fitting.  They were even more astounded to discover that every long ruler in their shop was the same. 

The solution was to buy a much heavier aluminium number as I realised that I not only wanted a measuring device but also a straight edge.

After this I checked all my rulers, tape measures and machines, only to find that a metre isn’t always a metre.  The most extreme variation related to the clip movement on some tapes which could account for a variation  of +/- 3mm depending on whether you were measuring by pulling or pushing the tape.

As a result of this discovery I now try to use the same measuring device throughout a project.  I figure that even if it’s slightly incorrect, it will at least be consistent.  One day, if I ever find the time, I’ll calibrate the whole workshop.

Thought - We all have some point of reference against which we measure ourselves, be it subconsciously or not.  For some of us it is the trends and views of the world around us, indeed that is the default “standard”.  For others, it is God's fat letter.  When you have a moment, consider Proverbs 20:9-11 .

Against what, or who, do you calibrate yourself?