Chuck Close Quote

The quote below is from American artist Chuck Close. I believe it is found in the book “Wisdom” by Andrew Zuckerman.

“The advice I like to give to artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lighting to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”

 

Project: Doug the Dung Beetle Clock

If you don’t know, I’m a fan of Doug Dung Beetle. I like Doug because of his positive attitude and the way he really gets into his work. (Pun intended.)

Who’s Doug? Doug is a creation of the multi-talented Australian cartoonist Marti. Marti’s website http://justoutsidetheboxcartoon.com/ is full of very funny cartoons. Do yourself a favour and check it out!

Besides the cartoons, you can also find some neat projects. Look for the “Freebies” page. One of the projects is a clock featuring Doug Dung Beetle. Marti designed it for an IKEA clock, but I resized it for a clock that I already had. You can see the photo of my version of Marti’s clock below. It’s a great project and the instructions are crystal clear so it is very straightforward to make it.

Doug Dung Beetle Clock

 

Project: Emergency Candle Holder

Here’s a really simple project. Checking through my emergency supplies, I found plenty of candles, but nothing to hold them. I do own some nicer candles with glass holders, but I wanted something for these candles.

You start off by straightening a wire clothes hanger. Then wrap the wire around a dowel or something about the same size as the candle. (I used my monopod.) Make the base wider and you are done. The only tool I used was my linesman pliers.

I’m the first to say that it isn’t the prettiest candle holder, but for emergencies it will do fine. If you use a candle that drips a lot of wax, you will want to put it somewhere that isn’t too special to you. (The candle in the photo is a real beeswax candle that doesn’t drip much.) And, of course, take the proper precautions when handling and lighting candles.

 

Cartoon: Frosty Gets Fit

It’s easy to explain the inspiration for this cartoon. For the past six weeks, there have been at least a dozen “fitness club” flyers dropped off in my mailbox. Plus, the snow outside made me think of the shape of the classic “snowman”.

 

The Right Thing For You

Here’s a question, “Is your job right for you?” Or, put more generally, “Are you doing what you really should be doing?” I’m sure there are some online tests somewhere on the internet, but I think there is an easier way. Take a look at the quote below:

“Whatever I am working on, I get excited. It does not matter if I have done the same piece many times. I still cannot wait to get out to the shop in the morning.”

This quote is from Sam Maloof, one of the most influential American furniture builders. If you can say what he said, you’re exactly where you should be. I hope everyone can always say something like that.

 

Project: Repair Electrical Extension Cord

First, a very important safety warning. If you don’t feel comfortable working with electricity, don’t attempt this project. That goes for any kind of project, but especially projects that can seriously hurt or kill you or others. Below, I’m going to show the steps I took to repair an extension cord. (I’m not a licensed electrician. I’m just someone who has studied electricity and has been shown the basics by a couple of electricians.) Instead of attempting to do a repair like this one, you may be better off buying a new extension cord or getting a professional to do the repair for you.

About 10 years ago, I picked up this electrical cord at a yard sale for $2. At that time, there was a big gash near one end. Instead of splicing it, I just shortened it from 100 feet to 92 feet and added the connector end you see below. This kind of repair connector costs around $8 to $10. Recently another tear developed, so I decided to to repeat the process and take a couple of feet off it. (A 90 foot, or 30m extension cord is still very long.)

Taking apart the “well used” repair connector, you can see that it is in three parts. Two outer shell pieces and a central core that holds the wires.

After using my lockout, I started off by using an knife to cut the cords outer insulation. I was careful not to cut the inside three wires. I left about 1.5″ (or 38mm).

I used the same knife to cut away the white filament. (It isn’t needed, it just gets in the way.)

A wire stripper removed about 3/8″ (10mm) from the black, white and green wires wires.

On the central core piece of the connector, there are three colour coded screws. The white wire goes under the “chrome” coloured screw, the black wire goes under the “brass” coloured screw and the green wire goes under the green colour screw. I used a square drive (#1 or “green Robertson”) screwdriver to tighten them.

The final assembly step was to snap the outer shell pieces together and use the same screwdriver to tighten the two outside screws.

Finally, I tested the extension cord; everything seemed fine.

 

Project: Lockout

What’s a lockout and why should you use it? Consider the following scenario. You’re in the middle of repairing a tool or an appliance. You’ve unplugged the equipment and are working in a safe manner. Then someone else enters the room and for whatever reason plugs the equipment back in. What follows may be nothing, it may be damage to the equipment, or it may be serious injury and death.

A lockout provides a physical barrier to prevent a piece of equipment from being restarted. You can, of course, purchase lockouts. They are used in factories and laboratories around the world. Hobbyists may not often use them, but they should. Even if you are alone in your shop, you may accidently reenergize a tool.

My lockout works by encasing the plug portion of a tool. I use a container that used to hold wood screws. Besides the container, you will need a lock, a label, an electric drill, a drill bit (sized to the lock), and a knife.

Start off by removing the old labels. Then, using a marker, draw out a semi-circle a little bigger than the diameter of an electrical cord. Do this on the body of the container, right at the point it meets the lid (see photo). Cut out this portion with a knife.

Closing the lid, you will need to drill two holes for the lock — one through the lid and one through the body of the container (see photo).

Put a new label on the lid with a warning message. That’s it! The lockout is ready to be used.