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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Well, it is - much of the time. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Except like yesterday and today. Crate building. I
went down to the local lumber yard and bought $402 worth of plywood and 2x4s to
make about 10 soundboard shipping crates. I didn't realize these darn crates
cost so much. Spent most of the morning sawing and grinding locks off my
trailer (lost the $%&# keys) so I could get the wood home. Couple hours to
get the wood. Couple hours to make a crate - go to put the soundboard in the
crate - and suddenly that famous phrase "measure twice, cut once" came to mind.
I know soundboards are supposed to have some crown in them, but I'd have to make
that panel a half-sphere to fit it into that too-small crate.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Gosh darn it. Fortunately that crate was for an
S&S B panel. I've got a couple S&S M panel going elsewhere and should be
able to use the smaller crate for those.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So build another crate. Finish up this morning -
it's almost noon and I just finished screwing the crate together. Now I gotta
load it up on the trailer (now where did I put those keys.....) and drive it
down to the freight shipper. If I'm lucky, I'll get out of there in less than
two hours (they're not real quick).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And in the meantime I can nurse the deep slicing
puncture I put in my thumb last week while cleaning the polishing haze
off a just-razor-sharpened plane blade and my middle finger that caught a
full stroke of one of those nice coarse Japanese saws that Bill Spurlock sells
(big sharp teeth). Ouch!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So, I guess there can be a downside also. But IMHO
only relatively speaking. I would rather build crates and nurse cuts all day any
day than have multiple layers of bosses breathing down my neck in my little
cubicle barking about 'billable hours, billable hours - you're not meeting your
target billable hours.....". Been there, done that. Never again as long as I can
help it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>No, I love this work. I feel very
fortunate.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terrry Farrell</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2>Terry,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>You actually make it sound like fun.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Fenton</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Just thought I would share my joyous weekend
with y'all. I've set a personal record for soundboard production volume
(actually, just panels in this case). Five custom panels in production at
once. I just finished a soundboard panel yesterday for a S&S B
(completed panel in picture) and have four other custom panel orders in
production. All the individual flitches for the other four panels
are in the foreground awaiting planing and jointing (S&S D on left,
a 7' John Brinsmead next, and then two S&S Ms to the
right).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry
Farrell</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>