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<DIV><FONT size=2>You're inspiring. I've been my own boss since I was 18, that's
35 years. There's no way I could do anything else, but sometimes, I'm just worn
out and I look at people that actually have a life after the 5 o'clock whistle.
Anyway, as long as I can get in the ocean once a week and play some music I'll
be able to keep my sanity.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Fenton</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">Farrell</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:48
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Busy Soundboard
Weekend</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<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 style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<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 style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"> </DIV>
<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></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>