Misadventures
There have been several misfortunes along the way. The workbench I made in 2015 actually fell on my face as I turned it over to make it upright and let it fall as it got to the top heavy stage of turning it. I had been staining the underside of it whilst it was on top of a portable workbench. My face looked a bit different for a while. That was the first major accident I had. I also broke a bone in my foot caused by dropping a very heavy piece of timber from about three foot off the ground. Should have had it clamped down. Should have been wearing safety boots and not Converse.
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More recently I was trying to remove a half circle from a hole saw which had become firmly stuck. Whilst trying to pry the thing out with the fingers of my right hand I accidentally hit the trigger on the driver. It was bad but could’ve been much worse. I don’t want to lose any fingers and so will be sure to be more careful in future.
There have been several others, less serious.
None of these accidents need to have happened of course. If I do a proper risk assessment, wear all the correct PPE but I am so impatient. I just want to get on and make stuff. It’s simple though. A bit of common sense and care need to be implemented.
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Oh yes, maybe I should mention this. If, whilst using a soldering iron and you accidentally drop it, do not attempt to catch it. A temperature of 450á´¼C is hot ! You lose your ID, no fingerprints.
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Luckily, I used only my thumb and forefinger to catch the falling iron. Not too much damage then.
Help & Influence
John has to put up with all the mess and noise I make and observe, with horror, some of the near misses as I work outside in close proximity of our cars. Nevertheless, he is very patient and also he continuously cleans up the mess and sawdust to keep me safe and provide a clean environment for me to work in.
Gary Krieger – Absolutely massive amount of help, guidance, encouragement and inspiration.
Ian (Barnsey)– Lots of ideas and advice, particularly about tool and materials. Among other things, he introduced me to polyurethane glue, wonderful stuff.
RJ Lewis – The lads from RJ Lewis have all been very helpful and provided lots of useful hints and tips and also lots of wood for me to work with.
Degsy – Proper “Old School” joiner. If Derek can’t fix something then it’s unfixable. He has shown me lots of things including how to tweak stuff when it’s just not quite right.
Andy King – The Master. He has the passion. Andy taught me how to make mortise and tenon joints. Proper joinery! I think his workshop at his home in Ireland is twice the size of my house. Looking forward to seeing it sometime.