Every time something seems to fall into my lap, whether it be for the shop, or life in general, there always seems to be an unanticipated negative that comes along with it that is bound to cause me frustration.
When I set up the foundry, I found that I needed to make over 100lbs of sand to actually get anything done. When I got the Tig for next to nothing, I realized that I'm going to have to drop a couple of hundred bucks in consumables to be able to tackle the vast array of projects and whims that I want to work on.
Well, I managed to land a great deal on a mill/drill/lathe set-up, and guess what...I need to drop a bunch of loot on tooling to make the thing do what I want it to do!
Ok, so maybe my expectations are a bit high, but I want to be able to have my new toys perform all the tasks that I set out before them and complete them with flying colors. I can get by with the amount of sand and the grade that I have now for the foundry, I can weld with the consumables that I have, and I can cut metal with the tooling that I currently have, but it's not to my standards. It's frustrating, I expect the work I do to meet certain standards, my standards, and I am frustrated when they fall short. I suppose that this is one of the reasons that I had decided a long time ago to open up my own shop, and hopefully, one of the reasons that I am still in business(with virtually no advertising) to this day, but it can wear on a person over an extended period of time.
However, with this wearing on one's psyche, there is always a small glimmer of hope that manages to work itself into the equation that lets you know that you're on the right track and you're still doing things that are acceptable to the populous. Today I was fortunate enough to experience such an example, not once, but twice!
First, I helped out a friend of mine who had a problem with one of his tools and was going to purchase several expensive tools to modify the tools that he already had, to make a single blade work on one of his saws. I saw the issue, and decided that I could design a collet for his saw that would hold his blade, and he would not have to modify his saw(thus rendering it useless for all other blades, except for this one style), and he would not have to purchase a new saw to run his other, more commonly used blades. A couple of measurements later, some setup in the lathe, a few cuts, and we now had an adapter collet that he could remove for his regular blades, and install for his specialty blade! Problem solved. I wasn't really happy with the outcome of the collet, and I saw a few ways that we could have made it work even better, but he was ecstatic with the result, and I was at the limit of the tooling that I currently have. I was frustrated, but he was happy.
The second instance was a bit more nuanced, so I won't bore you with details, but suffice to say, I was frustrated while the recipient was appeased with the final outcome.
Both instances showed me that, while I may be frustrated with the current outcome, because of my desire to build a better mousetrap, if you will, it is ultimately the one on the receiving end of that project that shall determine the success or failure of the endeavor. I will just keep in mind my frustrations from the first time, and work on making the mousetrap all that much better the next time!
Always look for ways to improve on things, even if everyone around is pleased with the current results. There are better ways to make a product, better ways to be a person, better efforts that can be given. They don't have to all be perfect the first time, but they have to be better than the last time, and that is what keeps thing moving, keeps things progressing, and keeps everything improving in both business and in life.
