Ironica

I love my job!

In all seriousness I do.
 It's not been quite a month since I was granted the opportunity to resume my career as a cabinet maker. My employer is very thoughtful and good to me - at the same time I know I have a lot to offer, so, fair trade until you add in the trans thing. I am grateful.

Tomorrow, I am to interview a potential shop mate. The boss (it feels more partnerish) says "Your word is law." I take this very seriously and hate/love to think that the potential hire is coming from a shop that's closing - one of the shops that rejected me for employment. I'm so glad they did!

One of the questions I intend to ask is "As a kid, did you like to tinker with things? Take them apart and put them back together? Did you ever build a treehouse?"

Which brings me to this pictorial:
The treehouse -
Barely visible in the Summer, the "fourth level" was about 50' from the ground, as measured with a 50' extension cord.

These first pictures were taken with a Kodak Instamatic camera, borrowed from Mom,  which used a flashcube and a square format. The pictures came printed on textured paper. This is 1975 and '76 and I was 15-16years old.

From our back yard, in the winter, it was easy to see. The first level had a couch, a sleeping bunk, a canvas roof and eventually, a brick fireplace.

And here you can see the smokestack for the fireplace on the right, the "second level, which was just silly to say it was a "level" but everyone else said so..." and my brother standing in the entrance, the swing (on a chain) and it's landing pad foolishly covered in slick vinyl flooring.

My best buddy "Molrus" in the following pic, took these with his Polaroid 650. This is our friend, Dabid, whose Mom with a thick oriental accent, couldn't pronounce "V"s or "L's

My oldest friend just before his 16th birthday.

This is Yours Truly on the return swing to the landing platform.

And, avoiding the picture, I'll end up dropping off the swing, my feet about ten feet from the ground.

The fourth level was really big and one evening, most of my high school French class, including teacher, spent some time up there underneath party lights listening to whatever we had playing on the 8-track. Compliments of Molrus' dad and his thousand foot roll of electric cable, we had power all the way up to the 5th level.

You can see my Mom's '72 VW bug (to the right of the house, off the driveway) from here.

It took two years to build and two days to tear down. Some kid we didn't know fell off the swing and broke both his wrists and his jaw. My uncle, the attorney, said "tear it down now."

To our horror, the tree died the next Summer. By Winter that year, it was a sad sight. I'd like to think that it missed us but I know the real reason it died was because the nail holes we left allowed bugs to get in. It was a magnificent oak tree, so big that it took three of us to reach our arms around it's base. It would have been a landmark in the neighborhood that would eventually surround it.

So... did you ever build a treehouse?

Just Raise it a Quater or So, Silly

It's Yo Birthday, Supafreak!

  You know what bad girls like me get on their birthday?! And when I say bad girl, you know what I mean? I mean superfreak! I'm a superfreak. (I'm super freaky - yow) We get anything we want 'cause we're super freaky.
 Anticipating today's extra special treats and activities, I've been thinking about what else, wood! I'm all about finesse. For all my years in "the business" I know the optimal ways to give and get the most pleasurable outcome when I'm intimately engaged with a nice stiff hunk of wood. Oops, pardon my drool!
 Now,I can't tell you how to do it because everyone is a little different but I can tell you how to get there. The way to achieve the ultimate, harmonious climax is to consider the following factors. Safety first? It's more a consideration for the less experienced and it just sucks to begin with but even I draw the line somewhere. If it looks gnarly, please protect yourself!
 Consider the thickness and hardness of the wood you're about to handle; is it hard yet flexible? Thin and long or scary thick? Think about all it's built up internal stress! Always be ready for the sudden release because sometimes you can't tell when it's going to pop. And pay attention to your rate of feed. Rate of feed. I think I just got wet.
 Rate of feed is linked to the thickness of that pretty piece you're handling. I'm sure it can be explained mathematically but basically it means the thicker the wood, the slower you can take it. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I can take it thick and fast. It's just what happens when it's your job.
 Of course, results are the bottom line and all I have to say about that is people love my bottom line. Lucky for me!



I remember reading somewhere, that one should keep the height of a table saw blade a quarter inch above the wood being cut. Like if you're cutting something 3/4 thick, the blade should be set at one inch. That's just fine when the saw has hold-downs and guards or is under a power feeder. Otherwise, it's bull. The only good thing about it could be - if you get cut, it probably won't be as deep. Maybe.

The best height of the blade is dependant on more than just the thickness of the wood. You have to consider its hardness, the flexibility of it, the speed you're pushing it, and the wood's own internal stress which, when cut into, can either pinch the blade or split itself in two. Maybe the scariest risk to having the blade so low is that you end up suddenly pushing the wood OVER the blade, then you are at the mercy of your own inertia and reflexes.
If you've ever cut plastic laminate, you know it's ridiculously wrong to use that 1/4" rule of thumb. Raising the blade nearly all the way up will hold the thin material down. It works the same way with thicker materials, too.

So, assuming a sharp blade on a well kept machine, there's safety, thickness, hardness, flexibility, internal stresses, rate of feed and desired results. Oh, and there's your attention span. (My first and worse cut was due to a lapse of attention.) There is an optimum balance between all those factors that seems to put the best blade height a good half inch or more above the material in most cases.

Oh Yes! I Will Assume the Position

 Oh boy, this looks big.
...and when I say big, you know what I mean...

I am about to re-enter my dirty old profession. Really, it's not as dirty as people might think and I bet if most people could? They would. And they'd love it, too but yea, it does turn into a job. Actually, I'm ecstatic about being pimped out again! I mean it was okay being out if the business for a while and I had a lot of fun just screwing around but ... I just need more wood. I love it and I'm really good at satisfying a client, and if I can I get paid to do it all day, why not get back in? It's like I was born with wood and and born to do it and I can't get enough of it and someday I'll die doing it! Perfect!

I've worked for different people in the business and been screwed a little more than I wanted in one. Not amazingly, I screwed myself a lot when I had my own shop!
But here's the cool thing about this job; here's what I'm about to have - A very understanding and generous pimp. I get to do my thing and he runs the business. Really, he's not a pimp at all in my mind. It's like we will be a team providing our clients' with their wildest requests. And, I get to run the shop! How cool is that!? Can you imagine me with like five guys at once? It's gonna be smouldering hot. Fabulously filthy. I'll be contently exhausted almost every night.

I do have some butterflies, though. Am I enough tranny to tangle with so many guys? At my age? Oh yea. This time it's more about the experience.
Now where's my boots and my whip...


This Labor Day, I resume my career in a cabinet shop here in Savannah. It's been over four years since I've had even the prospect of a steady job and now, thanks to an open minded person, I have the promise of a career as Shop Manager.