"productivity degress of separation"

[digitect]

I coined a term for myself as I was looking for a clamp today: productivity degrees of separation.

You see, I needed the clamp to hold a piece I was jigsawing. This piece was a component for a new jig, an adjustable circle cutter for my router. I need it to cut a circular template, itself a template to hold some sheet metal in a perfect cylinder.

The metal is part of a project I've been working towards for many months, it will be a mini version of a Bill Pentz dust collector. The materials have all finally been procured and I started cutting it out a week ago. But here I am, looking for a tool, to help me build a jig, which I need to fabricate a template, for a dust collector SO THAT I CAN BUILD SOME SIDE TABLES!

That's a productivity separation of 5 degrees:

1. clamp looking 2. circle-cutting jig 3. circular template/form 4. dust collector cyclone 5. end tables

Which means that at this point I may have a better chance of Kevin Bacon showing up in my garage than me finishing the tables.

Obviously we all know about the need to order one's work method and shop so as to improve productivity. But I'm curious--with this new terminology to quantify my productivity (or lack thereof), could it actually help me to spot the rabbit trails so as to avoid them? Or will it have the opposite effect, giving me greater comfort to pursue side projects since making the connection to the initial goal is, well, more explainable?

Anybody else relate?

PS -- Does this documentation qualify as a sixth degree?

[Morris Dovey]

| Which means that at this point I may have a better chance of Kevin | Bacon showing up in my garage than me finishing the tables.

This is a non-seqitur (totally unrelated). | | Obviously we all know about the need to order one's work method and | shop so as to improve productivity. But I'm curious--with this new | terminology to quantify my productivity (or lack thereof), could it | actually help me to spot the rabbit trails so as to avoid them? Or | will it have the opposite effect, giving me greater comfort to | pursue side projects since making the connection to the initial | goal is, well, more explainable?

Probably the latter.

| Anybody else relate?

Sure. Making the jigs (and the jigs for jig-making...) is just part of the process.

| PS -- Does this documentation qualify as a sixth degree?

I don't think so. It would seem to indicate that you think about what you do.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[digitect]

This was the reference:

[Morris Dovey]

digitect wrote: | On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:41:22 -0500, Morris Dovey wrote: || digitect wrote: ||| ||| Which means that at this point I may have a better chance of Kevin ||| Bacon showing up in my garage than me finishing the tables. || || This is a non-seqitur (totally unrelated). | | This was the reference: | |

but unless you're an actor, not very germane. :-)

Could you be overthinking this just a bit?

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Steve]

The dad-gum Germans got nothin' to do with it!

The game "Degrees of Separation from Kevin Bacon" is fairly well known. I thought of it when I saw the phrase "degrees of separation" in the OP's title line. Irrelevant maybe, but funny anyway.

--Steve

[Leuf]

As it would happen, I just came up from the shop where I have the place practically destroyed because I needed to sand something. To do the sanding I had to get a new sander. To use the sander I need a place for the sander. To get a place for the sander I had to move the workbench out from the wall 18" and move a shelving unit that has all my tools that don't have permanent homes (mortiser, spindle sander) and all manner of parts of projects in progress and general crap inbetween the bench and wall.

In order to move the bench I had to get everything off and out of it. Then I heaved at it with everything I had and the bench just laughed at me. About 10 minutes of rocking it back and forth I eventually moved it a very long 18". Then I had to shim it to the new spot on the floor. Now before moving the shelving unit I had to empty it too, and move all my clamp storage which used to be on the wall above the bench.

So now the entire contents of the bench, shelving unit, and clamps are strewn about on the table saw, the router table, the floor, a few clamps are even on the miter saw, there's a stack of wood on the band saw table, and everywhere else I could think of. Because the shelving unit is now getting accessed from the ends instead of the front for the bottom two shelves because the bench in in the way everything has to go back in a different place.

Now the light that hangs over the bench is not over the bench. Thank heavens the cord is long enough to reach the outlet without having to move that.

I'm probably going to find a half dozen other things when I go back in tomorrow. There's no particular rush at this point because I'm waiting on some replacement parts from Grizzly before I can even finish assembling the sander in the first place, which I already spent most of an afternoon on.

Did I mention the sander is going to need a stand? *sigh*

This is a little bit different thing, rather than "the jig to make to the jig to make the jig..." it's more of the domino effect of any kind of change to the shop. But still it's going to be a while before that thing actually gets sanded. Assuming I ever find it again.

-Leuf

[Bas]

Fascinating stuff. There is only one "flaw" in the reasoning. Assuming this is a hobby and you don't do this for a living, all of the activities are considered having "fun".

Granted, there are varying degrees of fun. Going to the hardware store and look at stuff is fun. Successfully using a home-made jig is funner. Finishing a beautiful piece of furniture is funnest.

But it's all part of the same process.

No. I'd classify it as "meta-productivity-degrees-of-separation". It would be the 6th degree if you asked for help on what kind of clamp to buy.

Now, if we argue about this classification, it would either be a meta-meta-productivity-degrees-of-separation or a meta-sixth-degree-of-productivity discussion .

Bas.

[charlieb]

snip

This and the original post are variations of "In order to do anything you have to do everything else first." It's common in places like shops - but not new shops - only in ones that have been in use for a few years. Also common with wife generated "honey do" projects - "Hey, why don't "we" (meaning "YOU!") move the kitchen - over there!".

charlie b

[B A R R Y]

Kevin Bacon DID show up in the bike shop I work in, owned by the co-owner of my airplane.

The building was "Bacon Brothers Plumbing and Heating" for 100 years before the bicycle guys bought it. They gave the "Bacon Brothers" sign to Kevin.

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[BillinDetroit]

Is Kevin a woodworker?

What you have described are the self-inflicted degrees of separation imposed on those of us who attempt projects we can not readily fund.

For instance, take the link from Bill Pentz' web site to the web site of the guy who is making the collectors for him. Cut that guy a check. Go about your life while waiting for the delivery guy. Install the collector and start work on the tables.

But noooooooo, you decide to be Mr. Handyman and make your own jigs so you can make your own fixtures so you can cut an honest man out of his well-earned profit and keep his kids skinny. ;-)

That's why I have never made my own paint and nails, brushes and hammers ... I can't bear the thought of all those skinny little kids with their runny noses growing up as rabid, god denying, Marxists.

;-)))))))))

Bill

[Lee Gordon]

I have a couple of friends from college who are actors. Each has a Bacon Number of 2.

Lee

[Mark & Juanita]

Now see what you did? Every person on rec.ww has only two degrees of separation to KB. Us to you to him.

[charlieb]

You're going to pay, one way or another, in order to add a capability. AFTER I made a loose tenon mortising jig - out of MDF and maybe $30 worth of hardware (threaded inserts, knobs etc.) I bought the TREND M&T JIG - with bits. Did four or five bonsai tables with it in half the time it took me to make "my" jig. And had the DOMINO not come along I'd probably pried open the wallet and dented by Debit Card account (BTW - did you know that unlike most credit cards which allow you some recourse if a credit card transaction goes bad, or the card is lost and someone uses it to buy a bunch of stuff, you a) have no recourse since the funds are transfered directly out of your bank account - immediately and YOU are liable for over drafts?)

Man does that ring a bell with me! Bill turned me on to one of his sheet metal cyclones, an air foil "impellar" - with anti stall addition - and a great motor. Took me maybe four or more hours, over several weeks time just to make the motor and impellar housing and I'm STILL moving the parts around the shop while I put off sticking all the parts together - and then figuring out how I'm going to hang the damned thing.

BUT FIRST - I'm working on putting all the boards and chunks of wood leaning up against or lurking under all my work space. Did I mention the twenty or so raised panel cabinet doors I was given - "You do woodworking so I know you can use all these".

I'm pretty sure Mr. Festools' kids aren't starving.

What about wrought iron hinges? Surely you've made and fired up a forge to make your own.

Get with the times man - those skinny kids will grow up to be Al Qada (sp?) "terrorists". And only GEORGE can save us from THEM. (He keeps saying words to that affect, though I've not been able to discern any tangible results of his effort - at least not in a positive way).

charlie b

[B A R R Y]

What happens if you include Lee in the count?

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[digitect]

Right on, I had not noticed that financial restraint (ok, cheap skate) behavior was the root cause, but a $100 cyclone dust collector sounded good to me. I guess in fact time does equal money.

ClearVue definitely appear to be the best and best deal out there, but more than I can swing unfortunately.

Let's say I'm trying to pad my own kids. :))

[Lee Gordon]

I don't have an official Bacon number but if I had one it would be 3 (not from my 2 college friends; I haven't been in any productions with them).

Lee

[B A R R Y]

Think of those who have accidentally seen the Bacon Brothers band (and the sign ), unwittingly exposing themselves!

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