work hardening in brass

1) never ever use the 'good sewing scissors' for cutting cardboard. 2) never take apart the singer sewing machine, and fail to reassemble.

Jim

It works both ways Harold. See my comment above about the screwdriver welded into the outlet box in our basement.

I *told* him to turn off the circuit breaker. The former house owner had switched the outlet - on the neutral side.

To his credit my dad listened to every single work I've ever uttered about electricity, after that fateful day.

Jim

I'm sorry to hear that, Howard. Yes, I've been very fortunate.

But, heck, I think you're fun to know. I might not feel that way if I was a cat, but you're just fine with humans.

-- Ed Huntress

There are certain things that it's best not to touch.

Hmm. Redecorating, is she?

-- Ed Huntress

Hell, never _touch_ the good sewing scissors, any of them!

My wife is still steamed that her ex used her pinking shears to cut up some old credit cards -- and they've been divorced for nearly 25 years.

--RC

Egads...it's not just my mother that had "good scissors"? Of course I did use em to cut wires more than once.......

Koz

...or anything non-fabric. Yes, I sure learned that one.

In my case it was a clock. That they got for their wedding. Has (well, had...) all sorts of cool moving parts in it, and I was 5 or so. Funny thing is, I got away with it a dozen times or more before _the drop_ incident.

Indeed. She's possessive about some of her power tools as well.

Initially it was for the usual reasons (old farmhouse, neglected yard somewhat overrun by weed trees), and now it's just another utility tool. Husky 18"; nice saw.

000101060803050406010701

Koz, what's with the HTML/MIME crap?

Well, technically, they were only "good scissors" for the first time you did that.

Having observed my son following in our footsteps I can assure you that mothers still treat sons with forgiveness over things that a husband couldn't get away with. Sometimes it pays to set up a parallel universe in the shop where things are out of sight.

RWL

******* Remove NOSPAM to reply *******

Jeez, did my fingers do that? When I type too fast I sometimes go on autopilot. Sorry about that.

-- Ed Huntress

Thanks, Ed. I appreciate that very kind comment. (Just don't show up on Halloween dressed as a cat! )

Something funny, Ed. My ex is now married to a guy named Howard. (I'm Harold). He's a great guy and doesn't deserve her. No offense taken, Ed. I answer to many things, especially the dinner bell. :-)

Harold

Wow! Some people really should leave things to others that are qualified. As dumb as I am, I know better than to do that.

Chuckle! Can't imagine why!

Harold

Hey, no problem. You're lucky. When my fingers do that, it usually can't be read.

If you don't mind, I'd like to brag a bit about my prowess on the keyboard. I have worked feverishly at getting me speed up and am now proud to proclaim that I have my errors up to something like 60/minute. And some folks say nothing good comes from these news groups! :-)

Harold

Haha! A parallel universe is a good way to describe it. Mine could be the Place that Time Forgot.

-- Ed Huntress

Did mine in the propane Bar-B-Que Have thermo control and multiple measurements. I did it in an old cooking tray - that is now a shop tray to sort parts in.

Easy to do it there. In the house - you don't have control of the ramp up - on

- down.

Normally you need more than 2 hours at temp... Read the data.

I put mine into plastic sealing bags and drew a vac to seal. Used a fold of Cola box (thin but dense cardboard) folded over the metal ends as they are sharp.

Then I found some surplus Ammo boxes - just the size of 100# of sticks - with a rubber seal. Nice box - but heavy when full. (found at the army surplus store)

Martin

Hey, that's why they created spell-chuckers.

-- Ed Huntress

I remember Mom had a Bendix washer. The plug was a 2 wire with a circuit breaker inside the plug. It would flip a plastic lever and push itself out of the socket.

Insulation shorts in motors and switches were the dangers. Varnishes used for insulation had yet to be great as it is today. This is how motor repair people can wind more HP into a frame of old motors since the old varnish is so thick.

Martin