Replies

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Mar 30, 2004 06:30pm | #1

   S Bob

      Welcome aboard..

      Got to get to work so cover for me while I'm gone! ha.. ha...

   Regards...

   sarge..jt

   Proud member of the :  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   squbrigg | Mar 31, 2004 12:13am | #8

   Thanks Sarge, got ya covered! Or should I call you P.O. (petty officer, I was Navy)

   Regards,

   BobBefore I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.

2. 
   UncleDunc | Mar 30, 2004 07:18pm | #2

   Squarebob Spongepants?

   Sorry, don't know what came over me.

   Anyway, welcome to Knots.

1. 
   squbrigg | Mar 31, 2004 12:16am | #9

   Thanks Uncle Dunc,

   I get that a lot.  I swear the S.O.B. who came up with that cartoon, was getting even with me for something.

    And yes I am a sea nut, but don't live in a pineapple under it.  My granddaughter introduced me to Sponge Bob Square Pants, and introduces me to all her friends as the "real" Sponge Bob!

   Regards,

   Bob Squarebriggs.....wonder where they get the connection?Before I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.

3. 
   JsHerbel | Mar 30, 2004 07:44pm | #3

   The head injury will improve with time and the more tasks that you can keep your noggin busy with, the faster your brain will heal itself. I think that woodworking would be a perfect way at self therapy as it can present some conundrums.

1. 
   squbrigg | Mar 31, 2004 12:21am | #10

   Thanks JS, for the welcome.  Six years since the accident, progress has leveled out, so I just keep trying harder.  Working with wood, is relaxing, rewarding and as you say, very therapudic. Just pace yourself and take your time.

   Regards,

   BobBefore I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.

4. 
   JeffKurtz | Mar 30, 2004 09:16pm | #4

   Bob,

   Welcome aboard!  If you have the patience, steady hand, and eye to build model ships and do woodcarving, you already possess great skill which will apply to your woodworking.  Just have to get used to working on a bigger scale.  I look forward to your participation in this forum.

   Jeff 

1. 
   squbrigg | Mar 31, 2004 12:03am | #6

   Hi Jeff,

   Thanks for the welcome.  I am looking forward to the discussions here.

   Bigger the scale the more you notice the mistakes, but we all have to start somewhere.

   Regards,

   BobBefore I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.

5. 
   Grumskikorsakov | Mar 30, 2004 10:00pm | #5

   Hi there, I'm also a newby, and someone recovering from a brain injury acquired after a diving accident, and who turned to woodworking in the wake.

   Patience and perseverance will take you a long way during the recovery period, but can be helped along with a dictaphone for personal memos ('cut four at 900mm and six at 400mm then thickness to 100mm' etc etc), which you can record thoughts and then play them back whenever needed, and the liberal use of white boards that you can write on around the workshop to jot notes down on. I've found both of  these invaluable as short term memory's where I have difficulties. Also some of the software out there for working out cutting lists etc are very good, as I have real difficulty with arithmetic (probably did before the accident too), and need the help. If I can think of any of the other stuff I do, I'll let you know, but just keep trying, you sound like you're on the right track.

   Grumski

1. 
   squbrigg | Mar 31, 2004 12:11am | #7

   Thanks Grumski,

   Sounds like some great advice.  Never thought of the white boards, been using paper messages to myself, but lose track of them, there are so many.

   You've heard the expression, "Measure twice, cut once", with me it's been "Measure six or seven times, cut five or six" , but I'm getting there.  I never give up, took me four years to get my ship modelling skills back (re-learn or re-awaken, not sure which), and I'm working on my first carving again (six years after the accident), so that's progress.  Work much slower now, but have lots of time. 

   I hope your recovery went well.  Regards,

   BobBefore I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.

1. 
   Grumskikorsakov | Mar 31, 2004 01:00am | #11

   Hi there,

   I went through a series of different options to try after the accident to help with memory and found the dictaphone the best (it hangs around my neck for easy access). I can just put thoughts straight onto the tape for referring to later, and it's there. I found with notes that I was awash under a pile of post-its, it only works by my PC. As soon as I move away I'm sunk. A Palm Pilot also helped a lot since I can set alarms for stuff throughout the day after checking my diary in the morning. As you'll gather I wander around with a load of, 'aids', but it gives me an excuse to wear my beloved Orvis fishing vest all day every day !! You'll alkso find a few good woodwrking aps for Palms which are handy.

   As to the woodworking, I find I can only work in 1:1 plans with any degree of speed, scale conversions just do ma heid in (as we say in Glasgae) but like you say woodworking is great therapy, it's even got me back into gainful employment !! Good luck with it.

   Grumski

1. 
   squbrigg | Mar 31, 2004 04:03am | #12

   Hey Grumski,

   An Occupational Therapist doing her assessment suggested on of those Palm Pilots to help me along.  Never did get one, could never settle on which one I should use and when I checked them out at the store, they seemed kind of complicated, so I gave up on them. Confusion and difficulty making /sorting out decisions is a problem.  Takes me a while to sort through things, and if I have the time I can manage, but I'm like an old computer getting too much information, too quickly, my old hard drive kind of seizes up! Maybe I should reconsider, I've an first class camera vest gathering dust here with lots of pockets to carry it in.

   Thats why I like working with wood....it never rushes you, it waits till you make up your mind, it is forgiving so if you mess up, it's made of wood so you can do it over.  In carving , I find that the wood tells you what is inside waiting to be discovered, sounds crazy, but it works for me.  Some days, I'll just sit there puffing on a cigar that I enjoy, and just study the wood I'm working on, figuring out my next set of strokes.  Lots of time. The ship model I'm working on now, I've been at it for over three years, and have that many more to go before I'm done.  But it is worth it.  I putter away at other more simple projects while I have this one going, so I can do something that gives quick gratification, if I get bogged down.  But always in wood! 

   Thanks for the encouragement and the tips.  I really appreciate them.  You understand what I'm struggling with, and the frustration that goes along with it.  One minute you're sailing along in life  with your "hair on fire" , doing a dozen things at once, and the next, you have to concentrate hard to do the simplest task, one thing at a time. 

   All the best,

   BobBefore I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.

1. 
   Grumskikorsakov | Apr 04, 2004 12:43pm | #13

   I hear yo bro' !

   Just this morning I was in the kitchen and was flummoxed when I had to use a pair of scissors. There I was squeezing them, trying to get them open, until I realised they worked the other way. It's times like that when I identify most strongly with Homer Simpson. ('I am invincible, invincib....Aaaaarghhh!!')

   Another good piece of software for the Palm which helps me a lot is called Brainforest, which is essentially mind-mapping for Palms. You can have a list of tasks that you can break down into segments and then sub-divide the segments. (eg Task - make panel door, subdivided to : 1-Break out timber, 2-Size timber, 3-Glue up boards for panel, 4-Route rails and stiles, check for size., 6- Route panel, 7-Glue up door. You get the idea.) My therapist was very good at getting me to break down tasks into their components and just work my way through it. Woodworking is great in that it's a very necessary part of the process and every woodworker does it, it's just with the likes of you and me, we need a little assistance. I find I can sit with a cup of tea in the morning, plan out the day dependant on appointments and other commitments and then roll, ands have a productive day. Any tasks not completed get carried over to the next days list. It's great. If the tech aspect of the Palm is a put off, the same process can be done with a good Filofax, it's just with the Palm, the alarms are useful. (You have forty minutes to get to the dentists, for example).

   Keep plugging away, you'll find whilst the injury may be static, using techniques and aides, you'll continue to do better, not becasue your head's getting better but because through trial and error you're working out processes that allow you to work around it.

   Good luck with the boats, you never know one of them may feature in the pages of FW sometime.

   Grum

2. 
   billl6 | Apr 05, 2004 05:02am | #14

   Grumski,

   Have enjoyed reading about you and Squarebob's trials and triumphs. This is a great place for people to share all sorts of information and encluragement.

   As one who is not a little "math dyslexic" I am always interested in how others manage with similar problems. Do any of the Palm woodworking apps. help you? I have searched the Palm Application data base and don't come up with anything relating specifically to woodworking. What apps. do you find helpful and where can they be found.

   Thanks and thanks for sharing your info and insights.Bill

1. 
   Grumskikorsakov | Apr 07, 2004 10:35am | #15

   Hi Bill, glad to hear you enjoy our trials and tribulations. In relation to the Palm stuff, there's nothing specific, but I use the To Do for storing cutting lists (so I don't forget stuff and duplicate stuff), and a programme called Tradesman (I got it from Palm Gear), which helps me track time on jobs by splitting it down and running a stop/start clock). I can then store it all and so I know how long aprticular aspects of jobs take for future time estimates. Brainforest is good as a simple way of dividing a job into different tasks and sub-tasks, again from Palm Gear. Sorry if this isn't what you're looking for, but I find them invaluable.

   Grumski

2. 
   billl6 | Apr 08, 2004 02:07am | #18

   Thanks for the reply. I did find Brainforest on the palm site and wondered if that was useful to you. Your use of the to do list is interesting, and I was also interested in your use of Tradesman to track task times.

   I may work some of those ideas into my routine. I tend to be less than organized and have to force myself to stay focused on one project at a time to completion.

   Good to hear from you and again thanks.Bill

3. 
   Grumskikorsakov | Apr 08, 2004 09:58am | #19

   Hi Bill,

   Certainly if you have shortfalls similar to mine, you'll find these bits of software a great help in your woodworking.

   Brainforest - It's basically 'mind-mapping' for the Palm (psych-babble, I know), but it lets me break a job down into individual tasks which can then have any number of subdivisions. I can sit at the computer when I get up and create the list for the day, and as I get through them, I just tick them off. Those that I don't finish I can carry over to the next day. It keeps things regimented, stops me duplicating stuff and gives the day structure. If necessary I can re-arrange the tasks to change the order (such as if you want to put a base finish on before constructing a carcass), it's pretty easy to get the hang of (I've yet to refer to the manual), and has yet to crash on me. I can also save the lists for future jobs that are similar, or indeed the same. I'd highly recommend it.

   Tradesman - Like Brainforest I'm slowly building up a database of 'done' jobs. I now know how long it takes me to rough cut the lumber for panel doors etc, etc. I can now refer to it when estimating how long a job'll take me, and helps give days some structure as I can estimate how much I should get through in a day, as opposed to how much I think I should get done, which always used to frustrate me.

   To Do - This one comes free with your Palm and I use it closely with Brainforest. I break down the job into tasks and can sit at the PC and sort out order, and importance, so that if for some reason I have to change it (the delivery of hardware doesn't come), I don't then start on a part of the job, I'll not be able to do because I'm lacking the stuff.

   A lot of the time, it's about alleviating frustration. In the early days, my workshop swear box, could have got me to Barbados on holiday, the amount of cursing I was doing. Now, the worst is when I forget what I'm doing and look up at the blackbird on the window sill just as I'm bringing the hammer down to drive a nail home....If you know someone with a PDA why not get them to help you set it up (this too can be a tad frustrating), as I had some difficulty ('To start, press any key....well where the hell's the any key?'). But these days I wouldn't live without it, although Rhinoskins titanium case has been tested a few times and has protected the PDA perfectly. If you don't like carrying the PDA around the workshop just use the white boards. When you go to the store, your list from the morning is in the PDA, and you can tick it off as you shop. I've even got a great application for noting where I've parked the car in the car park, after losing it a few times, and I'm never lost for a phone number (I have address lists for colleagues, customers, suppliers, you can divide it all up as you wish).

   Good luck with it all. I started with an old Palm Pilot Professional, upgraded to an M505, and don't feel I need more, although one of those combined phone/organizers would be cool, as it's one less item to lose.

   G

   'Life is not a journey to arrive at the Pearly gates as a well preserved specimen, but to slide across the line, broadside, thoroughly used up, shouting Geronimo !'

   Hunter S Thompson, (who else).

4. 
   billl6 | Apr 08, 2004 03:53pm | #20

   All Great ideas thanks for the suggestions and insights. Have you seen Jshopper? you can make a list of purchases needed and then check them off as you get them on yur shopping trip. Program is really for the weekly food and staples list as items will be saved as you check them and then can be placed in the next weeks list by marking it as "need". It will also allow you to note the number of each item needed and even the aisle in which it its to be found. You can list quite a few stores and have items listed in all stores or only specific ones. You may find it useful not only for shop related purchase lists as well as for all your shopping.

   Here is the URL for the company: http://www.land-j.com/jshop.html.

   Bill

6. 
   ian | Apr 07, 2004 10:46am | #16

   Bob

   welcome, hang arround.  some here bite, but only when provoked AND then they go all morose cause they know they shouldn't.

   just remember, no question is too basic and no one technique the ONLY way to accomplish a task.

   no I'm not an insomniac, it's just the time difference from Australia

   Ian

1. 
   squbrigg | Apr 07, 2004 03:27pm | #17

   Hi Ian and thanks for the welcome.  Some great lads on here, I'm feeling right at home.

   Regards,

   BobBefore I am slipped over the standing part of the fore sheet, I'd like to pipe "Splice the Main Brace"....one more time.