Tony B wrote:
I suppose I really should know better than to question the size of
someone's tools.
Were this a carpentry list, and I dared suggest those with smaller
hammers were just as productive as those with bigger ones, I imagine
the small firestorm from a very few people would be about the same.
And god forbid I suggest those with TWO hammers weren't outproducing
those with only one. But where would it end? Surely the guys with
THREE hammers would be deeply offended at any suggestion they weren't
any better than the guys with only two!
Tony,
I have never, ever, debated you on any of your posts even if I disagreed
with any. I think that you provide a different view that ought to be
considered even tho some will disagree.
But your hammer analogy is flawed. I saying this only, not anything else.
I am both an amateur carpenter and an amateur clockmaker (actually, an
engineer by profession). I know by personal experience that a hammer
has a specific use, and the choice of a wrong one will be at least be an
inconvenience and at most a disaster. Consider carpentry: first
imagine hammering a hardened nail into brick, then a nail into wood,
then a nail into drywall, then a nail in a piece of fine furniture. The
nails are different sized, different hardness, different shaped. The
hammer needed to drive the nails are different.
Next, imagine hammering a post or a gear (commonly called a wheel) in a
mechanical clock. Will the same-sized hammer for a brick nail suffice
for a delicate clock? Never! My clock hammer head (which is used
sparingly) weights about 2 ounces, has two flat sides with one side made
of brass and the other with teflon. I use the brass mostly to open a
mainspring container on an European clock (the container has a gear on
the base that drives both the going and strike train); it is possible
to use the either the brass or teflon-faced hammer to rebush a pivot in
the old style. An American clock has a bare mainspring that needs a
C-clamp to remove it (a dangerous operation) but does not require a
hammer. A hammer is sometimes needed to free a sticky front or back
plate posts or a few other things. Usually a hammer is is not needed
since there is a wide variety of specialized tools for clockmaking.
So, different hammers for different folks!
*
** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy **
** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ **
*
