Inventiveness!
After detailing the describing my bench-finishing experiments and the jigs I built for the process, friend Jim Holmlund wrote to say that he admired my inventiveness. Accolade accepted!! This is an expanded version of my response...
"Inventive" is without doubt the most accurate of adjectives! It is perhaps the hallmark of my career in high tech. (As a software developer, I invented solutions. As a technical writer, I routinely invented automated production systems. And when I was working on an AI game-playing program, I invented two new heuristics--one of which was written up as a thesis by a fellow at Carnegie Melon!)
Of course, YouTube videos have been a source of continuing inspiration for my current project. But each time I wake up or meditate, I seem to have arrived at solutions for things I've been working on, seemingly out of nowhere. (I love that. As I wrote in "Meditation, Connection, Inspiration, Purpose", acting on inspirations = living my life's purpose. I call it "inspiration-driven" living. :_)
Note:
The trick is to recognize each inspiration as a gift, and inwardly express gratitude for it. Otherwise, arrogance and hubris follow in their wake!
Here's the take-apart workbench I've been using, built on two lightweight portable sawhorses:
The top panels actually sit on two rails that run between the sawhorses.
You can see where the rails are notched underneath to fit the sawhorses, and where they are notched on top to fit a 2x4 (with a cutaway) that is attached to the underside of the panel.
The whole bench is 4' long on top. It's original purpose was to cut 4x8 plywood sheets down to a 4x4 size I can manage, and transport in the van. For that purpose, the middle panel comes out (so I can cut between them). And I added a small extension that pulls out on aluminum rails, to make sure that the half I cut off doesn't tip off the bench.
And that's just one of many things I've built for this project! The good news is I'm having fun, in a serious-learning-curve kind of way, and I'm slowly developing the skills (and acquiring the tools) to do precision work!
:__)
For more "process notes" on the things I've been doing, start with the "My Workshop" post at the new Meditate Better blog.