Sunday Evening Thoughts

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a good weekend.

I wanted to share the essence of a conversation I had last week sometime, or maybe the week before... who knows, it's all a blur.  I was asked if I could make a comb, and truth be known, I thought a comb was a 5 cent piece of plastic I use to carry around in my back pocket back in the 70''s, so my natural inclination was no.  By the same token however, I assumed that wasn't the particular case, so I asked for a link to whatever it was that she was referring to.  Kindly enough, she sent a link to what she was wanting, and I quickly recognized that it was way outside of my particular bailiwick, and whoever makes those are good!

While I couldn't make what she was asking for, even on my best day, my head did however explode!

As many of you know, I've gone down quite a few rabbit holes over the past 10 years or so, and I can assure you that there are at least 5 times more holes than any of you know, but I think the comb suggestion just might be the rabbit hole I've been seeking.

It's getting late (at least for me), so I don't want to get into any detail tonight, but I'm going to be asking once again for your help.  You see, I've been bouncing different ideas off of our friends and family now for years, and while I value their input, I don't think they "get it"... but I know you all do.

Stay tuned, you all might be able to help me design and develop a new product line or two... I even had to go buy some new tools this weekend.  I hope some of you might be up to the challenge, as things tend to get named for those that design it... Chloe... Princess Eve... Melissa... all of our hairstick names have meaning, and I need some new names!

Have a good night, and a great week ahead.

Doug

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*  Update - Monday Early Afternoon

Hi Everyone,

I suspect that there may be some curiosity, so I wanted to fill in some of the details for you. 

The comb suggestion somehow made me look at things from a more 3 dimensional perspective.  If I can figure the math out, I think I may be able to begin producing both clips and forks, engraved and inlaid of course.  The mere thought of making these 2 items in the past simply made my head hurt.  Some of you may recall that I've done both forks and barrettes in the past,  but I was never really happy with them, thus their discontinuance.  This time around I think I've got it figured out, again, assuming I can figure out the math (I should have paid closer attention in school, I distinctly remember saying that I'll never need this stuff, but I was wrong).

So that unto itself is a big deal in the TT world, but here's the cool part.  I'm having to build a number of templates, with each one requiring tons of hand sanding, that's what I've been doing for the past 3 hours, and it was only 1 template.  Once I get the templates and multiple jigs constructed, you all get to have some fun.  I'm initially working on the clips, which will be called the Timberclip.  After I'm satisfied (again, assuming I get there), I'll be able to layout schematically the primary template for you all to see, and if you so choose, you can design the shape of your own Timberclip, which will be named after you, if I decide to use it.  Theoretically, the same will hold true with the forks, after I tackle the clips.  I'm tinkering around with different design ideas for the original clip, but I'm still a long way from that stage.  The only requirement that I'm going to make however is that the design be yours and yours alone.  I don't have the time to do the research, and I don't want to find out 6 months from now that I unwittingly knocked off an existing artist or company's design... Ficcare comes to mind, and I won't do it, so don't ask. :)

So there you have it, I've got to go make a stick now.  Have a great afternoon!

Doug