The FdP pipes are underway! I just put seven through final stage boiling last night, along with two others that were cut to be FdPs but didn't work out (In both cases, I had the blocks not quite centered enough to allow the FdP pipe's wide flat bottom). So far I've had three discards, and just one of this bunch looks to be a smooth - I'm prone to think that I'll end up doing orders for smooths totally by hand, in order to maximize the chances of getting a flawless block. We'll see how it goes. I know they're pretty uninspiring to look at now, but I hope they'll be a good bit more interesting when I start finishing them this weekend and next week. In other news, the Talbert Pipes website now has a Search page! This will allow searches of the entire website, including all the catalogs, galleries, resource area, and both blogs' archives. I hope it will be helpful, especially to those who might come looking for some page they remembered reading two years ago, and now can't find without endless clicking. I've added a link to the Search page to the links to the left, also, for convenient searching from the blog.
Entertainment-hungry pipemakers, and any other music fans, I've found a neat site to play with - http://www.pandora.com/
Anyone who's made pipes fulltime, or even seriously part-time, knows what I speak of when I mention monotony... While the carving and shaping is exciting and fun, and the finished products are joys to hold, there are many hours of dull repetition in every pipe. The handcutting of the bit, the filing, the sanding, the sanding, the sanding... Having something to listen to during this work is crucial for the sanity. I favor audiobooks. I love music too (The FdP pipes were all drilled and cut during an all-day George Thorogood fest for maximum *Barhah*!). The problem with music is the over-use factor - Once you've gone through your collection for the fortieth time, it can get grinding. Pandora.com is a neat idea in internet radio - You create your own radio stations by entering a band or song style that you like. The site then searches its music archives for similar music based on vocals, styles, tempo, etc, and creates a radio station for you stocked with tunes by the band in question plus endless new songs from groups you've never heard of - complete with titles, links to band pages, etc. It's a great way to get lots of free new music that you're actually very likely to enjoy, unlike the radio! Hook up a pair of wireless headphones, and I'm all set for another ten hour stint of sanding Grendel claws.
interesting thoughts and such in these daily (or so) updates. And hey, thanks for the heads up on Pandora.com. What A great site that is. I always have music on while I paint or make pipes. Now I just need to get an internet feed into the shop. I only have one into the art studio. Drats.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
John
No other internet feed required - Just get yourself a decent pair of wireless headphones and plug the broadcast unit's jack into your computer. Then, you have music & audio that will travel all over the house with you, coupled with some good headphones for hearing protection from machine noise. Since my computer couples internet radio, podcasts, CDs, MP3s, etc, it's my all-in-one entertainment center while I work.
ReplyDeleteHey that's pretty cool. I wonder if that would work in my case, as my shop is detached from the house. I suppose it will work fine since my portable phone works in the shop, and the base for it is next to my computer in the studio (in the house).
ReplyDeleteThanks Trever. I really like that Pandora. I'm a sucker for Bob Dylan as an example, and when you use him as a reference on pandora you get a great selection of music; real bluesy and edgy. Good stuff.
John
I guess it all depends on the range of the device. We were concerned about ours because it has to broadcast through 2' thick stone walls between the house and the workshop, but it has no problems with this and will even reach outside the house well into the yard and beyond. Though, I'd certainly buy from a place that took returns, just in case....
ReplyDeleteAh, then it should be good. I'll check the power of it first. I'm getting hooked on Pandora. All I need is some cash :) We have a store in town that sells these very inexpensively; discontinued models and such. But yeah, a return policy is a good thing. I'm getting tired of the two radio stations I can get in the shop with my woefuly inadequate system. Thanks for that.
ReplyDelete