Visitors who stay for a while in our shop must wonder just how sane we are at times. After working on our own for better than 35 years we do some things a little different than most other folks.
Tools are called by different names. If I ask for a carving tool and I’m working with sculpting epoxy my helper will go to the tool chest and bring back an ordinary sharpened stick. If I’m sculpting concrete they will bring me a steel brick mason’s pointing tool. A carving brush is an old paint brush now used to smooth carved concrete. If I ask for Blackie they will bring my old office chair - now used in the shop. It was named by Phoebe who often plays in our shop while I work. She likes to drag it around with a leash... her pet chair. If I ask my helper to grab me a ‘step’ they know I need a short ladder. Our ‘baker’ is a low scaffold. Many of our tools are defined by how there’re used or by an event which earned the tool a nickname.
Units of measure are different in our shop too. A ‘tich’ defines a few - but the measure is relative to how many is normal. A tich is slightly less than that. A ‘whack’ is a handful... what can be easily carried. A BIG whack needs two hands to manage and it’s hard to not spill some on the way to where it is needed. A load is about as much as anything can possibly hold. A full load means a bit more than anything should be attempted safely. ‘ABOUT THAT LONG’ is also a valid unit of measure as long as the person I call to is within my line of sight and they can see how far apart I am holding my hands.
We have three large tool chests with the drawers all labeled and everything in it’s rightful place as much as humanly possible. One drawer is labeled ‘THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM.’ To us it all makes perfect sense.
-grampa dan