SoCS

SoCS – Tools of the Trade

Maggie

We are back to a more traditional SoCS this week. Check out Linda’s blog if you want to join in – just check out the rules and the contribution of other bloggers.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with cal.” Use a word starting with the letters “cal” as your prompt word. Have fun!

If you have followed my blog for a while, you may recall I am a bit of a tool geek. I was always exposed to tools hanging around my grandfathers very early on in my life.

My paternal grandfather had a career as a machinist with the railroad. He had tools everywhere. My maternal grandfather was a carpenter and had a wood shop filled with the tools of his trade. My dad worked on all of our family cars and I spent hours upon hours as his helper handing him the tools he needed as he called them out from underneath the car. It’s no wonder I love tools.

When I started making jewelry, tools were important. A caliper became my best friend. I graduated from a manual caliper to a digital caliper and truth be told I may buy another one.

I love tools that are precisely calibrated. So I was ecstatic when I found this amazing new tool to draw circles from Makers Cabinet. What is amazing is the fact that it is designed to work like the iris in a camera. It is engineered out of highly polished brass with stainless spring steel leaves. It is beautifully crafted and well calibrated.

Image from MakersCabinet.com

The tool is made in the U.K., and of course after their successful kickstarter, it has been cheaply replicated and offered on Amazon.

I have my eye on the real deal. I am a snob when it comes to quality tools. This one is gorgeous! Machinists, artists, architects, and jewelers will love this tool!

Advertisement

26 thoughts on “SoCS – Tools of the Trade”

    1. It is beautiful. Maybe it is because anything well made is hard to come by these days. I would love to have it so I can draw precise concentric circles.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. When I first started to take serious art classes, the first thing they teach is that you should always sharpen your pencil with a razor blade. I would love to have both.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I had watched the video for the Iris. I was trying to think of a reason to buy it. There’s something about the feel of a quality tool in your hand. It’s special. Nicely done, Maggie.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Dan, for me, I would like to use it for concentric circles. Also, the wooden holder fits inside the iris enabling you to mark points inside the circle. It is a beautiful tool.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I mostly only use calipers when sizing rough turnings on the lathe, like the end of a leg that eventually has to fit nicely in a socket-hole of a chair seat. Those are quality tools, but not precise, and they take a beating as they are in contact with the rotating stock.

        That tool looks magical. I’m sure you would/will cherish it.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Impressive! My main tool is a paint brush, but my dad’s garage overflowed with all kinds of tools. David has reconditioned a few of them to use in his wood shop. I’m thankful for you folks with practical skills and a love for calibration.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. One of my favorite things in high school was my ? enabling me to enlarge the maps school kept asking for. I always found it magical. I realized I don’t know what it was called. Maybe you do.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.