Previously i wrote one line describing my frustration with Oxy - Acetylene, if any body actually reads this crap they must have, in all probability, more than a passing interest in Smithing.
So the question remains why do i manage to frustrate myself with two cylinders and a bloody torch!
Well believe it or not the answer really is quite simple - I CAN NEVER REMEMBER HOW TO TURN THE DAMN THINGS ON.
Now before you start believing the author of this post to be completely stupid, which in part is true, i can do most things, i can cook bloody well, gut a house and re build it, make furniture and produce functional items out scrap material, but i can't for the want of trying ever remember how to light the damn torch.
Now like most folks at Plymouth college of Art, i have a sketch pad. In the front of my pad secured with multiple staples lies a set of instructions on operating Oxy equipment and lighting a forge with above mentioned. Now i will admit to being shown once or twice but most visits to the college workshop result in at least one forge blowing and normally two sometimes three. Seeing as most of our work at present is achieved using a forge, i have found Oxy amnesia wholly unsatisfying, until last week when i had to admit it wasn't just Oxy amnesia that i was suffering, it was fear as well. Not fear of an explosion , but fear of someone, anyone finding out they had an Oxy fraud in the workshop. So i swallowed my pride, i didn't have a choice to be honest, Mr Wood had kindly let me come in on a Thursday to catch up, as that damn inconvenience that goes by the name of JOB had managed to rear sharp claws and mess up a perfectly good Tuesday college session. After listening in on a first year Degree talk which was very interesting Mr Wood gave me the nod to light a forge. Now here was the problem, with two options. Light the forge with sticks and paper or light with Oxy. If i was to try and light with sticks and paper i would probably fail to light a cigarette, let alone a forge, or should i fumble around with the Oxy and hope that someone i know comes to my rescue? Second option !!
In walks Second year Ryan, (who is actually holding the torch in the above photo, i decided to chop him out just in case he didn't want to be seen or associated with a blog post about Oxy incompetence) A quick call for help, and a little memory jog and we are up and running. Later that day i re- lit the forge after lunch, confidence was that high i even lit a forge a passing lady, now that was confidence.
What is the point of this post, well after the half term break i needed the oxy again this time for some wrap work on a since binned door knocker, could i light it NO. This time the problem was not how to turn it on but the fact that the last user had probably not closed all the valves and i could not figure out for the want of trying where to start from!!
No comments:
Post a Comment