Fri.21.09.07. I waited patiently for Dave to arrive for my first lesson as to how to safely operate the router. I have never used one before and if nothing else I needed to convince myself that I wouldn’t, accidentally, lose the odd digit or ‘have my eye out’. But as the afternoon was drawing on and Dave had not shown, I decided that with a cautious logical approach even the dumbest person could make this machine function properly. There is always something special about well engineered tools. They are robust, often easier to utilize, importantly, always produce a better finish. So after destroying various scraps of timber my skill level began to improve rapidly. I compared myself to other similar descriptions of tradesmen, such as, a painter and decorator, “If you can piss, you can paint, or a chef, if you can read, you can cook”. I quickly accepted this moment of ‘gestalt’ and began to confidently cut the holes that will house the gauges and clocks. I was using 10mm plywood to simulate the finished piece astonishingly I was frankly amazed as to how straightforward it was to generate the perfect shoulder profile.
After fitting the instruments I stood back gloating at my triumph. I had applied reason, judgement fortified by meagre experience but I had engineered a professional outcome. I had every right to be pleased. I had flown solo across the sea of doubt to light safely on the other side (pretentious twat).
But the real bonus came when I discovered Chris had also been working tirelessly on the car. Throughout the week I confess to being somewhat of an ostrich; head firmly buried in the sand, avoiding any serious visit to the workshop. I have assumed that Chris has had another slow week of contemplation waiting for ‘god’ Brockie to consider an appearance, waving his magic welding rod benevolently granting permission for work to commence. But, unbeknown to myself from Monday Chris has been working on the engine compartment preparing the ground for the aluminium skin which will eventually form the exposed surface where the master cylinders, ancillary components and service ‘pipes’ will be located. For this purpose an array of cardboard templates has festooned the workshop all having an essential role, a significant resting place. These will later be precisely cut to be installed creating clean, flat, shiny, planes onto which a colourful mixture of electrical leads, copper pipes and braided hoses will be routed then attached. On Tuesday before these panels can be permanently fixed the crudely hacked access to the clutch slave cylinder has had to be re-modelled subsequently ‘glassed’ to form a larger, neater aperture. Wednesday, the wiring loom has also had a good ‘talking to’ being laid out on the length of the car to confirm the exact position of the fuse box, coil and distributor connected later to the corresponding power source. By Thursday the patterns for all the internal aluminium panels have been prepared ready for delivery to Catterall and Wood. Unlike timber or fibreglass which can be easily shaped and moulded, when cutting metal, accuracy is the key word.
It is essential to produce precise templates from which the engineer can replicate the blueprint faithfully. The slightest miscalculation would require a good deal of work to put right; for this reason the plans must be 100% correct. Friday saw the pedal box and master cylinders being assembled tested to function properly. It has been quite a task to ensure that all the linkages operate smoothly additionally are easily accessible for the driver.
Justifiably or not I have had my suspicions about Chris’s apparent waning perseverance but he does appear, at the end of the week, to be extremely satisfied with the progress he has achieved. And so have I.
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