Unfortunately, grenades are far from done (here's the next six, just before they went out the door)
And I'm not really happy. It's odd. You could call how I feel about my work depression, but it isn't effecting me physically. There doesn't seem to be any such simplistic connection between my mental state and my physical state. On the latter, I'm climbing back up and have been to the gym more regularly, but I'm still not at that wonderful surge of physical confidence I had way back in December. I wish that would come again.
Anyhow.
Ran off four M40 grenades in two days. I had some problems drilling the holes, though, and that threw me off. I had the chance to make four identical and super-clean ones (which are all getting shipped to the same guy in Australia), but I ended up with a gouge in one, a damaged primer hole in another, etc.
And more orders are trickling in. I don't know if I want to put a stop to them until I have a better idea (or forever), or to keep lathing and see if I can work out better ways to build them. I've incorporated a number of enhancements in the tooling process that is leaving them with a cleaner finish and more dimensional, plus taking less time to cut. But I still need more; the cost to me is not insignificant, and the time spent is starting to be a distraction from other tasks.
I only built a grenade as a project to learn how to use a metal lathe. It has rather ballooned out from that! I've sold 9 already at the RPF, and I'm looking at orders for seven more if I chose to accept them. But I ship as soon as they are ready, so I'll never have a really big picture of a bunch of them (the above is the five shipped today, plus two spares, my original -- in a green cap -- and the one-piece prototype).
On the Holocron, the lights are less bright than expected, and the lid fits less cleanly than desired. The lid didn't fit at all for a bit there. Drat those silly manufactures of neodymium magnets -- can't they just ship monopoles like I wanted? So I had to pry one magnet out, flip it over, and re-glue it, and that always spoils what otherwise might be a pristine surface (in this case, far from, anyhow).
The capacitor I finished up with is too small, and it does lose its place in the program if jarred excessively. You can just barely hold it in one hand and do the light show uninterrupted.
On the theater rebuild, I spent all this week doing props instead of working there. I started in on nice wall-mounted boxes for the Clear-Coms (instead of XLR taped to the walls) but foolishly got the wrong gender of box front. It works fine, but it is annoying. Also, there's broadband hiss (RFI) getting in the new monitor mic. Given the quality of the gear, it should be a pristine signal. But the cable run picks up AM radio and I can't seem to filter all of it out.
And similar complaints. But at least one prop is completed. And if I put a hold on grenades, I'd have a little time to do things like gym, house cleaning, designing the next two shows...and maybe even sleep and eat sometime as well.
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