The First Day Back to Work

My Friday left off with unresolved issues at work, and were somewhat compounded by the fact that my supervisor/right-hand man was off work. Things that jump up and bite you in the ass can hurt more when you don't have anyone to share the pain with and help you out. Yesterday was another vacation day for him, so again--I had nobody to help me with problems that arose. Although I like "flying solo" for the most part, sometimes I just need the ability to ask, "What do you think--Any ideas?" to make me feel like I'm on the right track.

There are a lot of variables within the "tool" that runs in the high-speed press. The "tool" as I call it is actually a progressive die. It's a big block of steel about 2 feet long by a 1.5 feet deep by a foot tall. Inside it are a multitude of cutting, forming, pressing, and bending stations, some made from carbide, some from steel. The material moves through this big die, advancing an exact predetermined amount per stroke of the press. Each time the material moves forward, a different action is being performed on the material passing through. By the time it exits the die, it's a finished part. When a die is as complex as these are, and they are running at 325 strokes a minute, a lot can go wrong. When something does go wrong and you repair it (out on a workbench of course--Totally dissected) you have to spend time completely readjusting the press (speed, depth, etc) to make the parts come out within specifications. It can be very frustrating. The whole idea is to get the the press adjusted correctly to make good parts within the shortest amount of time. The longer it takes, the more material you waste, and believe me, at 325 strokes a minute, you can go through a lot of material. Add to that the fact that whenever the die gets worked on and things changed inside, there's a "settling in" period where things change on their own. Anyway, after about two hours of frustration and frantic activity, I finally had it making good parts again. Whew.

A couple hours before quitting time a package showed up for me--The new hearing protection headset that I ordered last week. My old ones were getting worn out from two years of wear and tear. This time I went for a different brand. I put them on and breathed a sigh of relief--They felt fantastic and everything was quieter. Although both headsets were rated at the maximum you can buy (30 db) the old ones had lost their ability to remain at 100%. Also, I bought these on the web and they are in a different color combination than you can buy in stores around here. Mine are blue--The only ones that are available locally are red. I just have to be different you know... Besides, there are lots of red ones scattered throughout the shop--I don't want someone running off with mine.

I got home from work and just stripped my clothes off when Sarah called. The first day back at school translated into a huge school bus problem. It seems that they eliminated the bus stop that was close to her house this year. I don't know if it was an error or what, but she's not the only one that used it for crying out loud... Something must have gotten screwed up. She said she didn't even go in to school until 12:30 (her first day schedule) so she only had 5th and 6th period classes so far. I sure hope they get the busses worked out. It's always easy to get rides home from school, but it's not always easy to get rides to school.

When I got back home I tried out some knee lifts on the new exercise equipment. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I did twisting knee lifts and rattled off 50 of them before giving up. I'll try to do it every other day to give my poor body time to adjust. Maybe I can alternate days and do chin ups on the opposite days.

Well, back to work, and I hope it's a better day.