FreekyGeeky

The Freeky Geeky Files: The V-Hook Saga (Round One Hundred and Fifty-Seven)

(The sharp, metallic CLANG! of a hammer echoes through the workshop. RJ winces, dropping the tool onto the workbench. He shakes his arm, grimacing, then slowly looks up, a V-hook in hand.)

RJ: "Finally done with this round of female vhooks. Top row in the photo, you can see all the steps I take. The jig I use? Over 15 years old now. While I have designed newer ones, I always tell myself next round of vhooks I'm gonna update the jig.... One day. Life goals and all that."

Pandora: (Her crisp voice cuts in from the main workshop monitor) "One day, RJ? Fifteen years is a rather lengthy 'one day.' Your commitment to procrastination is almost admirable."

RJ: (Looks at the monitor, rubbing his forearm. A tired sigh.) "Oh, Pandora, it's 'proven,' not 'procrastination'! This jig and I have history. Besides, it works! Anyway, the process for this round is simple. Vhook gets pressed into the jig helping to keep each side as = as possible."

Glitch: "Hammer! Hammer! WOO-HOO! Make it flat, make it flat!"

RJ: (Wincing as he brings down his hammer, then looks at Glitch.) "Then I hammer the wings over by hand, and I can tell you right now my arm feels like it's on fire!"

Phobos: (Darting out from a shadowed corner, clinging nervously to a pipe,) "Arm on fire?! That's repetitive strain injury! And the impact forces! Invisible shards! Eye protection, RJ! Constant, unblinking eye protection!"

RJ: (Lets out a long, exasperated groan.) "Yes, yes, I'm taking precautions! After hammering, I press the bent wings flat. But wait, there's more! From there it gets countersunk holes added, but that then bows the part, so I have to press it flat again."

Mopes: (Slowly drifts into the center of the workshop, a faint trail of dust shimmering.) "The endless repetition... a cycle of futility... only to return... to the same form... again. And again. Forever."

RJ: (Nodding in solemn agreement with Mopes.) "Exactly, Mopes. You see the true nature of the beast. It's a never-ending battle. But only then, when it's utterly, perfectly, obsessively flat, does my brain grant silence. For about thirty seconds. Worth it."

---

RJ: (He flexes his arm with a grimace, then looks directly at the audience) "So yeah, a lot of blood, sweat, and elbow grease for these little guys. But honestly? The satisfaction of seeing them just right? Priceless. Looks like I'm really pressed for time to sleep now! (Get it? Pressed? Like pressing metal? Yeah, I thought it was pretty flat-out funny.)"

#MetalFabrication #MakerLife #WorkshopLife