a brilliant idea which doesn't work

[Ken S]

Not all of my brilliant ideas actually work. That is why I like to make up temporary prototypes early on. My kenjig is the product of several prototypes.

One idea I thought was outstanding totally failed. When I first saw Robin Bailey's Extended Universal Support Bar, I thought it could be placed in the other side of the horizontal sleeves. This would allow the horizontal position to be used with the grinding wheel turning into the edge just like a dry grinder. I thought I had an innovation which had escaped both Robin Bailey, the Extended usb inventor and even Torgny Johansson.

My idea worked flawlessly through set up. It only failed when I turned the motor on. Water cascaded all over the table. Not the ideal result I was expecting.

I wonder if Torgny had a similar experience or if he intuitively knew it would not work......

still trying,

Ken

[Rob]

well if you read the stories about how many times it took Edison to "fail to invent" the light bulb you should take heart Ken :-)

The use of prototypes demonstrates maturity and experience in the application of due process when dealing with engineering problems.  I have no doubt that as one's experience grows, the ability to forsee problems grows but there is no shame in doing it the way you do.  I do exactly the same.  It's the mistakes which show up in the prototypes that navigate your thinking towards the right solution.  One of the most exciting intellectual processes possible in my opinion.

Keep it up Ken, it's useful to the community and it challenges your mind, an excellent endeavour my friend :-)

[Ken S]

Thanks, amigo.

I should add that both Robin's exrended support bar and Torgny's machine function very well for their intended purposes. 

Ken

[Jan]

Ken, the temptation to sharpen, while keeping the blade horizontally, is great. It probably reflects the fundamental role of this direction in our live. We are able to roughly estimate an angle with respect to the horizontal or vertical direction, but not with respect to an arbitrary direction.

Experienced free-hand sharpeners keep the blade horizontally. See e.g. very instructive Steve Bottorff video.

Last summer I prepared quite sophisticated jig for horizontal grinding in both directions, towards the edge and away from the edge. http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=2562.135
I have faced similar difficulties with water management as those described by you.

Nevertheless small tilt of the table and an enlarged water chute helped significantly to reduce the problems with water. So I agree with Rob, keep up experimenting, Ken! 

Jan

[Ken S]

Thanks, Jan.

One of the things I like so much about this forum is how ideas grow from multiple minds. One of us may eventually perfect this idea. All we need is a way to get water to run uphill!

Your quote states this very well.

Ken

[RobinW]

Ken - If the result of some of my brilliant ideas was some spilt water, I would be in the genius class!

Two things spring to mind - you can't make an omelette without cracking the shell; and a man who never made a mistake has never made anything!

What you need is dry water - how about that for a brilliant idea!

[Elden]

   Is that what dry ice is for? 

[Rob]

Now dry ice...that's something.

When I was a "Saturday lad" working in our local frozen food store the lorry deliveries didn't have electrically refrigerated containers...they used to keep the stock frozen during the journeys using massive blocks of dry ice.  Our shop just happened to back onto the River Kennet in Reading.  One Saturday after we'd put the carts of frozen food into the cold store, me n the boys were a bit bored and the driver was inside having a cuppa tea so.......we did what all young lads would do....chucked it in the river!

Well....it was like a white erupting volcano!!  Never seen anything like it since :-)