Back to the Stump

The weather almost stopped me today. It started raining at lunch. And the bleakness made me want to leave work early and just cozy up at home. But the draw of the stump was too much.

It wasn't too bad when I got home; drizzily and in the mid 40's. But I've got my Boots to keep my feet warm and dry, my Hat to keep my head and glasses dry, a rain jacket, and the knowledge that I can go change into warm dry clothes anytime I wish. Besides, hitting things with a mallet keeps you fairly warm.

I started back in on the "hump" between my root feet because it was still a little wobbly. I spent about a half an hour before I decided to quit for 2 reasons. The first, not surprisingly, was that you can only spend so much time squatting in the rain. The second, tragically, was that I must have hit some dirt or really hard section of root, and I badly chipped my #10 gouge.

Fortunately, gouges and chisels were meant to be used, and re-ground all the way until you hit the handle. We've got a nice Tormek grinding stone at work, so I'll just have to give it a new edge tomorrow, and watch out for any more of those trouble-spots.