Just before Christmas vacation my car’s alternator and battery both needed replacement, and I was unlucky enough to have them both die on me while I was still in traffic. Fortunately, a generous bystander was more than kind enough to push me to a Walmart, who diagnosed the problem and gave me a jump so I could take the car to Pep Boys.
The total bill was over $250 for parts, labor, and tax. The service desk also told me I was eligible for a $15 loyalty card due to the amount of money that I spent. I like loyalty cards but I really don’t think much of them. I just signed all the paperwork and let the repair happen and let life take its course.
Until today.
Over the last week or so I had given a great deal of thought as to what jewelry I was going to make next. I made a lot of sketches and diagrams both for possible jewelry and the fixtures which I would use to make them.
All my plans seemed to identify the need for a 2 dimensional precision compound slide as being the critical missing piece. I needed it for making all of the fixtures which I would eventually use in my project, and it was also one of the fixtures as well.
Going through my tools and supplies, I ascertained that I had enough aluminum bar and rod stock on hand, and that I had plenty of threaded rod and screws as well.
The critical missing piece that I needed to build my slide with was a 1/4 inch 20 NC tap. But I was out of allowance till the beginning of Februrary!
And then I saw the loyalty card in today’s mail. Not wasting any time, I drove to Pep Boys with card in hand, because I remembered while waiting for my paperwork to start my repair that they had selected thread taps in stock.
Imagine my utter elation to find that the card could be spent “same as cash”. I therefore went on a half-hour shopping spree, finding some nice Kawasaki titanium-coated taps for the 8-32, 1/4 inch 20NC, and 1/2 inch 20NF threads, plus a few socket caps screws for my later fixtures.
So with a gift card to buy one critical tool to make one critical fixture, I hope my crafting area has finally achieved critical mass.
Moral of the story: watch out for the three Wise Guys… they brought me some fairly practical good news today.
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