Carl Andy Explains How to Fix Needles
My brother Carl Andy, having read my earlier post concerning some bent knitting needles, sent me this email:
Hey Sis,
If you bend up some really expensive needles, you might take them by the machine shop and ask them to straighten them for you. The process is to first bend them in one direction to make them uniformly bent (like into a circle), and then bend them in the reverse direction.
This can be done to give pretty much perfect results. But if your bends go in two axes, they will have to rebend them twice (i.e. a total of four passes). The machine they use for this might be a wire bender.
It's nice, having such helpful relatives. As I've mentioned, I'm throwing the Susan Bates right out -- I'm NOT taking them down to the machine shop. Even if I knew where the machine shop is. Which I don't.
Here's what I wonder: how much does this cost? Exactly how do I know if the needle is bent in two axes? Once they get bent and rebent a total of four times, don't they break? Doesn't this whole process affect their slippery quality?
I'm tempted, actually, to ruin some more needles, just so I can try all this out. But then I'd have to go find the machine shop. Or should I just send my needles out to Seattle, and get Carl Andy to take them down to the machine shop? Or maybe he can do it himself. He fixed one of my winding watches once, after I made it stop on account of running too much magnetism (this is hereditary, and Not My Fault.) And also, he's making me some cool glass buttons for my Mendocino cardigan. I think he can probably fix needles himself. I think I'm agoin' (see earlier post for grammar discussion) to SEND him some bent up needles, so I can see what happens. Especially ones that are bent in two axes. If, as I say, I ever figure out what that is.
More fun with Carl Andy is available here: don't be intimidated! Even if you have NO IDEA what the hell that revolving thing is (the interactive crystal drawing program), click on some of the buttons; it'll change in ways which aren't obscure to Carl Andy, but are to me. And which, hey! you might understand.
And here: here's Carl Andy writing a paper which, he tells me, "is more readable than physics usually is." (I like best the section entitled "Some Difficulties in Understanding Reality." Yep. Got some of that around here.)
**************
Ok, other stuff; I'm falling behind on the Knitting Tarot commentary
The Princess of Skeins: Darlin' girl, for sure. Loves everything you knit for her. Even wears it. Cause she LOVES you, and therefore, de facto, without question, loves your knitting.
This gets problematic, I find. Cause you know, if you're not careful, you can end up foisting off your Dreadful Things on her, or not putting as much energy into working on things, cause you know she'll like them anyway.
So she's a call from the higher self. Just cause you're loved doesn't mean you can slough off.
Point of honor.
Hey Sis,
If you bend up some really expensive needles, you might take them by the machine shop and ask them to straighten them for you. The process is to first bend them in one direction to make them uniformly bent (like into a circle), and then bend them in the reverse direction.
This can be done to give pretty much perfect results. But if your bends go in two axes, they will have to rebend them twice (i.e. a total of four passes). The machine they use for this might be a wire bender.
It's nice, having such helpful relatives. As I've mentioned, I'm throwing the Susan Bates right out -- I'm NOT taking them down to the machine shop. Even if I knew where the machine shop is. Which I don't.
Here's what I wonder: how much does this cost? Exactly how do I know if the needle is bent in two axes? Once they get bent and rebent a total of four times, don't they break? Doesn't this whole process affect their slippery quality?
I'm tempted, actually, to ruin some more needles, just so I can try all this out. But then I'd have to go find the machine shop. Or should I just send my needles out to Seattle, and get Carl Andy to take them down to the machine shop? Or maybe he can do it himself. He fixed one of my winding watches once, after I made it stop on account of running too much magnetism (this is hereditary, and Not My Fault.) And also, he's making me some cool glass buttons for my Mendocino cardigan. I think he can probably fix needles himself. I think I'm agoin' (see earlier post for grammar discussion) to SEND him some bent up needles, so I can see what happens. Especially ones that are bent in two axes. If, as I say, I ever figure out what that is.
More fun with Carl Andy is available here: don't be intimidated! Even if you have NO IDEA what the hell that revolving thing is (the interactive crystal drawing program), click on some of the buttons; it'll change in ways which aren't obscure to Carl Andy, but are to me. And which, hey! you might understand.
And here: here's Carl Andy writing a paper which, he tells me, "is more readable than physics usually is." (I like best the section entitled "Some Difficulties in Understanding Reality." Yep. Got some of that around here.)
**************
Ok, other stuff; I'm falling behind on the Knitting Tarot commentary
The Princess of Skeins: Darlin' girl, for sure. Loves everything you knit for her. Even wears it. Cause she LOVES you, and therefore, de facto, without question, loves your knitting.
This gets problematic, I find. Cause you know, if you're not careful, you can end up foisting off your Dreadful Things on her, or not putting as much energy into working on things, cause you know she'll like them anyway.
So she's a call from the higher self. Just cause you're loved doesn't mean you can slough off.
Point of honor.
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