Problem solving has been so much a part of my adult life (perhaps all of my life) that I find myself solving problems almost subconsciously. Before one thinks I’m boasting, I should point out that all solutions to the problems I encounter aren’t necessarily the best solutions, and sometimes I’m not satisfied with the solution that I come up with.
Still, that doesn’t discourage me from trying to solve whatever problem I face. With respect to a given task, I’m always interested in finding a better way to complete it. Even when writing, I often rephrase a thought to better suit me. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better at communicating my thoughts over the past fifteen years that I’ve penned and shared my thoughts and deeds with others, but I’m probably not the best judge.
Since volunteering practically full time with Habitat for Humanity, I’ve been challenged to keep up with the tools I use on the job site. I’ve been known to lay down my hammer, only to discover it’s not where I put it when I went to pick it up again. I have a tool belt that helps with this sort of problem, but it only helps when I wear the tool belt, which is not all the time I use a hammer.
For the past two months, I’ve worked mostly toward creating office space and a board room in an old warehouse. Along with that goes plumbing and electrical work, so it’s a lot like remodeling an old house. With other volunteers working alongside me, it makes tool and equipment organization more difficult because we’re basically using “company” equipment and each person has a much right-of-use as the next person.
In the past week, two utility knives that I “carry” at work have gone missing; I don’t have a clue where my speed square is, or, for that matter, the location of my personal screwdriver.
A month ago, I had two carpenter pencils in my tool belt; today there’s not even one. I did find a used carpenter pencil the other day that had once been sharpened at both ends. It must be getting old, because the lead was pulling loose from the wood that secures it. I discovered this while trying to sharpen it. The utility knife I was using to shave off the wood would grab the lead and pull it out the end of the pencil.
I found a solution that I believe illustrates my problem-solving abilities. No, I didn’t find a way to stop the lead from getting inadvertently pulled out of the pencil while sharpening it. But, I did find a way to continue using the pencil for several more days without sharpening the lead. No, no, I didn’t find a hardener to keep the soft lead from dulling when scribing lumber for cutting or marking starting and ending points for a chalk-line on wallboard or sheetrock.
Are you ready for the solution? I fashioned it into a mechanical pencil, one where the barrel is fixed but the lead moves back and forth inside the barrel.
I know, I know, you want to know how I did that. Okay. I put a sheetrock screw in the other end of the pencil. The diameter of the screw is slightly larger than the hole in the pencil filled by the lead. The screw is about an inch and one-fourth long, so I can “hand” screw it deeper into the hole to push more lead out the other end. Eventually, I’ll have to cut more wood from one end of the pencil to continue using it for whatever purpose a carpenter pencil is needed.
Barbara, my wife and Executive Director of Pontotoc County Habitat for Humanity, has since supplied us with a new box of carpenter pencils, but I’m kind of fond of the one I’m using, and nobody else has asked to borrow it.
Before ~
After ~
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