Best piece of advice from a toolmaking mentor?

[DIYer]

You're really a man of varied interests, Ken! I've been looking at brewing beer but it just seems easier (more so nowadays) to hop over to a nice, comfortable bar with a nice selection of beers.

[kbalch]

I do have a lot of interests (and have had even more over the years) and have always made an effort to pursue each one, to varying degrees. I figure that most people only regret the things they didn't do, not the stuff they did - so why not do it all?

Homebrewing is fun in a science-project way and definitely something to see for yourself at least once. Just watching the yeast at work for a week is fascinating.

That said, I'm all for the nice, comfortable bar, though nowadays I tend more toward the Manhattan end of the cocktail spectrum when out.

Ken

[Iron Wings]

Best advice I ever heard is "don't ever give up" from an old logger. He was an inventor/logger/crusty character. I took that to heart along with a piece I read 50 years ago. We only use about 10% of our mental capacity. I figure that if I can increase that to 15% I am way ahead of the game. I made things for that old man over the years that cause a lot of head scratching. He had a war on limbs that started in the 50s. We tried one idea after another. Some worked some didn't. We never gave up. Problems were meant to be solved. By the way a "cuppa" is sometimes the best way, along with a pad and a pencil.

[DIYer]

You're right about that, Iron Wings. Persistence is a great virtue.