Bead roller speed controller

[mklotz]

If you want to improve your ability to originate creative solutions to problems, you need to be able to extract the essential elements from any clever idea you see and add those to your mental tool kit.

Curte's speed presets provide a nice example for this. What we want to take away from his work are the following generalizations that can be applied to future problems.

Infinitely adjustable stops may not be as good as preset ones. (Toolmaker has already nailed this takeaway.)

Using the stops to stop the actuator (the worker's foot in this case) may be superior to stops applied to the control element (the speed pot pedal).

Combine this identification of essential features with an understanding of the elemental nature of components, stuff like...

A link is a device to hold two holes a fixed distance apart.

A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder.

and you'll soon have a mental tool kit that will make solving shop problems easier and faster.

Waxing a bit theoretical with this but thinking about thinking is always a worthwhile pursuit. The more you understand how your mind works and how you can exploit its features, the more productive you become.