The human eye.......

Mace

Mace

Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Messages
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How good is the human eye?
A couple of weeks ago I was drilling a 1/16" hole for a pin in a handle that was all ready glued up. It was just a rough un-square block of wood that was glued on. I got almost all the way through the tang and the bit goes "tink".
Not a great feeling! Instead of throwing it across the shop I decided to set it down and come back to it later.
I thought about it for a while and decided I was going to drill another pin hole(so I had a mechanical bond other than glue) and I would drill a half hole on the other side of the first hole and put half a pin in either side and maybe do some silver wire inlay around it.
So here I am with my un-square block... I take a pencil and mark off where I want the new hole and then I mark the other side of the first hole(by eye).
I drill the new hole no problem and move on to drilling my "half" hole...line my bit up on the little X I made and start to drill. I said to myself when I hit the tang I'll go into it a little bit.......Hit the tang and put a little pressure on it and POP....right into the first hole......I mean dead nuts on!:eek:

No ruler....no laser GPS unit.....just my eye and a pencil.;)

Wear your safety glasses....your eyes are the best tools you own.
Mace
 
sun shines on a dog's rear end every now and again, huh? JK;) Good for you, things worked out. Talk about a sigh of relief to get that far on a knife and have a setback get corrected fairly easy.
 
Mace said:
.......Hit the tang and put a little pressure on it and POP....right into the first hole......I mean dead nuts on!:eek:
Mace
Click to expand...

AWESOME !! :thumbup: Yes, the human eye is amazingly accurate. I think "we" are able to perceive differences as small as .005 (five thousandths), that is just a tad larger in diameter than a human hair. Now what you did, hitting the hole on the other side "dead on" is, well, like kba said, "when you're good...you're good" :D ;)
 
I was waiting for this story to surface... pretty cool how you managed to turn your 'Superman' story into a "Stay off drugs, kids" message, too!:D ;)

The quick pic of that curly maple handle you sent me is un-frickin-believable, btw!


NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!! BLADE IS MERE MOMENTS AWAY!!!!!!:D
 
The eye is an incredible invention but it can be fooled very easy if there is something to distract it. Calipers tell the whole story especially when drilling holes. My eye is good when grinding and sighting down a blade but if there is wood grain or females it trails off every time. ;)
 
Yes the eyes together with feel and a bit of knowledge and practice can be very precise.

Unrelated to knives, but on Mythbusters they proved that a good marksman can shoot a hole through a coin tossed into the air. The eye and hand can be better than any precision machine.
 
i've seen the finished product and its beautiful. Im glad i got someone like mace to show me the ropes:D :D :D
 
Don, I like that....."Now do it again"......right.:thumbup: I wouldn't be able to do that again if I DID have a laser GPS unit!:D

Kba, The tang was soft.....it was my mistake....I had two people in my shop at the time and I was distracted. After drilling the first two holes I temted fate and drilled a third....just to even things out.;)


Matt, My message to you is to not to forget to take your drugs.:thumbup: :D


So who else has a clouds part the sky...sun beam shines down on your shop story?
Mace
 
Well I got the oppisite this week. 2 knives. One water+hot knife=PING. The other had cracks after forging, I don't know why. Oh well. Just got to dust myself off and get back to it.:thumbup: :D

Hey look I'm the guy who ruins the mood.

-Mike Sheffield
 
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