Mommy, where do skein winders come from?
The Trail to the Crazy Monkey Ranch
Car Stuck in the Mud, Left For Dead
Well dear, when a skein winder mommy and a skein winder daddy love their customers very much, they will tie lumber and plywood to the top of their car and drive 140 miles from their home near Denver Colorado to their property south of Pueblo Colorado. Once they leave the freeway, they will brave the 4 miles of gravel road and the 2 miles of wilderness trail to reach their property, where they have a 10′x12′ workshop and 14′ camper trailer. When driving along the trail, they must always be careful not to run into a cow or pronghorn, or sometimes even elk. They also must be wary of running over spiky cacti. But most importantly, they must time their journey very carefully in order to avoid becoming seriously stuck in the sticky and slippery mud, or in the unpredictable snow drifts. Due to extreme diligence they have only ever become seriously stuck thrice this winter.
Our New Heater
Food Safe Temperatures
After they have successfully completed the journey to “The Ranch”, they will set to work in their spacious 10×12 workshop, which is powered by one small gasoline generator. Hopefully there is gas left in the generator from last time though, otherwise they must venture forth, once again braving the wilderness trail, the mud and the snow and travel the 15 miles to the nearest gas station in Colorado City. In the winter they will fire up their new propane heater, which is capable of keeping the workshop a balmy 40º Fahrenheit, which according to their thermometer is the correct temperature to keep food fresh. Once the generator is started, the lights turned on, heater fired up, and stock taken of the parts and material they have available, they will begin the more than 65 separate operations involved in making the parts for each skein winder. Usually working through the night to accommodate their regular work schedules, they will retire in the morning to the camper trailer.
Our Woodshop: Tablesaw, Router Table, Drill Press, Workbench
Our Woodshop: Tablesaw, Workbench, Wood Storage
Our Woodshop: Tablesaw, Finished Arm Storage, Drillpress
Our Little Camper Trailer, Solar Non-Functional
Once in the camper, they will prepare themselves a rudimentary meal, and light the heater, which does not seem to actually heat anything, just because it seams right that it should be on. After partaking of their sumptuous meal, which mainly consists of canned soup, or Mac & Cheese, they will retire to the 40 year old 3″ thick foam bed, and get a good day’s rest in preparation of their next night of work.
Depending on order volume, and on how much extra work they managed to finish during their previous visit, they will stay from 1 to 4 nights, usually working for 14 to 16 hours a night, and then resting, eating and sleeping the remaining 10 hours of the day.
The Element Safely in the Garage
When their work is complete, or time has run out, all the winder parts will be packed into the car for transport back to the little house in Denver. Then, God willing, they will make the half hour, two mile drive from The Ranch to the gravel road, and then the two and a half hour drive home.
Parts for 14 Winders & Swifts in Storage
After their long and arduous journey the winder mommy and daddy stack all of the dozens of winder parts into the temporary holding shed where they await final completion. Working on 3 to 4 skein winders or swifts a night, the skein winder daddy will take all the parts of the embryonic skein winders out onto the porch, often in sub freezing temperatures, then sand and finish them. Then, when all the night’s parts are finished, he leaves them there to dry and tries to get a good night’s sleep. I’ve told you time and again how important it is to get a good nights sleep, haven’t I?
The next morning, when he is all rested up, the winder daddy will take all the newly oiled winder and swift parts into the house, where he will wipe off the excess finish, drill all the remaining holes, screw on and adjust the feet so they sit level on his table, glue in all the yarn guides, solder together and install the counters, bundle up all the nuts, bolts and screws into little plastic baggies, print staple and fold all the instruction manuals, print out the adoption certificate (receipt) for the happy new winder parents, print out a FedEx shipping label, and then carefully place all the parts and pieces (up to 16 parts in total) and lots of padding and filling into the box, liberally applies tape to seal up the box, and then finally applies the FedEx shipping label. After all that, the skein winder is taken off by the FedEx man to meet it’s new loving parents.
The End.
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