People are often surprised to hear that it most often takes a year or more to bring a new team member up to speed. Newcomers to our team quickly discover that our projects are built with a ‘feel’ in mind rather than a highly detailed plan. There are many unspoken nuances needed to create magic. Most often, our projects are guided by a single concept drawing which our customers have signed off on. This concept seldom has measurements and is only one angle. At the start, we generally do a quick scribble on the floor in chalk to work out the rough measurements and angles of the structural steel. Heavy base plates are cut on the CNC plasm cutter and we kick the welding crew loose. When Keith came to us he was used to working with detailed drawings and precept pieces. Jigs were commonplace to ensure accuracy. We instead go with the flow, working out challenges on the fly. It is all about problem-solving and working by eye rather than tape measure and square. After more than a year of working under our close supervision and guidance, Keith was ready to tackle this project himself. It looks deceptively simple but will be challenging to make it flow perfectly. We had a long discussion at the start, with him explaining how he interpreted the drawing, how he would do the structure and then form and weld the pencil rod armature around this heavy frame. I’ve been busy working on my projects across the shop and watching with keen interest from afar. I am delighted to report is doing great!