bloggy business

practice makes better than not practicing

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Sometimes folks ask me how I got to be good at fillet brazing. Or framebuilding. Or whatever. The answer is really same for how do you become good at doing just about anything: Practice.

But practice not in the way of rehearsal. Practice as in the practical application of knowledge and skill to produce something. Doing something over and over again. Observing the results. Modifying behavior to make it better the next time around. Again and again. And if you are doing it right you will never feel like you've done it perfectly. There will is always room for betterment, learning, and improving. 

So I can lay down a pretty deceit fillet. I can make a better than okay bike frame. But I have never felt like I have ever made a 'perfect' bike or 'perfectly' brazed a joint. For one thing I don't believe such things exist. And, at least in my own work, I can always see where I could have done something a tiny bit better, brazed it a little cleaner, been more efficient about it. It's pretty damned good now, but I'm constantly striving towards making it better...