The blurfl FAQ (NEW FAQ, Comments welcome)
art.m...@ualberta.ca
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The blurfl FAQ
Over the course of 1995, there were two separate threads concerning
the blurfl. In order to preserve that very informative and relevant
discussion for future generations of rec.ww'ers, I have extracted
the entired discussion from the Listserv archive and present it here.
The posts have been edited together to form the semblance one long
front-porch discussion (Bring your own hound dog). Anything remotely
resembling a serious comment has been ruthlessly excised. All names
have been preserved to convict the guilty.
Art Mulder (art.m...@ualberta.ca)
February 13, 1996
URL: http://www.ualberta.ca/~amulder/wood/Blurfl.txt
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It began on the 24th of August, 1995...
Lyle E Kesterson <kua...@SKYBLU.CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU>
University of Arizona
Okay, I'm a rube...I fell for it.....or.....uh...What's a blurfl?
I just read the woodworking FAQ...
Mike Allenbaugh <alle...@AOL.COM>
One year the New River Coal Company had blurfls made for each of their
seven mine superintendents. As I remember they were made in the main shop
at Mount Hope, WV.
My grandfather got one and my cousin who lives in Florida has it now and
wouldn't part with it for anything.
Patrick Olguin <po...@PARACEL.COM>
A blurfl is just a yuppie-bastard version of a blivit. Blivits were first,
and are still prefered over blurfls, if only for their simplicity.
The same can be said for widgets. A widget is just a glorified gadget,
accompanied by some clever glossies cooked-up by marketing.
An obscure item, still unfettered by marketing types is a framus. A framus
is an undefined device. To connect two framuses (never framii) together,
one "inter-co-framulates" them together. This is the basis of MIL-STD-2167A.
Other technical terms, such as dealy-bobber, and whats-it are beyond
the scope of this paper.
O'Deen
Don't even ask what a hornblatt is.
Gary Johns <gpj...@OSUUNX.UCC.OKSTATE.EDU>
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater OK
You forgot the all important thingamajig! Even Commander Scott
(Enterprise, USS 1701-A) knows that you can't have an operation without
your thingamajig. Hell, I have a hard enough time making the whistle trigger
on the Johnson bar stay put. And the Freebis pin is always getting stuck!
Mike DeLong <mde...@SUN.CIS.SMU.EDU>
Southern Methodist University, Dallas,
Hey O'Deen, you forgot "do-hickey". When I was a teenager my father owned
a hardware store and we sold a lot of "do-hickeys". Come to think of it,
we sold a lot of "thing-a-ma-bobs" too. It was an old-fashion type of
hardware store where you could buy a washer intead of plastic bag of seven
washers. Gee, that brings back some fond memories. Thanks.
Mike Allenbaugh <alle...@AOL.COM>
Are you perhaps confusing the common blurfl with the whimmydiddle? I had
mine made by a local blacksmith and it is very useful when working long
stock.
Jeff Gorman <Je...@MILLARD.DEMON.CO.UK>
Orlright, but what is a Knurdlin Iron?
Elliot Tenofsky <ete...@CALVIN.LINFIELD.EDU>
Dear Ingrates,
I for one am sick and tired of seeing the proud name of F. Snood
Blurfl taken for granted. After all, Blurfl was one of the great
pioneers in woodworking history. His innovations (to name a few) speak
for themselves:
1. It was Blurfl who first came up with the idea that using only
one screwdriver was inadequate. He suggested sets of two; one to tighten
and one to loosen.
2. It was Blurfl who, recognizing the constant complaints re
hand-made dovetails, went the full Neanderthal route. After abandoning
live birds which kept flying away, he just used the tails. Try not to
get too much glue on your fingers when working with the feathers.
3..And must I remind you that it was Blurfl who correctly saw the
dangers in sharp chisels cutting into sensitive skin and thus ended all
the hassle on how to sharpen chisels by dulling them? Never to stop
when a good thing was discovered, he went on to using the hammer on the
steelrather than the wood and then to manufacture chisles entirely out of
wood. Yes, it was Blurfl who introduced this important safety factor.
4. It was Blurfl who, when trying to use a band saw asked the
question that all of us have but were afraid to ask: for a properly tuned
bandsaw, is it necessary to get something like Count Basie, or will a
simple trio do?
5. Finally, of course it was Blurfl who first came up with an
acceptable and practical recipe for elbow grease, to wit: first simmer
elbows in lightly salted water, then...
Enough. I hope that we will all now remember our historic roots
and the esteemed name of Blurfl will no longer be taken for granted (or
simply taken).
Tim Swihart <tim_s...@quickmail.apple.com>
Hmmm, didn't Norm use one of those last season to help build that outdoor
playhouse? I think Porter Cable makes one with a laser on it... :-)
Stephen LaMantia <lama...@U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Blurfl! No, it's not an acronym, it's the name of a tool used for
installing widgets into thingamajigs, or for removing whatzits from
doohickeys, depending on whether it's left-handed or right.
It's usually made from stuff.
Paul Houtz <g...@PA.ITC.HP.COM>
Hewlett Packard
No. The C. J. Blurfle Company, of Peoria, Ill., has been in continuous
business for 77 years, making a number of useful articles. Those articles
such as paper-clip straighteners, grass-blade cleaners, fertilizer removers,
light-bulb removers, etc., have become so heavily used in government
installations that the word "blurfle" has come into common use to
generically describe these appliances, much the way that Kleenex(tm) is
generically used to for facial tissues.
I myself have an extensive collection of "blurfles" but have never found
a real use for them. I'm not surprised the company does well, however,
because I have encountered (and saved as part of my collection) the original
purchase receipts. The cost of paper-clip straightener alone would have
procured two Unisaws, and that is the least expensive item in the product
line.
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In Conclusion...
It all makes perfect sense to me know. It's what my family calls a
"doo-hickey, off the whim-wham, for the whippie-valve". But I must say
that I really thought a blurfl was an abreviation for an actual device
of some sort. and I just _knew_ that I _HAD_ to go out and buy one!
You _REALLY_ had me going.
John
Duct Tape <Gunt...@EWORLD.COM>
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ps: Comments are welcome, but since this FAQ presents the contents
of an _old_ discussion, I really don't see how I can accept
and submissions for new additions to it.
--
..art mulder ( art.m...@ualberta.ca )( http://www.ualberta.ca/~amulder/ )
( Sys Admin / Support Analyst, Network Resources )
( Computing and Network Services, U of Alberta, Edmonton )
John Levin
>
>
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> The blurfl FAQ
>
>Over the course of 1995, there were two separate threads concerning
...[etc.]
Thank you for your most informative, and complete post. I can find little to
fault in your research or methodology. However, the FAQ would have been more
complete had you mentioned an ancillary subject: the round Tuit.
I have several of these, cast in an aluminum alloy, and they are nearly
indispensible for initiating any project. When someone asks why I haven't
started something, and I reply 'I haven't gotten a round Tuit', I remember
that I have a supply, get one, and am able to start without further delay.
The FAQ really should include a discussion of this item.
Kevin Leitch
>In article <4fqe1c$q...@pulp.ucs.ualberta.ca>, art.m...@ualberta.ca says...
>>
>>
>> The blurfl FAQ
>>
>>Over the course of 1995, there were two separate threads concerning
>
>
>
>Thank you for your most informative, and complete post. I can find little to
>fault in your research or methodology. However, the FAQ would have been more
>complete had you mentioned an ancillary subject: the round Tuit.
>
>I have several of these, cast in an aluminum alloy, and they are nearly
>indispensible for initiating any project. When someone asks why I haven't
>started something, and I reply 'I haven't gotten a round Tuit', I remember
>that I have a supply, get one, and am able to start without further delay.
>
>The FAQ really should include a discussion of this item.
>
My news server never had the original post to this thread, just it's
replys.
Can someone post "The blurfl FAQ" for my enligtenment.
K.W.L.
P.S. I have a dozen or so round Tuit, but mine are wood, not aluminum. Is
their any advantage of one over another? Are their Imports for these and
if so are they as good as domestic or, better yet, home made?