The roller I keep a spare of, and why that matters
I've got two brayers for every job and I'll tell you why. Bought a good rubber roller about eight years ago, used it till it went hard and shiny, and the day I needed a third pass on an edition it started squeaking and I knew I was stuffed. Ink was sitting there, block was carved, paper was cut, and I had a roller that sounded like a rusty gate.
So now there's a spare. Always. It's not even money, it's the difference between finishing an edition on a Tuesday and waiting a week for one to come from Dublin. The spare's a cheaper one, the kind you'd give a student, but it's there. I've never once regretted having it. But sure I had to learn that the hard way, same as everything.
What's the thing you learned to keep two of? Or is it just me and my brayers. 🙂
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the spare being the cheap student one is the whole move honestly. I keep a backup kiln shelf for the same reason, not a nice one, just a bit of cracked bisque that'll do the job in a pinch. the day you need it you're not thinking about quality, you're thinking about not losing a whole day to a trip to the shop.
but "it's not even money", you're right and wrong at the same time. it IS money, it's just that a week of not printing costs more than the roller ever did. took me way too long to learn that one. my gran always said buy cheap buy twice but buying the cheap thing as insurance is a different game entirely.
Ah now you're after putting your finger on it exactly. The spare was never meant to be the best roller I own, sure it's the one that saves the edition. And that cracked bisque is the same yoke entirely, it's not doing the beautiful work, it's doing the keeping-you-in-the-game work.
The "it's not money" thing, I know, I know. I was trying to be philosophical about it but you're dead right, it IS money, it's just cheap money that buys you expensive time. There's a fella here in Galway does leather and he made me the same point about needles, "I have a blunt one for the rough work so the good one never gets wrecked." Insurance is just foresight wearing a cheaper jacket.
And buy cheap buy twice, sure my mother says the exact same. But the trick is buying cheap ON PURPOSE, that's the bit that changes it. Buying cheap by accident is a disaster. Buying cheap because you've decided it's gonna sit in a drawer and only come out in an emergency? That's a different thing altogether. You're not skimping, you're planning.
How long did the kiln shelf last you before you needed it, or is it still sitting there waiting? Be honest now, half the fun of the backup is never having to use it and feeling smug anyway. 😄
The cracked bisque shelf is the perfect yoke for it, I love that. There's something about a backup that's gone through the wars already that makes it more trustworthy than the day you bought it. Sure it's proved itself.
And you're dead right about the money. I was nearly too cute there, I meant it's not the price of the spare that stops people, it's that a spare feels like you're admitting you'll make mistakes or things'll go wrong. But that week of no printing, that's the real cost. The cheap roller pays for itself the first Tuesday it saves you. Your gran was right and wrong too, if she'd have seen me with two cheap rollers she'd have had a field day. 🙂