Making it through another year, '23-'24

[Hilltop366]

Your a doctor......of course you have patience. ;D

[doc henderson]

Nice Hilltop! :D :D :D

[SawyerTed]

Still a nice ride!  The big cookies are obviously part of the bench but first look makes them appear to be leaning on the Harley.   :D

Hope Tom and the rest have been productive today.  It's been a bust here today with cold rain near freezing.  Emily volunteered at a 5k/10k/50k race today (I quit questioning the reasoning for running much less in the cold rain).  I was on my own, tended the fires in the water stove and living room fireplace insert.

[doc henderson]

I worked two nights, and got a good sleep today, and woke up with opinions.      8)   

[Old Greenhorn]

Your a doctor......of course you have patience. ;D

Well he certainly has patients, not sure about patience. :D Given the invasion on his shop and home I am not sure I could have endured that without exploding at some point. In fact I am sure I would have 'lost my stuff' on somebody. Your shop is your sanctuary, violation of that is [unforgiveable] (I had another thought in mind, but it won't be fit for the forum). Still it was a good project with a fine outcome, but there are many things that cannot and should not be done by a committee, and that's one of them. Off thread? Of course not!
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For me today was not really productive, but I got some stuff done. I always get distracted by the first real snow, but these last few years it is always a disappointment. I am not seeing on the radar a storm forming up that will give us the 6-10 or 12" that they predict. We haven't had a foot of snow in close to two years or so. SO of course, I am dubious. We get what we get. But based on the forecast my son, Bill and a lot of the local guys have spent the last few days hitching up plows, loading their spreaders, bringing in salt/sand, and greasing everything up and diagnosing electrical issues left form last year. :D
ME? I just did a few more little things for snow prep and piddled in the shop. I brought a couple of cart loads of wood into the shop (that pile is getting really short) which should take me through tomorrow. I have yet to do the house wood. The Mule is all charged up and the plow is set to go. The will be the first time it's not in the shop. I have too much stuff going on and there isn't quite room, so it has lived outside since April. If we get a real winter, I will move it in making it easier to clean and maintain. Right now I'm just glad the ground is fairly hard where I have to plow.
I did start finishing on some of those trinket boxes and still anxious to try my hand at flocking again. This should be interesting. :D I just hope it doesn't turn into a flocking mess. ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, just for the record we got 8" measured snow which was really about 10" of heavy wet stuff. I killed most of Monday cleaning it up. The Mule worked well, but it's getting time for a new battery so just to be safe, I put it on a charger just to keep it topped off when I take breaks. The winch pulls a lot lifting the plow.
Monday I ordered new flocking and adhesive to replace the crap I got shafted with the first time and Tuesday morning I got the ship notification, so I guess I bought one of the last cans they had, seems to be a big shortage at all suppliers of the green stuff.
Tuesday we got about 1.5" of snow just before the heavy rain started. I mistakenly did not take a swipe around to get that snow cleared thinking the rain would do it. It did not in most cases and that snow held the rain water in place. The yard is a real mess. We got nearly 3" of rain between yesterday afternoon and this morning. I ain't touching it now, the ground is too soft.
After ruining one of my boxes with that crap flocking I was a little down. Yesterday I attempted to save it with limited results, today I will try some more. I did a few minutes work on another project idea I have, but really have low energy and with the firewood dwindling, the shop is not warm as comfy as I would like it to be.
So I came in the house and decided to get my upcoming logs orders organized in my book and sort out all the emails. I did some follow up emails to clients who had not nailed down their quantities yet and also folks who made the first inquiry but never pulled the trigger. Lastly I emailed a few regular winter buyers to check in and got answers back there too. Some got back right away, one I am still waiting on. I picked up some orders from the older clients who had forgotten the time of year.
All told I am looking at 450-500 logs in the books, so I have my work cut out for me. But I have the clients well informed and they are flexible understanding my weather constraints. I want to wait a few more weeks before I start, hoping it gets colder for a bit. It's just too warm yet. Anyway, that income will put a dent in some expenses and maybe I can keep a little of it on the side for that trailer.
Last week I called for a quote for a custom belt for the drum sander and didn't hear back, so yesterday I called back and got a recording. Tried again this morning and talked with the same gal, she said they didn't have the quote yet. I asked 'if it takes 5 days to get a quote, how long does it take to get the belt?' She said about 2 weeks. My enthusiasm is waning. I did get a quote from Kingspor's for $118.00 but the caveat they put at the bottom of the quote gives me pause:

"The belt is a polyester material with a butt spliced/glue/taped joint.
As mentioned yesterday, we cannot guarantee tracking; therefore, no returns or exchanges."

A follow up email told me it takes them about 4 days to get the belt made. So now I have to decide if I want to go that way, or wait for the other guys (SuperGrit) and see what they come up with. It's not my money I'm spending, but I want it to be right and work because it is about 6 hours to change the belt and get the machine back together.

Today I am still in that funky blue mood. It's grey out, 40° and everything is a sloppy mess. Having a hard time getting excited about anything, but it is another day, so...

[SawyerTed]

Could be worse brother! 

I'm dealing with a cracked waste line to my septic tank...

It started out with a possible rain water drainage/seepage issue has turned into a waste water leak.

[doc henderson]

Tom!  a couple thoughts.  I know space is tight, but any spot for a second aux. batt for the plow lifting.  also, I think the butt splice, if it has the wire fingers, may have a rod that goes through to connect the ends, and therefore can be installed without taking the machine apart.  may have to cut the old one off.  hang tough!

[Old Greenhorn]

AWW Geez Ted! That sucks. I've been there and I feel for ya man! You're right, it could be worse! Now I feel a little better, sorry. ;D

Doc, A butt splice will leave a bump in this application and be unacceptable. Besides, you can't use those joints on an abrasive belt. We'll figure it out and get it running. We always have in the past. The only way to do this is take it all apart, but I am getting faster at it.

[doc henderson]

unless they can make it without a bump.  sure, be easier.  My 20-inch planer has an accordion set of plastic dust boots.  I bought replacement ones about 10 years ago.  still new old stock, as I would have to disassemble it.  just sold it to Cardiodoc.  I will give him these although if he ever decides to fix it, he will ask me to help.  for the sander, you have to just remove the platen, and take it all apart if I recall.

[Old Greenhorn]

....  for the sander, you have to just remove the platen, and take it all apart if I recall.

Aw gee, you're funny Doc! For those not quite catching Doc's dry sense of humor here maybe I should 'splain a little.

"Just remove the platen" means: loosen and lift the 180# motor to remove the belts, remove each of the two abrasive rollers, Remove the retaining bars for the elevation adjustment screws, loosen and remove the chain for the elevation adjustments, lift the entire platen assembly off the machine and find a place to put it. Remove tension adjustment screws and blocks on three corners. Remove the conveyor drive chain and maybe the motor because it's in the way. Remove two tension adjuster brackets on one side, try to sneak out one roller, you can't get the other out, the gear is in the way, so figure out a way to to make that 'not be a problem'. Remove two of the elevation control screws and the nuts. Slide the conveyor belt off, takes 2 people, but I have to do it with one.
Then you have to do that whole thing in reverse, make everything fit and align it as you go. Disassembly takes 30-45 minutes, re-assembly takes several hours of fighting to make it fit.

Funny guy! :D :D

[doc henderson]

I do not think I had to remove the roller.  I found a way to pull it out (I think) without all that.  It did take some time.  let me look.  It was a pain.  you are a machine guy so I know you will do it the easiest way.  the platen is MDF so I took off all the hardware so I could tighten up the holes with glue and wood.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, it is what it is and I haven't been thinking on it much these last few days. I have yet to order the new conveyor, not being to thrilled with either of the quotes I got (it's not the cost, it's my confidence is the people I got the quotes from).
The last few days I have been bouncing on little jobs. Glue a couple of boxes, sand a few boxes, apply finish an a few boxes, mess with the flocking on some trinket boxes and I also have a 'non-profit' job I am messing with and spending way too much time on.
It's a long story but a few weeks ago I got a haircut and noticed that the business card display in the barber shop was full and mentioned to the owner that I would like to put a few of my cards in there. She said "Yeah, I gotta go through and cull some out because not all those cards are viable anymore." That was the total of our exchange and I forgot about it. For 15 minutes anyway. On the drive home I began to think about how I would make one of those card displays because it had occurred to me before. I might like to have one in my shop for folks I refer people to.
Well I have all this cedar lap siding I would love to use up and the wheels started turning and one thing led to another. A lot of little pieces involved, a lot of gluing and cleaning. I designed it as I built it and cut pieces. So there is nothing special about this and it's not done yet.


 

I used up a good 3' of that several hundred foot stack I have of partial lap siding strips. :D
These photos are without finish or the lexan that will retain the cards which is all cut and drilled for brass nails.

 

 

Anyway, I figured out today that this barber, her co-workers, or employees have cut my hair for 38 years now. I have followed her through 3 different shops until she finally started her own, where I go now. So I figure I would gift this to her and her shop and stuck my Maple card (Courtesy of Old Doc Henderson) on the top just because. That was a last minute add on last night and today. It looks better with the finish on it, I'll share it when it's done.

My attention is drawn these days to my dwindling firewood pile by the shop and I know I am in trouble. A lot of the wood I thought was good solid wood I put up last spring has no weight and is pithy, so everything is burning up fast with not a lot of heat in it. I have less than a cord in the stack left and am just hitting the mid-winter push when I expected to be cranking out a lot of work in the shop to fill the years shows with stuff to sell. I am certainly behind on that score too. Having lousy wood makes me conserve too much and the shop is not comfortable for working, which causes me to produce less, I think. It's gonna get cold here next week and I am going to have to start finding wood quick and get it processed. Seems like I put a lot of time and effort into processing wood I knew was not much good thinking I would just burn it up faster to get rid of it and get a bit of heat. But after a few months I just looed at the stacks and thought I was good, not realizing that most of the wood was junky. I burn more than twice as much junk wood in a day than I would if it was solid and then some. I am just disappointed in me is all. I'll have to stop work and find, cut, and process wood, then I have to take time off to do the mushroom log harvesting.

Ah well, it's just another year and I am just trying to get through it. I got an email requesting a property consult today, so with logs orders and that, things are looking up a little. I'll see where things stand once I get the winter tax bill paid. That will tell the tale for how the next 6 months go.
Tomorrow is another day.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   How many different vendors are buying your boxes?

   Good looking card display rack. I'm anxious to see the finished product.

[Old Greenhorn]

Howard, right now I have two client's for the cremation urns. One is a regular buyer and the other one, well, not so much. I do bring them to shows with brochures and I see a LOT of folks grabbing the brochures. Because a lot of folks have seen them on my table and think they are jewelry or trinket boxes I expanded this year and am making some just for that, which is why I am messing with the flocking. I thought a velvet type lined box might be more appealing (my wife thinks it's stupid  :D ). Anyway, if I am making boxes and I have some odd sized pieces I would rather make them into a saleable item, that burn them. Actually the first trinket box was conceived as a birthday present for a little girl I know, but I have yet to finish it, given my flocking debacle, and her birthday was almost 3 weeks ago. I do have to make a top for it now. I held off making any tops for the trinket boxes thinking I would try to come up with something different looking.

I expect to have the business card display done by Monday night. Needs more finishing applied, then putting on the lexan as a final step.

[WV Sawmiller]

 

 

Tom,

   FWIW the above picture is a sample of a bunch of carved boxes I brought back from Cameroon in West Africa. They are/can be used for Jewelry, keys or Knick Knack boxes or such. One of these I picked up had a few of my wife's necklaces and such in it. I used to keep one on a small table in Cameroon with household operating funds for my maid. She'd take some money out to buy cleaning supplies she needed or replenish common food items I'd used. She'd leave a receipt or note on the table with the change and I'd top it back up.

   Apparently they were roughed out into a box shape from a block of wood then they'd cut a slice off with a table or band saw (Since this was Africa it was probably a hand held coping saw) then carve out the lip so it would slip down into the box after they cut out the excess wood there. The lip is about 1/2" deep. As you can see from the dollar bill for scale they are about 2-2.5 inches thick and the actual storage are was a little over an inch deep. This 2 were masks but I have some that are square, round, ovals, etc. Once the rough cutting and wood removal was done the boxes were sanded, final engraving done then they were waxed or stained as appropriate.

   I don't know if this is something you'd want to play around with or something that would sell at the shows and such you are going to. I suspect they could be quickly massed produced using routers and other power tools I assume you use on a daily basis.

[Old Greenhorn]

Neat little boxes Howard, but it seems like a lot of time to make that hole and get it shaped up. Also, I have no carving skills at all, wish I could learn, to make tops like that.
BUT...
Your suggestion did give me an idea. I have these maple and RO firewood chunks I pulled from the pile when I bucked them. They are about 7-8" diameter and right now 18" long. The hollow hole down the middle is about 4-5" diameter. They ben drying in the shop for 3 years now and are pretty much done, but I could not figure out what to do with them. Perhaps making a base and cutting them at certain heights could be turned into boxes or tall ones could be an umbrella stand. Interesting idea that. :D

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Of course the time to make them by hand was not a factor in Africa where the daily wage for anyone who can find work is a few dollars. They would not have to be carved. They also made them that were round or rectangle or square. I'm thinking you just start with about a 3-4 inch thick piece of wood, rough shape it, saw a 1-1.5 inch thick slice off, route out a half inch lip off the top where it was sawed, then route out 1/2-3/4 inch out of the center of the top leaving about a 1/2" lip then route out an inch or so from the center of the box leaving about a half inch wall on the outer edge. Sand, stain, wax, etc. as desired. Instead of carvings some of the boxes have cross grains and other engraving on them. I could see making them out of a thick natural wood cookie if it was dry and no cracks.

   Of course the artists I bought mine from were using homemade hand tools as chisels and such to dig out the wood but many of the readers here have the power tools and skills to make them. It looks like a fun project for anyone with a band saw and a router table.

   They might not sell for enough to be worth the time and effort here but its a thought. I'd bet a chunk of red cedar would make a nice box. 

[Old Greenhorn]

 Well, I'll keep this one on the list and keep thinking about it. By my reckoning I am way behind in what I wanted to get done this winter season and the firewood crunch is making it harder, gonna get cold in the coming weeks yet. I down to a cord or less and I don't burn wood like MM does. :D Plus the wood I have is mostly junk now. Yeah, I'm in trouble if I want to keep working in the shop. I screwed up bigtime this year.

I forgot to mention the other day that I finally got me one of them glue-bots to try out. Seems ok, but I have been pretty happy with the syringe fitted with a fine tip on it.



 

I bought those syringes for field flushing wounds where there is no running water. I have used them more times for 'other stuff' than I have on wounds, but they are mighty handy for all sorts of stuff. The long pointed nozzle is really handy for glue.
I finished up that business card display pretty much. Still needs some more finish work and the reflections in this photo are terrible.



 


Actually that photo is really horrible and does not reflect what it looks like very well. It actually looks fairly nice.

I tried a slightly new top design for the small trinket boxes, I wonder if you guys might tell me what you think. I just wanted something different.



 

This box measures just 2.5 x 3" for reference.

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Funny thing today, I went down to Bill's to talk about a bunch of business and also bring him a nice piece of 1" cotton rope to hang on the 10" log stringer running through his living room. I had to drive through 8-10" of water flooding the end of the town road, and it's not great at his place either. The swamp water is up even with the road and it's anybody's guess which is swamp and which is road in some spots. ;D His little girl likes to climb ropes and do gymnastics and such and I thought the 1" cotton would be easier on her hands then the 5/8 static climbing rope they had. Turns out it was a hit. She is one strong little 6 year old. Climbs that rope with just her arms and was having a blast in no time. :D she was just tickled pink with that rope. Makes me happy. That rope was the last thing left of the dingy I had and used as a little kid. Made Dad had bought that rope special just to use for the gunnel trim around the dingy. There was about 10 feet left over after he rebuilt the dingy and he held onto it. When he passed, I found it and hung it in my shed waiting for something special to use it on. Today was the day I guess. Seeing Inga's joy was good enough for me.
Anyway, I was at Bill's maybe 15 minutes and I headed back home to the shop, but got near the end of his road and there was an 18" rotted pine top dead across the road about 35' long. For once I didn't have a chain or a saw on the truck. I cleaned it our for last weeks snow. SO I backed up about 500', did a 6 point turn and went back to his shop for a saw and a chain. He was just getting ready to cut his own firewood so he and Inga got in the SXS with his (mighty) Milwaukee battery saw and I grabbed a chain. I really wished he grabbed a gas saw, but Bill is Bill. We headed down and rather than cut it and drag it off, he wanted to cut it into firewood for the OWB, so that's what we did, me, little Inga, and Bill's tenant lady who was trying to get out to work. Took all of 15 minutes to clear the road and load the SxS. Anything for a laugh, at least it wasn't raining. That top was about 35' long and missed the power line by just a couple of feet. It broke off about 20' above the stump and had some good wood in it. Glad I missed it when I drove by coming in. ;D
And tomorrow is another day.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Thx for the picture of the card hold. T think I'd suggest making it horizontal and see how it looks and works.

[Old Greenhorn]

HUH?!
It seems a little late for that wouldn't you say?

[WV Sawmiller]

Its no extra work for me. :D

Sorry, not trying to be rude. I meant you might try that on the next one.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I get that.  ;D But I don't intend for there to be another one. This one had a lot of little parts and and lot of little gluing and fitting. If I were to sell this it would have to be over 100 bucks. However, I wouldn't mind having one in my own shop. I try to keep a few cards of folks I often refer people to and this would be a nice way to do it.
No, this was just a gift to a friend's business.

[aigheadish]

OK, I was looking at the initial pictures of the business card hold and said to myself "that ain't gonna work. All the cards are vertical, you can't read them!" Then I saw the finished product and I think it looks incredible! It's funny that WV saw it horizontally as well. I say keep it vertical!

That little box looks great! I'd like to see the open lid and your adventures with flocking. The girl I'm making an urn for made me a model of what she wants, and it's tiny. Maybe inch and a half square, I'll probably scale it up a bit.

I love the story of your rope and giving it to Inga. I hope, when she grows up, she understands that there is a story there and appreciates it, I have a feeling she will.

Oh yeah, I think you'd mentioned your blanketed doors in this thread. He's my progress. I put the right side up first and over engineered it, kind of. The 2x4 at the top allows lots of air (and birds, there's birds that lives in my insulation, blocked in the picture by the drill press), then I've got a bunch of staples in it, which are probably good, though a pain to remove.

The left side is just clamped up, much easier to change and remove, but the amount of breeze I'm seeing tells me it's not keeping cold air out.

I'll end up taking the 2x4'd one down and clamping it in place and adding a third blanket to close it all up. I'm also seeing daylight through the top of the 2x12 header that I probably need to remove come spring time.



 

[doc henderson]

Tom, you may have thought of this, but you give her a card with a story of what that rope meant to you and the gift of giving it.  I made a rocker for my oldest great niece.  just little benches for the rest that have come.  She ultimately asked very nicely for a bench like all the others.  I wrote and explanation about how the wood came from Nanas house.  a lady she never met.  the wood spans 5 generations.  It should mean more when she is older. 



 

It was a standing dead oak that my wife's aunt Judy ask me to cut down in her final week in hospice.  My son William and I did it.  Milled the log and have made many gifts for family from it.



 

this is the face we put on the seat of the 4-legged bench without through or wedged tenons, cut in my shop.  she likes maleficent.  She specifically said she did not want the legs tobe cut on my sawmill, wich is amazing for only being about 5 years old at the time to have such and opintion!  Howard.