Making it through another year '21-'23

[doc henderson]

OGH, the executive team has received your suggestion, and will let you know before the first of the year!

[WV Sawmiller]

First we need to see said sign...

Naah, that's too much information and would probably just muddy the waters with extraneous facts and such. I am confident we can certainly come up with a better idea in our committee. 

Don't they say a camel is just a horse designed by committee? :D

[Old Greenhorn]

OK, if it pleases the assembled committee I submit the following for your kind consideration. First, as requested (with 1 noted dissenting), a photo of said sign:


 

Then, lacking any advance guidance forthcoming from the esteemed committee, I commenced to stumbling through on my own. I cut up some parts:


 

It's all EWP, some fresh, some left over that NYBHH gave me 2 years ago. Then I threw some stain on it just for a little color:


 

After lunch, I put it together for a test. It's screwed together with brass wood screws. I hope this fits in with what the committee has in mind:


 

After that I removed the sign and started spraying on some coats of oil based urethane in case it gets wet. I don't plan on leaving it out all the time, attracts too much attention, but just to put it out when folks are coming 'by appointment'.

I may make a little roof for it. I am still pondering that. The little project was just to get this off my list and also take my mind off the car problems until I figure out how to handle that.

OK guys, go ahead and have at it.

[samandothers]

When I saw the first photo I thought, is he trying to make us think he painted the sign given the paint brushes and foam brushes in the picture!?!  I knew better given your love for painting.

Good job on the the stand, looks nice!  If you decide to do a cover build it so you can suspend the sign from the cover.   You can then do away with the legs and wind will not knock it over.  You could use carabiners to suspend it.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah no, that is just a commercial sign I had printed on coroplast. :D The logo itself I hired a pro artist I know and like her work to create for me a year or so ago. I think she did a nice job and she gave me al the artwork in digital format in various layers. It was my way of keeping starving artists working through the COVID thing, while also helping me look good.

 Anyway, if I do a roof, it will just be a little one mounted on the top of this stand. This is intended to put out on days I expect clients to visit, then remove back to the shop. My zoning allows for a home based business with very limited traffic (which I fall way under) and a sign of a certain size, which I believe this fits in. But I have no desire to have unexpected people stopping in to ask questions and buy nothing, but perhaps complain about something or bring unwanted attention. If I were to put up a permanent sign, it would be a smaller shingle for sure. 

 Funny but most folks who come here to pick stuff up and have good directions (I tell them it is 7/10's of a mile down from the corner on the right, green house, 1st driveway) blow right past it at 35 mph. I had been telling them I will put an orange traffic cone at the end of my driveway and more than half still blow past it as I stand at the shop and wave as they go by. So for that reason, I had this sign printed on both sides, so when they go by, turn around, then come back, they have a second chance to see it. ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Well, that will probably work till our committee meets again. :D

   We will probably propose a mushroom shape. Or maybe the roof can look like a giant mushroom. :

   Well done. Looks good. ;)

[WDH]

Its gonna need some diagonal bracing ;D. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I knew that would come up. :D :D But I did all the math and consulted with a lot of DonP's posts regrading such and found that the actual sheet value of the sign itself provides that anti-racking support. Kind of like 1/4" plywood on the backing of a bookshelf.

 Next? ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

  It looks a little tall on the right but you can put it on the mill and resaw both to get them the same height and angle. ;)

   I think live edge on the diagonal braces will be a nice touch too. ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

 It looks a little tall on the right but you can put it on the mill and resaw both to get them the same height and angle. ;)

  I think live edge on the diagonal braces will be a nice touch too. ;D

AH, here we go now....

[doc henderson]

very nice for a guy that is not a woodworker!   :D :D :D.  could make a little sign to hang below with your cell number so folks can make an appointment.  but that may exceed you stated goals.  even a board as a flat roof would add some interest and keep water out of the top joints.  looks great.  OH, and a hitch and rear wheels so it can be towed by the mule...  and led down lighting with a battery and solar charger.  But I am exercising restraint as to not get too involved in and take away from your very nice design... maybe a water dispenser, and a little rack for business cards, but that may be approaching the proverbial OTT.  (Over the top)     8)     :D.  well done, and so quick, we could barely think of any suggestions.  

[aigheadish]

Looks great OGH! 

I have the same issue with my driveway, though I only get deliveries, but rarely does someone not blow by my driveway. I kind of like it that way but it makes my neighbor nuts when folks use his driveway to turn around. I added a pretty substantial slab of wood I pounded into the ground and cut some big address numbers that got screwed to it. I don't know how long it'll last but it looks cool.

[Nebraska]

Doc kinda thought along the same lines I was. At least with a wagon to set it in.  I hadn't gotten as far as donkey cart. 
I would put some eye bolts (or some other means of attaching a bungee cord to a couple earth anchors, because  around here that would likely become a kite.  It does look nice and will surely help guide folks in.

[samandothers]

Yeah no, that is just a commercial sign I had printed on coroplast. :D The logo itself I hired a pro artist I know and like her work to create for me a year or so ago. 

Anyway, if I do a roof, it will just be a little one mounted on the top of this stand. This is intended to put out on days I expect clients to visit, then remove back to the shop. 

I remember when you shared the design, it was/is a hit.
The thought on the sign was to plant posts with a small shed or gable style roof.  Eye bolts could be attached. When needed the frame with your business logo could be carried out and attached with carabiners.  Whatever is the simplest for the proprietor.  

[WDH]

That right shoe does not look the same size as the left one.  Like wearing one 13 EEE on one foot and an 11 D on the other. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Danny, I assure you the feet are the same size. Look at the second photo in the posting above and you can se better. Nobody could miss by that much. :D

Sam, that would be a good idea and I briefly considered it but let it go because A) the area this needs to go is solid ledge and I would have to hammer a hole to get any post in, and 2) because I push snow up there when plowing in the winter and no matter how careful I am, I know I will wind up taking it out. 

I had also considered the wheels and such, but this thing is so light that it is just easier to carry. I may add a handle at some point.

 Doc, you're right, I should have put the phone # on the sign. Next time. Maybe I will do an adder at some point.

[Old Greenhorn]

A full day of odds and ends today. This morning I ran a small log delivery over the hill to an outdoor educational facility and got to do some catching up with staff friends there. Came back and dropped the trailer, then picked up my son and we finally got up to harbor freight. Between the two of us we dropped nearly 600 bucks on odds and ends. But we got it done.
Came home from that and I put the tarp on the log inoculation bench and figured out how to secure it. That's all I needed to compete the project.



 

Having that done, I decided to go ahead without the committee's consent and add a little roof on that sign. I had some white cedar lap siding scraps, so I used that. Stained it to match the rest of the frame and that is 'done'.


  

For a quick and dirty job, I don't think it came out bad at all.


 

Then I ran down to Bill's to see how the roof is coming and it's nearly done. They have the valleys to trim in yet and ran out of painted screws. Rain all day tomorrow, so they will pick it up on Friday. SO we decided we will finally do that Woodmizer run tomorrow and stop at JS Logging and Charlie Stahl's logging on the way. Should be about a 9 hour loop not counting shopping time. ;D

So nothing earth shattering got done, but I got a few things off my plate. Tomorrow is just a lot of riding in the truck and spending money. It seems to go out as fast as it comes in, actually, it goes out faster. :(

[doc henderson]

looks great!  and to quote Forest Gump, "and that's all I got to say about that"!  

[WV Sawmiller]

   Well, I guess the old adage "Its better to ask forgiveness than permission applies here." While those of us on the committee may feel slighted by not being consulted in advance, the general consensus is "You done good."

   (Is it too late to add a live edge lap shingle roof? Oh, never mind...) :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks guys. It's just one of those 'little things' that I always wanted to get done. Now it's done.
Yes Howard, it is too late. The committee had it's chance and whiffed on it. I did the best I could on my own. Snooze, you loose. :D
 When I was at harbor freight I looked around for a cheap solar walkway light I could take apart and put the collection panel on the 'roof' and the light inside but decided against it. I only leave the sign out overnight by accident and again, too much attention.
 I was happy to use up just a little of that cedar. I have a mess of it in 10' lengths. It was ripped off of full width boards to finish the last course around a house job my son did. Between 3 and 4" wide, so kind of oddball. I may paint some oil urethane on the top to help shed water next time I have a can open.

 I got an email last night from one of my clients using the Loginator. He is nearing the end of inoculating about 130 logs and was also using it for holding up the totem logs (around 200#) to cut them, like a saw buck. This was not within the market spec for the unit, but what the heck, it worked. Until it didn't. Apparently he put a big log on it and split the 1x12 which makes up the table surface which the chocks and wheels are bolted to. I could not tell if he was angry in his note. I reminded him that it was not intended for such use, but said I would fix the whole thing if he brought it back, or give him a (heavier) replacement board to do his own repair. Or he could effect his own fix which would not be hard and take about 10 minutes. I'll stand behind it and do what he wants. I'd rather have a happy customer then save the cost of a simple board, especially given the amount he has already spent with me. He hasn't replied back yet.

[Nebraska]

Gee a guy makes his own HF run last night and misses out on that input session. Looks good with that roof.  but I agree with Howard on the 'live edge aspect"...

[Old Greenhorn]

Well this was the only tapered material I have. I do have some thing live edge cherry, but I ain't gonna waste it on this. As it is, that white cedar cost somebody 2 arms and a leg (not me).
 If somebody wanted to send me the 'right material', I would give it a look over and think about it. :D
 Gotta get on the road to WM. Were are picking up the new resaw attachment to make tapered siding on the LT50.
 Everybody have a productive day!

[aigheadish]

Sign looks great! 

The broken Loginator was probably due for a good kill test, right? Finding the limits of stuff like that is important! 

You speak, often, of stopping to catch up with old friends... Have you (or any of you guys) found a way to catch up but not for hours and hours? I'm great with a half hour conversation but I've got 2 neighbors, that I really like, but it's easy to get caught in chatting for 2 hours if I let it. I don't want to be a jerk and I know there is value in these conversations but man, sometimes it's tough. I usually use the standby of "welp, I've got to go get some stuff done" but I also don't want to put people off. Even though they are neighbors it's not uncommon to go a month or two without talking to them and they have interesting things to say but...

[WV Sawmiller]

  I don't know why you say the design committee whiffed on this one. We were working at our normal speed taking due diligence to prevent future law suits from a truck load of nuns who might be injured by flying sign debris in a storm of the century winds because the sign lacked corner bracing and was not properly anchored or positioned to avoid such breezes. ;)

   We on the design committee voted on whether to sanction you for failure to consult with us prior to proceeding. The vote was 57-4 but since it fell just short of the 94% approval required for such sanctions you dodged the bullet again this time. :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Howard, I am having a hard time understanding how you got a vote count like that with only a half dozen folks on your committee. Maybe a math problem? Either way, like so many Americans these days, I don't like your numbers so I am calling them 'fake'. :D ;D It's over anyway and I have accepted full liability for the design all along anyway, so no worries. If any engineering issues coem to light down the road, I will be sure to inform the committee in due time.

Aigheadish, I consider that there are two (probably more) distinct forms of 'catching up'. The one yesterday was just 10-20 minutes while we worked unloading and just a few minutes after. We all have things we are supposed to be doing and respect each others time. But given the long lapses of time between visits these days, some catching up is in order. The caretaker there I know and also knew he recently lost his Dad. We talked in private about that for a bit before the others showed up. I was only on the property for less than an hour total, doing business most of that time.
 Now the other kind is a longer period, sometimes hours. For those I never 'drop in' or 'drop by' unannounced. I find that rude and most times make an 'appointment' or a time that fits both parties and the time is allotted for a good long catch up. An example of this is meeting with NYBHH. We always have a lot to talk about. I so enjoy seeing the beautiful and artist work he is doing on his place and it takes a little time to take it all in and understand how he handled the details. Plus he is just an interesting guy and we always get into conversations that can 'range' a bit. (Fun fact, he has good taste in beer too.) You take a guy like Barge. Everybody knows he works past dark to dark most days and he has a lot of irons in the fire. I would never drop in unannounced. As it is I know that on some of my visits he has taken time from money making work to show me around with small tours. He also knows how much I appreciate learning about the work he does and how he gets it all done. Yes, sometimes I am there for work and run into him, but I know he has someplace else to be, and I keep it short, under 5 minutes. Then we each go do what we have to do. It's just a matter of respect.

 If you a re having an issue with a neighbor that is not respecting your time, try using a trick that works for me: If we get past the 5 or 10 minute 'catch-up' and I get a little antsy, I just explain that I am working on something I have to get done by the end of the day and hope they won't mind if I keep working, or hey, maybe they would like to help? I hand them some gloves and a tool (preferably something heavy or very sharp). 90% of the time they remember something else they have to do. The other 10% will actually try to give me a hand.
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Today was a pretty good day, but a long time in the truck. We were 10 hours on the road. JS logging was inexplicably closed when we got there, nobody around, no sign on the door. We headed over to Charlie Stahl's. I finally got a pair of mud boots. The are Huskies and wound up being size 15 with liners for my size 11 feet. This is why I needed to try them on. I would have gone nuts doing the mail order thing. I'm sure these are made by Viking. They are marked "light 28" whatever that means. They only had one pair in each size, so the pickings were thin. I also got a box of 7/32 files I am low on.
 Bill bought a variety of chokers, some replacement hooks, a couple of loggers tapes, and a few other things. He also got pricing on some skidder chains.

 Back on the road for another 90 minutes and we got to Woodmizer NY. We dropped off blades for re-sharp, got a bunch of spare parts he had ordered and loaded the re-saw in the truck after altering the pallet with a chainsaw. ;D A straight shot home with a stop for fuel and lunch at 3:30/. Both of us did a lot of phone business along the drive and he had the guys back at the shop to work with. The day was not a rainout, but was pizzily in our area all day. When we got to Hannibal it was blue skies and sunshine. We got home a little after 7pm. Anyway, it was another task out of the way. Now back to business.