Making it through another year '21-'23

[doc henderson]

It was the bar top (thick).  but not intended to finish all in one pour.  I am off today and should be in the shop by 10.  The bar top started with low viscosity to stabilize some punky wood.  I found the left over slabs  2 x 24 x 120 inches, and I can pick one up with almost one hand.  still intact, and for about a thousand dollars of epoxy, could be made into something.  



 

 

 

It was thin coats that were repeatedly taken back down to "wood", leaving the low spots filled.  that was after stabilized and filled.  the wood is filled and penetrated with low viscosity epoxy.  There is prob. 600 bucks in the epoxy alone in this bar top.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I have been all week alternating between working on the bar bottom finish, thinking, and doing other chores. Doc and I had a nice phone chat early in the week about these finishes and I am planning on posting in the epoxy thread as soon as I get my most recent hurdle figured out. Epoxy is tough when you consider you are looking for nearly perfect optical finishes and the techniques to get there take some practice and figuring out. It's not like riding a bike. My current issue is getting some very lightly hazed areas to match the clean flat untouched 'as poured' finish. That's a tall order, but education is not cheap and it really can take some time to learn or self teach what works. Yesterday I finally did what was supposed to be a short video of what the week was for me, but it turned into 20 minutes, sorry. It explains the steps I went through and what I finally found that works best for me.

The Bar Episode 11 - YouTube

 My biggest log client and I finally hooked up yesterday. He's been busy traveling and teaching all winter as well and running his business. He brought back one of the Loginators that got clobbered over the winter. We are still trying to figure out what happened, but something flipped one of the long inoculation table assemblies over and it broke the Loginator top in half. It also broke the ridge pole on the table which supports the weather cover (tarp). Hard to believe it was wind, the thing weighs about 100 pounds. Maybe a bear attracted to the odor of the wax or spores or something? We will never know, but some repair work is in order. I have to make another top, but first I need to get the mill fixed. Speaking of that, WM has yet to give us a date when they expect to MAKE the part we need, let alone when it will ship. This is beginning to get us both pretty ticked off. I don't wanna go back and look at when this thing went down and how long we have been playing this game, but it's WAY too long now.

 45° and steady rain here now. I think my rain barrel may fill today but I will wait to put that pump on for a couple more weeks yet. I'm still watching the weather in GA and getting more excited to feel some warmth and sunshine and walk around in a t-shirt. They say it will hit near 60 today, but with 35mph winds and rain.
 So more shop work today, I will try to get that bottom finished off with one more run around with compound, then some wax before I flip it. Time to get on it....

[doc henderson]

looking great Tom! 

[newoodguy78]

Any way you can fabricate the parts you need yourself? That's a long time to have that machine sitting idle.

[doc henderson]

I did not buy the debarker.  can you run it without the debarker?  just to get some work done.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, we can run without it. But I have it all apart now and I would have to pack up the parts and store them, then tie up the harnesses and secure it. We will lose about 40% blade life too. But we could. I went down the afternoon and broke the rest of the parts off the bad arm and grabbed that and the pin to bring home and look at with machinist eyes. We have a sympathetic local machine shop, I just don't know if they have open time. They are closed on weekends, but I drove there anyway and the door was open, but the shop was dark and nobody was there. The owner lives on the same property. I hollered for him a time or two, but no joy. So I will try again Monday because I know Sunday's are a big church day for their family. I think we can machine off the collar from the tube, make a new collar, turn a straight section on the shaft, fit the new collar to that diameter, press them together and weld them on the head side, then flip it and re-weld the whole thing back on the tube. It has to be done with some precision or else the debarker will not swing in a flat plane and that could be a semi-functional nightmare. There are several reasons why it is not a simple 'whack it back together and weld it' thing. If we are going to do it, we need to do it right, because I am seriously doubting we will ever see a workable proper solution from WM. If it happens, great, but you can't blame me for doubting after 8 weeks of playing games. Orders are backing up and that drives stress. I'm retired and no longer do 'stress', at least not unless it's for a price.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well another day shot to heck. ;D
I woke this morning with back pain that I can't explain, but through the day it waned away a bit, but it did take some of the giddy up out of my step.
My bar client texted last night and asked if he could bring his bass body over again so "we" could sand the rest of it down. (Last time we only sanded the back and front the he thought leaving the edges  as is with the lacquer would look cool. Now he wants it all off. SO back he came today, but remembering what a mess it made last time, I set up a suction line off my dust collector and that did a fairly good job keeping the dust in the shop down. But the sanding was a bear, doing the edges (picture a telecaster body with al the deep curves around the neck you can't get and ROS into). That lacquer was thick too. I used 120 grit and it took about 46 minutes of sanding. When I had been working on the area around the neck with paper by hand, he volunteered to do some. It took him about 2 minutes before he was complaining about hand cramps and being out of shape. :D ;D (He's almost 20 years younger than me and in pretty good shape, but he doesn't do any 'work'.) Anyway, we got it done to his satisfaction and I had made it clear my goal for today was another pour on his bar, so he didn't linger long.
I had lunch then returned a call to a land consulting client and set up a visit for next Saturday in Conesviille, last time I was here was in September, so it will be a nice drive and I'll have a good breakfast at the Conesville store before we meet.
After that I got back out to the shop. The dust control had worked well enough. I decided to set up a video shoot which I had not planned to do. I have gotten a 'new' camera, donated by @Dakota (Thank you again, very much!) and wanted to try using it in a video. It's a Hero3 and has sort of a wide fisheye lens that will lend itself nicely to outdoor shots, but for indoors detail stuff, I'm not so sure. I got ambitious and thought I would try using two cameras, what the heck, right? I also wanted to show that this epoxy stuff can be quite boring work. So anyway, here's Episode 12:

The Bar Episode 12 - YouTube

After that I restocked the shop and house firewood, did a little light sanding on a couple of small projects, secured a tarp on my drying rack #3 that came loose in the high winds we've had, and then I did the video editing and upload, which still takes a long time.

Tomorrow I'll head over to the machine shop and see what we can do about fixing that swing arm.

[Old Greenhorn]

Geez, it's Wednesday already! Well I did go over to the machine shop and we worked out several workable plans for a solution. I trust those guys and will leave it to them to pick the best one. I think they will choose the one which makes it stronger than it was before, making a whole new pin and modifying the arm just a bit. ;D No word on when it might be ready, I don't rush them and they know we are waiting production on it. We trust them, plus, the price is right. Last time I brought in a small job, when I picked it up, I told him to send the Invoice to Bill. He said, "nah, I can't bill him, he's been plowing my lot and driveways for 10 years and hasn't billed me yet." :D

 I did another pour on Monday to bring the pond up more and here is video #13 (sorry):

The Bar Episode 13 - YouTube

 It was my first one using both cameras, with mixed results. ;D
 Yesterday was another pour and I am just about getting the pond even with the top, but the slab has a slight crown, so it's tricky. No video on that one, same as before. Today is a big day, I will do the primer coat on the top and try to push all the excess into the pond to get it even all the way around. Tomorrow I will sand it all flat and re-assess where I stand. Yesterday's work cured up nicely. The shop stayed over 71° all night and at one point it was 78. I shut down the house stove yesterday, nice and quiet without all the fans running. I may restart tomorrow for another cold front coming through overnight, we'll see. House wood is nearly gone. What I have left looks like MM's yearly supply, so not a lot. :D

 Time to get at it.

[doc henderson]

Did you end up hitting it with the torch, after the video?  looking good.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, Doc, I did, a little bit here and there but I wasn't really concerned much because it's just a rough coat. I did another layer today (no video of this one!) and found one last pinhole I had not noticed before and the dang thing would let out a bubble of air about once a minute, which I would pop and it did that for 45 minutes before I gave up. I cam back an hour later and it had quit and filled in the hole to where I couldn't find it. That little crown is proving more difficult to cover than I had thought. But no matter, I think I have enough stuff. The pond is full now and I am adding thin layers over the whole table, but I have two tiny sections of 'shoreline' that are still protruding up a tiny bit. Late in the afternoon I found two tiny hairs, I think from my cat but maybe me, and managed to get them out and smoothed out with the torch.

 Videos are still proving to be a bear to edit, compile and upload. I wasted yesterday evening doing the next one, then it crashed overnight during the save and I lost it. I installed a different editor this morning and wasted a good part of the morning redoing the editing, and not as well as the first time, I think. It took hours to edit, save, and upload. Part of the issue is how much memory I have on the computer. Anyway, with sincere apologies, here is Episode 14:

The Bar Episode 14 - YouTube

 I had just gotten done doing this pour yesterday and Bill called. "Watcha doin'?" he says, which is code for "I got something for you to do". :D  He was doing hazard trees and they are Hickory and good mushroom logs so he invited me to come work with them. I put on my dancing shoes and headed over. 4 hours later I was home with about 35 logs, a full belly (Lunch was on the boss), and a stiff neck (I don't know why, gone this morning, all good).

[Andries]

. . .   and a stiff neck (I don't know why, gone this morning, all good). . .  

My son and Bill use the same code.
I get a sore neck from tree work and hazard trees - comes from doing the rigging and squinting straight up into the top branches, for a whole day.
That kid, I tell ya, he's a pain in the neck! 😁

[Old Greenhorn]

Roger that, Andries, I didn't think about the 'looking up' all the time. We work pretty tight and so you need to tune into the bucket man. You can drag brush, chip, and buck while he is roping the next cut, but as soon as you hear the saw wind up, you best stop and pay attention. The problem that day was that I was bucking with a gas saw, so I had my muffs on, and Bill was using his electric for most of the bucket work which I can't hear. I was looking up and checking a lot, that must have been it. ;D 
 Late last night Bill called again. He had gotten texts in the evening telling him the machine shop work was done, but they didn't hit his phone until 9pm. We are now up to almost 9 weeks waiting on WM and the machine shop made a full new part, redesigned for strength,  and pressed it together in 4 days. I'll pick it up this morning after shop work (and drop off a few dozen eggs in return) then run it to the mill, check for fit before we weld it up. I'll get some photos and let you see how we modified it. It ain't gonna break again in my lifetime. ;D

 We have the grandsons for the day today, I have a pour to do, and the mill work. Gonna be interesting and I should get at it.

[Nebraska]

I hope you get caught up with the sawmill soon. Those  grandsons will benefit abunch in life just from the stuff they absorb being around your shop 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, frankly I am trying to keep EVERYONE out of the shop today. I just finished what I hope is the next to last pour and want to avoid any dust being kicked up. ;D If I get done at the mill soon and the errands, I think I'll do some firewood.

[Old Greenhorn]

Today was a pretty productive day, at least it started that way. I was in the shop by 7am and had my biggest pour done before 8. I didn't shoot video, too much to get done. The bar top is starting to look nice, I will need one, possibly two pours to finish it off, but I really should do the legs first and they are still a few weeks out. He's some photos taken today about 6 hours after the pour:



 

The above photo kind of indicates how I am doing getting the top flat and smooth. The one below gives a better idea of how it looks, but it's impossible to get it without all the reflections.



 

I still have two spots that are sticking up above the level top and those should go away in subsequent pours. BUT, the epoxy count (usage) is growing. >:(

 Anyway, I finished that pour and ran out to do a quick local errand for the wife and pick up the debarker swing arm from the machine shop and I left him a couple dozen eggs. The shop was closed for Good Friday, but they left it unlocked for me. ;D I ran the arm down to the mill and did a test fit, all pretty much good, I tried to knock the pin up about .030 before welding, but it was a hard press fit. I will just have to do a little whittling on the key to sneak it in. While down by the mill, I took a look at the new addition. I saw this going past my house on a trailer this past Sunday.



 



 

 I can see this being my prime machine when we finally get some drying sheds built. No idea where he picked it up and no fanfare with it, it's just 'there'. :D

 I had also promised someone a photo of Bill's new OWB which I saw for the first time today since he inked the deal in Booneville back in August. It is 1/3 the size of his current one, but should run better and use a HECK of a lot less wood. (More work for me, no more 5' slab lengths and huge chunks of logs cut to 5', or loading with the forks.)



 

 So I dropped the arm in Bill's shop by the welder, got 4 dozen more eggs, re-stocked the egg stand on my way home, and texted Bill with the status.
 I came in and took a shower so I could head to town and get a haircut (badly needed). Got that done and got home by noon.
 Then it all slowed down because the grandson's were here. So I worked on a shorter video I shot last night between entertaining them. Not a nice day for playing outside, but we did some of that, pruned some lower branches on a red maple and the boys threw them over the fence and stuff like that. In all, I got a lot done today and after they left I finished the video and got it uploaded around dinner time. This one I take a break and talk about my approach to these types of projects and why I am soo slow.

The Bar Episode 15 - YouTube

A few minutes ago I got a call from my cousin in VT. It was his Dad David that passed a few months back and I mentioned a few times. They want to know if I would serve as a sort of MC at the memorial service. I was not prepared for that and will have to come up with some words. They had a family meeting, decided that nobody in their immediate family was very good at talking to crowds and my name got thrown on the table. It will be a Final Call Fire Service, followed by the family stuff and remembrances. I was trying to decide if I should wear a uniform since I am "retired" and I can't make my mind up. I'll think about it some more. I have 2 weeks. These things are always tough. The last LODD funeral I attended was in their department, there were 300 members from 5 states in attendance and I have no idea how many apparatus. David (my cousin) was the Chief who had lost a member, his Assistant Chief and it wore very terribly on him. It was when I got closest to him, knowing what he had to be going through, but not being in his department or connected to any of the investigations I was the one person he could talk with freely and understand the Fire Service issues. Anyway, I'm rambling in my own head. I have two weeks to figure it out and you folks don't need to hear this.

 Right now I just have 3 things on my plate. I have a consult tomorrow, which will kill the day, then I need to get the mill up and running (another day), then The Project! Anything else I get done is gravy (and will probably include epoxy ;D).
 Tomorrow is another day.

[doc henderson]

So wearing the uniform will honor his dad (David), not be and ego thing for you.  I suggest you go full bore and wear it.   usflag

[Resonator]

Epoxy looks nice and shiney.

When the pro's photograph objects they'll often have a diffuser panel in front of the lights, this softens the glare and reduces the reflections. Another trick is to have a room with a white ceiling and aim the lights straight up, the light is reflected back even and not focused. Nice thing too with digital, you can take multiple pics with different angles and light sources, and just keep the best one.
Funny thing though the pro auto detailers will set up a light area specifically for that light flection, to show the depth of shine as they "cut and buff" the paint on a car.

[thecfarm]

That table looks great!!!!

[Old Greenhorn]

Accidents happen Ray. :D

 Resonator, in a previous life I did a bunch of photography, but I'm not going back there. ;D I just wanted to get some photos to share here. It would take an awful lot of messing around to eliminate the ambient lighting and replace it with diffused and even then, it would look weird in photos, so I won't even try. All I care about is the smile on the client's face when I set it up in their house.
 By the time I get this done, the grass should be greened up and I may set it on the lawn and do some beauty shots for the webpage. But then it's gone and I move on.

[Resonator]

All I care about is the smile on the client's face when I set it up in their house.

Yup!
I always try to get that "beauty shot" to show perspective clients. "This is what I'm capable of building, I just need 2 things. Time and money." ;D

[Nebraska]

I vote for wearing your uniform as well. It's meant to honor and that is what you'll be doing. That bar looks like  canyon walls to me in the picture.  Just how I see the the depth of the pour.  I hope you are paid handsomely for your efforts it looks great.

[Old Greenhorn]

The jury is gonna be out on the uniform until the night before as I am on the fence. I will check to see if I have all the parts and proper insignia first anyway and if it still fits somewhat. If it's not presentable, that makes the decision easy for me....

Yeah Nebraska, that photo is deceiving. The deepest part of the pond is about 1-3/4 and the outflow channel is about 1-1/4 deep. It's hard to get in photos.

Yesterday was pretty good. I drove a little over an hour to Conesville and spent about 3 hours walking 50 acres with the landowners talking about options, trees, management for what they want, etc. It's a nice piece and a previous owner had made access roads that will easily carry a loaded semi to most parts of the property, so they are in very good shape going forward. They have lots of options and a long time to work on it, they were just a little overwhelmed at what it takes just to maintain a property of that size. Anyway, it was very enjoyable and they were well pleased with the time spent. I grabbed a sandwich at the country store in downtown Conesville to eat on the road. 
 I drove about 30 minutes south, then 15 minutes further west and stopped at my friend Gary Mead's yard/shop/gallery. I had called him in the morning to make sure he would be there. I wanted to get a nice KD board of 'something' for the shelf and stringer on the bar. He didn't have ash, but he said he had a lot of sycamore and has that has been discussed a bunch recently on the forum and I have never worked with it, I went with that. SO I got there and waited for him to finish the studio tour he was giving to some folks from Jersey. then we took down 3 or 4 lifts of 14' lumber to get done to the 6/4. We couldn't find any QS, but I settled in on a nice 6/4x12x13 which was almost entirely clear. I whacked it in half and threw it in the truck. A $100. board. I don't believe I have ever spent more for a single board. Sure hope it cleans up nice. ;D
 I got home around 5:30, caught up with the wife. We had dinner, I did stove chores, did a bunch of research on Sky Traks and fell asleep in my chair around 11. Then got up and went to bed.

 Today is more shop work in the morning, then I might head to Bill's and see about getting the mill back together. I'll also take a look at that Sky Trak and see if I can learn something.
 Just another day in paradise. Happy Easter.

[Resonator]

I vote wear the uniform. If a young person looks up to you, or if someone thanks you for your service, it's worth it.

[aigheadish]

The bar looks incredible! 

That skytrak should be quite handy! My father in law has one similar to that and it's sweet, though maybe too big for some stuff. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I did head to the mill on Sunday, but Bill was off doing family stuff and hadn't gotten to the welding yet. So I climbed around on the sky track looking it over, then came home and did other stuff.
 Monday morning Bill welded the arm before he went off to work. I got there a few minutes later and put some paint on it, grabbed one or two tools I heeded from his shop, and headed down. It fit well and everything went back together with no issues. I took my time, did a nice neat job on the wiring and tested it. I did not run a log and do the alignment. Bill had left things in a mess, I had tools and parts all over and I just wanted it cleaned up and the lumber out of the way. So I did all that and came home to do other stuff.
 Today Bill called me before breakfast and asked what time I was coming down. He needed at least one 6x12 and after questions I found out it's for a job they are doing TODAY. "Yeah, OK, I'll be down as soon as I can, but likely 10am." I got there just after 9am and he had started on it, well he had a log up. Apparently he had suffered the consequences of his habit of packing the mill with logs making it hard to work and he got all messed up trying to jump the log he wanted up to the mill. Took him a while to get it mostly straight. :D ;D Maybe now he knows why I get tweaked when he does that to me. Anyway, we got off his 6x12 and I looked at the debarker alignment. He took his beam and I finished off the cant, then put up another log and adjusted the debarker a bit. Took some cuts, adjusted it some more and finally had it lined up with the blade cut centered. Good to go. I made some 1x10's and 12's, then his other 6x12, then the 2x12 I needed. I called it a day at that point and cleaned up. I have other stuff to do and I am trying to take it easy so I am rested for the trip. That 3am wakeup and driving has me a little concerned, it's been a while. I seem to be a little out of shape with 3 months off from the mill. ;D
 Did some yard work yesterday, a little more today since it's in the 70's or I can split some wood.
 I still have some of today to work, then tomorrow is another one and I'll pack and finish cleaning out the truck.