What to do before a two week break

 We are going to be involved in family things and travel things and general busy things for the next two weeks. I will not be in my shop at all and may not even be able to post any blogs. So what did I do with the remaining few hours I had before my break? 

  Well, first off I cleaned up the shop a bit. Nothing major, just put tools away and swept the place up a bit.

  Then to kill some time on a rainy afternoon I did a couple of small potter around things. These are the jobs that most people don't bother doing, but since I have a shop and tools I improvise and repair.

                                                

   A none event, but now the clothes hanger doesn't grab my pyjamas. I had to drill two holes and use some super duper glue. Most people won't bother.

  I also took time to sharpen some knives and change the  blades in a couple of utility knives.   Maintenance stuff like that takes more time than you realize.  I like to use times like this to sharpen blades so that when I reach for them during a building project I don't have to stop and sharpen.

  While I had my super crazy glue out I glued a rare earth magnet to my pencil sharpener so that it would stick to my over bench work light.  As with having sharp tools it is nice to work with a sharp pencil.

     

   The last thing I did was make a pattern for and cut out a silly little craft. These roosters will go into the box for the church bazaar. 

  Projects like these give me practise in making patterns from a photograph and uses up small scraps of wood that I have been to cheap to throw away. 

holding post-it notes on my desk.

   This rooster is made out of 1/8 inch plywood and a bit of pine. I like the shape and size and will make a few from stained wood like the one from the internet. (when I have some time to kill)

 Have a good couple of weeks and I'll for sure be back in mid May, and maybe will post an update or two before if I get a chance.

cheers, ianw