Slowly Returning to my Shop

   So a week ago I began feeling a bit off.  I thought I was having one of those spring time colds. Well, I got somewhat worse and we decided I better test for Covid-19. I tested positive, while continuing to feel worse, heavy chest, stuff sinuses, hot/cold etc.  Now a week later I am feeling  better.  I have a had a couple of decent night's sleep and am ambitious enough to spend some time in my shop, just small things, and sweeping.(there is always sweeping)

   This morning I tested again and am still positive. Since I have an aged Mother in a seniors home I won't be visiting her yet. I have a quiet social life so will stay out of circulation for a few more days.

  My Public Service Announcement:

  Get your shots, boosters and all.  

  I was rotten sick for a few days with this.  Had I not have had all the shots I don't want to imagine how sick I would have been. I don't imagine myself bullet proof any longer and am grateful that I was only totally rotten sick for a couple of days and was lucky enough to have Eva to encourage and look after me.  It would have been very grim had I been alone.

Get your shots, boosters and all.

 I have been mostly sidelined but have been able to add a couple more coats of varnish to the coffee table.

And repair a couple of cheap drawers from Eva's condo kitchen.

  The drawer is cheap particle board but together with staples.  Amazingly only half of them have fallen apart in ten years.

  I took the drawer apart, cleaned out the glue and staples on the end I re-enforced the corners and at the front I put angle brackets. It is an easy job when you have clamps of various sizes to hold it all together while the glue sets.

  A year ago March I had to bring a dresser home from the condo and repair it.  It is nice to save money and reduce waste by repairing house hold goods.

  I am slowly improving and expect to be up to speed by the end of the week.

cheers, ianw

Back Home Again.

  It seems that the last two months have flown by in a whirlwind of world travelling.  My wife and I just returned from twelve days in Sweden with our children and two grand daughters.  The kids are nice, but the 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old girls  are the real reason for making the trip. After a long but uneventful trip home yesterday, I've completed my unpacking and am returning to routine.  One of my favourite routines is shop time.

  This morning after breakfasting and dealing with laundry I went down to my shop, made a coffee and a plan.  You can see my drip coffee maker in the back ground and my wooden coffee spoon in the fore ground. The coffee is great in Sweden but coffee at home just tastes that little bit better. 
   

  I thought I should get working on something, just to see if I remember how.

  In the garage by the back door is a small shelving unit upon which we store fruit and vegetables. The unit is  from a flat pack store and you can see we use left over refrigerator trays for storage.  This morning I decided I needed to make a couple of drawers to use up the rest of the space more efficiently, 'cause we need it? no. 'Cause I like making boxes, and stuff that has a use. 

  If you are going to make boxes one of the best tools to have is a router table and rabbeting bits. 

  Second only to a round over bit I use my set of rabbeting bits most frequently. It is nice to travel, but it is nice to be back too.

   These drawers are being made from plywood and lumber from the 'left over' bin.  I like box joints but they turn out better when you begin with solid wood rather than plywood.  Maybe the next project will have nicer wood.

   cheers, Ian

Sweden looks like Muskoka Ontario to me.

Work Continues

  So we got home last evening and this morning I went into my shop. After spending an hour watering our desert dry back gardens.  The grass is dead but we are trying to keep the flowers looking good.

  Sadly for me the magic elves did not come in while we were away and clean up.

   

   I am using 1/8 inch Baltic Birch plywood for the drawers and the is no real good way to deal with a five foot by five foot piece of sheet stock in my shop. Today I cut off all the strips that I will need and got that sheet out of my way.

  What I did was lay the sheet of plywood on my work table first.  The sheet hangs over on all sides.  To support the plywood sheet I put long boards underneath and clamped them to the table and the sheet stock to the boards.  The anvil is there to help stabilize the wood while I cut it with my Japanese style saw.  I find the thin blade and pull stroke cutting easier to control when cutting very thin material. 

  Once I cut the sides  I made the bottom from 1/4 ply into which I cut shallow rabbets using my making gauge, knife and shoulder plane. I needed those rabbets to give me some more gluing surface to hold the drawer together.

  There is the bottom drawer, without its face of elm.  For of the fussing, fitting, and gluing the 1/8 ply to the 1/4 ply I've decided that the drawer is too flimsy. I will have to add bracing to the corners. Happily all the big pieces of wood are dealt with and I can putter away with small things that are easy to lift.

   Cheers, ianw