Friday Morning

  The day began with a crash. A large glass vase filled with pine cones crashed to the floor and exploded into about a million transparent shards.  We have been very lucky in the nine years that we've been hosting grandchildren, this morning was the first notable damage.  So before coffee I was picking up the mess and vacuuming up the microscopic bits of glass.

  The cleaning fell to me because Eva was busy.

I know its not wood, but it wants to be.

  This morning Eva is creating a two layer wedding cake that is to look like pieces of birch tree.  The cake is maple flavour and the icing is vegan butter cream and fondant. There is more time involved in decorating the cake than in baking it, including the time in the oven. Pretty much like a shop project.  Building something is much quicker than sanding and finishing it.

  In the shop: 

  The board games are done for the wedding party.  Miranda and William games, with folding legs. 

  What else did I do in the shop in the last couple  of days.  As my back has been giving me trouble the last couple of weeks my shop time is limited to several short stays per day.  One day this week I spent the time sharpening tools.  I have a Work Sharp  system for chisels and narrow plane irons. For knives and gouges I use ceramic stones and the 'scary sharp' system.  I have found that honing with a strop will keep a blade going for a very long time, if you don't let it get too bad.

  I spend a couple of hours this week on house cleaning as well.  I have two tool cupboards that are open.  Without doors the cupboards gradually fill with dust, and all the containers on the shelves fill too.  I took the container boxes and jars down and emptied them out.  While doing this I threw out bunches of short pencils, bits of chalk, string, wire etc. etc. I find that while I am working on a project I do not stop to evaluate weather the small somethings are worth keeping or should be tossed out.   I put the thing back were it came from and leave the deciding to later, sometime later is much later, much much later and the deciding doesn't get done at all. Well, this week I did some deciding.

  What follows are graphic photographs of places and spaces in my shop that still require attention. If you are a sensitive soul, avert your eyes.  I am struggling to over come my wood addiction. ( supplemented and augmented by my disorganized nature ).

my small bench has become a dumping ground, again.
 the planes and chisels need a better storage space.

off cuts of plywood, such a mess.

another pile of 'stuff' and a box of
sand paper bits. 

more wood, scraps and off cuts.

In the back ground is the dowel rack in the window, a beginning.
One tool cabinet in on the wall,  I should rebuild it.

  I am working toward making this a better work space.  I now have less time in the shop and so hate to waste that limited time.  Before I could putter around in a mess and not care about lost time, I really hate lost time now.  I guess there is a bright side to back trouble??

  School starts next week.  The kids return home.  Things return to normal, whatever that is.

  Enjoy the final summer weekend folks.

  

cheers, ianw

  

Day One With A Jig Saw

  I've always said that the jig saw was a versatile  tool for a small shop with limited tools.  The band saw is quicker and maybe more user friendly than the jig saw but space and expense are issue. 

  In my shop today I am making a couple of bean bag boards for Saturday's out door celebration..

   I 

  To cut the hole in the board I drilled a hole and then used my Jig Saw to cut the 5 inch hole.  Kieran is here for the week and was helping me in the shop this morning was  first time he saw a jig saw in action. I cut the boards for the party.   

    I showed K how the saw worked and  encouraged him to make some practise cuts to get used to the noise and vibration.  After he got comfortable with the saw,

  he cut out initials.   The 'c' contained his first curved cuts. Since the letters are cut from scrap they needed lots of sanding.  This morning was also his first time working with a random orbital sander.   Those two tools will open up a world of possible projects he can do with limited supervision. 

  Notably, with my grandson using a sander I insisted that he wear a dust mask, he put on his safety glasses without prompting.  I began wood working before woodworkers regularly wore dust masks and safety glasses, so I don't automatically outfit myself in safety gear.  I have no doubt that years of fine wood dust has not done my lungs any good.  I am trying to remember masks, aprons and gloves when I begin work all the time now. I want to be able to work for years to come with my grand children.

  Our current challenge  project is making a sail boat that can be made into a remote controlled unit.

Footy - Bobalong

  These are the plans for a Footy - Bobalong. Footy is the twelve inch class of R.C. boats.  The first challenge we faced was my lack of computer skills, meaning the plans printed about 2 1/2 times too small.  I had  to 'loft' the plans to life size.

  

  I drew out the plans,  then glued the drawings to foam board and cut out the patterns for the bottom, two sides and deck.

  The compound curves of the little boat are much more complex that I had imaged when we embarked on the project.  Thus far we have the transom glued to the bottom and have experimented with taping the sides to the bottom, with limited success.  This is my first real boat, there are skills unique to this type of project I had not anticipated. 

  I am having serious doubts about successfully attaching the sides.  This may not be a project for a nine year old and a first time builder.

  Lastly I thought I would add a photo of my vise jaws.

   The rubber jaws that were on my vise protected things from being crushed but did not expend above the the jaws.  I have been using the vise to hold my carving projects and decided that wooden jaws would hold the work and protect my edges tools, chisels, draw knives etc. 

  Anyway, there are several projects in the works, a couple drying and who knows what brain wave will happen tomorrow.  As long as my back holds out, life with grandchildren is good.

cheers, ianw