End of November

the end of november is finaly here, and going out with a definate woosh! we had a great couple of snow days, no school, all roads shut down, and nothing to do but play in the shop. at least untill the power died. got the workbench done on the south wall and a little remodel project in the master bath completed and even played with the scroll saw a little.

its snowing again today but not blizzarding, just a soft fluffy flurrie. kind of nice, ill get to use the snow blower again tonight when i get home!

Ahhhh Winter

Winter has come at last, strange that its mid November with above normal temps. If you talk to the old farts they always tell you that back in my day it was -40, 20ft drifts and uphill both ways in the middle of September. Oh well I'm not complaining, kind of nice actual. People are freaking out that the worlds going to end with global warming and stuff. But with the bite the wind has today, I'm not to concerned. A little snow covers the grass today, kind of neat the way the wind blows it in snake patterns along the highway. It wasn't a quiet snow, wind gusts up to 40 mph, coming at you sideways, in tiny crystals, stinging your skin, melting when it hits the ground and leaving a layer of ice on everything. Today's breeze is enough to take your breath away and cold enough to fog your glasses when you come inside. Makes you appreciate a hot cup of coffee and warm boots.

The shop is cold today, with yet another busy weekend I don't know if ill get in there or not. I better check the level of propane in the tank.. I'm looking forward to progress over Thanksgiving.

Oh so slowly

I cant say I'm progressing with a blaze of speed, but I did do the final adjustment for my attic stairs this weekend (try that by yourself). I had to spend a couple of hours cleaning up all the scrap stuff i had laying around, I made about 10 cf of kindling. I wont get anything done for another week or so. I'm being interrupted by a hunting trip. I have lots of plans and lots of projects, I just don't have the time to put it all together...... Still no snow, its been unseasonably warm....Strange....I'm ready to get the ice shack out...

Wow Progress!

I finely made some serious progress on the shop this weekend. Finished the north wall in the milling section, hammered on some siding from an old grainery, and installed some lumber storage racks. Used old oak chairs bolted to the wall, makes a great rack. I also put together some floor joists in the rafters to put down a floor in the attic, I'm going to use that area for storage. I'm also going to make a couple of storage racks for 8' stock up there as well. The big challenge was to install the folding stairs in the ceiling, the used ones I have didn't have a frame anymore. Oh well a little redneck engineering and I have them in place. well its the last day of October and still no snow! The weather has been just to nice, I wont have to burn much propane if this keeps up.

Sporadic

Everything seems to happen sporadically, I got the lathe mounted on the new bench last night. This lathe is an older model and has a motor that is mounted below the bench. I tried it out last night and it works pretty good. Now I need to sharpen all the cutters! With the lathe in the middle of the bench, I have room for the drill press to the right and the scroll saw to the left. I might even put the bench grinder to the right of the lathe so I have a handy sharpening station.

October Update

Finally got back to the shop this weekend. Finished up with the firewood storage and I'm ready to let the snow pile up. I scored some fancy sheet goods from my wife's uncle, oak veneer, walnut, hickory. Now I just need a place to put it. Spent a couple of hours putting together my first permanent workbench on the east wall, its about 14' long. Now I can shift some stuff and move on to the north wall finish that and put a couple of stationary tools there permanently. I am getting close to a final layout but it may take years!

diggen

spent all day yesterday digging a drain line around two walls of my house. i found a break in the basement wall that was letting water pour in when the gutters overflowed. so i patched that and installed drain line. this should let the water flow around and away from the house instead of flooding the basement....

i also ordered the new fireplace... should be here in a month

not quite wood working

just spent a busy weekend installing an electrical system in a friends pole building, ten outlets and eight lights..... i should have setup the lights like a strand of xmas lights... you know when one bulb goes out they all go out.... hahaha, i would have but the lights are twenty feet off the floor and would have been a pain to check them all in the dark....oh well what are friends for?
i also spent a few hours re-taring the flashing on my roof, that should stop the leak for another year..... perhaps a new roof is in my future..

State Fair Update

Brandon sent his papertowel holder and boot jack to the State Fair in Huron SD.....
he won Purple Ribbons on both entries!

great job Brandon!

someone asked what i do in the real world, and i guess a picture is worth it all. this is an ag waste system. i design and construct total containment sytems to keep all of the poluted runoff from getting into the local surface waters. 

Moving along

Well I guess its time for a little fall home improvement, winter is coming. out here in the great white north we have about two seasons........ winter and july! haha ;)

this years fall projects include fixing up the gutters and trimming a couple of trees. the dog has dug a hole next to the foundation to escape from the heat, all of 3 days at 90. I guess I better pour some concrete so he doesn't do it again.

with any luck I can get back in the shop as soon as the snow flies... all my luck it will be next week!

here they are, two coats of classic oak pollyshades and now its time to install. its ia good thing i only had to stain them, but of course i had some help or elce i would be working on them all night. 

Next Project

My neighbor bought an office building down town and I volunteered to finish some oak doors he is replacing. The poor guy is working way to hard to get the office ready, he is putting up new drywall and painting, carpets, new doors and trim. So the least I could do is finish the doors and install them for him. Ill post pictures when complete.

here is Brandons paper towel holder. he won a purple ribbon at the 4H achevement days and it is going to the south dakota state fair. i realy didnt help him much, just kept him from cutting his fingers off! 

August!

I am finding that the verry reason i built this shop is to have a little fun time with power tools, but the summer is just crazy busy. i had to cut up an ash tree that was blown over in a friends yard, and it yealded 4 coords of wood. then another friend was going to burn down an old grainery, but i managed to save a big portion of the material.
ive been doing other projects as well. new floor in horse trailer, door for barn, new windows in mothers house, and my son has done a couple of 4h projects.

oh well, no rest for the wicked....

Well its almost June.... Vacation is over time to get to work

been awhile

its been awhile sence the last post, been busy installing tile in my entry way and kitchen. everything has been taking twice as long as i thought. isnt that the way these dammm projects go?

ill post a picture when im done, hopefully this weekend

well, there it is, my new craftsman table saw. after moving it around my back was out for a week! 

well, its early spring here in the great white north. thought i'd send a picture of my shop. the place where the rubber meets the road. 

this is a cute little table and chairs i bulit for a little girls playhouse. of course i had to paint them pink and put sprinkles of stars and stuff on it. all the material used came from pallets, not a bad recycling job if you ask me. PS this is for sale, if you want one let me know. 

I've got to put a plug in for my 12 year old son. he built this cutting board out of oak scraps and did a pine inlay for the stripes. pretty cool if you ask me. GOOD JOB BRANDON! 

Woo Hooooo

Finally the day has come. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning getting a new toy. Today I am going to pick up my new table saw from Sears, the old one finally died.
My old saw was a craftsman 10" benchtop model that I got as a Christmas present 10 years ago. It has been a good saw more or less, of course there are always a couple of problems, I had to use blade stabilizers to keep the blade from wobbling and the top was just to small to rip anything over 9". Well, good riddance. I finally made the jump up to a 3/4 cabinet saw, large 42" table, nice fence. I still have to put it together and had to have a friend come over and help me get it out of the truck without bouncing it. The guy at Sears put it in my truck with a forklift (should have been my first clue). I figured I could take it apart and move the pieces separately. The thing is bolted into a metal crate and weighs 300 lbs! I couldn't turn it over let alone lift it out of the truck. Oh well, sometime this weekend I will get a chance to put it together..... I'm kind of like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.... can't wait!

Finishing up

Put the finishing touches on the headboard and got it installed, had a little trouble getting it down the stairs, had to take it outside and around the house to the downstairs door, oh well nothing is ever easy.

Also put a coat of primer and two coats of paint on the mailbox, ill update the photo when I get it installed, the ground should be thawed enough by June........

This is a nice little hallway bench i built out of recycled pallets, im not sure if the wood is cottonwood or a harder pine. i found the plan in wood mag. i am planning to put a cusion on the top. 

Boardom overtook me one day and I decided to make a little trivet. i found the plan in Weekend Woodcrafts Mag. I used some black wallnut that i had laying around. turned out pretty cool. 

This is the Mailbox I built with the use of plans from the New Yankee Workshop. This weekend I will do the final prep and paint. It mounts over a 4x4 post. I have to wait untill the ground thaws to put in the post. 

Queen Headboard 

Queen Size Headboard

The Wife found a headboard in Slumberland that she just had to have, well I wasn't going to pay 600 smackers for something I could build myself. Here it is, I have about $175 and 3 days into it. We are both pleased with how it turned out, but I still have some joint issues with it. It is almost, but not quite, perfect.

First Up

I'm not sure where this is going but I'm just going to get it done.

If this has a purpose its to show off the diy stuff I've been doing and to see if anyone thinks it still looks like a high school shop project. I'm looking for professional results (to keep the critics happy). I am using a bunch of play toys at the moment but am upgrading to some serious tools as the budget allows and as I blow up the old stuff.

maybe I can get some good advice

Give us a Kiss!