First steps

The first challenge on this kayak build is putting together long enough panels for the length of the boat. Butt joint two full sheets plus 53 inches of a third. I used a trim bit in the router to true up the edges and with a 3 1/2" brace, I glued the butt joints with epoxy thickened just a bit with wood flour. You can see the weights used to hold everything down while the epoxy cured. A good use for paint cans full of bent rusty nails! With the average temp in the shop around 65 deg, it took almost all of two days for the epoxy to dry. The next big issue was figuring out how to turn the 20ft piece of 1/4" plywood over by myself...not happening.. With the help of the neighbor we got it flipped.
Now I can draw on the sections to be cut out.

Hours spent thus far.... 3

K3 The next kayak

And so we begin. This kayak is a Pygmy design called the Osprey double/triple. I purchased plans from them but not the entire kit. This build has started pretty slow, I had hoped for more shop time but you know how life gets in the way. I do have most of the materials on hand, and I will gather the rest as we go along. The epoxy and fiberglass I purchased from U.S. Composites. I used their stuff on the first boat and was happy with the result. The plywood is not the fancy okoume marine grade plywood that cost 60 bucks a sheet... I am using luan plywood from Menards at 7 bucks a sheet. I like the grain patterns and once you put fiberglass on it, it doesn't matter what the material is. All I managed to accomplish this weekend was setting up a 20' table to start work on. Hmmm, I think I feel the flu coming on....

Busy

Been pretty busy in the shop of late, the weather is getting colder and we have finished the firewood for this year. So that translates into more time for fun stuff and less time doing yard work. The Etsy shop is doing pretty good, I suppose the pre-holiday shopping is picking up. It still amazes me that I have been buying tools and supplies from the income generated by these silly little wooden toys and fences. A big thank you to everyone who keeps coming back and buying more stuff. I'm going to pound out some more stuff to send to a craft show in DeSmet on the 17th that the neighbor has a booth at. We will see how all this stuff sells.

Meanwhile I am just about finished with the re-skining project of B-man's kayak. I have been learning interesting things about tent fabric and spar urethane. Just a few bits of trim to put on and one final coat, then its off to storage for the winter cuz I need the space for the next kayak.

More progress

Couple of projects going on and should be wrapping them up before the end of the week. First is one side of the book case project that will be placed on either side of the fireplace and a dresser module for the b-man's built in bed system.
I used a pocket hole jig for the face frames and was very impressed with the results.

Disapointment

The weather was not cooperating this weekend, with 90% humidity, i was afraid that if i cut dovetails into my next box, when it dried out the joints would be to loose... so I'm waiting for things to stabilize a bit.

Complete the Deck..... Check!

ok is a project ever really finished? i still have a couple of lights to install and to tear down the brown fence. and i might tweak the post heights to give it more flair, and im thinking a step might be important.... but other than that.... im done!

January 2010

what a lovely time of year, as the temperature plummets into the ludicrous zone, i am planning on revamping the ETSY shop with new products and hopefully new techniques that should sell a little better. i still have a few custom projects to do for friends and relatics, and i swear on a stack of bibles that I'm going to finish the kayak this year!

Weekend Hunny Do List

this is what im going to try to accomplish this weekend...... wish me luck
sharpen chains
cut 1 pickup load of firewood
split and stack firewood
winterize camper
take sheep to breeders farm
clean chimney
fix sewer vent
take out air conditioners
clean out sheep barn
clean out calf hut
clean out chicken coop
mow lawn last time
put away garden stuff
work on scout

im betting on 10%

Playing Around

Here is the purple ribbon winner from the 4-H achievement days, the B-man did a real nice job on it.

the next photo is of some cars I've been playing with... what a great stress reliever... gunna sell some and give a lot more away...

Did I ever....

post these pictures..... for Mom....

Snow Day

I just love it when the weather man predicts 12" of snow and the city just shuts down for the day. the B-man and i spent a great day in the shop, he built a bunch of trestles for the train set and i cut out all of the forms for the kayak and built the boat rack to build the thing on... so let the wind howl and the snow blow, we put on a pot of beans and baked some bread... life is good.

in the works

even though the temperature in down in the ludicrous zone, i still have a couple of things going on in the shop. i am trying to finish up the island stools, paint issues below 50 deg. i have plans for a small bistro table to go along with the chairs, cute but simple design. and of course i can do nothing without pressure.... i need to have both projects done and to the farm show by Monday morning, feb 9th...

Winter Notes

Here comes winter again! temps not going to get much over zero this weekend... its going to be tough to keep the shop warm when the wind is howling and the temp is nothing. B-man and i did make some progress last weekend, he is progressing with his intarsia box and i did a little segmentation project. i also got the trash can stained and the first coat of poly on it. ill send in pictures soon. meanwhile the farm show is fast approaching and I'm not sure we will be ready......again