Catchie Name

its just a crying shame that i cut up a few dead oak trees to make firewood. so i started playing with the lathe, to sharpen my skills and make something useful... so i now present

"FireWood"

i know, i know.... dont quit the day job..

What Season is it?

Its Hunting Season!

Yes its that time of year where we attempt to fill the soup pot for another winter! ill be back in shop soon!

Wooo Hoooo!

Firewood is done! now i can concentrate on getting the homestead ready for winter.

Instructions

ok so some times i go a little to far. i do like to research a new area of intrest, sometimes to death. anyway thanks to the wonderfull resources at the local library i found this book. although i live about as far from an ocean that you can get and still be in the continental United States, i found the information on style and technique indespensable. i know there is no replacement for hands on instruction, but if im going to bulid a kayak, i should at least know what one will do.

Boat building

while looking around for options and plans, i came across this book by Gavin Arkin. this book is the perfect manual for a down and dirty, knock together, easy build. these boats are the simplest things to get out on the water. if you are wanting to build your own small boat but have limited resources and tools, and just want something to float, this is the book for you. there are a couple in here that im thinking about my self for puttzing around on my lake and sloughs...for the cost of 3 sheets of plywood and a tube or two of polyurethane glue, these boats are cool.

forgot one

didnt post the close up, what a schmuck

Due Diligence

Doing all of the research to make sure i want to invest in a large project is a lot of fun and can be educational as well. I managed to get yet another book from the Inter Library Loan program. CanoeCraft is a fantastic book that takes you step by step through the strip build method of making a canoe. Methods and materials are similar to the Strip Built Kayak book. but when it comes right down to it, a canoe is not for me. I'm going for a kayak.

Project Complete!

.....except for the water supply, the drain and a little landscaping around it. but i finally got the garden counter and sink out of the shop and into place...

and a little cleanup, as the dust and banging around while installing the sink and trimming the counter to get everything to fit. i just love a diamond blade in the angle grinder! It will shape anything to fit.

Saturdays......

.... are suposed to be a relaxing, watching sports, drinkin beer kind of days. so what do i have planned? oh im thinkin about 2 tons of firewood need to be chopped down and chopped up, lifted, stacked, hauled, piled and stacked again. not that i really mind, its hard but rewarding work. i love to see the final pile stacked nice and neat in the wood shed. the smell of fresh cut ash, oak and maple remind you of why fall is such a lovely time of year. gets you in the mood to spend a winter tinkering in the shop, knowing the wood supply is laid in.

Happy Fall Equinox

Not a bad weekend, i did have to help a neighbor replace some siding on the lakeside of his house. thought it would be a 2 hr job and of course it turned into an all day marathon. would have been easy except it was on the second story between two roof lines with different angles and no place to stand. oh well its done.

i did get the location for the garden sink prepped and sand hauled in and leveled. also painted most of the cabinet, until i ran out of paint.

the better half and B-man took out a nasty pine bush and burned the branches, and uncovered the perfect place to build a fire pit and sitting area.... will have to see how this develops

Pie

Ask a man what he can do, and the answer will vary. however in the interest of one upmanship... not only can i make the best brown gravy in the world, deep fry the meanest 10 lb turkey and the occasional snickers bar. grill the finest johnsonville braught to make the mouth water and the eyes cry......

i can make the ultimate pie. fresh apples from my own tree, fresh flaky crust made from scratch just so....

yes i know, it is hard to be this good and handsome too..... hahahahah

picture updates

the first one is a nice load of fire wood, that should last a couple of months. the second is the concrete counter top that is still sitting in the shop waiting to be installed. im going to the big city tomorrow and im going to look for some stain for the concrete, perhaps something with a green tint....

Firewood Season

Oh yes there is a nip in the air, its the middle of September and you can almost feel old man winter coming down the path.... now is the start to that yearly ritual of cutting, chopping, splitting, hauling, and stacking six pickup loads of firewood. we went out yesterday, wanted to start at 9am, got up at 7, loaded the tools and saw then had to wait for the rain to quit, by the time we finally got to where we needed to go and started the saw it was 11am. my father-in-law helped out and we managed to get the truck and trailer full by 5 (with an hour lunch). for today i get to fire up the log splitter and finish what we started, and put it all away.... two more loads like that and we should be good. let Jack Frost do his worst, my hiner will be warm.

Countertop Update

the concrete counter top is looking pretty cool. i used three 60lb bags of redimix concrete and mixed them up one at a time. put in a layer about an inch thick and then pressed in some hardware cloth to add strength. then mixed up the rest and poured it in. did the usual screed and troweling and left it to dry. i pulled the outside forms the next day and will wait until i set the counter top in place before pulling the inside forms...now who can i find to help me move the dam thing...

A Salute to Thee, Dragonslayer

I dont know who the artist is who built this, but in a tiny ski town in Colorado stands a brave knight facing his worst nightmare!

and a Salute to Thee brave Craftsman Artist who put this together!

State Fair Update

the B-man did well at the state fair, his boot box got a blue ribbon and the Jungle puzzle got the Purple! Way to Go B-man! he really put in the time on these projects. And the prairie maggots? can i interest you in a recipe for rack of lamb?

Another project in the works

I scored a metal kitchen cabinet from a remodel job. im thinking this would be cool down by the garden to store garden tools and a place to wash veggies and hands. the counter top and sink i found to go with it is pretty well trashed. so, im thinkin a concrete counter top would be spankin cool. i have never done one before and the process looks simple enough. im not expecting house quality the first time around but it should be workable. stay tuned to see what happens next.
and what ever happened to the corn crib?

Entry Step Rebuild

the entry step was going bad with dry rot and falling apart so i finally got around to rebuilding it with cedar.. nice, I'm going to try to preserve the cedar color with spar varnish
pictures when i remember to take em...

Here they are!

Finally got a couple of good pictures of the B-man's projects. He spent a lot of time on these with very little help from me..

and the prairie maggots did pretty good too.. one purple and one blue. now the B-man wants to take one to the state fair... i just want to paint one up like a poodle.....

Important Lessons

Ok, important lesson number 1, polyurethane will never dry as fast at it needs to. the weather will always be 526% humidity for three days before achievement days.

anyway the judging went well, pictures to follow.....