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.....

more Choises

Ok, here is another book i found at the library. this uses the plywood method of kayak building. the book is very easy to read and the instructions are simple to understand. now all i have to decide is what method to use. paddling is a lot of fun, but i think i am drawn to the beauty of the piece, the smooth lines, the glowing finish.....i might just have to try one of each!

Fantasies in Wood

I have finally found the one wood working project that has totally captured my imagination, even though I live in South Dakota – the farthest you can possibly live from an ocean in the United States - I want to build a sea kayak. This weekend I found a book by Nick Schade, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak.

The process is so simple, the costs are reasonable. I have the space, but never the time. I have the tools and the talent. We are surrounded by plenty of lakes and rivers to use the kayak, im thinking of an 11’ boat like this…. This is a picture of a Little Auk built by Jean Yves Drouet from France. Thanks for the picture Jean, I got it from the Guillemot Kayaks site….

This might even be better than my idea of pet caskets!

Crunch Time!

4-H Achievement days are here again! and the B-man is working hard on two wood projects this year. one is a jungle puzzle where he cut out animals and trees with the scroll saw and the other is a wooden box in the shape of a cowboy boot. I'm thinking purple ribbons all the way around.
ill post pics when he takes them in.

The Wife Wants......

one of these.......


i just got the latest issue of Workbench Magazine and of course the wife grabbs it before i have a chance to look at it... then i hear my name being yelled and she says "you know you could build this really easy"
if you want to look into this yourself check out this months issue or go to workbenchmagizine.com i think that it would work, if i can find the time to do it.. should fit above the french door below.

Oh Well, back to the shop!

Fruits

of the labor... the camp box works great!

Last Post for June

yup, june is toast and im heading off for a well deserved vacation. im taking the family and meeting my brother in the black hills of South Dakota for a week of camping, fishing and 4wheeling, campfire cooking, eating and drinking...

i did get the final touches on my red neck camp box, a wooden base for the portable shower and more tiedowns for the trailer. the wife wants to do the driving at night so no one sees the contraptions we are pulling.. oh well cant please everyone...

Wordless Wensday....

on Friday the 13th and im still typing


here is a silly little sprout holder


and the flock of prairie maggots... barn photo


bad pic of camp boxs


bad pic of Linies box, half empty or half full?
who cares, if they are cold?

Monday Update

on Tuesday...

module 2 for the camp box is coming along very well. note to self, when using recycled materials be sure to square the dam plywood before cutting to size. i have a perfect parallelogram for a box... oh well, I've been known to lean one way or the other. picked up some handles from MAC's hardware, and found some parts on an old junk tent trailer. tonight's plan is to make a couple of drawers and sliding doors for the front. to bad work gets in the way, i need to weed the garden and finish the scout as well. oh and did i mention that we want to use it this weekend? things left to do: paint, hardware, hinged drop front , trays for cooking tools, rack for plates and pans and cups....arrrg i need a vacation!

STD's (stuff to do)

ok on the top of the STD list is to take the camera home and snap a couple of pictures, module 1 of the ultimate camp box has been built, and a planter box for the herbs. the stupid sheep got a hair cut (i'll never work for supercuts) and a deck on the new trailer.. with any luck ill take pictures..

mayday mayday mayday

no its not may day but i feel like the ship is going down. no pictures yet but i haven't just been sleeping through spring. the garden is in, a couple of planters got built, a screen door for the bro-in-law, fence for the prairie maggots. time to start building the ultimate camp box...why? because we like it!

Stupid Sheep

Yes, we are back in the stupid sheep business, the project this time is a self feeder that will hold 50lbs of pellets. this year we have started with 4 lambs, got them as bottle lambs. i dont know how we will compete with the fancy $1K lambs people were buying at a fancy show. i paid $20 each for ours, prob'ly wont get the purple ribbon but the process is kind of fun, besides its a learning experience for the B-man....

Greatest Gold Fish Joke Ever

from comedy central:

Two goldfish were sitting in their tank,

one turns to the other and says,

"You man the guns, I'll drive!"

Dead Fish are no fun!

its been really busy around here over the last couple of weeks. i did finish up a couple of projects, if i can just to remember to take pictures. anyway my main distraction has been the fish kill on my local lake. its been coming for a couple of years, lots of sediment and manure has been running in, bringing in phosphorus that feeds the algae. then when the algae die in the winter, the decomposing uses up the available oxygen and the fish cant breathe.. here is a couple of pictures.

but dont worry folks, im from the goverment and im here to help.............right

Slow Update

still the same project, did get a couple of coats of paint on the sheep shed. scored on the pain, the local paint shop just happened to have 35 gallons of mistint paint that matches close enough for a sheep shed. normal $20+ a gallon, MY PRICE $5 A GALLON. woo hoo what a bargain! i love it when i win! still no pictures but ill keep trying... still need to build doors. with a major spring snow storm on the way, i might get some snowed in shop time.

Quick update

Lots of things going on, not enough shop time.... anyway after the Jr. High Basket ball tourney in Aberdeen, the bman and i finished the siding on the sheep shed. still need to build doors and install trim and nail down the roof. and paint andandandand.... cant seem to get the camera from the house to the shop and back to the computer.... ill keep trying

in progress

well its time to start thinking about 4-H projects again, this year we decided to do the sheep project again. my barnyard improvement for this season is a little lamb shed that measures 6x8 with a sloped roof and a 2 ft overhang. the framing is done and i am now working on the siding. I'm using old barn wood that came off a 100 yr old granary. i need to recondition the boards into ship lap siding... ill send pictures next time... built the frame in the shop and almost couldn't get it out.... thought i was smarter than that, good thing the B-Man set me straight.