Sunday, February 12, 2017

This and That

As sweet as the Japanese saws cut there is a deal killer to their use, the kerf is too damn narrow. I didn't realize how narrow it is until I tried to saw some dovetails. I've several "turning" saws, bow, coping, and fret, I use to saw out the bulk of waste on both the tail board and the pin board. None will fit in the Japanese saw's kerf.

My deep thought for the day: Why do we spend so little time talking and/or writing about sawing? I know planes are sexy and chisels are macho but saw skill is the base skill of woodworking, if you can saw, everything else falls into place. What the heck, I guess it is more fun to debate oil vs. water or Stanley vs. LN vs. LV.

Speaking of Stanley vs. everything else: I finally got around to changing all my user Stanley planes back to OEM irons and cap irons. Of course the biggest problem is finding usable OEM irons and chip breakers. The OEM irons and chip breakers make for a much nicer plane. The weight difference is very noticeable and the irons are easier to sharpen. It could be my imagination but I also think the OEM cap iron does a better job of chip breaking and ejecting than the aftermarket ones. The only downside to the Stanley cap iron is it does take a little fiddling to get it to work well.

Other things you don't learn in school, Last week I had the motorhome in the shop for some minor work. While there the shop allowed the "house" batteries to run down. That's a long pointless story as well, someone stole my surge protector through the fence of the maintenance shop and left the shore power disconnected which in turn allowed the house batteries to discharge. Anyway on to the original story, we do not have TV in the house, only in the motorhome and there was a program I wanted to watch last night. When I went to watch, the satellite was tits up, all I could get was the set up screen. After a call to tech support and 30 minutes or so of fiddling all returned to normal. I don't know this for sure but I'll bet the satellite box draws a small current to keep the box's memory chip working.

It was over 90F day before yesterday, there may be another cold front or two before Summer but Winter is over. Every Winter I keep threatening to move farther south but I'm just about as far south as you can go without moving back to Texas or to Mexico. Whatever the "sweats" are off and it is shorts and T's for another 9 months.

What is it with people, I have a box of motorcycle gear to get rid of. It is a great mystery box with lots of high end stuff.  My best guess is close to $5000 USD of motorcycle boots, electric heated pants, gloves, and jackets, helmets, motorcycle covers, and so on. Almost any one item, even used, is worth the $200 USD I'm asking for the whole box and I'm very clearly stating that, "I'll sell you anything in the box for $200 but you must take the whole box". I haven't put it on Craig's list yet but have told a few "friends" about it. The response: "I don't want the helmets, could you give me a list of the heated gear" or "I just want the Sidi "On Roads" how much for them".  My answer to both is the box will go to Goodwill first.

See you guys on down the road,

ken

6 comments:

  1. Hi Ken
    I would gladly pay 200$ for a box of motorcycle goodies.
    But there would most likely be a heck of a postage to get it to Denmark, not to mention that I would have to pay customs and VAT too.
    I have never before heard of electric heated pants. But I guess that it also requires some sort of electrical outlet on the bike to be able to work, though that could probably be arranged too.
    Brgds
    Jonas

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  2. Ups, I clicked on the "Publish" too soon.
    I totally understand that you would sooner give the box away to charity than spending time sorting through it etc.
    I very rarely donate money to charity, but I like to donate good stuff for the charity 2nd hand shops.
    Sometimes when I look in those shops it is clear that a lot of people only donate junk. So my idea is that if I donate some decent or good stuff that they can sell, that is just as good as me giving them money.

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  3. What 90F and winter is over???
    That's it im moving.... :-)
    We are expecting, yet another snow storm here, should be a dozy up to 60cm of white crapola in some areas...yeah....

    Bob, who also Like to donate stuff for good cause

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  4. Jonas,

    Do you ever dock in the States? If so and you have a use for motorcycle gear I will send the box gratis to the city where you dock. The $200 USD is just to cull out folks who have no need but will take anything free.

    Like you and Bob I seldom sell stuff, it is too much trouble for very little return....much better to give to one of the many resale shops. My new favorite is run by the Tucson Dog Rescue group.

    ken

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ken

      Thanks for the very kind offer.
      I doubt that we will ever go to the States on this ship. Though it could be fun.
      A dog rescue group seems like a very noble thing to support.
      Jonas

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  5. Bob,

    Come on down, there is plenty of room. You might find the Summers a little rough, it takes an old desert rat to enjoy June in Tucson. I of course find June delightful while MsBubba thinks she will die every day from May 'til October.

    ken

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