What a Couple of Weeks

I had 8 days off Thanksgiving week which was great but I sure paid the price the first 3 weeks of December. Long kvetch short, after three weeks of working the back side of the clock, some of the days pulling doubles, and with only one day off over the 3 weeks, I finally finished for the year Saturday.  And what a finishing day. We went "live" with the new Stall training protocol, as required by the FAA last week and I had the pleasure of doing our Centers first Fight Check using the new procedures with a "Fed" looking over my shoulder. No real problem there but things slowed to a crawl as the day went on, ended up being an almost 11 hour day before everything was finished.

Today I caught up on sleep and rest, went out and found a bicycle rack for MsOK's B-Day and piddled in the shop. Mostly cleaning and making a couple of bench appliances.  Looking around the shop as I cleaned I've almost decided to have a tool sell off. I've planes, saws, and chisels stuck in every nook and cubby hole in the shop, most I never use. An example I have a near full set of Bailey pattern planes Type 11 or older. They are beautiful but I don't use them, especially the #6, #7, and #8 no need with the machines to four square stock. BTW, about once a year I'll take a raw board and four square it just to remind me why I have the machines.

Here's an old photo of 'em lined up.

  
There are dozens more including a near mint "45", what a useless hunk of metal but it sure is pretty. Then the 100 or so saws and that many or more chisels on top of all the planes. None of the planes are collector items but most are good solid users with Hock irons. A good number of the chisels have been re-handled and all have flat backs. The saws, about the best you can say, once pass my users, is that there are lots of 'em.

If I'm honest with myself I only use about a 1/2 dozen planes on a regular basis and in addition about the same number occasionally and it's the same with the saws. Chisels I use more but still I would never miss about half of the ones I keep sharp. I need to to do a serious sell off.

LV Saws

Received an email this morning announcing the new LV Tenon Saws. I admit, I have a saw jones. I'm afraid to count how many are stuck in various cubby holes around the shop, in all conditions from good for parts to many perfect top-end back saws. The LV saws are as good as any, even not taking price into consideration. They tend to be a little harder to start than some such as the Gramercy dovetail saw but once started they cut true and clean. If you consider price they are an absolute steal. All that is a long way around to: With the introductory price they are a real bargain, I'll need to find room for two more saws in the till.

Posting about saws reminded me, I'm booked for the Bad Ax Tools' saw sharpening workshop March 28th and 29th. I'm not looking forward to the ride in steerage up to KMSP and back to KTUS but the the workshop should make up for the hassle.

This is the time of year for making small Shaker Candle Boxes out of bits of shop scrap. This one has a Sycamore box with Sapele lid and a Teak base. They are nothing special, usually with small mistakes, but they seem to walk out of the shop about as fast as I make them.

SS1000

A friend posted this photo of a bike's saddle. I found it very humorous, being a Long Distance rider with several Iron Butt Association Certified rides done, my first thought was after 1000 miles in less than 24 hours on that saddle you really would be Saddle Sore.

 

Vesper Tools Square

I posted several days ago about a small square from Vesper Tools. In it I posted I didn't know if I would find a use for it, well I think I've found its niche, it is really nice for marking the verticals on the pin board. Its small size and the adjustable blade make it very easy to use with no need to adjust the board in the vice to fit the square and then back again for the saw.  

Home Work

Eight straight days off from the Salt Mine will come to an end Monday. As much as I like my work, it is still good to get away for a few days in a row. We talked about going to Texas and seeing the kids, or going to Mexico so Sam the Wonder Dog and Sweet Maggie Dog could spend a couple of days swimming in the Ocean while we enjoyed beer and tacos, but we ended up staying home and working on Casa Chaos. It was a good move....expensive but a good move.

I'm getting too old to do the work myself but I can still sign the checks and there were a few signed. We had a good part of the back garden covered in "pavers", a cover erected behind MsOK's studio, 220 power ran back to the covered area for her kiln, and a deck built off the bedroom. It doesn't count as work but should count in my part of the deal, signing checks, ordered a new fridge and dish washer.

We also emptied the "guest" bedroom, pulled up the carpet, knocked down the "popcorn" ceiling and I pulled wires for a ceiling fan install. Paint and MsOK will lay new tile, once finished all that will be left on the house refurbish is my bathroom and then we can start all over. Photos to follow.

In my spare time I worked on the Sapele display case and made a Shaker style candle box out of Sycamore. I remember seeing a nice board of spalted Sycamore at the wood store, I almost picked it up and should have. I'll go when they open and if it is still there the box will have a nice spalted Sycamore top, if not, then I will use some spalted Maple. Also I finished re-toothing a old Freud 12" backsaw I'd been working on intermittently for several months, that and a bunch of trips to Home Depot (no project is finished until the sixth trip to Home Depot) made the eight days fly.  



   

New Square

Several months ago Christopher Schwarz posted about a small sq. sold by Vesper Tools. I looked it up and ordered one because I'm a sucker for squares and marking gauges. It was back ordered and I forgot about it, figured it would get here whenever. Well, whenever was today.

We will see if it was worth the wait....it looks good and feels good, small with a 70mm blade and a locking nut, not sure if it will replace the Starrett 6" Double Square as my "go to" Square but I expect it will see some use.

Late to the Party.....

....Not the sharpest crayon, rides the short bus of life, you get the drift., sometimes I think my forehead should be flat from hand meets head.

Anyway, cut to the chase, I've been using a leg vise for about a year, it works great for most things but isn't perfect for rip cuts on wide boards such as when sawing tails and pins on case sides. I can only get about 100-150mm under the chop. Not optimal, so I've been thinking of adding a Moxon type appliance either the one from BenchCrafter or Lie Nielsen. Either would work but.....there is always a but....I don't need more "stuff" in my shop and knowing the way I work I would find digging it out, attaching it to the bench top, and then putting it back under the bench when finished a major PITA.

Here is where the hand meets the head, I've had a sliding deadman with a Veritas Hold Down on the bench almost from the get go. All I needed to do was to slide the deadman next to the board in the leg vise apply the hold down and screw it tight.

In other words; the deadman isn't just for holding long boards. While it may not work as well as a Moxon it has to be damn close. And the best part it does not take up more room (already on the bench) and I will use it because it is not a PITA to use.

I'm only a year late to the party but at least I did get there.

Sometimes it is Best to Start Over

I've been working on the back side of the clock this week, standard schedule is a couple or three hours sleep, go to work, finish and come home early AM. putz around for a few hours, nap, back up and putz a little more before going back to work. It works OK until about the 3rd or 4th day then the lack of deep sleep catches up and performance goes south.

Long way around to I was joining a small display cabinet on my putz time and I know better. Normally about all I do is tool maintenance, nice mindless work that can be picked up and dropped with no problems. Anyway, yesterday I cut the dovetails and pins for the third side and they looked as if I had never seen a back saw or chisel before. I tried to talk myself into fixing 'em but the second side while acceptable wasn't as good as it should be so bottom line; The display cabinet is going to be a little smaller than planned.

I cut all the tails and sockets off, re-squared the boards, and started over....you got to know when to quit.

The offending set of tails and sockets.

A new set of tails, I'm stopping here for today. Tonight is the last night on this schedule and I'm off until the first week in Dec. I should get the cabinet finished and started on the stand unless MsOK has other plans.

Display Case

Finally found a couple of minutes to spend on the small display case. I looked at most of the options for joining and settled on half lap dovetails. Chopping the pin board in the sapele is tough on chisels but it is going well if slowly. BTW, even though Japanese chisels are in the photo I'm not using them to chop, just to pare. For chopping I'm using the new Veritas PM-V11 chisels, they are hanging in pretty good.

I picked up some very nice quarter sawn sycamore yesterday. I think the sycamore will look good as a lapped back for the case. I'm looking for a spalted maple board to make the door panels, if I'm unable to find what I'm looking for there are a couple sycamore boards that would make attractive door panels.

I still haven't worked out the interior, how many shelfs, where, and/or drawer or no drawer, or even several, 

I guess after three years there is no need to rush.

Be Carefull

Even the "safe" machines can bite.

Having two big hairy dogs, Sam the Wonder Dog and Sweet Maggie Dog, that love rawhide "bones" means I go through a lot bones. To save a few pennies I buy in bulk and cut them into smaller chunks with the bandsaw. Most of the time out of a big bag of rawhide one or two will grab a little but no big deal. Not so last night, about half way through the bag the bandsaw caught something and the bone I was cutting kicked back almost as hard as a table saw kickback. Caught me between the eyes and on the nose, Ms OK almost peed her pants laughing when I walked into the house dripping blood and telling my story. Being a nurse she made sure the repair work caused max discomfort, gotta love nurses.

Bottom line I was at the wood store when they opened this morning to buy a face shield before finishing cutting the bag of rawhide.

A Day of Remembrance

I was born mid WWII so I have no actual memory of the War, my first memories are of my father returning from the occupation of Japan but my formative years were all War related. My stepfather served in Italy and was active in VFW and The American Legion. I grew up playing around the bar stools of the Odessa American Legion Post. As a teenager I would go to shoot pool and play ping-pong and of course all the adults I knew were veterans. That generation is now almost gone. My folks were among the last and had the misfortune to have out lived all their friends.

What brings back the memories is a small book I tend to pick up and read around November 11, not every year but most. The book is "Up Front" by Bill Mauldin. I've had it for years, it has lasted through several wife's, and many moves. If the notes I have written on the inside cover are to be believed I bought it used in 1968 for $45 USD. The $45 figure is hard to believe because in real 2013 dollars it was close to $300 and in 1968 I was a poor student trying to dodge Vietnam and make a living on the airport.

Bottom line, even though it is just a small book of cartoons with Mr. Mauldin's comments it captures the realness of WWII better than any of the histories or novels I've read.  

Sapele Display Case

I'm working on the Sapele display case that is intended as a wedding gift for the girl child and her new hubby. I'm a touch late as the wedding was almost 3 years ago. Any way the wood has been in the shop for a couple of years, I rough cut it a month or so ago, dimensioned the pieces yesterday and tonight I've started the dados to hold the back.  No one could ever mistake me for fast.

Cha,Cha,Changes.....A Life with a Machine Strapped to Your Ass

I've reached one of those life moments that occur as we age where the aging process requires changes in activity. As stated in the title I've spent my life with a machine strapped to my ass. Growing up on a West Texas dirt farm in the 40s and 50s if you were big enough to push the clutch in you were big enough to drive the farm tractors to the fields and gin. Folks didn't pay a lot of attention to things like driver license and liability insurance either. By my early teens had I run through a secession of scooters, motorcycles, and trucks, some pretty ragged out, but whatever I always had something to ride or drive. About the time I entered High School a couple of life changing events happened, I discovered Road & Track Magazine and I took an after school job. I was driving a beautifully restored '34 Ford pickup but I lusted after a British or German sports car and I met a guy at the part time job who was a few years older and into airplanes.

After flying with Sherman a couple of times I started using the money from the part time job to take flying lessons. My mother found out, freaked but being a reader of Dr. Spock used the offer of a new '59 MG A to bribe me into quitting flying. It worked until I left home for College. It took several years to finish my degree (which has never been used) and pay for enough flying time to began work as a CFI.

In the early years I almost never flew less than 1000 hours a year, as my flying time increased and I followed the typical career path of instructing, FAR 135 Charter pilot, and then Corporate Pilot, my hours flown each year decreased to 300 to 600 hours per year but whatever the job I always had something strapped to my ass, if not an airplane, a sports car or motorcycle. I lived to see what was around the next bend, hill, or over the far horizon.

Because of aviation this dumb West Texas farm boy has seen most of the world with the exception of Australia and Antarctica, I might still see Australia but I will pass on Antarctica. A little over 6 years ago I could see my skills eroding mostly because of vision changes but also some because of slowing reaction time due to aging. I've recently said someone has snuck in and changed my dual core pentium processor to an old x86. Anyway I had an opportunity to semi-retire, instructing other pilots in Simulators, it required a move to Arizona but it has been a good move, I still strap a machine to my ass almost daily, I still get to talk Airplanes, and I still get paid to do it. If I wasn't doing this I would be hanging out at the airport, boring the hell out whoever with 'there I waz stories', for free.

The Sim is great for having a machine strapped to your ass but it lacks in seeing what is around the next bend, over the hill, or the far horizon so shortly after moving to Arizona I returned to motorcycling. Being someone who can't do anything in moderation I found out about the Iron Butt Association and was soon doing a Saddle Sore 1000, followed by a Coast to Coast in 50 and Bum Burner Gold (1500 miles in less than 24 hours). I fell in love with LD riding, it was much like the last years of my flying, strap a machine to my ass and go for long hours. The only difference, in the airplane I might cover 10-12 time zones or more, on the bike 4 at the most.

As this post is about changes I will cut to the chase: About a year ago my night vision had deteriorated to the point I no longer felt comfortable with long rides at night on any road other than maybe I-10. That cut out most IBA rides and Rallies. About the same time work changed requiring more time and fewer days off which also cut into my riding. Bottom line it is time to change, I expect to sell the GoldWing, I will keep the VTX for now and I will return to my early years of seeing what is around the next bend, over the next hill, or horizon by sports car.  I'm not sure what it will be just yet, I've found a beautiful '54 MG TD, I would love a Lotus 7, a MG A, or even one of the late 50s early 60s Triumphs but I expect I will be practical, if buying a sports car can be practical, and will replace the Wing with a Mazda Miata.

Sorry for the long post but it is for my record as much as anything.

I hope to see you folks on down the road.

      

Plane Adjustment Hammer

The tap, tap, tap of adjusting my wood stock planes has just been made easier. I noticed some small wooden hammers while looking through one of the Japanese tool catalogs. I ordered a couple of sizes thinking they might be good to use with some of my un-hooped western bench chisels. As it turned out the largest mallet is nice for chopping dove tails with western chisels but the surprise was how good the smallest hammer works adjusting the iron in my wooden planes. The smallest one, 36mm and I think 4 oz, is perfect for adjusting plane irons. They are cheap, $6 to $9 USD for the 36mm one depending on which importer you buy from. It has really cut down on the over shoots and it allows me to sneak up very quickly on the perfect cut. I've spent a lot more and got less.

Day Job

In my case maybe the title should be "Night Job". I've had a run of "Initial" clients and Initials get the left over time slots. That normally means working the back side of the clock. No complaints. it is what it is, besides most of my life has been spent working different hours and days from what most folks think of as working hours.

Damn that was a tasty looking rabbit I chased down the trail, happens often...What I set down to post about was how easy the newer airplanes are to fly. As an example: The company I work for will sometimes donate an hour of Simulator time to charities for their fund raisers. Last Saturday the winner of the latest donation and his son showed up to claim his prize. Neither had ever flown in an airplane other that a few rides in steerage on an air carrier. I showed them how to adjust their seat, where the controls were and what they did and how to marry the aircraft symbol with the Flight Director. I explained the Auto-Throttles and gave a short explanation of what would happen on takeoff and what they needed to do.

We lined up, he pushed the Auto-Throttle engage button and away we went. We made a low pass over NYC, around the Statute of Liberty and back to KJFK for a landing. The son did about the same flight profile. Other than pushing a few mode select buttons I never touched the aircraft and they flew on both autopilot and by hand. If someone had been in the back they would have noticed nothing other than maybe a little more aircraft movement than normal while they were hand flying.

The newer aircraft are that easy to fly if everything is working,  It's a big change from my early days in a J-3 with no instruments or radios or even from my first LearJet 23.

Marking Gauges

I'm a sucker for marking gauges, mostly because it is hard to find one that works. Here is a family portrait of the ones I have near the work bench, probably another dozen or so stuck in nooks back in the tool room. I know....I'm a sick puppy with a major tool jones.

The ones I use the most are the first three on the left. What started this post is I just ordered three more of the one on the far left from Tools from Japan. It is not perfect, I guess I will have to make a shop made one to find the perfect marking gauge but it comes the closest to being right of any of the gauges I own. BTW, the Hamilton gauge in Osage Orange next to the Japanese screw locking gauge comes very close, for me it;s only down sides are the marking knife is very hard to sharpen because of its small size and shape and I can buy almost a half dozen of the Japanese oak gauges for the price of one Hamilton.

Lapping Iron

I've tried most sharpening "systems" at one time or another and still have most of 'em stored someplace in the shop.  All will get you to what I call "working sharp", some make a bigger mess, some cost more, some less, some are more hassle than others. I love the feel of good steel on a hard black or translucent Arkansas oil stone, diamond stones not so much, but my system of today is diamond stones.

The biggest problem with diamond stones is getting a final polish, like Arkansas oil stones the iron comes off the final stone sharp but not polished and requires either stropping or lapping to finish. For years I've used a hard leather strop charged with Herb's Yellowstone to finish the edge and backs of plane irons and chisels.

I'm beginning to change my mind on the value of the stropping step, while the iron still needs a polishing step I can't escape the feeling that stropping on leather no matter how careful you strop is more likely to dub the edge than not.

Currently I'm trying lapping on MDF charged with diamond paste, the first results are encouraging. I also have a Mike Stein style MDF lapping plate cooking* but it is still almost a month before it will be
usable. More to follow.

*Soak MDF in Danish oil for 24 hours then let it dry for a month before sanding flat and smooth.

Work Bench

Right next to the sharpening bench is my work bench. It's made of SYP imported from Texas, I used just under 400 BF of construction grade 2X12s. My guess is when completed it weighted about 400 lbs, having been in Arizona for over a year I'm sure it is under 400 now. Whatever, it does not move. The hardware is Benchcrafted with a leg vise on the left and a wagon vise on the right. I looked for wind and hollows or bellies the other day and it is still very flat.

There is not much I would change if I were building today. I have a 10.5" Paramo quick release vise made back in the 70s that I might use instead of the leg vise, it holds a little better than the leg vise but not enough to retrofit, or I might just stick with the leg vise. I would use round dogs instead of square, nothing wrong with the square ones, just no real advantage for the square dogs vs. 3/4 round ones and round make an easier build. I doubt I would install any end vise, wagon or otherwise. I knew going in on this build I seldom used an end vise but I thought maybe if it was a wagon vise I might use it more. It doesn't happen, nothing wrong with the wagon vise I just have work habits where I use other ways to hold my work that work for me. The Benchcrafted wagon vise is a fairly easy install compared to other end vises but nothing is a lot easier and I don't think I would miss having an end vise.

Odds are I would use SYP, this is my fourth SYP work bench build and they have all worked well. Having said that, maple would sure make a pretty bench and if I were to build another it would be because I just wanted to build a bench not because I needed one. This bench does every thing I need it to do and does it without compromise. If I did build another, one would have to go.  There is not room for two just under 3 meter benches in my small shop and I'm not sure I could work on a maple bench like I do on the SYP one. When I spill something or nick it I know it is just a work bench, a maple one maybe not.

Sharpening Bench

Several months ago I moved the sharpening station out of the tool room (aka Fibber Mcgee's Closet) out to a old work bench next to my current work bench. It was a good move, it is at a better working height and is just a step away from the working end of my main bench. As always I could use a little more room but what's new. I still have the wet and the dry grinders in the tool room if needed, most of the time I will just use the DMT extra extra course and one of the honing jigs to reestablish the bevel so the grinders do not get much use.

I would guess 70% of my sharpening is free hand, when I feel a iron getting too dull for the job a quick step over to the diamond stones and I'm back to work. The other 30% is like I've been doing for the last couple of days where I'm reestablishing the primary bevel, for that I will use either an Eclipse or Mark II honing guide depending on the iron.

BTW, that is the new shop paper towel holder over the bench. On the left is a Shapton glass pond and stone holder, it makes a really nice stone holder even for the DMT diamond stones. On the right is Tools for Working Wood saw vise and in the center is a strop with Herb's Yellowstone dressing. I've used a leather strop for years but I may be changing methods soon. I'm testing oiled MDF with diamond paste, more info as I see what works the best. 

 

Table Saw

As I have posted before, when I semi-retired and gathered my tools my plans were to have a mostly hand tool shop, still have a jointer, planer, and band saw to do the grunt work but no table saw, no electric router or other joint making machines. Shortly after retrieving the saws, planes, chisels and other tools from storage MsOK wanted to redo the kitchen and in a moment of insanity I volunteered. That allowing myself to speak before thinking through what I was saying meant ending up with a table saw, routers, router table and other noise and dust makers.

The router table and some of the routers are gone as are some of the jigs and other appliances needed to complete the kitchen in this life time. Over the last year the table saw keeps losing space, it has gone from the center of the shop to off to one side to now stuck in a corner. It is still usable for small rips or crosscuts but it is not getting much use and even in the corner it takes up space that could be put to better use. Kinda a long way around to I have a, can't say love because I've never loved a table saw but maybe a like/hate relationship with it. I go back and forth, sell, keep, sell, keep. I expect I will keep it for no other reason than it isn't worth much and it would take a chunk of change to buy another if I needed one for a project. Sure would like that space though.

BTW, about once a year I take a rough board and four square it with hand tools just to remind myself the band saw, jointer and planer earn their floor space. Wish I could say the same for the table saw.

Osage Orange

Picked up a nice chunk of Osage Orange this AM, from the looks of it I may be able to get 3 or 4 planes out of the mostly quarter sawn area. I'll cut the blanks once I'm back from running the streets.

Here's the final paper towel holder. Three hour job, three days to finish :-).

Paper Towel Rack Part II

Just because the first paper towel rack is now a shop appliance doesn't mean MsOK has given up on a under counter paper towel holder. So back to the shop. Digging around in the scrap pile I found a cherry cutoff with beautiful figure and just long enough...Not a mm to spare, if I changed from housed dados to dovetails.

Not a problem, chopping housed dados in oak vs. cutting dovetails in cherry, a really hard decision. I thought about doing half blind for about two seconds because the next project will have four sets of half blind and it has been a month or so from the last set of half blind I did for the bathroom wall cabinet. Sanity prevailed. Bottom line, MsOK has a smallish paper towel holder made from a beautiful piece of figured cherry, through dovetailed with a walnut rod to hold the paper towels. Photo to follow once the finish is done.

As with most projects around Casa Chaos, what should have been 3 to 4 hours tops, took the better part of three days and I still do not have it signed off by the Chief Inspector.

Bad Ducts

My biggest chip producer is at the end of the dust collection duct work, wasn't planned that way because it wasn't planned. It just grew topsie turvey as machines were added or changed and the shop is so small there is not much chance to make it right. Long way around to; as I dimensioned the Sapele for the little display case this morning the planer started spitting chips back at me. It's a pretty good sign the dust collection system isn't working and sure enough it was totally plugged. I started removing duct work until I could find some suction, the good news is there was pretty good suction just before the jointer "Y" which is the next machine over from the planer. As expected there was a hole in the jointer's duct. While I'm working on the system I'm going to reinstall the blast gates at each machine....A PITA to keep up with opening and closing but I expect it will be worthwhile with the planer now at the end of the line.

New "Shop" Paper Towel Rack

As expected I have a new paper towel rack for the shop.

Used the New Plane

Used the new 230mm plane for the first time in anger this AM on MsOK's paper towel rack to fit, chamfer, and smooth the rack before putting on the finish. Damn nice, could work both pull and push, one hand or two, all that and there is nothing that sounds as good or feels as good as a wood plane on wood.

This is one sweet plane, it's so nice I may have to make another one, or two, or three.

Paper Towel Rack

Last night as we were finishing dinner MsOK said: "I want an under counter towel holder". My first question was why? The one we have has served us well for at least 10 years and besides I like it. Piddle, it takes up too much room, so once SWMBO speaks the world moves. I found a small piece of red oak that would work, chopped a couple of housed dados, cut some steps and drilled a couple of holes. The new paper towel rack is in the clamps, I'll rub a couple or three coats of Tried&True on it tomorrow, hold it up so MsOK can see how it will fit and I will bet I'll have a new paper towel rack for the shop.

Tails Man

Not a clue why other than the folks I've watched cut dovetails have all cut the tails first so I've almost always cut the tails first. Tonight I was cutting some warm up dovetails and decided to cut a set pins first. In some ways marking is easier and I like being able to use a pencil to mark the second cut, gives an easier line to follow. Not saying I will change but I will play with 'em for awhile....It is good to reevaluate how you do things occasionally instead of just "because".

Tool Porn

I finished the wooden plane this AM. Took it out of the clamps, dressed the glue runout, cut the ends off to get rid of the register dowels, made and fitted the wedge, drilled and fitted the cross pin, opened the mouth, trued the sole, and tried a couple of shaving on some scrap cherry....Sweet!


I opened the mouth just a hair more and rubbed it and the wedge with Tried&True and let it sit for a couple of hours. Wiped it down with a dry rag and went back to the scrap cherry, This is a good one.

The stock is Babinga 230mmX60mmX45mm with a 44mm Hock iron and chip breaker.

  

Shop Made Planes

My guess is I've made twenty or so Krenov style wooden planes over the last year....most didn't work as well as I would like. I guess I'm a slow learner but I do not give up easily, over the last month each planes has been better than the last. My last one is about 220mm with a 31mm iron and is sweet. It is the second from the left, the others were made last month and are also very good planes.

They, the planes, are easy to make. A couple or three hours plus the time for the glue to set and you have a very nice plane. I do the rough dimensioning with power tools, the finishing including cutting the mortice for the chip breaker screw by hand.

I think I've figured it out, I've one cooking as I type. It will be in the 230mm range with a 44mm iron and made of Bubinga like the four in the photo....more tomorrow once the metal hits the wood.

Cut Lumber for Small Display Case.

I cut some Sapele to rough length and thickness today for a small display box. It needs to sit for a couple of days to get its stupid wood tricks done and finished. I've had it in the shop for most of a year so a couple of days should be enough.

I noticed my push sticks needed replacement so I laid out a couple on some wide poplar.

 

Rough cut 'em and drilled some holes for the jig saw.

Used the jig saw to rough in the tote and then filed and sanded.

A rub with "Tried & True" and they are ready for use.

New Bench

I've been working on the new SYP workbench for awhile now, making small mods as needed but the basic bench is near perfect.

New Work Bench

Mid March I drove to Austin to pick up 400 board feet of SYP to use in a new work bench.  Here it is mid-July and I'm not finished, getting close but still need a couple three days or so to tie up the loose ends.  It will be good one with a wagon vise on the right end and a leg vise on the left front leg.  It will have a split top about 24" wide and will be almost 9' long.  I've needed a bigger bench for awhile but there has always been more pressing things to fix and do.  Photos to follow.

Krenov Plane

I've needed a good shooting board plane for a while, like every time I use the shooting board, my metal planes are a literal pain to use on the shooting board and I really do not want to spend $500 USD on a shooting plane from LN.

I've been thinking about a Krenov style wood plane and have ordered David Finck's book and have watched Hock's video along with reading some blog posts about making one. Yesterday I had nothing to do, a sharp Hock iron and chipbreaker on the shelf, and a Ash cutoff, so what the hell might as well, with nothing to loose but a day in the shop and maybe a giggle or two at the result I made my first wood plane.

Once Finck's book arrives it will be interesting to see what, if anything I did wrong or could have done better. But whatever, it came out pretty good, shaves like a champ, is light and works well on my shooting board. My metal ones may start gathering dust.

BTW, I need to remember to document the build as well as the finish.

Finished

Finished the kitchen, now I haven't a clue what to do with my free time. I'm happy with the outcome, there are always things that could have been done better, design flaws, and a few mistakes but not too many on this project. The corner of the sink cabinet and the Lazy Susan cabinet was set a little too tight and the door pulls do not work well together....fixed by setting the hinges on the Lazy Susan door on the opposite side. The trim over the sink and the stove could have been better planned, not as clunky and the dish washer opening is about 3mm or 4mm too big on the sides. There are some workmanship flaws and a few dings but again nothing major and most just add a little character.

The good things: The "pull down" shelf is great, the open cutting board storage works even better than I thought it would, the new sink is perfect, I love the look of the granite, and the extra 25mm of depth in the wall cabinets adds just enough extra room.

Saw Sharpening

I've always sent my saws out for sharpening, problem is I can not find a local sharpening service for back saws. Damn, what an excuse to buy some more tools. After weeks of looking and reading all I could find on the techniques and tools for sharpening hand saws I decided "what the hell, might as well". A saw vice was needed and there are just a few chooses, new (Gramercy tools), used, or make your own out of wood scraps. The good used ones are too expensive, make your own looked like a PIA to use, so that left new. Ordered one from Tools for Working Wood http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com//Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=toolshop&Product_Code=GT-SAWV&Category_Code=TS plus the files and a saw set.

I finally got it all set up and sharpened the first saw last night.....not bad, did a rip cut 14 tpi on an old Frued back saw and it cut fast and almost true first cut out off the vice. After dressing the high side a couple of swipes, it made beautiful straight saw dust, saws better than any saw I've got back from a sharpening service.

Now I'm wondering why I didn't do this years ago.

The photo is of my sharpening area, plane irons, chisels, saws....now it makes no never mind.

Looking at some of the older posts, I realized that the photo of the bike's farkle shelf is out of date and things have been added and moved. Anyway this is the latest version.

Almost There

I hung the north wall doors yesterday, just the east wall upper and lower doors and the lazy susan door to go. All but two of the remaining doors are ready for paint, one of the unfinished doors had a brain fart cutting mistake and I had to glue-up a new panel, the other was also a brain fart but on one of the rails. I'll paint the finished doors tomorrow and deal with the brain fart ones once the others are hung.

Rode the bike to a RTE on the 31st, beautiful day to ride. It was good to air out the Dirty Fat Girl, for the last six months about all I've done is work on the kitchen redo except for a couple or three RTEs. Of course the three RTEs were good ones, the first was a run to Jackson Hole to meet a couple of friends for a hamburger. The next one was a Bum Burner Gold (1500 miles in less than 24 hours) for some Texas BBQ and the last was a run up to Cedar City, Utah for dinner with some riding buddies.

Union Hardware Chisels

Several months ago I bought some Union Hardware Chisels from EBay. I didn't think much about them, in fact I didn't even sharpen them for several weeks after they came. I used the 1" one several times to clean glue lines and other chores, not quite for paint can opening but close. I kept picking it up for odd jobs because it fit my hand so well and was really comfortable to use. It was looking pretty bad with dried glue stuck to it so one day I did a quick lap of the back and a bevel grind ending with a short polish on the hard Arkansas. No real effort but it was sharp for the first time. I was still using it as before but also doing a little clean up and pairing just because it was close and handy, and now sharp. It has taken awhile for me to realize it but damn it is a nice chisel, takes a really sharp edge with little effort, holds the edge well and fits easily in my hand. One of the really nice features is how thin the blade is, it's hard to find newer chisels with thin blades, most seem to be 750 knock-offs.

BTW, picked up a couple Union Hardware Chisels yesterday and I'm on the look out for more.

180 Shop

As posted, my hand tool shop with a band saw and maybe a jointer and planer did a complete 180. It is now a full power tool shop. Now that the kitchen is almost finished, the hand tools will take over for the most part but except for the room required it is nice to have a full complement of power tools when needed.

Forgive the mess, ah hell, who am I kidding it will always be a mess.

Almost Finished Kitchen Redo

Last T-Day MsOK and I made a Texas run to see the kids and pick up my tools. Ken M had kept 'em in his barn for the last 15 years, they were in reasonable shape, it's good to have friends. The machinery was long gone and my plan was to set up a hand tool shop with a good band saw and maybe a jointer and planner for dimensioning rough stock. All I really wanted to do was turn large pieces of wood into smaller ones and have an excuse to buy old chisels and planes. It didn't quite work out that way.

On the way home MsOK decided our next project was to redo the kitchen (we had just finished painting the outside of the house), that was OK with me, at least it wasn't painting and someone else would be doing most of the work. Time to cut to the chase.

After several weeks of looking at what was available at the Orange Store and the Blue Store and the cost of installing it, in a moment of shear stupidity, I said "fuck it, I'll build it myself". Almost one year later, at the cost of a Pentagon weapons system and a total 180 on my shop, I'm almost finished. All that is left are 14 doors and a little finish trim work. Most of the doors are cut, just need to finish glueing up few more panels and get 'em painted and hung.

Here is a photo of the almost finished kitchen:

RAT

I Just signed up for the MTF's RAT (Ride Around Texas) http://www.mctourer.com/rides/2010/FoundersFeast/RAT.html. Been down all the roads but not in this short a time, should be a hoot.

Farkle Shelf

I finally got enough of the 50CC acquired bugs off so you can see the shelf. It worked great for the MTF's 50CC as is, the only two things I wish I had had time to add before leaving (and will add before the Utah 1088 ) were a reading light and some kind of writing table/shelf with clips. I'm not sure how I will do it but I'm looking around for something that will work. It has plenty of room for another GPS and a Spot, I expect they will be coming soon as well.

It was great as a dinning table and/or junk holder when stopped, because of that it made the gas turns easier and the ride a little faster. Of course I'm pretty slow, I can't pass a Iron Butt Motel with out stopping for a quick nap, guess I'm getting old .

On the just finished a 50CC across the southern US, I rode for two day with LDComfort riding tights and turtle neck shirt under my mesh riding suit. The temps were from very cool (needing electrics) to 95F with 80% humidity. I was comfortable at all times, no monkey butt, no pressure points, not too hot when it was hot and not too cold when it was cool. Really comfortable riding gear but what convinced me was after riding in the same gear for two days they were pretty ripe and I didn't have time to wash 'em out before heading home. So I went back to my old riding gear for the first leg of the return home. Now I had covered almost 3000 miles the previous couple of days in the LDComfort riding gear in a very comfortable fashion, in the jeans and UnderArmor after 200 miles my butt was screaming "No Mas, No Mas". I shut it down in Pensacola, washed the LDComfort gear in the sink, wring it dry as directed, hung it up and it was ready to wear the next morning. Wore it the rest of the way home, no pressure points, no monkey butt, comfortable when it was hot, comfortable when it was cold.....great stuff, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

More 50CC

I started the 50CC with a big sleep deficit. That is not too unusual for me I have a hard time sleeping most days. My usual sleep pattern is 4 or 5 hours a night with an occasional 6 hour night, I can go forever with that pattern. Needless to say it didn't happen on this ride. Part of the reason I missed sleep Monday night was beating up on myself for being a dumb ass and playing the "what if" game in my head. I know counter productive but what the hey...that's me.

I'll cut to the chase....Monday night was a little less that 3 hours from the last time I looked at the clock till the alarm went off and I had to go to work. After work Tuesday, I had to take care of a couple of last minute things I had missed Monday, finish packing the bike and go by AZDMV to get a new plate sticker. I didn't make it to San Diego until about 2200 and I still had to eat, turned out I made it to bed a little after midnight and I had to be up no later than 0330 to meet the witness at 0400 so I could start the ride at 0430. It didn't get any better.

I rode all day Wednesday, with stops to check into the Iron Butt Motel, making it to San Antonio 0215 Thursday morning and leaving the hotel at 0645. Can you see a dumb shit pattern here? From Monday night to Friday morning I had at best 10.5 hours total sleep, throw in a max of 1.5 hours of power naps at the IBH and I was in major sleep deprivation.

It gets worse . I arrive in Jacksonville Beach a little after 0200 Friday morning go to check into the hotel and find the reservation is for the wrong day, there is a major golf thingy going on and there are no rooms. I beg and plead, threaten to us his check-in desk as a IBH and promise that I will be out of there by noon. I finally get a room, go out to the bike and have another dumb ass moment....I can't find the sheet with the name and address of the ending fuel station. I go back in, ask the desk clerk if he knew which station was being used and he said "I believe it is a Gate station". Back out to the bike, look for nearest Gate fuel station and it is just around the corner. Someway manage to keep the bike upright, get the ending fuel receipt at 0252 my time (0552 EDT) go back to the hotel and fall into bed. I can't go to sleep, I stink so much from the heat and humidity I'm keeping myself awake, not only that my riding clothes smell even worse. I get up put my riding clothes in a plastic laundry bag, seal it and hop in the shower. Finally I go to sleep. My phone rings about 2 hours later, "where are you, I'm waiting at the Gate station to sign your witness form". We finally figured out I had gone to the "wrong" Gate station and he asked me to meet him in the lobby so he could witness the end of my ride and take photos of my time line and receipts. By this time it was almost 1000, I had to be out of the hotel by noon and Doug was still several hours out. I loaded up, someway managed with several stops at the IBH to make it to Pensacola, saw a LaQunita and bailed out.

After a good night's rest, food, and water the ride the next day from Pensacola to Junction was one of the best ever.

50CC in May

I Left SD at 0430 local to start my 50CC, rode to San Antonio the first day. I hit Van Horn just as the sun set, can you say worst timing you could have, except for hitting Pascagoula,MS just as the sun sets . Two nights of riding some of the most deer infested roads in the States will kick your butt. BTW, I don't know if the 4G's are a good deal or not. One thing for sure You can see the deer, I thought about turning them off because while I would know the deer were there, I wouldn't "know" the deer were there. Both stretches are close to 500 miles and I couldn't force myself to run over 65 mph on either. Makes a real long night.

Traxxion Mod

I decided to do the full Monty Traxxion Mod to my 'Wing. I called around and JBK Cycles in Santa Ana, CA seemed to be the best place to have it done.

I was pretty skeptical going in that it would make a big difference but I figured it couldn't hurt and worse case I would end up with a $3000 head bearing change, which the bike needed anyway. As a good friend likes to point out I'm not overly fond of my money anyway so what the heck....sounded like a good deal to me.

The ride home from L.A. after the Mod was installed was all on the Slab and a little anticlimactic, the bike rode a little "plusher", tracked a little better, but all in all not a $3000 improvement, oh well, I've thrown more money than that away before.

Last Sunday I had time to run US 191 from Morenci to Alpine (did the Tucson-Alpine-Show Low-Tucson loop...a little over 500 miles of mostly good motorcycle road). I didn't time the Morenci to Alpine portion but the whole ride took just under 10 hours. All I can say is the Traxxion mod was worth every penny. For the first time running US 191 I did not drag any of the hard parts, not on the 1st gear hairpins or the medium and/or high speed sweepers and I was riding as fast as is prudent on a public road, well maybe just a little faster than prudent. Once the chassis was stable the bike was rock solid and road imperfections had little effect, I was able to roll on power earlier because I could trust the bike to hold what ever line I set. There were no bar shakes or wobbles, the bike felt wonderful, it is still a 900 lb. bike but damn it will eat the road. I don't think the Harley guy at work believed me when he asked how the ride was and I told him I did the loop in under 10 hours.

I had one interesting situation, coming around one of the blind high speed sweepers, just as I was rolling power in for the exit, I found a car in my lane backing up. I haven't a clue why, he just did it. I grabbed a hand full of brake and put the ABS to test, BTW ABS is worth every penny as well.

The IBA rally is going on as I type. It is held every two years, I plan on doing the next one, 11,000 miles in 11 days, it should be a hoot.

Road Trip

I love to hear those words. Long story short.....a buddy of mine (lives in Granbury, TX) called last Thursday and said "I can get away for a few days, would you like to meet up some place and ride around"? I scrambled around at work changing schedules and was able to put 5 days off together, Friday, the weekend and Monday-Tuesday. Next was deciding where to meet and where to ride. Well I had heard stories that Sturgis, SD was going to have a big T-shirt sale over the time I had off....sounded like a good place to go, so done deal. We picked Ruton, NM as a good meet-up point, from there it was a easy stroll up I-25 and then east to Sturgis.

We pulled into Sturgis late afternoon Saturday. We bought a couple of T-shirts, BTW while the selection was good they lied about 'em being on sale , and had a good hamburger in the "Knuckle" before calling it a day.

Sunday, we did the tourist thing and rode around the Black Hills with a few thousand of our best riding buddies and then late afternoon headed south to Lusk, WY for a RON. Today we will ride to Las Vegas, NM for another RON, my Texas buddies will split off from there and I will ride to Tucson Tuesday.

My buddy and I traded bikes a couple of times, his is one of HD's with batwing fairings, all I can say is my hat is off to him, 2600 miles on that shaking POS and I wouldn't be able to walk.

BTW, someone once said 'there are no bad roads out of Sturgis", I believe him.

We made it to Paso Robles for the night, the next day Blythe, CA for a RON and then home to Tucson.

I'm not sure how many miles we did but I did the 4000 mile oil change just before leaving home and the odometer had 11,200 miles showing when we pulled into the driveway.

One last photo....just because:

The next day we rode down US101to Leggett, CA where we joined CA1 to Gualala, CA. What a great motorcycle road from Leggett to where CA1 joins the coast, it's pretty good once on the coast as well . The hotel in Gualala was the nicest we stayed in. I can't remember its name but it is on the south end of town and next to the Road House Cafe.

The next morning we continued south pass San Fransisco and Monterrey, once we were south of Monterrey the horse to the barn syndrome kicked in and we headed east for home.

Our first day's ride south took us as far as the Oregon/California border. We RONed at the Harris Beach State Park outside of Brookings, OR. Harris Beach became a favorite of Ms.OK, beautiful setting and a very nice camping area.

"Short Beach

We had to visit "Short Beach" once more, by this time I was ready to throw a leg over the bike and ride .

More Vacation 09

We had made it to the Oregon Coast and spent a week camping and visiting old haunts, it was time to start moving toward home but first we needed a night in a hotel to do laundry and recharge all the batteries. We stayed in the SurfRider just outside of Depoe Bay, OR. Nice place but the dryer quit working before the laundry was dry.

What can you say about the Oregon Coast other than it is magical, what a special place. When we lived in McMinnville, OR I believe Ms.OK walked almost every inch of the coast. I missed most of it because I was always gone on a trip to BFE, The Sudan or some other place half way around the world.

Low Tides

The tides were the lowest of the year and people were out in droves to walk the beaches and to harvest shellfish.

Made it to the Oregon Coast

From Hood River we rode through Portland, OR then OR6 to the Coast. We set up base camp in Cape Lookout State Park. From there we took day trips up and down the coast and each evening returned to camp for dinner, a campfire, wine, beer, and martinis. I took one day off to have the OEM Dunlops replaced with Metzeler Marathon 880's. The Dunlops still had a lot of miles left but the Metzelers made all the difference in the world when riding in the rain. I wish I had done it earlier.

Photo of Oceanside, just north of Cape Lookout.

Lolo Pass

We left Butte on I-90 for Lolo and US12 to cross over Northern Idaho. Lolo pass was a highlight of the trip. The only negative, the OEM Dunlops do not handle rain well and a couple of times the bike got a little squirrelly going through Lolo pass. We made it to Hood River, OR where we shut it down for the night.

Lake Jackson

After Grand Junction we cut across Western Colorado on CO139 to Vernal, UT to spend the night. I've ridden or drove most of the roads in the western US but this was my first time on CO139. It was a pleasant surprise, I wouldn't say it was a great motorcycle road but it was much better than expected. The next morning the plan was to ride to Jackson, WY to spend the night and the next day do Yellowstone NP. We had a couple of ways to get to Jackson and I picked the eastern route over the western one because of WX. It turned out to have been a good chose. We watched rain to the west almost all the way into Jackson and only had to put our rain gear on about 50 miles south of Jackson.

Yellowstone was pretty much a bust, too damn many people, RV's, cars and road construction to enjoy the park. I almost lost the bike and trailer going over several of the road work areas. The mud was really slick. We exited out West Yellowstone and rode to Butte, MT for the night. The ride up US287 to connect with I-90 was one of the prettiest of the trip. After the crowds of Yellowstone it was most enjoyable. BTW, this part of the the trip, from Jackson, WY to Lewiston, ID was mostly in the rain. All I can say is thank you Frogg Toggs and Shoei, they kept us dry and comfortable.

On the Road to Silverton

After Red River we rode to Durango, CO to position ourselves to do the Durango-Silverton-Ouray (US550) ride the next morning.

One of the advantages of traveling on a bike is people will stop and talk to you, other bikers as well folks in cars, trucks, and RV's. We met a woman just out side of Durango who had been riding solo for 6 weeks. She was from the Seattle area and had lost her job. She decided what better time to see the USA on her Harley Soft Tail. We rode together for a good part of US550. She is on the left and Ms.OKGuy is on the right.