For every Texan worth his salt there are two truths: The only "real" BBQ comes from Texas and the best is __________ (fill in the blank) and they personally make the best Chili to be found anywhere.
What started me down this road today was making a pot of Chili this morning. BTW, Chili does not have beans or tomatoes in it, if it does it is bean or tomato soup. A proper bowel of red will have sliced and cubed beef not ground beef and never pork, turkey, or whatever other abomination non Texan and, I have to admit, even some so called Texans call Chili. In addition to beef, a mix of dried chili peppers. I like to use 3/4 Ancho, 1/4 Hatch, and 1/4 Chipotle peppers, a little Cumin and garlic with just enough water to process the peppers for the sauce. Add salt to taste, cook until the meat starts to "tender" stir in a small hand full of Masa de Maiz to thicken and simmer another 5 or 10 minutes. Serve with Saltine crackers, a big slice of onion, and some cheese on the the side. Close to heaven if there is one. Only beans and cornbread or BBQ from Luling City Market (I filled in the blank) come close to being as good.
One more thing to add, buy the toughest, cheapest meat in the market. The good stuff just falls apart and has no flavor. If done correctly the only water you need will come from the chili sauce. The reason for the chili selection is the Ancho are the major flavor, Hatch adds the heat, and the Chipotle peppers bring a wonderful smoky note. You can use nothing but Anchos and your Chili will be very good.
Paid off the mortgage today, Truck will follow in a few months. If anyone other than Trump, even another Republican, was in the White House I would retire....for now it ain't going to happen. Up until Shrub I alway maintained the President really couldn't do too much damage, the checks and balances were such they could constrain even the worst actors. Shrub proved that wrong, Trump scares me.
See you on down the road,
ken
Monday, February 20, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
The English Woodworker
Richard Maguire has started an new video series on sharpening. Richard is a good teacher and is very entertaining to watch. In addition the first two videos validate my way of sharpening :-), so they must be good.
You can find the the videos on Richard's blog.
You can find the the videos on Richard's blog.
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
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
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Japanese Saws....Western Saws
Unlike Ralph over at Accidental Woodworker, I'm not much of a woodworking animal. On days I go to the day job about the most I can hope for is an hour or two farting around in the shop sharpening tools, cleaning, or sometimes making practicing/warm up saw cuts or just shavings with the planes. Not much gets done on work days.
The last week has held to standard, I worked with an Initial Crew all week and a few days the week before. BTW what a great flight crew, both young, both sharp with great flying skills and very good SOPs and CRM. The time spent was a joy but as with all Initial training at the end of each day I'm ragged out as will be the flight crew.
There is a lot to pack into eight days of Simulator time. Many times the pilots will have never flown the aircraft and maybe have never seen this make and model close up. In just over a week of Sim training in addition to a couple of weeks of Ground School we may take a pilot who has never seen the aircraft to their legally sitting in the left front seat with a "green" First Officer and a butt strapped to every seat in back for his/her first takeoff in the real aircraft. Bottom line there is a hell of a lot to master in 32 hours of Simulator time. No matter how good the crew, everybody is drained out by the end.
Damn Bubba that was a long ways around to: The last couple of days I've been playing with some of my saws. With Western saws I have a tendency to drift right if I do not pay attention and have not sawn for awhile. Knowing that I will usually take a couple of practice cuts before doing any sawing where I want a first class cut if I haven't worked for awhile. I also know that I have a couple of saws in the till that will always drift right no matter how much attention or how current I am sawing. With my short attention span this last week I figured I could do a couple of things, sort out the "bad actors" and see if I could tune 'em up so the right drift isn't from the saw and get some practice in as it has been several weeks since I've sawed on a project. BTW I did get the drifting saws straightened out.
While farting around with the Western saws I remembered I had a new Japanese saw that had never been used. I thought "self, this would be a good time to give it a go". I've never really been comfortable using Japanese saws but I keep a couple around for the occasional time they are needed.
That may be changing.
This new "Z" saw cuts very straight, fast, and clean. I'm impressed. At this time I will not say I'm changing to using Japanese saws, I've spent too many years learning to use and maintain Western saws to change but....I expect I will add more and more use of Japanese saws to the mix.
Here is a photo of a mixture of saw kerfs, both Japanese and Western.
I know....Really exciting. Here is a photo of the back side.
The last week has held to standard, I worked with an Initial Crew all week and a few days the week before. BTW what a great flight crew, both young, both sharp with great flying skills and very good SOPs and CRM. The time spent was a joy but as with all Initial training at the end of each day I'm ragged out as will be the flight crew.
There is a lot to pack into eight days of Simulator time. Many times the pilots will have never flown the aircraft and maybe have never seen this make and model close up. In just over a week of Sim training in addition to a couple of weeks of Ground School we may take a pilot who has never seen the aircraft to their legally sitting in the left front seat with a "green" First Officer and a butt strapped to every seat in back for his/her first takeoff in the real aircraft. Bottom line there is a hell of a lot to master in 32 hours of Simulator time. No matter how good the crew, everybody is drained out by the end.
Damn Bubba that was a long ways around to: The last couple of days I've been playing with some of my saws. With Western saws I have a tendency to drift right if I do not pay attention and have not sawn for awhile. Knowing that I will usually take a couple of practice cuts before doing any sawing where I want a first class cut if I haven't worked for awhile. I also know that I have a couple of saws in the till that will always drift right no matter how much attention or how current I am sawing. With my short attention span this last week I figured I could do a couple of things, sort out the "bad actors" and see if I could tune 'em up so the right drift isn't from the saw and get some practice in as it has been several weeks since I've sawed on a project. BTW I did get the drifting saws straightened out.
While farting around with the Western saws I remembered I had a new Japanese saw that had never been used. I thought "self, this would be a good time to give it a go". I've never really been comfortable using Japanese saws but I keep a couple around for the occasional time they are needed.
That may be changing.
This new "Z" saw cuts very straight, fast, and clean. I'm impressed. At this time I will not say I'm changing to using Japanese saws, I've spent too many years learning to use and maintain Western saws to change but....I expect I will add more and more use of Japanese saws to the mix.
Here is a photo of a mixture of saw kerfs, both Japanese and Western.
Click 'em to big 'em.
In the photo you can tell which kerf was from a Western saw and which was made by a Japanese saw. All the Western saw kerfs are "fuzzy", the Japanese kerfs are clean.
I've the weekend off, if I can keep out of MsBubba's line of sight I may make something even if it is just a cutting board or small box.
See you guys on down the road,
ken
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Pug Mill Table Finished
Title says it all. The table is finished, took longer than expected because of how wet the wood was/is. Anyway I expect it will support the pug mill and I should get a couple of at-a-boys out of it that might last 15 minutes or until I do something dumb, whichever happens first.
The best news is; it is out of the shop and I've cleaned up all the crap that comes with working very wet construction grade DF/mystery wood.
Here it is with the pug mill:
The best news is; it is out of the shop and I've cleaned up all the crap that comes with working very wet construction grade DF/mystery wood.
Here it is with the pug mill:
ken
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Pug Mill Table
MsBubba had a pug mill shipped in a couple of days ago. That sucker is heavy, just under 300 lbs and she wants a table to set in on. As I ran through the options I decided this would be a great chance to prototype a small travel workbench. I wanted something quick to build because I can hear a tapping foot and the "where is my table, the pug mill was delivered yesterday" vibe from 50 feet.
I decided to do a face glue up of the slab and the legs but make everything where no cutting or chopping of joinery is needed. Also because of its intended use I didn't prep any of the 2X4s. The slab cutting and glue up took just under 2 hours. I expect the leg and stretcher cutting and glue up will be about the same.
Bottom line unless there is a major hiccup I should have MsBubba smiling and playing with her new pug mill before the weekend is over.
Here is the slab ready for glue up.
I decided to do a face glue up of the slab and the legs but make everything where no cutting or chopping of joinery is needed. Also because of its intended use I didn't prep any of the 2X4s. The slab cutting and glue up took just under 2 hours. I expect the leg and stretcher cutting and glue up will be about the same.
Bottom line unless there is a major hiccup I should have MsBubba smiling and playing with her new pug mill before the weekend is over.
Here is the slab ready for glue up.
The slab glued up, I'll wait for about 45 minutes before knocking out the leg mortise plugs.
Saturday, January 07, 2017
More Chopstick Maker
I cobbled together a chopstick blank jig. The workflow for now is thickness a sheet of wood with the planer followed by cutting out the blanks with the bandsaw. Then plane each blank to size in the blank jig.
It works well and at $3 USD for a pair of blanks vs. free scrap and a little farting around in the shop it is kinda a wash. Need to do a lot of sticks, buy the blanks. Have some nice, right sized scrap, and a little time, make blanks.
Anyway of photo of the blank jig:
MsBubba is a ceramist and I will occasionally throw a pot, she's good, I at best can throw a pot.
As posted before everyone we know has a small box or two and/or several bowls or plates from MsBubba. I've thought for some time we needed to change our stock of gifts and when I saw the Bridge Cities ad for the chopstick maker my thought was sticks and ceramics would be a perfect match. The plans are to make some small rice bowls and sushi plates to give with a pair of chopsticks.
A memo to record:
I have a Chevy truck that is a couple of years old. It had some pending recalls and needed an oil change so I thought: "Bubba why not let the dealer change the oil and take care of the recalls at the same time". Sounded like a plan. The service advisor suggested that the truck was also due for a coolant and transmission fluid change as well. I thought about it for a count or two then what the hell it needs doing and I'm there. The dealer gave me a ride home and I went on with my day while they took care of the truck. I had planned on picking up the truck the next morning but asked the service advisor to call once they finished. Later that afternoon He called, not to tell me the truck was ready but that they had found "water" in the transmission fluid that likely came from a faulty radiator. That was the bad news, the good was I still had a little less than a thousand miles left on the truck's warranty and the transmission and radiator replacement was under warranty. Damn Bubba you dodged a bullet through blind ass luck.
As said before, it is better to be lucky than good.
See you on down the road,
ken
It works well and at $3 USD for a pair of blanks vs. free scrap and a little farting around in the shop it is kinda a wash. Need to do a lot of sticks, buy the blanks. Have some nice, right sized scrap, and a little time, make blanks.
Anyway of photo of the blank jig:
MsBubba is a ceramist and I will occasionally throw a pot, she's good, I at best can throw a pot.
As posted before everyone we know has a small box or two and/or several bowls or plates from MsBubba. I've thought for some time we needed to change our stock of gifts and when I saw the Bridge Cities ad for the chopstick maker my thought was sticks and ceramics would be a perfect match. The plans are to make some small rice bowls and sushi plates to give with a pair of chopsticks.
A memo to record:
I have a Chevy truck that is a couple of years old. It had some pending recalls and needed an oil change so I thought: "Bubba why not let the dealer change the oil and take care of the recalls at the same time". Sounded like a plan. The service advisor suggested that the truck was also due for a coolant and transmission fluid change as well. I thought about it for a count or two then what the hell it needs doing and I'm there. The dealer gave me a ride home and I went on with my day while they took care of the truck. I had planned on picking up the truck the next morning but asked the service advisor to call once they finished. Later that afternoon He called, not to tell me the truck was ready but that they had found "water" in the transmission fluid that likely came from a faulty radiator. That was the bad news, the good was I still had a little less than a thousand miles left on the truck's warranty and the transmission and radiator replacement was under warranty. Damn Bubba you dodged a bullet through blind ass luck.
As said before, it is better to be lucky than good.
See you on down the road,
ken
Wednesday, January 04, 2017
Chopstick Maker
Awhile ago I ordered a Chopstick Maker from Bridge City Tool Works. The UPS girl dropped it off the other night and I found a couple of minutes free tonight to try it out. It works pretty much as advertised.
When I saw it my thoughts were "what a great gift idea to make hand made chopsticks". Almost everyone I know, and a few I don't, have a small box of one kind or another in addition making a box takes time. I don't mind the time and I have a good number stored around the house but.....
I figured hand made chopsticks would be enough different from boxes plus a little more unique, it was worth a go. Also if it didn't work out then I would get a nice Bridge City apron block plane out of the deal anyway. That's my story and I'm sticking to it....truth is I'm a sucker for new toys.
On to the story: The first pair I made were from maple blanks and look pretty good for the first go. The kit has enough blanks of different woods to make 10 pair of chopsticks. The question now is: Order more blanks or make the blanks from shop scrap. I'm leaning toward ordering blanks but we will see.
When I saw it my thoughts were "what a great gift idea to make hand made chopsticks". Almost everyone I know, and a few I don't, have a small box of one kind or another in addition making a box takes time. I don't mind the time and I have a good number stored around the house but.....
I figured hand made chopsticks would be enough different from boxes plus a little more unique, it was worth a go. Also if it didn't work out then I would get a nice Bridge City apron block plane out of the deal anyway. That's my story and I'm sticking to it....truth is I'm a sucker for new toys.
On to the story: The first pair I made were from maple blanks and look pretty good for the first go. The kit has enough blanks of different woods to make 10 pair of chopsticks. The question now is: Order more blanks or make the blanks from shop scrap. I'm leaning toward ordering blanks but we will see.
Remember...click it to big it.
The Ebonized box lid finally dried enough to fit:
The same box with the Cherry lid:
I'm not sure which I like better but then it is not my decision.
That is one of the new style ECE Jack planes in the fore ground, it has been in the shop for several months and I figure it should be acclimatized to the desert by now. I put a nice camber on the iron and gave it a go this afternoon. Pretty sweet, it may become my go to Jack, a little smaller than English style Jacks and I really like the horn. As good as a #5 is as a Jack the Stanley is still heavier, the older I get the better small and light becomes.
See you guys on down the road,
ken
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
MsBubba's Disks
The things we will do for the love of our lives. MsBubba asked the other day "how big a disk can you cut?". My answer was: What kind of disk? What wood? What is it for? What size do you need? I'll bet you know at least one of the answers. "It's for a game for Levi (the grandpeanut) and I don't know".
Bottom line we worked out the size and wood and I cut two dozen 100mm disks out of Baltic Birch ply.
The cutting out wasn't much of a problem but sanding them was kinda a butt scratcher. How to hold a 100mm disk while sanding. Ain't no way to use an RO sander, I tried holding in my palm with a sanding block, ended up with non-skid shelf liner on the bench and a sanding block.
Bottom line we worked out the size and wood and I cut two dozen 100mm disks out of Baltic Birch ply.
I'm always amazed at the uses for holdfasts. The sanding block is one of those "point of sale" gadgets I'm a sucker for. The good news it is very handy, it holds new or used 5" sanding disks with hook and loop. My guess is it is used for 90% of my hand sanding.
My understanding is the disks will be painted different colors and used in some kind of "matching" game. Whatever, I got my Ataboy for the day.
ken
Monday, January 02, 2017
Marking Gauges
Rob over at Heartwood is doing a very good series on marking gauges. I can't add much other than price doesn't always correlate to functionality. I've several very beautiful marking gauges that were close to or over $100 USD that are unusable and several very plain and cheap gauges that I use often.
If you haven't, go read Rob's posts, there is a lot good information in the three current posts on marking gauges. About all I have to add are a couple of links to gauges I've found usable and cost effective.
One of the best gauges is a Ryuma screw lock from Tools from Japan that cost around $13 USD. A step up in quality and a little better functionality is also from Tools from Japan, a "Kegaki" double bladed mortise gauge for about $125 USD. The Kegaki is very similar to a Kinshiro gauge which will cost around $320 USD if you can find one for sale. I have both Kagaki and Kinshiro gauges and the biggest difference between them is the Kegaki is machine made where the Kinshiro is truly a work of art.
If you haven't, go read Rob's posts, there is a lot good information in the three current posts on marking gauges. About all I have to add are a couple of links to gauges I've found usable and cost effective.
One of the best gauges is a Ryuma screw lock from Tools from Japan that cost around $13 USD. A step up in quality and a little better functionality is also from Tools from Japan, a "Kegaki" double bladed mortise gauge for about $125 USD. The Kegaki is very similar to a Kinshiro gauge which will cost around $320 USD if you can find one for sale. I have both Kagaki and Kinshiro gauges and the biggest difference between them is the Kegaki is machine made where the Kinshiro is truly a work of art.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Another Damn Sharping Post...Just Walk On By
When between projects and with a little time to play in the shop but not enough time or energy to tackle one of the many builds in the queue I will usually spend it either cleaning the shop or tool maintenance. The worst is when most of the tools are sharp and the shop is in near working condition then I gravitate to the really boring "what if's" such as: "Are water stones really better than oil?". "What about diamonds?" Or even better, "Natural vs. man made?".
You know where this is going. Over the last few days I've had limited time in the shop but enough to get in trouble with the "what if's". I've used oil stones as my primary sharpening medium for most of my life. I've made runs at most of the other ways but without fail when adding up all the advantages and disadvantages vs. other ways Ark oil stones work better for me. Of course, as always, YMMV.
The last few days follow the script. It started when I wanted to take another look at sharpening Veritas PM on Ark oil stones vs. water stones as referenced yesterday. Today I decided to play with some O1 chisels on Shampton's vs. Ark stones.
The common thread is almost all water stones will give a very nice polish even at the courser grits, oil not so much not even on oil polishing stones. To get a polish if that is your objective, at least when I'm doing it, requires going to a strop charged with one of the compounds. While I like to see a well polished iron, that really is not the objective, what I want is a edge that is "sharp" (whatever sharp is) and will last pass the first touch of wood.
I've found the scratch pattern is more important than polish and I think that is where most man made stones lose. I've seen very polished irons, irons that will blind you they are so shinny but with deep scratches on the back and bevel. Most of the time natural stones will give a better scratch pattern.
The real test is not visual but how does the iron cut wood, that of course is subjective. I've yet to find any stone that gives a better working edge than oil stones. It could be because I know Ark oil stones better than water stones or I may be full of whatever and/or just do not know how to get the best out of water stones. Both are very likely.
Bottom line, Ark stones still rule my sharpening bench with Atoma diamond stones for grinding.
You know where this is going. Over the last few days I've had limited time in the shop but enough to get in trouble with the "what if's". I've used oil stones as my primary sharpening medium for most of my life. I've made runs at most of the other ways but without fail when adding up all the advantages and disadvantages vs. other ways Ark oil stones work better for me. Of course, as always, YMMV.
The last few days follow the script. It started when I wanted to take another look at sharpening Veritas PM on Ark oil stones vs. water stones as referenced yesterday. Today I decided to play with some O1 chisels on Shampton's vs. Ark stones.
The common thread is almost all water stones will give a very nice polish even at the courser grits, oil not so much not even on oil polishing stones. To get a polish if that is your objective, at least when I'm doing it, requires going to a strop charged with one of the compounds. While I like to see a well polished iron, that really is not the objective, what I want is a edge that is "sharp" (whatever sharp is) and will last pass the first touch of wood.
I've found the scratch pattern is more important than polish and I think that is where most man made stones lose. I've seen very polished irons, irons that will blind you they are so shinny but with deep scratches on the back and bevel. Most of the time natural stones will give a better scratch pattern.
The real test is not visual but how does the iron cut wood, that of course is subjective. I've yet to find any stone that gives a better working edge than oil stones. It could be because I know Ark oil stones better than water stones or I may be full of whatever and/or just do not know how to get the best out of water stones. Both are very likely.
Bottom line, Ark stones still rule my sharpening bench with Atoma diamond stones for grinding.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Ebonized Beech
Ralph asked for a photo of the ebonized Beech. It does not fit, closer to fitting but still about 1/2 mil too wide. I'm still surprised at how much such a small piece of wood expanded, guess I shouldn't be because a lot of water was used to ebonized it.
IIRC the Beech lid had three apps of tannic acid (boiled White Oak shavings), then one of vinegar and steel wool followed by one more app of both.
IIRC the Beech lid had three apps of tannic acid (boiled White Oak shavings), then one of vinegar and steel wool followed by one more app of both.
The box has a well fitting lid of Cherry that looks good, who knows other than MsBubba which one it will end up with.
On to other things:
The house, in other words MsBubba, is sleeping in this morning so I'm finding things to do that do not make too much noise such as sharpening iron. I have a number of Veritas PM irons both plane and chisel. I decided to A&B a couple of the PM chisels on water and oil stones just because.
I'm still undecided if the PM is worth the extra cost and effort. After working several of the chisels on both oil and water stones this morning I have not changed my mind. PM is not a lot of effort to sharpen on oil stones if you start with a hollow grind. Problem is I'm lazy and do not like to take the time to hollow grind unless the iron is damaged or the bevel needs changing. Both oil and water on the hollow ground chisels quickly gave a very sharp edge, not enough different from O1 to change the world but I would not go to the effort to change from PM to O1 like I do with A2.
Bottom line, for day to day work I'll stick with O1 and save the PM irons for use with things like Teak. BTW, I have most of a 8/4 Teak plank that followed me home back in the 70's. It's been around so long I hate to cut it up.
Enough free association for one morning, back to the stones.
ken
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Winter Solstice in Mexico
The title is not absolutely correct, the day of the Solstice was spent in Tucson getting ready to celebrate the most important day of the year, MsBubba's B-day, on the 22sd. After paying proper homage to TMIDOTY I loaded the RV with enough food, beer, and whisky to last a month along with the critters and MsBubba for the trip to Rocky Point, Mexico.
The trip down was "interesting". We knew leaving that we would drive through a line of WX that was moving from Rocky Point through Tucson. What we didn't know was how strong the winds would be. The steady wind was around 30 knots with gust of 50 knots or better. The motorhome did a great job but I didn't get to relax a lot on the drive. Once pass Lukeville, AZ the storm was over and it was blue skies and lighter winds for the rest of the drive.
As always, Mexico was great. The dogs swam their hearts out. I ate and drank until no mas, no mas, and MsBubba played on the beach. It doesn't get much better.
I made a separate ebonized Beech lid for last week's dovetail "test" box. It fit perfectly, maybe even a little loose, before ebonizing. When I tried to fit it to the box the lid was at least a mil or two too wide. It has been setting for a week and is still too wide. I'll give it another month before I take any off the sides. I didn't think that small a lid could move that much but it did.
BTW, the ebonized Beech is beautiful.
ken
The trip down was "interesting". We knew leaving that we would drive through a line of WX that was moving from Rocky Point through Tucson. What we didn't know was how strong the winds would be. The steady wind was around 30 knots with gust of 50 knots or better. The motorhome did a great job but I didn't get to relax a lot on the drive. Once pass Lukeville, AZ the storm was over and it was blue skies and lighter winds for the rest of the drive.
As always, Mexico was great. The dogs swam their hearts out. I ate and drank until no mas, no mas, and MsBubba played on the beach. It doesn't get much better.
I made a separate ebonized Beech lid for last week's dovetail "test" box. It fit perfectly, maybe even a little loose, before ebonizing. When I tried to fit it to the box the lid was at least a mil or two too wide. It has been setting for a week and is still too wide. I'll give it another month before I take any off the sides. I didn't think that small a lid could move that much but it did.
BTW, the ebonized Beech is beautiful.
ken
Monday, December 19, 2016
Shop Dogs
Not much in life brings as much joy as a good dog. Sam the Wonder Dog and Sweet Maggie Dog are good dogs.
They know where I keep the rawhide bones and as with most of their treat patrols they work as a team. Rawhide bones are no different, when I see the two of 'em show up in the shop I know the drill....They have me well trained.
Today I happened to have the camera with me in the shop when they decided it was time for a bone. Maggie will usually let Sam lead the way unless she decides he's not being effective, then she will go into full "too cute for words mode".
Bottom line I'm a sucker for 'em and the treats are forthcoming.
They know where I keep the rawhide bones and as with most of their treat patrols they work as a team. Rawhide bones are no different, when I see the two of 'em show up in the shop I know the drill....They have me well trained.
Today I happened to have the camera with me in the shop when they decided it was time for a bone. Maggie will usually let Sam lead the way unless she decides he's not being effective, then she will go into full "too cute for words mode".
Bottom line I'm a sucker for 'em and the treats are forthcoming.
I made a marking jig for dovetails the other day. I stole the idea from David Barron. This is the third one I've made, the first was ok but a little off square. The second was better but not dead nuts on. This one is as close to perfect as I can get. BTW, I used the previous jig to help mark each new one, so each got better than the last.
The only way to know for sure if they are square is to make something, as usual a small box served to check the jig.
Anyway a small box with no finish or lid:
ken
Friday, December 09, 2016
One More Atkins
I got around to sharpening another of the Atkins panel saws last night. I've been on what some call a graveyard shift this week with a 0100 show and a 0800 finish. While in many ways it is my favorite line, no suits to put up with, time off during business hours so things can be taken care of, but it can be hell on your sleep pattern and motivation for shop projects.
As usual, when working the early AM line, about all that gets done is tool and shop maintenance. My chisels lose a few years of life, saws get sharpened, planes get worked over and I "test" them. There is just something very enjoyable about making a piece of wood smaller with a hand plane, hearing the snick and seeing the shavings eject from the mouth of the plane with no goal other than hearing the snick and seeing the shavings eject.
Last night as I stumbled around the shop doing random clean up and placing tools back into their assigned storage spot I noticed a couple of Atkins panel saws that needed rehab. One was 16 TPI with "0" set and so dull it would cut soft butter, the other was 7 TPI crosscut with just enough set left you could, with help, figure out where to mark the teeth for setting and sharpening. You can guess which one I picked to sharpen.
It had a small "wave" in the tooth line which I for the most part worked out followed by setting, topping and shaping, there were a few cows and calfs. After a final sharpening pass and stoning the tooth line I took it to the wood. It did not disappoint, it sawed true and fast. I've gone from having only a "hard point" panel saw to now having two very good panel saws, one cross cut and one rip both with comfortable totes in addition to the hard point.
As usual, when working the early AM line, about all that gets done is tool and shop maintenance. My chisels lose a few years of life, saws get sharpened, planes get worked over and I "test" them. There is just something very enjoyable about making a piece of wood smaller with a hand plane, hearing the snick and seeing the shavings eject from the mouth of the plane with no goal other than hearing the snick and seeing the shavings eject.
Last night as I stumbled around the shop doing random clean up and placing tools back into their assigned storage spot I noticed a couple of Atkins panel saws that needed rehab. One was 16 TPI with "0" set and so dull it would cut soft butter, the other was 7 TPI crosscut with just enough set left you could, with help, figure out where to mark the teeth for setting and sharpening. You can guess which one I picked to sharpen.
It had a small "wave" in the tooth line which I for the most part worked out followed by setting, topping and shaping, there were a few cows and calfs. After a final sharpening pass and stoning the tooth line I took it to the wood. It did not disappoint, it sawed true and fast. I've gone from having only a "hard point" panel saw to now having two very good panel saws, one cross cut and one rip both with comfortable totes in addition to the hard point.
Monday, December 05, 2016
Atkins Panel Saw
Several years ago a guy came through town with a trunk load of tools and a story. The story was he needed gas money to drive home to Montana. I'm a sucker for both old tools and a good story, either would have worked for gas money. I ended up with close to 100 saws, a tool tote, and a suitcase full of saw totes and parts.
For the most part the saws spent the next couple of years in the way and being moved from place to place in the shop. Several months ago I started digging through the pile and separating out the keepers from the junk and parts saws. Among the keepers I found a couple of Atkins panel saws, one filed 16 TPI and one worth the cost of the whole lot of saws filed 11 TPI.
The 11 TPI saw has been in the saw vise for several weeks waiting for me to clean up the tool room enough to get to the saw vise. Today miracle of miracles I finished a path and found time to sharpen that sucker.
What a sweet saw. The tote is still rough but that is minor. I cuts fast and true.
For the most part the saws spent the next couple of years in the way and being moved from place to place in the shop. Several months ago I started digging through the pile and separating out the keepers from the junk and parts saws. Among the keepers I found a couple of Atkins panel saws, one filed 16 TPI and one worth the cost of the whole lot of saws filed 11 TPI.
The 11 TPI saw has been in the saw vise for several weeks waiting for me to clean up the tool room enough to get to the saw vise. Today miracle of miracles I finished a path and found time to sharpen that sucker.
What a sweet saw. The tote is still rough but that is minor. I cuts fast and true.
Another:
And one of the cut line, you can't saw truer:
I wash I had sharpened it before I sawed the notch in the dovetail jig in the background. I've never learned to saw with a Japanese saw and as always the notch cut went off line. It's a shop appliance so not a big deal but.....
ken
The Woodworkers
A while back Lost Art Press published a two volume set of Woodworker Magazine's articles during the Charles H. Hayward years with the surprising title; "THE WOODWORKER: The Charles H. Hayward Years". The contrast between the re-published articles and those of woodworking mags of today is chalk and cheese.
The books have been my bathroom reading for most of the last year. It is like having the best woodworking magazine always available and with no ads for the latest and greatest dovetail jig. A third volume should be shipping this month. The first two are on tools and techniques and the third will be about joints.
You can't go wrong putting any or all the books on your Winter Solstice gift list.
BTW, I made a new dovetail marking jig last night. The old one worked ok but was just a thin red one out of square. I will not know for sure if the new jig is dead nuts square until I use it but by every measure it is dead on.
ken
The books have been my bathroom reading for most of the last year. It is like having the best woodworking magazine always available and with no ads for the latest and greatest dovetail jig. A third volume should be shipping this month. The first two are on tools and techniques and the third will be about joints.
You can't go wrong putting any or all the books on your Winter Solstice gift list.
BTW, I made a new dovetail marking jig last night. The old one worked ok but was just a thin red one out of square. I will not know for sure if the new jig is dead nuts square until I use it but by every measure it is dead on.
ken
Friday, December 02, 2016
Too Much Stuff
A week or so ago Andy over at Oregon Woodworker posted about culling his herd of bench planes. Ralph at the Accidental Woodworker wondered if Andy was coming down with something and I tried to sell him on buying another plane, the old one out one in thingy. Andy had a point, too much stuff just gets in the way of making things.
I'm lucky here in the desert there isn't much of a rust problem, if I had to do rust patrol my tool collection would be much smaller.
For sometime I've been trying to get rid of the truly unused tools with out a lot of progress although this week I did get rid of the last of the router bits and jigs. Problem is most of the stuff is very useable but not for the way I work. BTW, I will get to the point of this post.
Even tools for the way I work there are too many of 'em in the shop. There are planes out the kazoo, stuffed in every corner of the shop, in the plane till, the storage cabinet behind the joinery bench, and under every bench in the shop. I know some folks have it worse than I but..... and BTW, the chisels are another post.
The crazy part is eighty percent of the time I'm using one of four metal planes and/or one of the wood stock jack planes. The four are all type 13 or older Stanleys, I do have after market irons in them not because the thicker irons improve the plane but because it is hard to find good stock irons. The reason I reach for the old Stanleys is because the are light, it is the same reason I use the wood stock jacks. Light is good, with a light plane I can work most of the day. With a modern heavy plane I tire very quickly.
A photo of the four users, from left to right a #3, #4, #4 1/2, and a #5 sharpened as a jack:
I'm lucky here in the desert there isn't much of a rust problem, if I had to do rust patrol my tool collection would be much smaller.
For sometime I've been trying to get rid of the truly unused tools with out a lot of progress although this week I did get rid of the last of the router bits and jigs. Problem is most of the stuff is very useable but not for the way I work. BTW, I will get to the point of this post.
Even tools for the way I work there are too many of 'em in the shop. There are planes out the kazoo, stuffed in every corner of the shop, in the plane till, the storage cabinet behind the joinery bench, and under every bench in the shop. I know some folks have it worse than I but..... and BTW, the chisels are another post.
The crazy part is eighty percent of the time I'm using one of four metal planes and/or one of the wood stock jack planes. The four are all type 13 or older Stanleys, I do have after market irons in them not because the thicker irons improve the plane but because it is hard to find good stock irons. The reason I reach for the old Stanleys is because the are light, it is the same reason I use the wood stock jacks. Light is good, with a light plane I can work most of the day. With a modern heavy plane I tire very quickly.
A photo of the four users, from left to right a #3, #4, #4 1/2, and a #5 sharpened as a jack:
The #3 and #4 are freshly sharpened and planed the White Oak like it was butter, the #4 1/2 and the #5 not so much. Gives me something to do tomorrow.
The plane till with mostly LN's:
We have truly been sold a bill of goods that heavy is better. That said, the new LN and LV planes are works of art and I like using them for quick jobs. I wish someone i.e. LN would make a modern Bailey pattern plane. Sigh, my guess it is not to be.
I guess the point of all this rambling is I admire folks like Andy that can keep their tool collection genes in check and even more someone that can sell off unneeded planes or chisels. To steal a line from David Bromberg when it comes to selling off tools I have one green eye and one red. It's "stop", "go", "stop", "go" with stop usually wining.
ken
The National Hamburger of Texas
One of the advantages of living past your sell by date is the smallest thing can send you back in time and mostly, except for MsBubba, no one wants to lock you in the looney bin. Week tea I know but that's part of being older than dirt along with senior discounts and the Golden Eagle National Park pass.
Last night I needed to grab something to eat before show time. There is a Whataburger on the way and close to the Center. Most of the time it is just a quick in, eat a hamburger, and out in less than 15 minutes. Last night the time table held but soon I was back in, I believe, 1957 and remembering the first time I had a Whataburger. At that time I was a student in a San Antonio, TX boarding school, one of my fellow students, Bob Shoop, invited me to spend a long weekend at his home in Corpus Christi, TX. Bob's dad owned a large restaurant in Corpus but all Bob could talk about was having a Whataburger once we were in Corpus.
I was not disappointed, with the first bite it was like a Disney movie with blue birds singing and angels descending from on high. It doesn't happen often, in fact the only other time I can remember was my first visit to Mama Ninfa's on Navigation in Houston, TX.
A true quote from their web site "This is where it all started, where Mama Ninfa first stuffed chargrilled sliced beef into a handmade flour tortilla and launched the national fajita craze...". It wasn't just her Tacos Al Carbon but everything I had that night, the refried beans, the rice, it all had me licking the plate and wanting more. Shortly after that first visit Ninfa's was discovered and lines out the door stretched around the block. All good things, except Whataburger, end or are loved to death and Ninfa's is not the place it once was but for a few short years it was the best not just Mexican food but food you could find at any price. It was even better than K-Paul's in New Orleans.
Unlike many shops that expand, while today's Whataburger will no longer call down the angels or blue birds it has remained very true to the original.
Enough old farting. MsBubba's Mahjong box ain't the best....The Ebonizing of the White Oak lid and base is very pretty but it didn't play well with the glue and the Cherry box. Also I'm not sure the iron/acid will not stain the Mahjong tiles. It is back to the drawing board for the Mahjong box.
Last night I needed to grab something to eat before show time. There is a Whataburger on the way and close to the Center. Most of the time it is just a quick in, eat a hamburger, and out in less than 15 minutes. Last night the time table held but soon I was back in, I believe, 1957 and remembering the first time I had a Whataburger. At that time I was a student in a San Antonio, TX boarding school, one of my fellow students, Bob Shoop, invited me to spend a long weekend at his home in Corpus Christi, TX. Bob's dad owned a large restaurant in Corpus but all Bob could talk about was having a Whataburger once we were in Corpus.
I was not disappointed, with the first bite it was like a Disney movie with blue birds singing and angels descending from on high. It doesn't happen often, in fact the only other time I can remember was my first visit to Mama Ninfa's on Navigation in Houston, TX.
A true quote from their web site "This is where it all started, where Mama Ninfa first stuffed chargrilled sliced beef into a handmade flour tortilla and launched the national fajita craze...". It wasn't just her Tacos Al Carbon but everything I had that night, the refried beans, the rice, it all had me licking the plate and wanting more. Shortly after that first visit Ninfa's was discovered and lines out the door stretched around the block. All good things, except Whataburger, end or are loved to death and Ninfa's is not the place it once was but for a few short years it was the best not just Mexican food but food you could find at any price. It was even better than K-Paul's in New Orleans.
Unlike many shops that expand, while today's Whataburger will no longer call down the angels or blue birds it has remained very true to the original.
Enough old farting. MsBubba's Mahjong box ain't the best....The Ebonizing of the White Oak lid and base is very pretty but it didn't play well with the glue and the Cherry box. Also I'm not sure the iron/acid will not stain the Mahjong tiles. It is back to the drawing board for the Mahjong box.
As always....click it to big it,
ken
Thursday, December 01, 2016
New Small Box
The rust it shows. The box parts shown in the T-Day post are history due to a mistake almost too dumb to admit. But what the hey, I can blame it on the three months spent in recovery....That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I'm sure none of you have marked and cut the pins on the the wrong side, like I said too dumb to admit.
The replacement box is almost finished (photos when done). This one is Cherry with a Ebonized White Oak slider top and base. Cherry is nice to work and beautiful when finished but, there's that damn but, at least for me it is hard to get perfect dovetails. I can almost never fit right off the saw, if I do they are either too loose or one or more will split. Even when I saw them tight and pare to fit, during the fitting process I tend to spilt at least one....This box was no different, I got a split, stop drilled it and used cyanoacrylate in the crack. I thought about making a new pin board and about painting to hide and rejected both. It is a utility box, MsBubba will not care if there is a crack, I'll bet she will never see it if I can keep my mouth shut, and it will have no effect on the strength of the box. That's also my story and I'm.....
Last Saturday we took the critters and the motorhome to Bisbee, AZ for the night. Bisbee is an old mining town 90 or so miles southeast of Tucson. On the way, about 20 miles west of Bisbee, you pass through Tombstone, AZ. Tombstone is more famous but Bisbee is a heck of a lot more fun.
The Bisbee RV park is on a hill overlooking the Copper Queen mine and a block or two from downtown Bisbee. Being a old mining town, set in a picturesque valley, Bisbee is a tourist magnet and full of "stuff to buy," ok cafes, and great bars, many with live music. Bottom line it was a great use of the motorhome and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday and Sunday.
Photos to follow....see you on down the road,
ken
I'm sure none of you have marked and cut the pins on the the wrong side, like I said too dumb to admit.
The replacement box is almost finished (photos when done). This one is Cherry with a Ebonized White Oak slider top and base. Cherry is nice to work and beautiful when finished but, there's that damn but, at least for me it is hard to get perfect dovetails. I can almost never fit right off the saw, if I do they are either too loose or one or more will split. Even when I saw them tight and pare to fit, during the fitting process I tend to spilt at least one....This box was no different, I got a split, stop drilled it and used cyanoacrylate in the crack. I thought about making a new pin board and about painting to hide and rejected both. It is a utility box, MsBubba will not care if there is a crack, I'll bet she will never see it if I can keep my mouth shut, and it will have no effect on the strength of the box. That's also my story and I'm.....
Last Saturday we took the critters and the motorhome to Bisbee, AZ for the night. Bisbee is an old mining town 90 or so miles southeast of Tucson. On the way, about 20 miles west of Bisbee, you pass through Tombstone, AZ. Tombstone is more famous but Bisbee is a heck of a lot more fun.
The Bisbee RV park is on a hill overlooking the Copper Queen mine and a block or two from downtown Bisbee. Being a old mining town, set in a picturesque valley, Bisbee is a tourist magnet and full of "stuff to buy," ok cafes, and great bars, many with live music. Bottom line it was a great use of the motorhome and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday and Sunday.
Photos to follow....see you on down the road,
ken
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