Week 523 Woodworking

This like an on-line diary. I write my activities in my hobby of wood working, bragging about my accomplishments, crying about my failures, and mentioning what else is going on in my life.
In spite of the fact of my regular postings, anybody can post here, on any subject, at any time. Join in the fun and let us know what you are doing.

year 10, Week 1, Day One (week 523) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-16-10 Saturday

This weekend is the anniversary of my starting woodworking. I started January 17th 2000, which on that year, was a Saturday. This year it is Sunday. I go by the nearest weekend. Dad was trying to get me into carving a couple years earlier, but at the time, I was not interested. One day, it dawned on me that he was in his 80s. I decided I did not want any of those “I wish I had said, I wish I had done,” kind of things, so I borrowed one of his knives and a piece of wood and carved a little man. The brim of his hat was supposed to go all the way around, but it kept breaking until it was an off center baseball style bill.

When dad started carving, he had problems getting deep into the wood. He was afraid to do something wrong so he would not cut in deep. Keeping that in mind, I dug into the wood, trying to be bold in the wood I removed. I am still impressed with that first carving I did.
Now in October 2003, I got a lathe and that changed a lot of what I was doing in my woodworking. My dad thought that all one could do was spindle turning, such as baseball bats and chair legs. My bowl turning impressed him, even though I did not really know that at the time.

I am still following his legacy, and following different paths. I am not, and never will be, as good a carver as he was. What I have done is so much different than what he did, my own style, my own subject matter, my own direction. I am constantly thanking him for giving me the opportunity to learn this skill.

I must say that he had a great way to teach me how to carve. I would carve something. He would then “pat me on the head and tell me to keep carving.” For my personality, that was the best way to teach me to carve.

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It finally got into the 80s, at 81 degrees. During the early week, though, we got a lot of cold weather. So cold that the Politicians were seen with their hands in their own pockets. Getting warm weather was really nice. I opened my doors and windows for the first time yesterday to air out, and left them open all day today to air the place out even more.
There was a strong breeze coming off the Ocean. The cloud movement was interesting. the lowest clouds came off the ocean, heading west. the middle clouds were heading east, and the high clouds headed north.

In the morning, the clouds were heavy, with a little broken blue sky, but later it was mostly blue sky with high feathers and thin, low, cotton puffs dancing across the sky.
this weather report was brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department of Tourism.

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The day started with a quick yard sale stop. I picked up a Dremmel. I never tried it when I was there, but when I got home, I had to do a very small repair. The lock pin was jammed in place. I drilled the lock pin and use the thread of a screw to slowly twist the lock pin out. The lock pin is still way to stiff to be useable. I stuck the flex shaft on and used it most of the day. It has one problem where the flex shaft moves inside the shaft, to where it disengages. I will look at it, but it might be as simple a repair as to stick a loose dowel inside the space of the chuck so the core of the shaft does not go inside the chuck.

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I worked a bit on the flower vase. I made the stems stand out slightly, and then drew on leaves four times and erased them three times. I have to erase them again and try one more time.

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Another project was to work on the handle of a beer stein. I cut the relief for the lid, and cut a groove through the top of the handle for the hinge. I also cleaned up the handle quite a bit. It now just needs finer and finer grits of sand paper. I mostly need to make the hinge system for the lid. I made one piece but don't think it is quite right. I need something more elaborate, possibly even turn a decorative cap for the lid. I will decide more tomorrow.

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I filled some sea urchin shells with insulating foam. One of my projects was to disassemble and clean out the "straw" of the foam can. I learned that the cleanup of the straw is easier than I thought it was. I have a drill bit that fits inside and draws out the dried foam inside. I will clean out the straw again tomorrow so I can start fresh.

To keep the foam from breaking the shells, I stuck a skewer into center of the shell, spun it, and then pulled out a little bit of foam in the center so the foam had some place to go. I did somehow break a small piece off one shell. Have no idea where the piece went. I will figure out something to do to decorate that spot.

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Beggar was his irritated self in the morning, but he started acting like a cat in the afternoon. I was packing up and he came out and settled between my feet and likely would have stayed there for a couple hours, but I had to be going so I interrupted his lounging. the big problem is that is more like what I want him to be. he only gets that way after his noon time nap.

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tomorrow, I will work on the same projects, trying to get something actually done.

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Will see what I actually do tomorrow.

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year 10, Week 1, Day Two (week 523) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 01-17-10 Sunday .

78 degrees, fast moving clouds on a blue background in the morning. Clouds building up to rain at around eleven thirty as a front passed over us. I packed up before I left. It is supposed to plummet to 51 degrees this afternoon, again below the 56 degree frost temperatures. If the water on the streets don't evaporate in time, I could be slipping and sliding on ice on the way to work. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

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Mom is out of town. Yesterday, when I arrived, her front door was slightly open. My brother came later in the day and did a fix, which seamed to work. There was an angle going into the hole of the jam, giving the bolt something substantial to hit. We cut it off, moving the hole slightly forward.
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I arrived today and the door was ajar again. I dug out my tools and moved the catch plate forward. It did not hold the door. I built it out by placing washers behind the plate. Still would not hold. Examining the problem since my solutions were not working, I figured out that the bolt was not going into the hole. I moved the strike plate down a little and now the door locks in nicely.
My brother pointed out later that the door, being made of many separate parts, sagged which was why it was missing the hole.

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Beggar actually acted like a cat today. I am not sure what got into him. while my brother was here, Beggar actually let me pet him completely for quite a few minutes.

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I dug out the sea urchin shells I added foam to. One had collapsed. I think what happened was that the foam over expanded, breaking the shell, then it withdrew a little There still might be a way to use the shell. Will have to see. It would not be the first to toss.

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I looked over my beer stein, removed a piece of wood I planned on using as my hinge. A bit later, I glued it back on again, deciding that my alternate plan would not work.

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I decided I would do some wood turning. I wanted to make some platters. I had two I had started, ran into some minor problem, and set them to the side.
I mounted the first one on, and it was not quite square. It had a wobble. I trued it up and found I lost the edge because the wobble was more than the thickness of the edge I had. I tossed that one. I took the second one and started turning again. I did the work I needed on one side, and needed to turn the piece around.

I am using double sided tape to hold it in place. I gave the platter a rap to knock it off the wood face plate I was using. The tenon of the face plate broke instead.
I began to feel a few dribbles, so I put everything away and cleaned up.

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I dug out my ornament blanks and sat comfortably and carved a wise owl. I intended to do more, but my brother showed up so I stopped. I have to do the eyes, and decorate it, and it will be done.

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I solved the problem with the flex shaft of the Dremmel I picked up yesterday. the flex shaft stopped turning many times. it dawned on me that the shaft inside the housing slid inside the chuck so it would not engage the hand held chuck. I solved the problem by sticking a skewer inside the chuck. The Interior shaft cannot go very deep inside the chuck so it stays engaged on the other end.

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I did not do anywhere near what I hoped for this weekend. I hoped to have something done to show for the turning club meeting this week. Instead, I ended up with nothing complete.
I have loads of projects to work on and not enough time to finish them by the end of March. I need to become efficient and get things done.
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Will see what I do next week.