week 553 Woodworking

year 10, Week 31, Day One (week 553)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
08-14-10 Saturday

98 degrees under the awning (I was out in the sun most of the day), a feathery shield up high all day long, thicker in the morning to diffuse the sun slightly, thinner during the day, some low puffs, one had the nerve to block the sun for about twenty minutes, light breeze after the early morning made it nice. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

When I walked into the back yard, I was tempted to wash the beast's mouth out with soap. He is not supposed to use that kind of language around me. It was horrible. When he saw me, he said "meow!" Oh what foul language he uses.
Other than later in the day when all he wanted was my company, The beast acted exactly like a cat. Sweet in his own way.

It is not woodworking, but I finished my first wash cloth in Crochet. I finished it with a stitch I had never used and it came out good, not perfect, but good. I gave it to Mom and she says it works quite well.

I have a wood turning demonstration on making platters with double sided tape. I needed to prepare several props for the demonstration. What I needed was examples to show what happens when the center of the board is near rim and base of the plate. I had one made last week but needed to make the other. the base gives an oval shape, and the top gives an hour glass shape to the rings.
I then wanted several pieces at different stages of construction. These props are for in case I run into problems during the demonstration. I set the error to the side and continue with the next one. I can also do partial wood turning and swap pieces to gain some time.
I now have the two examples of grain patterns, and then one that is almost done, except the center of the inside. I had one with some great knots that the tape would not stick to. I need to go to another piece and do that later.

Tomorrow, I have to finish my pieces for the demonstration, and then box up all my tools so I can grab then Thursday. I need to try not to forget anything. I likely will, but will try not to.

I will see what all I accomplish tomorrow.


year 10, Week 31, Day Two (week 553)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
08-15-10 Sunday

98 degrees as the high under the awning, Filtered sun in the morning by a high feather mesh, that got thicker, then lower clouds slid in after lunch. Some showers in other cities but good weather the entire time I was working. A breeze picked up from nothing in the morning to being helpful in the afternoon. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

I started the day by petting both cats. Scarface is looking good and he got a lot of petting. He ate his fill and left. The backyard beast did not get as much attention as he wanted. He had laid down for a bit after eating, and when he came out, his sign for "tend me, plebe," I was busy at the lathe. He got tired of waiting and went back to bed and I never saw him the rest of the day.
Little curly tail lizards were out. These are larger than the natives, but are still small. Mom found out last year that they like cat food so we feed them every once in a while, and they also pick up wayward pieces at times. They come quite close under the right conditions. They got a few nuggets.

My main project was to prepare for the turning club meeting. I selected another rounded piece of wood and mounted it on the lathe. I used a wood face plate that was drilled and threaded to fit on the shaft of my lathe. I found that it was not square when I mounted it with the tenon, so I removed it from the board and re-finished the surface so it was square.
Each chuck has numbered jaws. If you mount something in the jaws, one should mark where one of the jaws is so you can re-mount it in place. The reason for doing this is that chucks might not be exactly square to the shaft for many reasons. This improves how square the piece will be if you take it off one or more times.
I then mounted the board again and shaped the underside of the rim and stopped there.
I found that the double sided tape sticks better if it sits for a while, especially under pressure. I have also found the tape where it will not stick, no matter what. That is the problem with the tape, either it sticks, or it won't and it is never when you want it to be that way.
I noticed that I had left my better wooden face plates attached to the work so I have to use some second rate face plates during my demonstration, simply because they were what I had left.
I gathered everything together, tools pieces, stock, materials, all within a box. I will check it over when I pick it up Thursday and make sure I have everything I need.

I had finished my platter turning and wondered what I should work on next. I opened the shed and saw the four by four I got last week. I had cut some pieces off, so I went back to the lathe and got a piece of wood. mounted it and made a pencil cup. I do like the look of yellow pine.

Several weeks back, I made some crochet hooks and accidentally nicked the inside of the hook, making them useless for crochet. I lopped off the hooks and put new hooks on the other end of the wood, doing it right this time. Because they are short, I have swapped the bigger handles I made for other crochet hooks. This saves them where they would be tossed normally. I have a bunch of crochet hooks that need serious sanding and finishing.

My brother finally finished some clocks he had started a couple years ago. All that needs to be done is to apply a finish to them and add the mechanism.

Thursday I will go to the Wood Turning Club meeting. I will demonstrate making platters using double sided tape. I know I will mess up royally as I am not nervous at all.
Next weekend, I hope to make something of interest, but not sure what. I have a number of projects that don't involve wood working that I have to work on, so I don't expect to get anything done this week to demonstrate to the club.
They do have a club challenge of platters. People will bring in their platters and a winner will be selected randomly. It is fun to do these projects.

I will see what really happens next weekend.