80 degrees, lows in the high 60s, light breeze strong enough to blow fine sawdust all over the place. Blue skies over the ocean and puffs of clouds getting thicker the farther west one looks. Clouds blocked the sun often but that was not a problem. This weather report is brought to you by the city of Pompano Beach Department of tourism.
Friday
I went down to Dania Beach to check on my work and drop off my dress vases. The Dania Beach water gardens is closed, of course. There is stuff still in the yard, but nothing like there was. It is being emptied out.
I stopped at the antique shop and dropped off my dress vases. He has some child sized dolls that are beautiful. One was an Indian Princess and the other was a bride. My display looks good. I stuck some of my wood flowers into the dress vases to show what they are.
My woodworking display dress vases to the left.
I stopped at a thrift shop and got a base plate for a router that allows it to do circles or can act as a guide.
I stopped at a friend's house where I got some tools and gave a bid on a metal lathe he has. He loves the machine and will think about whether he wants to give it up, let alone at what price.
Saturday
I planned on going with mom to a meeting, but I found it was going to take far more time than expected. I was not going to do any wood working when it was all over. I decided to stay home and work. Mom said that the featured speaker did not show.
Yard sailing, I got a bunch of buttons. I see some that just have to be used. Some might be gifted. I got far more than my dollar's worth.
Loose buttons and packaged buttons I got. there were more not in the pictures.
I located the book with my cannon plan. I made changes to the design but am following it for the most part. There is a bracket that holds the cannon in place. I cut them on the band saw and sanded them. I narrowed the cannon which I decided would look better. I have some more work, but it is looking good. Loads of finishing is needed.
The plans for the cannon that I am not following.
I had one dress vase where the strap broke. It was in oak, so I cut off a piece from a branch. I measured and shaped it, getting the grain close to being right. while sanding on the disk sander, the piece caught and slipped out of my grip. My finger got sanded on the end. it really does not hurt except when I type.... even then it is not bad. The repair is quite good.
I carved on the baby dragon, which is in Tupilo. I don't like the results at all. Nothing seems right. I may toss it as it look ugly. It is not going to work. I will see later.
I dug in the shed to see if I had any fairy wings. I found the basket with half a wing. It actually had two of the same wing, One was removed from a fairy when I replaced the wings, and the other was a really bad scroll saw job, several pieces missing.
I took the eighth inch thick plywood I got last week and found I could trace those wings in a way where I can get eight of them from one sheet of plywood.
I took one of my fairies and traced the missing wing. I then traced the tracing and cut out the holes, then searched for the most efficient way to get those wings on the plywood. I can get six of these wings on the plywood. I thought they were smaller than the other ones. I may scroll these out tomorrow.
New bass wood and plywood I purchased last week
glued up and drawn on plywood for fairy wings.
In my digging in the shed, I found a whole bunch of cut-offs I was given. One someone was making a vase, they would part the piece off the wood holding it on the lathe. "The remains tend to get tossed. I was given them with a whole bunch of other woods. I decided they will make great mushroom caps for my fairies.
I took one that was interesting and turned it. Like the one I made last week, I have to do the stem. The cap, though looks good even if it has a shrinkage crack.
Mushroom cap
I did a little bit of work on the second fairy, but not too much. I have a figure to carve that she is looking at. I am not sure what that will be. That is more important than finishing her. Other than her face, the rest of her can be done in just a couple weekends.
Tomorrow, what I work on will depend much on whether my brother shows up. I have stuff to do that depends on him. there is stuff I will do whether he is there or not. Then there is stuff that I will do only if he is not there.
I will see what I actually do tomorrow.
year 11, Week 04, Day Two (week 578)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
02-06-11 Sunday
83 degrees, partly cloudy with one leaky puff that passed with just a few noticeable driplets. Mostly blue sky and sun, with a wind in the morning that barely moved leaves, but picked up a little in the afternoon.
The backyard beast acted exactly like a cat. It is really convincing. He is a very good actor.
I looked at the baby dragon carving I started yesterday and figured out what I did wrong. The wings don't come to the front. Also they were designed wrong from the start. I took a piece of basswood and cut a blank. I will start carving it next week possibly. The softness of Tupilo did not give me time to actually see what I was doing until I went too far. I tossed the first attempt.
I started serious carving of the face vase. It never works out like I planned, but I think it will still look good. It will just be a lot of work.
face vases, beard, clean face and Mustache
I sanded some more on the cannon. looking at the book, I decided that it was just too long. I cut it shorter and it looks better. I still have wheels to make, more sanding, and may put a bottom on it just for strength. It does look good. I also need to cut the end of the muzzle off. period cannons end with a strengthening rib and I have some barrel beyond that. Norfolk Island Pine has an interesting growing habit where the branches grow in a ring, with a space in the trunk before the next ring of branches. I turned the cannon so the reinforcement rings were at the branches. I have one ring just before the end and that is where I need to cut the end off.
I have some small cutting boards and they are just too small. I have a big sheet of wood that was glued up. I cut a nice sized piece off it and after lots of sanding, made it into a cutting board. it is about sixteen inches by two feet. Food is not going to fall over the edge onto the counter now.
My brother is making wood trucks and cars for his grandson. He pointed to a tank truck as something he could make. I said I could turn the tank. I dug out a three by three and turned it for him. It was actually bigger than a three by three. I set it off center so the bottom would be flat. A quick turning and we had the tank. He made the rest of the truck out of two by fours, some glued up.
He also had me drill the axle holes for him. I clamp the wood in the chuck and line it up center with the point in the tail stock and tighten it down. The bearing system I am using in my tail stock it hollow and has interchangeable points. I replaced the sharp point with a hollow point and was able to run a three foot long drill bit (quarter inch diameter) into and through the wood. My brother then cuts the wood to specification for the project.
My brother's truck most parts made.
I had found a bunch of cut-offs yesterday among my stuff. Usually, when you make a vase, you will part it off the lathe before the chuck, leaving a piece of waste wood on the lathe. Someone gave them to me, they for the most part are round disks. It dawned on met that they will make good mushroom caps. I then just have to make stems.
I made another mushroom cap today. That gives me three of them. None are as big as I need for the scene I am making. They are big enough for things to be sitting on them.
I have loads of projects to work on next week. A baby dragon, a fairy, more mushrooms, more work on the cannon, possible figures for fairy scenes, the face vase, plus any projects that come to mind between now and then.
I will see what I actually do next week.
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