Year 13, Week 13, Day 0ne (week 690)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-27-13 Saturday
   
   
    Mid 80s (forgot to get the real temps), small thin puffy clouds, bright sun, nice breeze to carry away the heat. This weather report is brought to you by The City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.
   
    Yard sailing in the morning. This woodworking diary is becoming more a yard sailing post more than a woodworking post. At one yard sale, which was a church yard sale, I picked up two books, a Asparagus steamer pot and a cast iron pancake ball maker. The last was advertised as a egg cooker but the pockets were way too small.
I went to http://ramblingsoncastiron.blogspot.com/2010/10/its-not-egg-poacher-or-muffin-pan.html and learned what it was.
I saw a manual meat grinder and mom talked me out of getting it. Later, I had to do some running around. My truck pulled a trick on me and stopped in front of that yard sale. I just had to walk over to get that meat grinder. I had no choice. It had the original box. When I picked it up, I damaged the box. Darn. The grinder comes with several bits that snip off the strings that come out while you are grinding. It was something I wanted to have and finally got one. Now to get around to use it.
At a different yard sale, I picked up a children's bicycle. I had to go to a children's birthday party so I got it as a present for him.

Because of the birthday, I had some running around to do so after relaxing a while, I headed home, making stops along the way.

At the party, the children played with balloons, the adults talked and ate. I had walked to the birthday site which was half a block away. With all that I was on my feet for during the day, I could feel it in my leg on the way back home. Once sitting at my computer, and soon after going to bed, rested my leg so there was no problems after that.

Tomorrow I must do woodworking. I must.

I will see what happens tomorrow.




Year 13, Week 13, Day Two (week 690)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-28-13 Sunday

84 degrees when I got outside, 87 late afternoon before clouds blocked the sun. Good breeze carried the heat away. Before the larger afternoon clouds over the everglades, the clouds were cottony puffs that the sun did not notice. This weather report is brought to you by The City of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.


I hit a couple yard sales on the way to Mom's house this morning. I fond one that had cake molds, and those wooden woven bowls. At another yard sale I got a woven basket in the shape of a cornucopia and a brief case. She was just giving stuff away but that was all I needed.

The piece of Mango I worked week before last (that long ago?) remained in the lathe, ready for another session. I looked at it today and found a big shrinkage crack in it. Had I finished the piece then, it would not have cracked. The thick still wet wood moves a lot as it dries. Since the pith ran through the piece, that is where the movement is strongest and tends to cause the most cracking.

I learned last night that the meat grinder needed a plunger to push the meat into the grinding mechanism. It did not have one. I now had a serious woodworking project to work on.
I don't have maple or ash, which are usually used for such projects. I chose some Popular as it was the right size and was at the front of the shed. This popular stock is not square. A check showed that the narrow dimension was just wider than the oblong hole. I carefully marked the dimensions on the end of the wood and started off center turning. The wood is placed off center so the cutting is only on one side of the project. You then reset the center for another side. I finally placed the work centered and touched off the tops of the ovals so I had the shape of the opening. I checked the size several times until it just fit.
It then dawned on me that one would not have a plunger that filled the hole exactly. They would use something that could be rocked side to side to get clumps down all over, so what I did was to turn the piece round. I then shaped it to fit the hand, and rounded and flattened the ends before sanding. I then removed it from the lathe, bandsawed the waste wood off, and disk-sanded the ends. Finally I hand sanded it by hand. I soaked it in water for a minute to raise the grain and sanded it again. It all it needs is some cooking oil rubbed into the surface and it will be ready for use.
I finally completed a woodworking project.

Mom has several tons of sand left from her sewer project. Last week, she built a bin to hold some of the sand. I followed my brother back and forth, from the sand pile in front, to the sand bin in back, talking to him. I did at least a dozen trips before my leg and feet started complaining. I felt guilty not helping him but there is very little I could do.

I do hope to do some woodworking next week. I have no idea what it will be so,

I will see what happens next week.

                                                                   SUNDAY FINDS

meat grinder with extra "blades"

sander

Asparagus steamer unassembled

Asparagus steamer assembled

Pancake ball maker, commonly sold as a egg cooker

One of two books I picked up.

One of two books I picked up 

Children's bicycle gifted Saturday night

SATURDAY FINDS.

yard sale finds on Sunday

SUNDAY WOODWORKING

marking diameters for off center turning of plunger which I ended up not using in the finished product

Plunger on the lathe

the project from two weeks ago. See the crack?

The finished plunger. The big end is the push end. Just needs to be oiled for use.