In My "Spare" Time: Year 19, Week 03, Day One (week 993)

Year 19, Week 03, Day One (week 993)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
01-26-19 Saturday

The super cold weather (49 degrees) hit Monday. It was not quite a hard enough freeze to get out onto the great ice shelf. The glacier on the highest natural point in the county, (29 feet above sea level) did not get anywhere near the coast. I guess it was caught sleeping. I ended up HAVING to go to work. Today it was 57 degrees and drizzel, nearly all day long with a few harder showers spaced between. It reminded me of Seattle weather, except up there, it is 43 degrees and rain. I was working with my band saw and the lighting was just right to see a faint puff of my breath in the shadow while I worked. Any other situation would not have shown that as I saw when I walked away. This weather report is brought to you by The City Of Pompano Beach department Of Tourism.

With the showers dribbling down, there were not going to be any yard sales and I did not dare bring my lathe out from under the cover. Even when there was nothing coming down, as the ground was wet and the wetness would return.
I decided to replace the sand paper sheet on my disk sander. I decided to do it easily this time by taking off the wood platform then have access to the whole plate. I used to always replace the sheet by fitting it into the space between the plate and the platform, but I decided that it would be lazier to remove the platform, since I had done that a while back anyway.
Some glue and gunk was still on the plate once the sand paper was off, so I turned the disk sander on and used the old sandpaper to clean it off. The stuff came off but was well stuck to the sandpaper. It would have ruined the new sandpaper. Once the plate was clean, adding the new sheet was easy. The disk is, I think, eight and a half inches in diameter, and the sandpaper is 9" There have been times where I did not trim the edge, but this time I decided to slice the excess off for safety. That becomes a really good saw when it gets near skin. I took one of my carving knives and poked a hole through the paper from behind , and then just sawed with the flat of the blade against the edge of the plate. I also had the blade on an angle to increase the effects of the strokes without increasing pressure I will have to sharpen that blade again but it did a good job flushing the paper.
I took that Amphitheater I am making and sanded the outside really good. My sawdust and glue mixture turned black on the surface. I sanded the foot of the plate that I had added when I turned it, on both pieces, blending the curve on all surfaces. Having new sandpaper does make a big difference.
I tried to sand the inside, but it just gouged up the edge. The inside is cupped, while the outside is bowed. I have these twist-&-lock sanding disks for the drill. I could not find the base of it that it locks into. I took a course one and trimmed off the threads with the knife so that it would fit into the drill. I then sanded the inside and outside, cleaning up some of the mess. I had several other grits of disks but did not want to trim them too. I found a 4" sanding disk that fits into the drill (it is held on with velcro and is designed for orbital sander) and used that to remove the worst of the sanding marks.
I don’t like sanding so I seldom get the finish I really need. It is part of my “GODZILLA” style of wood turning. Many of the people in the turning club will spend most of their time sanding their work to a fine polish. Because I am only working on weekends, with my workshop not at my house, I don’t have a lot of time to sand.
The plate I worked on last week was also a chosen project at this time. I used a chisel to remove the posts (the chisel was curved but it was handy and I used it with the grain so it popped off easily), and then the course grit sandpaper to flatten the center and clean up the bottom of both sides. I sanded some bad spots better, but they need more work. I doubt they will really get it. It is closer to being finished than it was.
Later, I cut a two by two piece of wood, into quarters and then started carving one piece, about 2" long. It was supposed to be a man bending over and reaching, but instead he is in more of a seated position. It requires a lot of detail work and clean up, but it was a good start. Listening to drops hit the sheet metal awning. and carving something quick is kind of nice.
I considered making some jig. I could not find a protractor or anything else that would give me a good angle. After looking at the tools and wracking my brain where other tools were, I gave up on that idea this weekend. WE have dozens of things that can give me angles, but where they are is something else.

I will see what I do tomorrow.

Year 19, Week 03, Day One (week 993)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
01-26-19 Saturday

Showers were not continuous. The wind was strong in the morning and died down to a good gusts on a light breeze in the afternoon. We found ourselves between two bands heading north and east so we got a good part of the afternoon being dry. Maybe I should carve an Ark and gather the animals on to it... This weather report is brought to you by The City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.

After lunch, I dug out my knife and started carving on one of the little pieces. I knew it would be a small dog. The result was a passable Dachshund. I had the problem that, because this wood is white pine, it splits off easily. I basically lost half the legs as I worked. I was constantly correcting for missing parts. This dog and the little man I made yesterday did not come out like I had hoped. I might toss them and start over, or just hang onto them until I have something better.
Basswood is popular as the grain (fibers) and the binding materials are near the same strength, and the grains are very short. The wood does not split off very easily in comparison to the whitewood, where the binding wood between the grain is weaker than the grain.
I am planning to do a carved scene on that amphitheater (two plate halves glued together) but have no idea what I am going to do. I am basically making things and then figure it out later. I am mainly just trying to make use of some mistakes. If I was really lazy, I have some little figures commercially made that I could use. I would just have to make some scenery stuff to go with them. I will give that some thought as time goes on.

Last week, mom gave me a woodworking tool catalog by SCHLOSSER TOOL AND MACHINERY CO (1987-1988). I checked on line and the company still exists, but I couldn’t find a web site. My brother was going through it and he found that most all the tools are still available now. Every now and then, he would comment on some tool or another. I was thinking that some of those tools would be kind of fun to make. There are others I would not mind getting my hands on, and there are some I know we have, but have no clue where to look for them.
I was thinking that 1988 was not that long ago, then it was pointed out that that was 30 years ago!!! (that seems like yesterday, nothing went right yesterday). I also noted that we tend to think of that time as primitive compared to now. They did not have the computer controlled devices we have now. These are all hand tools, though they have drill bits and stuff like that. They even had the hand drills and the breast drill (you put your weight into it by pressing your chest against the end) They also had hardware and books available also.
I dug out the chisel set I sharpened last month and tried to figure them out. I learned you set the bevel against the work, then tip the edge down ever so slightly and push. I found I had to rock them side to side to get them to cut the soft part of yellow pine. As sharp as I had made them, they still could use sharpening. There are certain kinds of work these are really good for, but I am not doing that stuff. A lot of chisels you get are designed to be driven by a mallet. You pound on the end to force it through the material. This set, made by Exacto, are palm chisels. You shove them with the palm of your hand. I am not sure what I will do with them. I might try and sharpen them some more and see if I can get them to work better. Basically, the V chisels are all I have ever used when I have used them.

TIP: We don’t get newspapers any more. When they say “cover with newspapers” you sort of go blank on what to do. In the mail, most of us get advertising flyers. I go through and pick out the adds that I can use first. They are not as big as a newspaper, but will do the job. What you need to do is to build up a big enough stash (not too big, please. it does not take much before it is way too much ) to cover for at least one big project. The glossy paper is for when you want a little stiffer paper, or a paper that is a tiny bit less likely to stick, or does not absorb quite as much.
TIP: sometimes in advertisements, you receive the thicker card stock and sometimes plasticized cards. During political seasons, they come in fast and furious. Hang onto these. On can make mock-ups of something you need to make, since they are stiff. They can also be used for masking, holding the card in place to keep paint or other from getting onto the wrong surface. The plasticised ones (even the fake credit cards) can be used as scrapers or to spread material like epoxy, thick paint or glue.

I am not sure if the weather will be good next weekend. I do plan to be out back and make some sawdust or wood chips, even if it is just a tiny bit.

I will see what I do next weekend.

1892