In My "Spare" Time: Year 19, Week 15, Day One (week 1005)

Year 19, Week 15, Day One (week 1005)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-18-19 Thursday

My truck just clicked over to 60k miles this week. Most cars I had bought used at this kind of mileage had pretty much had seen better days. This thing is still comparatively mint. Since I got it with 25k miles on it, it will take a little bit longer to where I had put 60k on it.

The club meeting was enjoyable. We met at a synagogue we met at during the end of last year. We don’t have on site storage for the lathe so someone has to bring it each time.
This month we had a demonstration in turning a bud vase. A bud vase is a form that allows just one flower stem in it. Most are a shape with a hole drilled into it. Our demonstrator did a different style using a method we don’t see much demonstrated.
He started with a rounded block of wood where he started the rough shape of the bottom of the piece a distance from the end. He then cut off the end. He did a little more shaping, then used a Forstner Bit to remove some wood from the center of the piece. He followed that with his hook turning tool to start hollowing out the inside to the shape he was after. The hook tool allows you to reach around corners.
In this case, he had created a system where he uses a GO PRO camera and a screen to get his depth. The camera looks straight down on the tool bit but at a distance much higher than the largest piece he will turn. He holds a ruler at the tip and marks on the screen WITH A DRY ERASABLE PEN as to what distance was for the thickness of the walls he was after. He marked it from several angles As he was hollowing out the piece, he would glance at the camera to see how far he had to cut into the wood to reach his mark.
When he had the walls the right thickness, he worked on the outside shape some more, mostly at the neck of the vase. He ran out of time.
What he intended to do was to take the chunk of wood and make it into a plug to fit into the hole he hollowed through and by matching the grain, it might not be noticed. He mentioned he would burn rings around the piece at that level so the joint would be hidden better. He would then drill through the neck into the chamber inside for the bud stem to stick into. The end result is a bud vase much lighter than a solid piece of wood most people would do. He is thinking he will show the remaining steps during our next visit.
The guy who does the safety tips was not there this time. I had fished that broke platter out of mom’s garbage and brought it with me. Showed it as an example of how it is not wise to stand directly behind a piece. I told them how far it had traveled and if it had hit me, it would have hurt, but I was not in line of it. They seemed to like the report.
The meeting was nice and it is always nice to meet friends you have a common interest with.

Year 19, Week 15, Day two (week 1005)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-19-19 Friday

Strong winds with brisk gusts. The weather report said 15 mph winds with gusts up to 25. A Dragon Tail of storms were coming through. Mom was hoping it will be a good thorough downpour so she does not have to water the plants again. Passed during the afternoon. This weather report is brought to you by The Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

I decided I would try to sharpen some of my turning tools. As I was looking at them, I figured something out on sharpening and in the process seemed to have gotten some results.
There is a special way to sharpen tools, mostly using jigs. You have to get the angle just right and stop when it is right. I have to do it more to explain exactly what I did. I was sharpening the tools on the grinder by hand, not using any jig. If you learn how to do it by hand, you can sharpen anywhere you don’t have the jigs. I also used a diamond honing plate and a round file as part of the process. I will see if I did it right when I turn wood next time..
Mom had a lounge chair that is made of pipes and a canvas seat. The stitches gave way and mom's repairs did not work. We worked together, mom holding the parts and I working with the saws-all to cut it apart and put it in the garbage. While it worked, it was really nice. Some other time we might have repaired it right, but we were not up to it this time.
Later in the day, I went out and cut a chunk off a piece of wood. This might be Florida Mahogany. The piece was oblong in cross section. My main idea was to get it closer to round so I would not waste as much wood. The big piece is supposed to become a tea pot. This is a heavy and hard piece of wood and should turn nicely. The small piece likely will become like crochet hooks or parts for something.

We are having a BBQ Sunday and my main project for tomorrow is to get everything ready for Sunday. The awning area has to be rearranged to make room for everything and a lot of stuff has to be put away at least for now.

Year 19, Week 15, Day Three (week 1005)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-20-19 Saturday

It showered overnight really well. Mom does not have to water her potted plants this weekend. We got mostly sunshine today. The high, flat, fluff moved quite fast to the east this morning. We were down in the low 70s in the morning and into the low 80s this afternoon. . This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a zig-zag scarf. I am working through the rainbow from a purple, dark red, orange, yellow. It is already much wider than most scarves I make and still has more to go. Last night I dreamed about my scarf. Someone said that it is almost big enough to be a blanket. I pulled it over me and it was just a bit wider than I was. I decided to make it a bit bigger and have it a blanket..... In reality the scarf is not big enough to be a blanket.....even for a baby less than a foot wide.....

After breakfast I got out back and mounted the piece of wood I prepared yesterday, on the lathe. I took the time to knock off the high spots to make it round. It looks like a nice piece of wood. When I was done, I left it on the lathe. I cleaned the lathe of the worst of the sawdust, then swept the whole area. To make room for the BBQ I moved the equipment to the L end of the house to give us as much room as possible tomorrow. The whole area is now swept. I dug out the folding tables and they are ready to set up and we will have to bring out more chairs.
I took the BBQ outside and scrubbed the casing with soap and water using a brush. It is not perfect, but it is better than it was. I then gathered together the parts and pieces and located the tools that might be of use and stuck them inside it. I finally moved it out to under the awning.
I dug out the paper product and sweeteners and a bunch of other things and set them where they can be quickly grabbed and carried out. A lot of the materials needed were stuck in flat boxes to reduce the trips necessary.
I pulled out the push mower and did a few passes in a couple places and then set that under the awning to be put out in the grass in case the older of the little ones wants to mow the yard like he did last time. I will make a few passes early on to get things started.

There will be no woodworking tomorrow, we will just enjoy each other’s company with lots of food. I will see what happens tomorrow.

Year 19, Week 15, Day foure (week 1005)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
04-21-19 Sunday

Mostly sunny, 70s in the morning, 80s in the afternoon. A light breeze took the heat away. This Weather report is brought to you by The Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.

The first few times we did a BBQ, I basically ran back and forth for one thing at a time, as we realized we needed it. Having prepped most of the stuff ahead of time, it did not take very many trips to get what was needed out back. Once everybody arrived, I only had to do a few trips. My nephew cooked brats, dogs, hamburgers, some pork steaks and some chicken.
Everybody over ate and enjoyed every bite of it.
I accidentally spent more of my time in my tablet than I should have. My niece’s phone needed charging, and the kids were begging all day to use her phone.
My niece had a new baby last month and this was my first opportunity to see it.
There’s an old Chinese proverb. “There is only one beautiful baby in the world, and every mother thinks she has it.”

The adults mainly had a nice relaxed time. The kids were sort of bored, acting like a bundle of energy searching for an outlet. The older of the two pushed the mower a couple times and gave up. The first time he did it, it was a lot of fun. This time, though, it was work. Oh well.

Packing up after everything was done was also as easy as setting up. The flat boxes were simply stacked with everything one can carry and trips are reduced dramatically.

Early this year, I picked up some wooden folding chairs. I sat down on one and I guess I tipped the wrong way and it slumped beneath me and I found myself on the ground. The chair broke. I then got a metal folding chair.
Around the posts of the awning is a little bit of dirt with nothing covering it. There are stones set in there but not everywhere. I set the metal folding chair in the area I was sitting and it suddenly slumped under me. I thought I broke it, but when I looked I found the feet sunk deep in the sand that makes up the soil in this area. I later did this again, before I took efforts to keep the feet of the chair well away from that hole.
I will look at that folding chair and see about gluing it back together and possibly pegging it one way or another. I think the old glue just gave away. It might become carving wood or trash. Will see. If the repair works, I will look into the other two I have, though one is likely beyond repair. I had “fixed” it before and not a good job.

I mowed at the lawn a little. I found that I am going to have to use the electric mower as there are some weeds that the push mower just will not get. It lays the stiff-stemmed weeds down rather than cutting them. The electric will suck them up and cut them, usually. I can also tip the electric up on two wheels and catch them with the blades before the front cowling catches the weed, thereby cutting them down.
The push mower will be able to handle the grass for a while. The mango tree is dropping early green fruit and mom wants that area mowed so she does not get seeds on her clothing.

I brought the grill in and stuck a bunch of the parts and pieces in the dish washer and that is running. There is basically two things that won’t fit so I will do them by hands. I sort of expect to do some hand work on the grill parts anyway. Will see.

I am slowly getting stuff put away. I have more to do. No rush on any of that right now. Some things (instant coffees, sweeteners, water flavories, etc), which were in a flat box were in there since Christmas and I just added more to them.

By gathering everything together to take out to the BBQ and stacking them in boxes to take them back, really saved my legs. I was not running back and forth all the time. I had more time to enjoy the project. I had a couple coolers for six packs that we put ice in and there was very little melt with them. I had one of those pitcher like coolers but could not find the lid and we stuck the remains of a bag in that and it did well at keeping the ice from melting much. That is all good to know. I basically did everything except the cooking. From setting up to breaking down and am cleaning the grill. I don’t mind it at all. It was a fun time.

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