year 10, Week 47, Day One (week 569)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-04-10 Saturday
55 degrees at nine, 75 mid day. clear blue sky with a very light haze (not a deep blue sky), light breeze. After the sun was out for a while, it was a very nice day to be out and about. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourist.
During the week, I finished up my ornaments. I added paint, I decorated them, such as adding presents and bead ornaments on my little Christmas trees. They look really good. The only thing I did not do was add eye hooks, which I still have not found. I had purchased a bunch of them last week and just cannot figure out what I did with them. Two places I did not look today was in my dremmel box and my drill box.
FRIDAY:
I went down to Dania Beach as I usually do each month. The Dania Beach Water Gardens is closing at the end of December. I went down there to gather the stuff I had on display. Donna did not really want to say goodbye. I gave her two ornaments. I gave Tom an ornament, and gave one of the helpers an ornament.
I took my stuff over to the Antique shop I have my stuff on display and swapped out pieces. I rearranged the display so it looked good and showed everything off better, including his stuff. Some pieces I brought back could well be used as gifts or simply held till later.
SATURDAY:
After yard sailing, I got to work out back. The backyard beast did not get as much attention as he is used to. He did get some though.
I had gone and gotten some more eye hooks at an ACE HARDWARE, which is just two blocks away.
I finished up a bunch of ornaments with hooks, then fixed up two shell ornaments, one that lost the piece I had stuck the hook in, and another I made all new finials for. That one has a missing piece which I have to figure out how to replace. Should not be hard.
One thing was I was able to use cut-offs from other works to make some of the pieces I needed for these ornaments. It saved me from messing with large pieces of wood. The real problem is that there is a limit as to how much of these cut-offs you want to have around. They end up not being used very much.
I went to a yard sale by several members of the turning club. They had wonderful tools available, at prices I drooled over. My problem was I was completely tapped out. I walked away empty handed. Not really, there was some stuff to be tossed out and I got my hands on them.
I started carving on a piece of wood cut from one of Mom's plants and decided to get going as I had a stop to do.
Last week I had picked up some Sea grape. Tomorrow I want to make something with it. I want to make something from a piece. I also need to carve on some remaining ornaments. I see that the spool ornaments are popular so I may make more of them.
I will see what I actually do tomorrow.
year 10, Week 47, Day Two (week 569)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-05-10 Sunday
52 degrees early morning. 75 in the afternoon. Stronger breeze than I like as it blows sawdust around. High "platelet" clouds with blue cracks. They darkened in the afternoon over the west and blocked out any sun that we were getting. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.
I started the morning by painting a bunch of cards. these cards are pre-printed for some charity. I got them at a yard sale. I decided to paint them with spray paint them so the printing does not show.
The wind made this a miserable process as the cards kept flipping, landing on the ground or on top each other which was worse. A calm hot day would have been better for this. I can use them all.
I ran out of white paint which almost needed three coats, so decided to use blue paint (the fullest can) which covered in one coat. I then got the idea to hit the edges with red, sort of a cloud effect. I planned on clouding the center of the inside with yellow so the lettering could be easily seen.
The process got stopped because of other projects so I have more to do next week. Once the cards are all painted with the background color, I will then paint images and letter them for my Christmas cards. I have no idea what images I will paint this year, but at least I am making the first steps on it. I do have blank, white card stock too.
While the paint was drying, I dug out some goblet bowls I had made from some wood I was given. The wood mainly became a platter, but I had room enough to make some goblet bowls.
I took some wood I had and made some long stems to fit the bottom of the bowl, and then another kind of wood for the bases. I have not taken the time to examine them carefully, but I think one is very slightly tipped. I can fix that no problem. I use white glue to attach them. When varnished, they will stay together. I have loads of sanding to do before I can call them done.
Each time I started to carve on my ornaments, I would remember something else that needed to be done. I got almost nothing done on the carving front. Oh well.
This weekend, I have given quite a few ornaments away. they got all messed up, in wrong boxes and separated out. I dumped them all out and sorted them, counting them. I have not gotten a total count, but do know that I have a lot of pieces to display. some could use more pieces made, but some likely will never be repeated.
My brother, with my help, replaced the starter on my truck. It took far longer than I ever expected. It was not even on the side of the truck I thought it came off when we replaced the transmission.
One wire gave us fits. It would not give us the room to maneuver it. It was only after we traced the wire that we found there was a clamp we could remove and that allowed the wire to move enough to work.
Mom's water heater is starting to leak. She and I went and picked up a new one. This was right after we got the truck all buttoned up and everything put away. This was our test of the starter. It works. I will watch it for a while. There is always doubt there, like there might be something else going on.
I do love having a pickup. I slipped the heater into my bed and got it home with no problems. Mom thanked me for helping her. This was why I got a pickup in the first place. I don't have to schedule with someone else and I can help others. I am always at Mom's house on weekends, so we use my truck to get her stuff when needed.
This week, I will have my ornaments on display at work. I strongly doubt I will sell anything, but will have them on display. I figure next week I will pick out pieces to gift, but at least this week, I will display them.
I am trying to be ahead this year rather than doing things the day of Christmas in hopes of getting done before having to go to meet the family.
Next week, I will finish painting the cards so I can do the artwork. I will try to finish up some more ornaments I have blanks for. I have some good wood to play with and should get onto them. I have some projects that need finishing up, some just sanding and some requires more work.
I will see what I actually do next week.
Showing posts with label w. Show all posts
Showing posts with label w. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Week 552 Wood Working
year 10, Week 30, Day One (week 552)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
08-07-10 Saturday
90 degrees in the morning, 96 in the afternoon under the awning. High streaky haze with random low puffs, mostly sunny in the morning with the puffs increasing as the day passed. A breeze picked up after the early morning. This weather report was brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.
WEEEEEE!!!! It is fun to be able to drive around again. Two weekends without a ride was a royal bother. I spent the first few days listening to any little sound our any feel that was not normal. I think I am now to the point where it is normal for me.
Friday:
I went down to Dania to the Antique shop and the Dania Beach Water Gardens. I stopped at the antique shop first. He had found the box that had my woodworking, so I set up my display. Everything was wrapped nicely. It was like Christmas as I had forgotten what all I had. I ended up with a display we both agreed was nice.
I went to the Dania Beach Water Gardens to drop off the face vase. I missed the owner, so I decided to drop the vase off at the antique shop for "storage." I will pick it up from there later to drop off. I have an agreement with the Antique shop where I can "borrow" my work if I have a show or something. I just have to let him know ahead of time. I don't have that agreement with the Water gardens.
Saturday:
We went yard sailing in the morning. I found a pump style coffee dispenser. I had been looking for one since Christmas. I also found some gifts.
I had gone to a craft show in the area many months ago and there was a really good wood worker. He happened to have a yard sale and we talked a bit. He was selling some extra tools. No, I did not buy any.
The beast, that is pretending to be a cat, really missed me. Mom gives him just enough attention to for him to eat his fill and that is all. He might get it twice a day, but that is it. I will stop and give him attention several times during the day. when he saw me, he knew he would get some happiness. He was quite satisfied with me just being there. He loved the company even when I was ignoring him.
Mom had a greeting card holder. It was a set of curled wires to hold the cards, set in a base. Mom wanted the wires to be cut off so she could labor a bunch of the plants she was afraid she would forget what kind they were. It ended up that there was one she got last year that she has no clue what it was.
My dremmel with a cutting disk did a good job of slicing through the wires. I kept the base as it is brass. I messed up the threads of the screw-in insert, that the wires were brazed to, in my attempt to remove the wire ends. It was well brazed.
Mom had a bunch of screws and screw driver bits in a box. I separated out the bits. Mom put them in a jar.
My first woodworking project was to take my last dress vase start and re-mount it on the lathe. I had to cut a tenon in the base so I could try to hollow it out more.
I then turned it around. It was not quite centered. I tried several tools and they were not working. My brother made me a boring bar and it had a set screw to hold the bits in place. I dashed to get a shorter one as this one stuck out way too much. when I got back, I wondered if forsner bits would fit in the hole. It looked close to the right size. I had to draw the set screw out a little, but the forsner bit went in nicely.
I had also run to the little hardware store to get a shorter set screw for the boring bar as the original one (the one my brother had) stuck out too far. With the new set screw, I was able to work without it scraping on the wood.
I tried the forsner bit with the boring bar. I am working in oak, and it did not want to cut the wood. I would lean into the wood with the bit, and the lathe would start to roll. Another thing was that the vase was not exactly centered for some reason so it was shaking my entire body as I leaned into it.
My lathe is set up so that I have two levers I can release and the wheels will tip up out of the way and the lathe will sit on some blocks attached to the underside of the frame. that was so the lathe could be rolled around easily, but I could set it down solidly. I have not used that since they were added. I simply let it sit on the wheels.
I really needed to drop the wheels so the lathe would not roll. I only went in about half an inch, even going to a smaller bit, before I gave up. Oak does not cut easily and since these are really old forsner bits, they might be dull.
I took out the carving basket but got side track and ended up packing everything away instead.
I did quite a bit of stuff, but accomplished little. I can say, for once I got to work wood today which was better than the past two weeks.
Tomorrow I will work wood again.
year 10, Week 30, Day One (week 552)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
08-08-10 Sunday
90 degrees, high rippled clouds in the morning, mid level puffs slipped in and some lower, "pregnant" puffs came through. About the time I put the very last things in, some dripping had started. It appears like we are getting a tropical depression. My brother and I sat out and read a while during a gully washer. The City Of Pompano Beach Department Of tourism reminds me to tell you that we never get rain here in South Florida. All we get is Liquid Sunshine.
I stopped at Home Depot for a board. I was after a two by twelve yellow pine board. white pine does not get big enough. I chose one with tight rings with the pith running through it.
While I was there. a four by four attacked me. The only way I could keep it from hitting me was to hold it on my cart along side my selected board. It relaxed only after I paid for both boards.
The beast of the back yard acted very much like a cat. He absorbed all the attention I could give him. Scar face showed up and I gave him some petting too. He is not as scruffy looking, in spite the fact that Mom says she has seen him only once the past week.
I cleared the space in front of the grinder and sharpened my bowl gouges. It had been a long time. What a difference this made. These were the original bowl gouges I got and there is not much fluting left in the gouges, I have worked them down so far.
I got a good shape on the tips and then touched them with the diamond hone to make them that much sharper. That really made a difference in how they cut.
I needed to cut some of the two by twelve into squares. I was looking at what I could use to cut it. Me and hand saws don't get along. My drill kit's batteries were all dead so I could not use the saber saw. I went into the shed and looked around. I missed it twice, but there was the black case that contained a circular saw. I got that out and that solved my problem. I cut four platter blanks.
I found the center of the platter blanks and then drew circles around the edges to show where the corners needed to be cut. The band saw removed the corners of three of them. I had set the fourth to the side as an example of what one starts with when one makes the platters.
I turned one plate. I sort of forgot a couple steps, but did them differently to make it work. I had the very last nib of the platter to remove when it hopped off the lathe. I tried cleaning it up a little more and it hopped off again. I stopped on that one.
I tried turning two others and the tape decided it was not going to hang on. I went though a bunch of tape and it just would not hang on. I decided that was good enough. and set them to the side.
I decided to cut some pieces off the four by four. I used the band saw for that. I carefully held the board well away from the saw and moved it into the blade. It is not the best way to do it, but I got no binding and the cuts were not grossly out of square.
I mounted one piece on the lathe but had the wrong tip on the tail stock. I have a tail stock with many points. I had an open ring I can run a drill through. It did not have a good hold on the end of the wood so when I touched the corners with the bowl gouge, the work hopped off the lathe. I decided that was good enough and ended my day by cleaning up.
Several weeks ago, I worked with one of the club's mentors, showing him my technique on making the platters. He yelled at me for not having sharp tools, and then showed me how to use the tool to get better surfaces. Today was the first time I could really try it out.
When I turn, I usually get "flour" and grit. This time, most of what I got was hay. The sharpened tools and the new technique really made for nice surfaces, even though it was not even because my tool rest needs work, to be made flat and smooth.
I need to replace my sanding disk on my disk sander, so I think I will use it up fixing my tool rest next week.
In all, the day went pretty good. I need to do some work on technique but did get some results today. I got some more wood to play with. I now need to apply myself to make full use of my time to use it up.
Next week, I need to get ready for the turning club meeting. I want several platters made. The way the rings in the platter looks is different if the center is toward the top or bottom. The next platter needs to be opposite than the one I made today so I can have that as an example.
I need to make some platters up, stopping at each stage just in case I run into problems. I will do the demonstration on one platter, but if I run into problems, I will be able to grab a platter at that stage and continue to work.
I want to make something out of one of the chunks of four by four.
I will see what actually happens next weekend.
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
08-07-10 Saturday
90 degrees in the morning, 96 in the afternoon under the awning. High streaky haze with random low puffs, mostly sunny in the morning with the puffs increasing as the day passed. A breeze picked up after the early morning. This weather report was brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department Of Tourism.
WEEEEEE!!!! It is fun to be able to drive around again. Two weekends without a ride was a royal bother. I spent the first few days listening to any little sound our any feel that was not normal. I think I am now to the point where it is normal for me.
Friday:
I went down to Dania to the Antique shop and the Dania Beach Water Gardens. I stopped at the antique shop first. He had found the box that had my woodworking, so I set up my display. Everything was wrapped nicely. It was like Christmas as I had forgotten what all I had. I ended up with a display we both agreed was nice.
I went to the Dania Beach Water Gardens to drop off the face vase. I missed the owner, so I decided to drop the vase off at the antique shop for "storage." I will pick it up from there later to drop off. I have an agreement with the Antique shop where I can "borrow" my work if I have a show or something. I just have to let him know ahead of time. I don't have that agreement with the Water gardens.
Saturday:
We went yard sailing in the morning. I found a pump style coffee dispenser. I had been looking for one since Christmas. I also found some gifts.
I had gone to a craft show in the area many months ago and there was a really good wood worker. He happened to have a yard sale and we talked a bit. He was selling some extra tools. No, I did not buy any.
The beast, that is pretending to be a cat, really missed me. Mom gives him just enough attention to for him to eat his fill and that is all. He might get it twice a day, but that is it. I will stop and give him attention several times during the day. when he saw me, he knew he would get some happiness. He was quite satisfied with me just being there. He loved the company even when I was ignoring him.
Mom had a greeting card holder. It was a set of curled wires to hold the cards, set in a base. Mom wanted the wires to be cut off so she could labor a bunch of the plants she was afraid she would forget what kind they were. It ended up that there was one she got last year that she has no clue what it was.
My dremmel with a cutting disk did a good job of slicing through the wires. I kept the base as it is brass. I messed up the threads of the screw-in insert, that the wires were brazed to, in my attempt to remove the wire ends. It was well brazed.
Mom had a bunch of screws and screw driver bits in a box. I separated out the bits. Mom put them in a jar.
My first woodworking project was to take my last dress vase start and re-mount it on the lathe. I had to cut a tenon in the base so I could try to hollow it out more.
I then turned it around. It was not quite centered. I tried several tools and they were not working. My brother made me a boring bar and it had a set screw to hold the bits in place. I dashed to get a shorter one as this one stuck out way too much. when I got back, I wondered if forsner bits would fit in the hole. It looked close to the right size. I had to draw the set screw out a little, but the forsner bit went in nicely.
I had also run to the little hardware store to get a shorter set screw for the boring bar as the original one (the one my brother had) stuck out too far. With the new set screw, I was able to work without it scraping on the wood.
I tried the forsner bit with the boring bar. I am working in oak, and it did not want to cut the wood. I would lean into the wood with the bit, and the lathe would start to roll. Another thing was that the vase was not exactly centered for some reason so it was shaking my entire body as I leaned into it.
My lathe is set up so that I have two levers I can release and the wheels will tip up out of the way and the lathe will sit on some blocks attached to the underside of the frame. that was so the lathe could be rolled around easily, but I could set it down solidly. I have not used that since they were added. I simply let it sit on the wheels.
I really needed to drop the wheels so the lathe would not roll. I only went in about half an inch, even going to a smaller bit, before I gave up. Oak does not cut easily and since these are really old forsner bits, they might be dull.
I took out the carving basket but got side track and ended up packing everything away instead.
I did quite a bit of stuff, but accomplished little. I can say, for once I got to work wood today which was better than the past two weeks.
Tomorrow I will work wood again.
year 10, Week 30, Day One (week 552)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
08-08-10 Sunday
90 degrees, high rippled clouds in the morning, mid level puffs slipped in and some lower, "pregnant" puffs came through. About the time I put the very last things in, some dripping had started. It appears like we are getting a tropical depression. My brother and I sat out and read a while during a gully washer. The City Of Pompano Beach Department Of tourism reminds me to tell you that we never get rain here in South Florida. All we get is Liquid Sunshine.
I stopped at Home Depot for a board. I was after a two by twelve yellow pine board. white pine does not get big enough. I chose one with tight rings with the pith running through it.
While I was there. a four by four attacked me. The only way I could keep it from hitting me was to hold it on my cart along side my selected board. It relaxed only after I paid for both boards.
The beast of the back yard acted very much like a cat. He absorbed all the attention I could give him. Scar face showed up and I gave him some petting too. He is not as scruffy looking, in spite the fact that Mom says she has seen him only once the past week.
I cleared the space in front of the grinder and sharpened my bowl gouges. It had been a long time. What a difference this made. These were the original bowl gouges I got and there is not much fluting left in the gouges, I have worked them down so far.
I got a good shape on the tips and then touched them with the diamond hone to make them that much sharper. That really made a difference in how they cut.
I needed to cut some of the two by twelve into squares. I was looking at what I could use to cut it. Me and hand saws don't get along. My drill kit's batteries were all dead so I could not use the saber saw. I went into the shed and looked around. I missed it twice, but there was the black case that contained a circular saw. I got that out and that solved my problem. I cut four platter blanks.
I found the center of the platter blanks and then drew circles around the edges to show where the corners needed to be cut. The band saw removed the corners of three of them. I had set the fourth to the side as an example of what one starts with when one makes the platters.
I turned one plate. I sort of forgot a couple steps, but did them differently to make it work. I had the very last nib of the platter to remove when it hopped off the lathe. I tried cleaning it up a little more and it hopped off again. I stopped on that one.
I tried turning two others and the tape decided it was not going to hang on. I went though a bunch of tape and it just would not hang on. I decided that was good enough. and set them to the side.
I decided to cut some pieces off the four by four. I used the band saw for that. I carefully held the board well away from the saw and moved it into the blade. It is not the best way to do it, but I got no binding and the cuts were not grossly out of square.
I mounted one piece on the lathe but had the wrong tip on the tail stock. I have a tail stock with many points. I had an open ring I can run a drill through. It did not have a good hold on the end of the wood so when I touched the corners with the bowl gouge, the work hopped off the lathe. I decided that was good enough and ended my day by cleaning up.
Several weeks ago, I worked with one of the club's mentors, showing him my technique on making the platters. He yelled at me for not having sharp tools, and then showed me how to use the tool to get better surfaces. Today was the first time I could really try it out.
When I turn, I usually get "flour" and grit. This time, most of what I got was hay. The sharpened tools and the new technique really made for nice surfaces, even though it was not even because my tool rest needs work, to be made flat and smooth.
I need to replace my sanding disk on my disk sander, so I think I will use it up fixing my tool rest next week.
In all, the day went pretty good. I need to do some work on technique but did get some results today. I got some more wood to play with. I now need to apply myself to make full use of my time to use it up.
Next week, I need to get ready for the turning club meeting. I want several platters made. The way the rings in the platter looks is different if the center is toward the top or bottom. The next platter needs to be opposite than the one I made today so I can have that as an example.
I need to make some platters up, stopping at each stage just in case I run into problems. I will do the demonstration on one platter, but if I run into problems, I will be able to grab a platter at that stage and continue to work.
I want to make something out of one of the chunks of four by four.
I will see what actually happens next weekend.
Monday, May 17, 2010
05-17-2010, Did You Write?
05-17-2010, Did You Write?
The question of the week, of course every week with this note, every week is, DID YOU WRITE any time this week? Many of us have problems opening our works in progress sometime during the month, let alone during the week. this note is to act as a prompt to get each of us to write SOMETHING during each week.
The idea of this note is for you to announce your writing progress, whether you wrote or not. During the following week, you think about having to announce your writing or lack of writing. In a way, it is to shame yourself into put down some words so you can say you wrote when you report.
I can speak from experience, that it does help, even just a little, to actually open a work in progress just so I can say I wrote. I also will work hard to come up with a viable excuse as to why I did not write. Rest assured, I know of no one keeping rack. this is really for YOU. It helps others who read the notes as to knowing that others are not writing, or others are writing, and how little or how much is written. Again, I know of no one keeping track of how much each person writes. One word, if it is the right word, would pass as writing, just as sixty pages would count.
WE all know that new writing, is writing. I know of no one who disagrees with that. Editing, though, is also writing, since few of us can write perfectly first time. I write many times by editing, getting the rough story in place and then expanding it as I edit, adding description, detail, dialog, action, as I go. Because of this, I consider editing as writing, even if it is the work of someone else. Even Crits are writing as it is a form of editing.
Poetry, technical writing, writing assignments, blogging, articles, are also writing. World and character building is also writing. E-mails can also be writing if there is a lot of words and they pertain to story or writing. In reality, if YOU think it is writing, we will accept that as writing.
AS for me, I can say, Yes, I did write. I am in an writing by editing. My actual word count has not changed too much.
I have a section where points of view are alternated, you see what one is doing, then what the other is doing, back and forth. It dawned on me I that I had some problems showing up with timing and spacing. They are introducing different parts of the world, so this foundation will be fully established for later stories.
To solve this problem of bad timing between actions, I copied each character's points of views into separate files. My plan is to write each point of view all the way through. I will combine them later at proper spacing points so their time lines will meet up properly.
On the story idea front, With tonight's post, I am up to date, I will fall behind later this week due to a meeting. I will have time to catch up later this month.
I am surprised with my production this week on adding to my compost pile. My count came up to 62 story ideas. I have been coming up with two and three ideas on some days this past week. I can tell you, this is fun. One good thing is when the ideas stop, I will have some good stuff to work with for quite a while.
So for the question of the week,
I can say
YES, I DID WRITE.
DID YOU WRITE?
The question of the week, of course every week with this note, every week is, DID YOU WRITE any time this week? Many of us have problems opening our works in progress sometime during the month, let alone during the week. this note is to act as a prompt to get each of us to write SOMETHING during each week.
The idea of this note is for you to announce your writing progress, whether you wrote or not. During the following week, you think about having to announce your writing or lack of writing. In a way, it is to shame yourself into put down some words so you can say you wrote when you report.
I can speak from experience, that it does help, even just a little, to actually open a work in progress just so I can say I wrote. I also will work hard to come up with a viable excuse as to why I did not write. Rest assured, I know of no one keeping rack. this is really for YOU. It helps others who read the notes as to knowing that others are not writing, or others are writing, and how little or how much is written. Again, I know of no one keeping track of how much each person writes. One word, if it is the right word, would pass as writing, just as sixty pages would count.
WE all know that new writing, is writing. I know of no one who disagrees with that. Editing, though, is also writing, since few of us can write perfectly first time. I write many times by editing, getting the rough story in place and then expanding it as I edit, adding description, detail, dialog, action, as I go. Because of this, I consider editing as writing, even if it is the work of someone else. Even Crits are writing as it is a form of editing.
Poetry, technical writing, writing assignments, blogging, articles, are also writing. World and character building is also writing. E-mails can also be writing if there is a lot of words and they pertain to story or writing. In reality, if YOU think it is writing, we will accept that as writing.
AS for me, I can say, Yes, I did write. I am in an writing by editing. My actual word count has not changed too much.
I have a section where points of view are alternated, you see what one is doing, then what the other is doing, back and forth. It dawned on me I that I had some problems showing up with timing and spacing. They are introducing different parts of the world, so this foundation will be fully established for later stories.
To solve this problem of bad timing between actions, I copied each character's points of views into separate files. My plan is to write each point of view all the way through. I will combine them later at proper spacing points so their time lines will meet up properly.
On the story idea front, With tonight's post, I am up to date, I will fall behind later this week due to a meeting. I will have time to catch up later this month.
I am surprised with my production this week on adding to my compost pile. My count came up to 62 story ideas. I have been coming up with two and three ideas on some days this past week. I can tell you, this is fun. One good thing is when the ideas stop, I will have some good stuff to work with for quite a while.
So for the question of the week,
I can say
YES, I DID WRITE.
DID YOU WRITE?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Week 519 Wood Working
year 9, Week 49, Day One (week 519)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-19-09 Saturday
62 degrees when I arrived, a high of 68 degrees, sunshine, high feathery clouds that did not effect the sun at all, and some low feathery clouds early that dimmed the sun a bit.
I was getting cool about ten so I sat out in the sun for a while and it sure felt good. After that, I was nice and warm all day long.
It is supposed to get down into the low 50s tonight.
This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department of Tourism.
I started painting my Christmas cards this week. The pictures on half of them could pass as being finished. I knew I needed to make my cards as early as last month, but did not have a design in mind. I finally got a design and then delayed about two weeks. Now I am running late to get them done.
I am thinking of using the printer to do the lettering inside and on the back. Will have to see how that comes out in tests first.
I found that I can do the cards faster if I have five paints out at the same time and adding them to a card before I go to the next, but I found it is harder on me in the long run. It is a pain to put the colors back and close everything up just to rest, then open them all back up to work more. It is also messier.
If I work with one color at a time, and do all the cards with that one color, It is slower over all, but I can take breaks sooner. There are also less errors such as sticking the blue brush into the yellow paint.
The cat was in a good mood today, except when I was clueless as to how he wanted to be petted. He swatted my hand five times once, but did not use his claws, a big difference from how he was this time last year. Today, he was more into company than attention, and his attention was on his hind quarters. There were little pin scabs so he may have been fighting again. I ended up petting him about five sessions.
My first project for the day was to drag out the lathe. I mounted a stick of yellow pine into the lathe and made three owl blanks. Things went well. I did get some corner chipping on the wood, but was able to hide that in the finish product.
At about the time I finished the blanks, I decided I needed to get out in the sun. I dragged a chair out, my carving basket, my drink (mint green tea which had become ice tea by then) and my owl blanks. I sat and carved all three blanks. It is hard to believe that this is yellow pine. Either it is a softer piece of wood or my knife is sharper than I expected. The wood fell away nice.
The owls I am doing have professor Miters on top their heads. One had really bad chip out on the miter, so I used the disk sander to cut the edges back until the corners were sharp and the miter was square enough to convince a blind drunk.
I later used the dremmel to cut in the circles of the eyes, then the dimple in the middle of the eye for the pupal, and finally drew with a Stabillo around the eye. I painted the miter and gave them a coat of varnish. I have to sign the owls but they are essentially done. They went well.
I turned a finial for the sea urchin shells. I then needed a top piece, which is short. I had some fun problems getting things right. I used the wrong wood. I intended to use yellow pine, but instead used whitewood. They don't turn the same. What I did was have black walnut for the finials themselves and on the top, I made a whitewood collar around the big hole for the nob on top the ornament. If I had good execution, this would have been a great project. Instead, I miffed it a little, but it came out right.
Last week, I had filled the shells with expanding foam. I got some on the outside of the shells. That stuff is hard to clean off. It sticks just enough to make removing it a bother, especially since the shells are not smooth and has bumps all over them. It is not a slick shell either, so the foam sticks like it was glued on.
My brother showed up and we went to WOODCRAFTS today. I intended to bring some of my ornaments to show someone there, but I grabbed the wrong bag. My brother picked up a few items there. We also stopped at SEARS and my brother picked up some tools for work there.
While at Woodcrafts, I looked at a block of Basswood. I would love to carve another fairy, but this time, use the right wood. I got hold of some Tupelo and it was too soft for the type of carving I was doing. It tended to crush rather than cut. I thought about getting a good chunk of basswood to start over on that fairy.
I keep an ornament of each style I make each year. It has nearly overfilled a gallon recloseable bag. I added one of each kind of swan, and one of the owls with a miter. The owl that gave me the idea for the miter will also go in there. Those tend to be the very best of my ornaments.
For tomorrow, I am not exactly sure what I will work on. I will likely make some more ornaments. I have to gather my stuff together and into the truck. Next week, we will be gathering at my brother's house for Christmas eve and Christmas day, so I will want to have my carving stuff with me so I have something to do while I am there. I have to bring it with me tomorrow so I can be sure I have it.
Starting next weekend, I need to begin my preparation for the March art show. This includes cleaning up pieces and getting the finishes better on them. I have several pieces I want to finish making, and a few I want to make. If I start now, I MIGHT get them done on time.
I will have to see what I do tomorrow.
year 9, Week 49, Day Two (week 519)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-20-09 Sunday
59 degrees at four in the morning, 56 at about seven, 62 degrees by about ten. I never noticed a breeze but there might have been. The clouds started out a few puffs high up, sunshine blue skies. Then a pebbled shield of high clouds slowly passed from the west and effectively blocked the sunshine. Temps stayed the same but the sun was not able to smile on us. It is scheduled to be cold, 46 degrees tonight. Have to watch for ice on the roads in the morning since it is below the 56 degree frost temperatures we have in subtropical florida.
This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach department of tourism.
I stopped by WOODCRAFTS to find out when they opened on Sunday. I was there around ten and they opened at noon. I was not going to wait around.
I drove on and decided I would stop at LOWES hardware.
The past week or so, the two tendons on the back of my knee had bothered me a little. I had not known why. I walked into the store and suddenly felt a CLICK in my knee. The discomfort in the tendons now made sense. I walked a few isles until I happened to go by the hooks and hinges isles. I first looked at hooks, but they were all too big for my ornaments. I then noticed hinges. Ah, that was something I needed. I had to look around a bit since most hinges were for doors, but I finally found the small hinges. I was about to take a brass hinge, then saw a cheaper one in steel. I looked carefully at the small hinges, and decided to go with two packets of their smallest hinges.
I stopped and picked up a knee wrap at the dollar store next and put that on my leg when I got to Mom's house. I quickly found it to be solving my knee problem, at least temporarily.
My first project was to put those hinges into use. Yesterday, when I was packing up, I noticed the hinge of my dremmel box was breaking. This is the original box the dremmel came in. the entire thing is formed in one piece or the interior welded to the exterior. The hinge was just a thinning of the plastic the entire length of the box.
The plastic started tearing. I screwed in all four hinges into the box. Right after I opened the box with all the hinges in place, the final bit of the plastic hinge gave way, likely partly because of the different swing of the new hinges.
I have to loosen the screws, align the hinges slightly, and will solve a stiffness because the hinges are not quite in line with the swing of the box. A couple are slightly tipped.
My brother arrived and after Lunch, We went back to LOWES and also SEARS looking for some parts. There are new nuts out called SPLINE nuts. They have a new tool to remove them. They are designed to be removed only by the special tools. My brother is messing with a set of spline nuts put on with a hex driver and with impact wrench. Until he showed it to me, I would never even known there was such a thing.
He also had a puller and needed a bolt that goes into the center. he found a bolt with the right thread, but he has to thread the bolt to the head, and he wanted the bolt to be a bit longer, but they did not have anything longer than what he found.
My knee was doing well with the wrap on it.
We made a run to one of my brother's job where he needed to do a two minute thing to get the system up and running, pushing in a reset button. I never bothered to get out of the car.
Back home, we sat outside and I carved at two of my swan ornaments. I pried too hard on one, removing a chunk of wood and heard a crack. The neck is still attached but should be glued.
I then carved a bit on the second one and decided to give up. About that time, the sun was behind the high clouds and it was not as warm as it was. I packed up and my brother went inside. I have my carving basket in the car and some fittings for my lathe. As I type this, I realized I left the shaft of my cutting tool at Mom's house. I will have to work with the fittings I already have if we do metal working next weekend, to get things right.
I petted the cat several times today, but a couple times, things my brother was up to, caused the cat to run. I thought about how he had changed since I started taming him. Even when we were able to pet him some, one never had a hand in front of his face, nor would you reach under a chair if he was there. I was doing both and he let me pet him.
I have all my Christmas cards painted to a given level. I have some more colors to add, and some piddly things I have to do to make it right, along with lettering the cards. If I can get the setup in the printer, I will use the printer for some things that need to be lettered.
For next weekend, Christmas comes Friday. I will head over to my brother's house around ten, and sit outside and carve or work with metal projects until dinner time. I will likely work outside until near dark.
Saturday and Sunday will be more like normal woodworking days.
We have a tradition to gather Christmas Eve and open our presents. That way the kids could play with their toys from the moment they woke Christmas Morning. It just dawned on me that I have to have every thing packed so I can gather my stuff when I get home from work on Thursday and dash over to my brother's house.
My woodworking plan for next weekend, is to start the process of getting ready for an art show I do in March. I need to finish projects I have started, start projects I want to include then, and to re-finish pieces I have already made so they are up to my newer standards of finish.
I will see what I actually do next week.
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-19-09 Saturday
62 degrees when I arrived, a high of 68 degrees, sunshine, high feathery clouds that did not effect the sun at all, and some low feathery clouds early that dimmed the sun a bit.
I was getting cool about ten so I sat out in the sun for a while and it sure felt good. After that, I was nice and warm all day long.
It is supposed to get down into the low 50s tonight.
This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department of Tourism.
I started painting my Christmas cards this week. The pictures on half of them could pass as being finished. I knew I needed to make my cards as early as last month, but did not have a design in mind. I finally got a design and then delayed about two weeks. Now I am running late to get them done.
I am thinking of using the printer to do the lettering inside and on the back. Will have to see how that comes out in tests first.
I found that I can do the cards faster if I have five paints out at the same time and adding them to a card before I go to the next, but I found it is harder on me in the long run. It is a pain to put the colors back and close everything up just to rest, then open them all back up to work more. It is also messier.
If I work with one color at a time, and do all the cards with that one color, It is slower over all, but I can take breaks sooner. There are also less errors such as sticking the blue brush into the yellow paint.
The cat was in a good mood today, except when I was clueless as to how he wanted to be petted. He swatted my hand five times once, but did not use his claws, a big difference from how he was this time last year. Today, he was more into company than attention, and his attention was on his hind quarters. There were little pin scabs so he may have been fighting again. I ended up petting him about five sessions.
My first project for the day was to drag out the lathe. I mounted a stick of yellow pine into the lathe and made three owl blanks. Things went well. I did get some corner chipping on the wood, but was able to hide that in the finish product.
At about the time I finished the blanks, I decided I needed to get out in the sun. I dragged a chair out, my carving basket, my drink (mint green tea which had become ice tea by then) and my owl blanks. I sat and carved all three blanks. It is hard to believe that this is yellow pine. Either it is a softer piece of wood or my knife is sharper than I expected. The wood fell away nice.
The owls I am doing have professor Miters on top their heads. One had really bad chip out on the miter, so I used the disk sander to cut the edges back until the corners were sharp and the miter was square enough to convince a blind drunk.
I later used the dremmel to cut in the circles of the eyes, then the dimple in the middle of the eye for the pupal, and finally drew with a Stabillo around the eye. I painted the miter and gave them a coat of varnish. I have to sign the owls but they are essentially done. They went well.
I turned a finial for the sea urchin shells. I then needed a top piece, which is short. I had some fun problems getting things right. I used the wrong wood. I intended to use yellow pine, but instead used whitewood. They don't turn the same. What I did was have black walnut for the finials themselves and on the top, I made a whitewood collar around the big hole for the nob on top the ornament. If I had good execution, this would have been a great project. Instead, I miffed it a little, but it came out right.
Last week, I had filled the shells with expanding foam. I got some on the outside of the shells. That stuff is hard to clean off. It sticks just enough to make removing it a bother, especially since the shells are not smooth and has bumps all over them. It is not a slick shell either, so the foam sticks like it was glued on.
My brother showed up and we went to WOODCRAFTS today. I intended to bring some of my ornaments to show someone there, but I grabbed the wrong bag. My brother picked up a few items there. We also stopped at SEARS and my brother picked up some tools for work there.
While at Woodcrafts, I looked at a block of Basswood. I would love to carve another fairy, but this time, use the right wood. I got hold of some Tupelo and it was too soft for the type of carving I was doing. It tended to crush rather than cut. I thought about getting a good chunk of basswood to start over on that fairy.
I keep an ornament of each style I make each year. It has nearly overfilled a gallon recloseable bag. I added one of each kind of swan, and one of the owls with a miter. The owl that gave me the idea for the miter will also go in there. Those tend to be the very best of my ornaments.
For tomorrow, I am not exactly sure what I will work on. I will likely make some more ornaments. I have to gather my stuff together and into the truck. Next week, we will be gathering at my brother's house for Christmas eve and Christmas day, so I will want to have my carving stuff with me so I have something to do while I am there. I have to bring it with me tomorrow so I can be sure I have it.
Starting next weekend, I need to begin my preparation for the March art show. This includes cleaning up pieces and getting the finishes better on them. I have several pieces I want to finish making, and a few I want to make. If I start now, I MIGHT get them done on time.
I will have to see what I do tomorrow.
year 9, Week 49, Day Two (week 519)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-20-09 Sunday
59 degrees at four in the morning, 56 at about seven, 62 degrees by about ten. I never noticed a breeze but there might have been. The clouds started out a few puffs high up, sunshine blue skies. Then a pebbled shield of high clouds slowly passed from the west and effectively blocked the sunshine. Temps stayed the same but the sun was not able to smile on us. It is scheduled to be cold, 46 degrees tonight. Have to watch for ice on the roads in the morning since it is below the 56 degree frost temperatures we have in subtropical florida.
This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach department of tourism.
I stopped by WOODCRAFTS to find out when they opened on Sunday. I was there around ten and they opened at noon. I was not going to wait around.
I drove on and decided I would stop at LOWES hardware.
The past week or so, the two tendons on the back of my knee had bothered me a little. I had not known why. I walked into the store and suddenly felt a CLICK in my knee. The discomfort in the tendons now made sense. I walked a few isles until I happened to go by the hooks and hinges isles. I first looked at hooks, but they were all too big for my ornaments. I then noticed hinges. Ah, that was something I needed. I had to look around a bit since most hinges were for doors, but I finally found the small hinges. I was about to take a brass hinge, then saw a cheaper one in steel. I looked carefully at the small hinges, and decided to go with two packets of their smallest hinges.
I stopped and picked up a knee wrap at the dollar store next and put that on my leg when I got to Mom's house. I quickly found it to be solving my knee problem, at least temporarily.
My first project was to put those hinges into use. Yesterday, when I was packing up, I noticed the hinge of my dremmel box was breaking. This is the original box the dremmel came in. the entire thing is formed in one piece or the interior welded to the exterior. The hinge was just a thinning of the plastic the entire length of the box.
The plastic started tearing. I screwed in all four hinges into the box. Right after I opened the box with all the hinges in place, the final bit of the plastic hinge gave way, likely partly because of the different swing of the new hinges.
I have to loosen the screws, align the hinges slightly, and will solve a stiffness because the hinges are not quite in line with the swing of the box. A couple are slightly tipped.
My brother arrived and after Lunch, We went back to LOWES and also SEARS looking for some parts. There are new nuts out called SPLINE nuts. They have a new tool to remove them. They are designed to be removed only by the special tools. My brother is messing with a set of spline nuts put on with a hex driver and with impact wrench. Until he showed it to me, I would never even known there was such a thing.
He also had a puller and needed a bolt that goes into the center. he found a bolt with the right thread, but he has to thread the bolt to the head, and he wanted the bolt to be a bit longer, but they did not have anything longer than what he found.
My knee was doing well with the wrap on it.
We made a run to one of my brother's job where he needed to do a two minute thing to get the system up and running, pushing in a reset button. I never bothered to get out of the car.
Back home, we sat outside and I carved at two of my swan ornaments. I pried too hard on one, removing a chunk of wood and heard a crack. The neck is still attached but should be glued.
I then carved a bit on the second one and decided to give up. About that time, the sun was behind the high clouds and it was not as warm as it was. I packed up and my brother went inside. I have my carving basket in the car and some fittings for my lathe. As I type this, I realized I left the shaft of my cutting tool at Mom's house. I will have to work with the fittings I already have if we do metal working next weekend, to get things right.
I petted the cat several times today, but a couple times, things my brother was up to, caused the cat to run. I thought about how he had changed since I started taming him. Even when we were able to pet him some, one never had a hand in front of his face, nor would you reach under a chair if he was there. I was doing both and he let me pet him.
I have all my Christmas cards painted to a given level. I have some more colors to add, and some piddly things I have to do to make it right, along with lettering the cards. If I can get the setup in the printer, I will use the printer for some things that need to be lettered.
For next weekend, Christmas comes Friday. I will head over to my brother's house around ten, and sit outside and carve or work with metal projects until dinner time. I will likely work outside until near dark.
Saturday and Sunday will be more like normal woodworking days.
We have a tradition to gather Christmas Eve and open our presents. That way the kids could play with their toys from the moment they woke Christmas Morning. It just dawned on me that I have to have every thing packed so I can gather my stuff when I get home from work on Thursday and dash over to my brother's house.
My woodworking plan for next weekend, is to start the process of getting ready for an art show I do in March. I need to finish projects I have started, start projects I want to include then, and to re-finish pieces I have already made so they are up to my newer standards of finish.
I will see what I actually do next week.
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