What did you do today?

[Chestnut]

It was a day or two agao but they are all blending together. Dusted off the climbing gear for deer hunting and did some practice with my cousin. We climbed a few of the trees in my backyard just to make sure that we still knew how to and wouldn't make mistakes come fall.

While at it I tied off the pole saw and trimmed some branches. This picture makes it look like my cousin is hovering in mid air.

Even with my feet 25 feet of the ground my exceptional 5 foot 6 inch stature and 12 foot pole saw, there were still quite a few unreachable branches. The crotch in the ash (left) and Elm (more center) are roughly 20 feet up. These trees would make some wonderful lumber some day in the very distant future.

[Coop]

That’s one deer that would live to be an old fart if I had to do that! 

[Mark J]

@Chestnut, are you treating that ash for the ash borer?

[BonPacific]

Don't think I've had a day this productive in ages.

• Got the replacement anvil installed on my impact driver (bit snapped inside the old one).
• Partially rewired my DC blower. Still need to get a junction box for the wireless switch to live inside though.
• Rewired and tested the new-to-me jointer and it works! Now I just need to swap in the new blades that came with it and clean up the beds. Alignment was surprisingly still pretty good.
• Drilled the hole through my wall for DC ducting and got the brackets located for the first run.
• Installed the rest of the overhead lights in the lumber shed.

[Coop]

Quiet a day for a crew of one! 

[Chet]

On 8/28/2022 at 8:50 PM, BonPacific said:

Don't think I've had a day this productive in ages.

• Got the replacement anvil installed on my impact driver (bit snapped inside the old one).
• Partially rewired my DC blower. Still need to get a junction box for the wireless switch to live inside though.
• Rewired and tested the new-to-me jointer and it works! Now I just need to swap in the new blades that came with it and clean up the beds. Alignment was surprisingly still pretty good.
• Drilled the hole through my wall for DC ducting and got the brackets located for the first run.
• Installed the rest of the overhead lights in the lumber shed.

I need a nap from just reading this.

[Gary Beasley]

Built a sled for making staves then tried it out on some mahogany to make a shallow dish.

[wtnhighlander]

@Gary Beasley, I've done long tapered staves before, but my sled was quite different. Care to explain how yours is used for those short staves?

[Gary Beasley]

Short story is the wood is cut to stave length, angles set on the arms of the sled, cut length set on the stops with the hold downs. Blade angle is set precisely, it tips away from the sled. First cut done on the lower stop, then the piece is flipped over to set the wide end against the upper arm, locked in and cut. Theres an article in AAW American Woodturner mag June 2022 by Dan Swaim detailing this sled and the making of a staved vessel.

[Gary Beasley]

Got my second stave bowl done today. Marblewood staves, aromatic cedar inserts, top ring and base. What a pain getting the stave angles right!

[BonPacific]

That's absolutely gorgeous!

[wtnhighlander]

Nice geometry, and that color combo is awesome!

[Coop]

Now that’s cool!

[Gary Beasley]

Did another project today. Had a spare ring because of a miscalculation building the first bowl. I took a rough bowl blank and cut it in two with a parting tool, then sanded both halves flat. Sanded the ring and glued it all together. Turned it and finished it . Still need to finish the base .

[wtnhighlander]

Practicing some hand tool skills on a "utility grade" project. Very satisfying when the parts snap together like Lego!

[Mark J]

@Gary Beasley,  nice work!

[Mark J]

12 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Practicing some hand tool skills on a "utility grade" project. Very satisfying when the parts snap together like Lego!

Watcha makin'?

[wtnhighlander]

@Mark J, all will be revealed, soon enough. Rest assured, it falls quite far outside the category of 'fine furniture'!

[BillyJack]

Cleaned the shop, then cleaned the shop somemore and tomorrow I will clean the shop again. Tired of machines with crap on them..

[drzaius]

Up until yesterday, I'd never smoked a piece of meat. My first was a brisket, smoked in my gas grill with choke cherry wood from a tree in our yard that has died off. I probably spent 10 hours watching videos on smoking brisket and felt I was well prepared. 

It paid off because the result was sensational. Nice heavy bark that wasn't too dry and the meat was as tender and juicy as I've ever had.

Here's the halfway point. I forgot to take one of the finished result.

[Chet]

On 9/4/2022 at 8:52 AM, drzaius said:

Here's the halfway point. I forgot to take one of the finished result.

When you are drooling profusely from the mouth in anticipation of what is to come, it is hard to remember to take pictures. I speak from experience.

[Tom King]

I don't think the list of what you can't learn on youtube is very long any more, and getting shorter all the time.

[BonPacific]

My father and I took down this locust tree a couple weeks ago, but I only just now got around to unloading it from the truck.

[Mark J]

1 hour ago, BonPacific said:

only just now got around to unloading it from the truck.

I bet your gas mileage just got a lot better .  

That looks like a goodly pile of logs.

[BonPacific]

Thankfully that truck only gets used for trips that require the bed, but my wife needed to get grain for her horse. The big log is about 14" by 9', so not a true monster, but should be able to get something out of it. The chunks on the left might be my excuse to get a bigger lathe though .