Getting Organized

I haven't updated this for a long time so here we go....organizing my shop and other projects.

Here's a forklift I bought March 2013.  It's a Farmall BN tractor conversion by the now Defunct John's manufactuing.  A very sought after forklift by Orchards, collectors and others.

Restoring 3 Antique Perfection Kerosene heaters.  Here I am repairing the holes in the tanks also called founts.  If you leave kerosene sit unsealed, it will draw moisture from the air and it will collect under the kerosene and rust the bottom of the tank.  That is why you must empty the tank when stored or not used or at least once a year.

Here's some of the parts I had polished and nickel plated.  I have others out getting Porcelainized enameled.

Here is the status of my shaving horse seat.  Not finished yet.

Here's a beautiful S'mores bar I made for a friend's daughter's wedding.  I had to buy an 8in dia Dado blade to make the box joints for this and I really learned(through mistakes) how to correctly make box joints on the table saw with a Dado blade and my home made jig.

I recently bough a used drywall cart on Craigslist to store and move my hoods around on- works great and takes up no additional space.

I made 36 feet worth of these tool hanger boards.  Tip: pre-finish the boards before drilling the dowel holes or finish will run down in the holes.  This will help take advantage of wall space and get stuff off of the floor.

Organizing my paint brushes with some scrap walnut and Powermags from Fastcap.com

Organizing tools on my table saw/router table.

Organizing the storage area of my shop with the shelving/racking I bought in 2010.

Here's a video Review I did a few weeks ago for Wood River tool base that I am using on my old Delta Unisaw.

Here's the new seat/base design for my shaving horse.  I used Black Walnut as that was what I had readily available.  I edge glued 2 sets of three boards(3/4" thick), and then face glued them using a new Veneer vacuum press I built and Unibond 800 veneer glue, to get the thickness I needed for my seat.  The stock I made is about 11.5 inches wide to get the rear seat width I wanted.  I could have used 12 inch wide boards I have, but I decided to use the more plentiful 5 inch boards i had to make the stock and save the wide stuff for a project that really needs a full wide board.  Since this pic, I have cut it in the surfboard shape you see outlined with masking tape, and put a generous roundover on the piece.  This week I'll drill my holes for the legs and slot for the clamp head arm.  Here's a pic of the veneer press I built using a kit from joewoodworker.com

I figure I better post something up here before I lose this blog. I haven't posted for awhile for one becuase I don't have any good new pics. But some upcoming things to look for are; a timberframe demo at the end of March, the repair of my forklift, the repair of my shaving horse whose seat broke due to the legs being splayed too much, the dry brittleness of the board I used, and my weight. I'm also still trying to get to finishing my additional shop space, finish fixing my Saturn so I can donate it to a friends 16 year old. I'm also working on a secret timberframing project that cannot be unveiled until it's finished. So there are some things coming.

Where have I been?...Well I kind of got involved in the political season. I'd been volunteering with the local tea party. In doing so I got to know one of the candidates that we supported, and her campaign manager. About a month ago he tapped me to join their team as campaign/volunteer coordinator. Being unemployed I had time, and being passionate I have the drive. It has been quite an experience so far. I never knew how much went on behind the scenes. I have been barely treading water for the last 4 weeks, but am finally getting a handle on things and am using other volunteers for more and more. I went from getting up when I naturally woke up to early rises and long days. They haven't seemed long though, they fly by. It's so busy which is nice. I've been putting in 10-13 hour days. So I'm in a routine again. It's all good, and we are going to win!

Sheetmetal

I finally got the sheet metal up. I did it all myself. The ceiling pieces were quite difficult alone, especially the ones with cut outs where multiple things had to be lined up at once, then I had to hold the sheet in place with one hand while grabbing the screw gun with the other and trying to get a screw in the right place. There were some choice four letter words while doing the ceiling, which no child or lady should hear! But I got it done. I put in enough screws to hold them up, but I need to go back and finish adding screws. You can see on the left side some small pieces that need to be screwed up to fill the final open spot. Next will be to finish assembling the overhead door in the foreground, Installing and plumbing the heater, and then lights and electrical.

I finally finished my shaving horse. This is basically a portable vise to hold a piece of wood while you shave it down with a draw knife. You sit on the rear portion, and activate the vise with your foot on the pedal, pushing it forward, which rotates the dumbhead down, trapping your wood blank. It's used to shave pegs or legs, or whatever you want. The main plank is heart pine, and the rest of the pieces are made from white oak and hickory. It's not totally finished as I still need to sand it and apply some oil and urethane finish, but it's close enough to call done.