This has been one of the busiest years I’ve had doing woodworking. We have been throughly blessed with work. We did a large three day show before Thanksgiving and we were none stop from then till Christmas Eve. 

 

It didn’t come without some long days and nights and a we bit of stress. While working on filling orders, I got home from my part time job one Friday to the news that our Jointer had stopped working. Not the news I wanted to hear and especially on a Friday evening since all the electrical shops are closed on weekends. But after doing some trouble shooting I determined the switch was bad. I jumped on Amazon and found one but didn’t get it till the following Monday. I got it installed and thought all was good but the next day, Tuesday, while running boards for cornhole boards, the planner trips out and shuts down. All my lumber is rough cut that we have cut and dried. 

So I start trouble shooting the Grizzly planner. I had a tech from Grizzly stay on the phone with me for several hours as we tried different things. He finally decides it’s a capacitor. I take both out and head to the electrical shop. They don’t have them and send me to a motor shop. They test them and tell me they are good. I had a very discussed look on my face and a guy there says I have a tech I can send out. I replied what is the cost. He says 100.00/hour with a three hour minimum. I’m stuck so I told him to send him. The tech come and spends about an hour testing and trying things and finally says the capacitor is in fact bad. I ask what I owe and he says let’s call it a consultation and no charge. I gave him a large cutting board and thanked him. Got the capacitor, hooked it up and nothing. Call the tech(he gave me his cell number) and told him. He came back with a single phase tech and they decided it was bad contacts. He came back after he got off work, changed the contacts and nothing. He worked for two hours on his own time. Determined the motor was bad. Well it’s now Friday evening and no one open to get a motor. I found a listing on Facebook for a industrial salvage place in town that loses they had Grizzly parts. Sent them a message and got a reply he had a motor, but he doesn’t work weekends! However he was going to the shop on Saturday for someone picking up a large piece of equipment. He said he would check and text me if he had one. About 2:00 pm he said he had a motor for 150.00 if I would come right then. So off we went, got the motor, installed it and nothing. He showed us it ran at his shop so I called the tech, sent him a picture and he had me to install a jumper and it ran! We were back up after loosing a week of working time. 

 

So we finished 11 sets of custom cornhole boards. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got a cutting board finished and engraved. 

 

 

Then I started on a custom knife block. It gets two owls carved into it and the knives are all large and long. I finally get it done and ready to glue up around midnight on December 23 and when I clamp it the outside board with the owl cracks. 

 

 

They are suppose to pick It up the 24th at 7:00 pm. Exhausted I head to bed. The next day I make up some sawdust and glue and shoot it into the crack with a needle. Clamp it down and give it time to dry. 

 

 

Crack is covered up very good. Sprayed finish on the block, but it didn’t get dry by 7:00. They were okay with it though and are going to get it Monday. 

 

 

So that’s what I’ve been up to. What’s on your agenda this weekend. Share with us your plans. Looking forward to hearing all about your plans and shop. 

 

I hope you all all had a Merry Christmas and hoping for a Happy New Year!!

 

 

Not a weekend to get anything in the shop. Still have son and grandson here. Spent a couple hours today working on a light mount for the lathe and wound up just moving the old mount up higher. Guess new projects start next week.

I see what you mean about stress. Really nice of the techs to help you out 

Thankfully my week was not nearly as stressful.

We had company here for the week, didn't even get to spend much time on TPW.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got something for the shop

I have been hobbling around with sciatica in my right leg...

Yesterday after company left I opened a gmail account.  I am fixing to drop our cable (Cox Comm.) and need to change addresses in all those sites I frequent.

Got nil done in the shop last week. On the bright side, I didn't make any mistakes. 

Doctor got me feeling good again.  Just taking it easy while on the mend.  Glad the coughing is gone.

Shop cleaning, brakes for the “family barge”,  new VS belt and service for the 

Powermatic Lathe, and working to assemble the dust collector pieces and parts into a workable unit...long overdue!  May do a little tool service to a few other things as well over the next few days.  

For this year it’s the same as last year. This house, room by room. On the list this year are the master bathroom, kitchen and hopefully the staircase. The media room is somewhere in the mix but the sequence in which I do things is not up to me so we shall see. I have several ongoing projects now to finish up. The windows and doors will be done within the next few days and then it’s back to the liquor cabinet which includes the tulip turnings. Only project for the shop is a bigger bandsaw this year. The one I have is not up to what’s coming down the pike. All in all another busy year of woodworking. 
Paul

Well, our son got his 'Occupancy Permit' on the 23rd, so I'm taking a break from house building. Interior doors still have to be framed and hung, and most of the windows need to be trimmed, and baseboards installed. However, there will be no more 7-day weeks! Maybe I'll even be able to put in a little time in my OWN shop! Still have a partly-finished jewelry box on the bench that was supposed to be a Christmas present for a friend LAST year. She'll get it for Easter, I hope.

John

 

I thought I had Bartlett pear, but was told today that it is Bradford pear.  Now, I be confused.  Anyway, here you can see where I cut these into 2 X 2 a couple months ago.  The first picture was after I had begun turning the second one.  The first one had a rotten spot in the middle and came apart just as I was about to finish it.  But, here is a picture of the stack while doing the second one.  

 

 

Love these wispy shavings from the skew.  Did have some pock marks around the knot area.  I am going to check my grind as it was sharp after finishing.  So, it's time to get out the gauge to verify......

 

 

Ready for sanding.

 

Now ready for the mineral oil.  Will initial the end.  How many more to go?  About 10.  Measurements: 16 1/8" long; 1 7/16" diameter.  

 

Edited December 30, 20196 yr by FlGatorwood
re-arrange pictures and make comments

Any chance you can save the one that had issues?  I had a insect hole in some dogwood that I just cut out and glued in another piece.

It broke into 2 parts.  By the time I corrected it, the measurement would be about 13 inches long, so I have plans for the remains.  No cremation!

Finish projects from early 2000. Be awhile till I catch up..