Friday again folks. 

 

Here "Two Weeks From Anywhere" I'll be going out shortly to shovel 4-5" of some of that nasty white stuff. 

 

The "Battle of the Boiler" will continue Sunday evening with the replacement of the last three steam trap valves. 

After that will come a bit of reworking of the main thermostat wiring so the air-handler will work when we get around to adding AC to the building.

Already have the pneumatic thermostats that control the dampers in the air-handler replaced with dual-action thermostats that will work for both heating and cooling. Still need to replace the main (only) electronic thermostat with a dual-action which will also require adding a fan control relay to the circuit. The air-handler will only be doing recirculating work because the return air intake is on the second floor of the original part of the building. The lower floor doesn't require as much cooling as the other floors so we're going to try using the recirculated air to cool it. Might be able to get away with 20 tons of cooling versus 25 tons. Neighbor is currently looking at 5- ton package units that have the air-handlers built in. Simplest approach for this building that only requires connecting ducting power and electronic thermostats to the units. 5 ton is the cut-off for single-phase units anything larger requires three-phase power.

 

So What's on Your Weekend Agenda? 

BIL and, I have one more bathroom vent to replace, today. We replaced our Microwave last month so, we have the makings of a Lichtenberg fractal wood burner. Might get around to building it, today. Saturday is another sightseeing day. This one is an art colony close to the Mexican border. Sunday is TBA.

Still working on that little "free library". Got the post/supports done yesterday along with the door pieces cut. Need to glue up the door pieces, add Plexiglas and hinge. Then add the roof. 

Remain in line at the "stone quarry" anticipating final delivery. Cat has a follow-up appointment with the Vet this afternoon. Grandsons are spending the night tomorrow night. Sunday school & Church Sunday. Daughter's birthday is tomorrow; still finalizing weekend logistics for the meal and cake celebration. Some domestic duties on my assignment list. About it.

Edited February 25, 20224 yr by Grandpadave52

Got more bent valves from the engine shop yesterday.  Started cutting the stems off to repurpose into more awls.

Leaving now to help a friend re-do an interior door so it swings the other way.

26 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Leaving now to help a friend re-do an interior door so it swings the other way.

 

 That's going to take a little getting used too.   

The Stanley #78 showed up at my door this morningand I've I found enough material to make the TS sled and Moxon Vise, I ordered the hardware for the vise yesterday so all I can do is cut the pieces out right now.

 

Might do a bit of Box Making....have a pile on the bench that needs some work done to it...

 

May start a build along thread, later....

10 minutes ago, steven newman said:

May start a build along thread, later....

Hope so. I need something to keep me busy in your shop.

51 minutes ago, steven newman said:

May start a build along thread, later....

Be following 

6 hours ago, kmealy said:

Leaving now to help a friend re-do an interior door so it swings the other way.

It was quite an adventure.  95 year old house so not much was square.  SYP gets darned hard after that much time.  First the top was scraping across the frame.  Tried to plane it down enough but ended up just dropping the hinge mortises 1/8".  Then the bevel on the latch side needed some trimming so that the door would close (because it was now backwards).  then reversed the door catch and had to re-mortise the catch and got too far back so latch did not catch.  Ugh.  To make matters even worse everything except the door mortises themselves needed to be hand done with a chisel because a router and router plane did not work because of the door stops.  Would have been way easier to do all the mortising first, then add the stop strips.

 

Yesterday I picked up some salvage lumber and plan to make some "shut the box" games for the ww club's annual toy drive.  Wanted to make something that was not just a wooden truck or car (did 8 of those already and probably will get another 400 or so from other members).

Edited February 25, 20224 yr by kmealy

Got my lawn work done this week while it was spring like weather - mowing, edging, trimming.  Burned a large pile of sticks and trimming debris. 

Headed into the weekend, additional work to bring window sash #2 to completion.  Was loaned a Cricut hobby cutting machine so I am trying to learn the basics of that.  Have a few glass panes to etch today, and, a few items given away during garage cleanup are supposed to be headed out the door today also.  And to finish off the weekend, a birthday party (I think) with supper on Sunday evening.

Minimal shop work scheduled. Replaced with lots of sight seeing and enjoying our guest's company. 

Awaiting delivery of a neon light transformer to complete a fractal burning set up. Tried using our replaced microwave's unit but it wasn't powerful enough. 

Have a walnut bowl blank band sawn, sanded round and, readied for the experimental router treatment. 

14 hours ago, kmealy said:

It was quite an adventure.  95 year old house so not much was square.  SYP gets darned hard after that much time.  First the top was scraping across the frame.  Tried to plane it down enough but ended up just dropping the hinge mortises 1/8".  Then the bevel on the latch side needed some trimming so that the door would close (because it was now backwards).  then reversed the door catch and had to re-mortise the catch and got too far back so latch did not catch.  Ugh.  To make matters even worse everything except the door mortises themselves needed to be hand done with a chisel because a router and router plane did not work because of the door stops.  Would have been way easier to do all the mortising first, then add the stop strips.

BTDT on a pre 1870's house.

First thing to do is throw away the level and square.

Best to make everything look right by eye. DAMHIKT

The way I heard it on colonial era houses was that they pitched the floor from front to back. Scrubbed with plenty of water from the front, the filth ran out the back. Boiled vinegar as well was used in the scrubbing, to disinfect.

 

Like dad said of his g-g-mother's one-pump house, "Just because we didn't have electricity or running water didn't mean we were not clean". This, from the guy who had us kids trimming g-mom's tiny lawn with scissors because the lawnmower was absent. Whatever it took.

2 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Awaiting delivery of a neon light transformer to complete a fractal burning set up. Tried using our replaced microwave's unit but it wasn't powerful enough

Good luck with that Gene. Not something I would ever consider. Risk factor vs reward is far too great. Too many horror stories associated with this technique.

@Gene Howe One thing to add to your burning setup is a "dead man's switch" on the input side of the transformer. Also, the secondary transformer wiring, to the burning tips, must have an insulation rating greater than the no load output voltage of the transformer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/deadman-switch/s?k=deadman+switch

 

 

https://www.daburn.com/2637-high-voltage-flexible-silicone-rubber-lead-wire.aspx

13 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Minimal shop work scheduled. Replaced with lots of sight seeing and enjoying our guest's company. 

Awaiting delivery of a neon light transformer to complete a fractal burning set up. Tried using our replaced microwave's unit but it wasn't powerful enough. 

Have a walnut bowl blank band sawn, sanded round and, readied for the experimental router treatment. 

I would highly urge that you do not do this. There have been several deaths from its use.

Death due to Fractal Wood Burning

Thanks for the warning, Gerald. We have several safety features and procedures in place to insure against any mishaps. i.e. the moveable probe is a 3' piece of PVC, The other one is a finish nail driven into the work piece. The power supply is controlled by a remote switch, 6' from the power supply and, I'll be wearing rubber gloves specifically sold for fractal burning applications and, I'll be standing on a 3/4" thick rubber mat. The procedure will be to connect the alligator clip to the driven nail, place the 3' probe on the wood, and then, hit the power switch. At no time, should I be closer than 3' to any electrical device.