Good Monday morning!

Good Monday morning Patriot Woodworkers! What did you get done over the weekend, and what have you planned for the week ahead! Inquiring minds want to know. Please tell us what's happening in your shops, your life, and any events going on with you. Thank you for being here folks!

 

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The Annual Warrior Family Christmas Project

Our Christmas project is LIVE! Click HERE

 

Featured Topic

By @4DThinker always the inventor, see what he's been brewing up for a coffee table!

 

Featured Downloads and Plans

It's not too late to make a traditional gun rack for the sportsman in your family for Christmas. Or, for yourself! Looks like a weekend build, just in time for putting under the tree. 🙂 

 

Featured Video

PBS Terra, is a new channel I found and enjoying a whole lot. This is the first video on the channel that I watched that led me down the rabbit hole dive into other well done documentaries by PBS Terra regarding our earth. This video is only 8 minutes long and well worth the watch.

I must admit, I have been ignorant about the American Chestnut, I never really gave this iconic species a thought, sure I've seen wonderful early pieces made of chestnut and I kind of just walked on by, till now. It's a sad story, but there is hope. 

 

Monday..22 degrees and snow on the ground....can I just hibernate until march?

 

Project is done

Lumber Stash is empty....

Cleaning up this thing..

Needs a wee bit of Rehab..

Getting packed up today to help the local turning club do a pen turning event for a local Boy Scout troop. 

 

Mimi is still adding Christmas decorations to every empty spot she can find

14 minutes ago, lew said:

Mimi is still adding Christmas decorations to every empty spot she can find

🤣 sounds like LOML Lew! All the way up to Christmas Eve!

13 minutes ago, John Morris said:

🤣 sounds like LOML Lew! All the way up to Christmas Eve!

 Same thing here, although things have slowed a little this year. 

Well, this past week Marie got here internal pain stimulator powered up (wires running to her spine powered by an external battery) and we're struggling trying to learn to use it with the Android app it came with (we both have Iphones and are not tech geeks). The Andriod phone came with the rest of the apparatus. As for me I got my hearing aids installed today (we're on a mission to become a bionic family) and I have to say at this point with 3 hours use I'm loving them. I'm in the shop at the moment and tried running some machines while I was wearing my ear muffs and things seemed good. At this point the only thing I don't like about them is wearing glasses but I'll get over it (I think). Being able to hear things again is really nice. The last thing is I picked up a Windows laptop this past week. I haven't used Windows in over 25 years and I'm struggling to get it functioning....but that's as muchabout working with a laptop (also new to me) as it is Windows. What brought this on is me wanting to get a CNC, but I'll futz around with Vcarve first and see how hard I want learn to use it. 

Edited December 8, 2025Dec 8 by Fred W. Hargis Jr

@Fred W. Hargis Jr  What brand of hearing aids did you get?

37 minutes ago, lew said:

@Fred W. Hargis Jr  What brand of hearing aids did you get?

 Phonak. This wasn't a choice I made, my insurance recently started offering to pay for all the hearing exam costs and about 40% of the hearing aid costs, but there was only about 3 brands available and the AUD suggested the Phonak.

1 minute ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

 Phonak. This wasn't a choice I made, my insurance recently started offering to pay for all the hearing exam costs and about 40% of the hearing aid costs, but there was only about 3 brands available and the AUD suggested the Phonak.

Those are really great devices. Did the audiologist tell you about that Phonak has an app for smart phones? I could not use my iPhone with my hearing aids- just could not understand conversations and often didn't hear the phone ring. With a hearing phone app, the pone ring sound and conversations are piped directly into the hearing aid.

She did, and at this point I haven't installed it yet. She did the initial adjustments earlier today and i go back in 2 weeks to see how things are working out, I think I'll get the app set up then. I was wondering about talking on the phone, so I'll have to call somebody and see how it goes.

11 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

She did, and at this point I haven't installed it yet. She did the initial adjustments earlier today and i go back in 2 weeks to see how things are working out, I think I'll get the app set up then. I was wondering about talking on the phone, so I'll have to call somebody and see how it goes.

I've become dependent on the phone/hearing aid interaction. It's especially helpful in noisy environments.

2 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

 Phonak. This wasn't a choice I made, my insurance recently started offering to pay for all the hearing exam costs and about 40% of the hearing aid costs, but there was only about 3 brands available and the AUD suggested the Phonak.

Phonak is the brand that the VA provided for me. Really work well for me.

I did a little tinkering in the shop this weekend. The seagull I made a few weeks ago looked a little lonesome on the bathroom wall.

 

 

So this weekend I added a moon behind a floating cloud.

 

 

There are a couple of pieces of wood behind the moon and cloud that give it somewhat of a 3D look to it.

 

 

The moon is just a printed picture I got off the internet but it is behind a piece of 3/8" thick plexiglass that I smoothed the edges with a router round over bit, sanded it with 400 grit sandpaper then used a polishing compound on the to make it almost as clear as glass. Looking at it up close the moon almost looks 3D.

I used my scroll saw to cut out the PVC cloud and the recessed wood support that raises it off the wall. I also learned how to use my router as a wood planer to get the wood backer to the 3/8" thickness I needed to make the cloud hover just over the moon.

 

Earlier in the week my granddaughter and i made a snowman decoration. It also has a LITTLE wood in it. A piece of dowl for a corncob pipe, toothpick for the pipe stem and a piece of a 3/16" dowel for the carrot nose.

 

 

Got a university desk from the furniture bank for one of the grandsons.  Did some cleaning and touch ups, but it will be a while before I can get it to him in MI.  House smells a bit like lacquer now.

 

Next weekend a granddaughter is in a "White Christmas" show and was on the news this morning.  https://www.fox19.com/video/2025/12/08/lawrenceburg-community-theater-perform-white-christmas/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOkR5tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeW-ibWtHcJt7jhUpPo1Wop4Rmb8iCGGqFXA8zholoJ5_g9C3YxI6SwEMNSso_aem_3Txn8hBOo4LcQG4jy_2WGg

 

Edited December 9, 2025Dec 9 by kmealy

Started on my woodworking storage rack. Ended up making revisions along the way as I laid out the pieces. I built one "side" to figure out lengths, etc that was easier to work through seeing it than on paper. 

 

I then just copied that by placing boards on top the first frame and then took my measurements from that as they need to be the same.

My helper was pretty bored.

 

I'll link the two with some more 2x4 and then put some OSB to give a solid surface for storing boards.

 

One area I need to fix is the front board - somehow I miscut so put in some temporary "shims."

Don't want to have to go buy more 2x4 so I may just build up the bottom (think that should be more secure) and cut those long boards to fit better. 🙄

Too cold to do much. Lot of 6th grade basketball Saturday. Youngest grandson's team won their almost all day tourney. They remain undefeated. His travel team also won both games on Sunday; also remain undefeated; watched a pretty good football game Saturday night.

 

I'm guessing my time on this earth is about over...I've witnessed the Cubs win a World Series and Indiana University football finish a regular season undefeated, win a B10 Championship outright and be rated #1 in college football...just saying. oh, turned another year older so there's that too

 

Week ahead, 6th grade basketball game tomorrow and Thursday night; Wednesday trip to Boilermaker territory for a haircut, lunch out with my brother, some errands after, then monthly Business meeting at church. Shop remains closed due to foul weather. Probably should begin thinking about starting to think about some Christmas shopping...wait this is only December 8th...NOTE to self: put this on next Monday's update.

I’m running to keep up with my Etsy store. This will be my busy week and my store is 90% better than last year.  Good problem to have.

One more show and this is two 3 hour days. Finished Saturday show in lackluster sales mood , you just never know. Still working on shop when I do not have a bunch of other stuff to do. Went hunting with a friend today. Saw some birds practically on top of me , a squirrel who chose to leave a deposit in front of me, and then there was the racoon who strolled in . Watched him til he went behind a bush and did not come out the other side. Thought maybe a hole but checked when I left and I guess he just turned the other way. Hopefully will get to start on th room for dust collector this week sometime.

 

Oh by the way I got the wheels for the workbench yesterday . Finished that today and even with wheels is a little struggle to move that monster.

Got our yearly Christmas card from the Village, property taxes went up 18%.