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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Featured Video

This gent is making a name for himself with his Iron Pig's. What I loved about this video are the techniques he uses at his lathe, I really like his sanding station, with different grits hanging from cantilevered sticks, what a great idea! It's a short video about 5 minutes, I think many of you will enjoy this, specially our turners among us.

If interested in purchasing an Iron Pig Pocket Knife, he does ship across the pond at a very reasonable rate. I could definitely see this knife being a very handy workhorse around the home and garden.

https://www.ironpig.ie/pocket-knife

Hope to finish filling in cracks in my shop floor concrete and make a decision on what I want to use as a floor covering (standing on thr concrete for long periods isn’t ideal). Thinking rubber floor rolls. We used a 3/8 inch rubber floor in our workout room and it's great. The rolls were VERY heavy so looking at going with 1/4 maybe. Need to mull on this a bit more. Open to hearing what others have liked, or regretted, for shop flooring.

Looks like Eileen and I will be processing foraged mushrooms today.

She found these on her way home last night.

Orange ones are Chanterelle mushrooms

Big one, Hen of the Woods

Cauliflower Mushroom in hand

Black Trumpets at bottom

1 hour ago, frenchwwr said:

processing foraged mushrooms today.

That reminded me of the guy who used to do our furnace each fall. He always showed up with a bag of mushrooms for us. Great fried in butter!

My favorite is the Black Trumpets

I dry them then use them as a spice on Beef.

Eileen is making Soup and Jerky out of the big ones

Are the ones you called "hen of the woods" also called "chicken of the woods"? I remember some guy on another forum always out looking for them, using the chicken name....I guess these are the same mushrooms.

Just got back from the hospital. Marie had yet one more EGD (this is probably the 9th or 10th in the least 5 years or so). The good news is that one of here many health problems has been resolved finally. She had a very large benign polyp in a very awkward place (just inside the stomach past the esophagus and no one locally could tka eit out. After visiting 3 different practices at 4 hospitals (maybe it was the other way around) we found a guy at University of Cincinnati hospital that removed it....a year ago. Today was the one year follow up to make sure it isn't growing again or anything else is wrong. A local guy did this, and said things were really great; no follow up unless symptoms redevelop. So we have one problem solved and maybe 4-5 others to work on. Otherwise, the weather is great for the next several days and I hope to get some work done getting the yard/house ready for winter. I also found a couple of jewelry ox plans I'm considering for one of the granddaughters , I need to look them over a little more carefully and see what materials are involved/needed.

Edited September 28Sep 28 by Fred W. Hargis Jr

@Fred W. Hargis Jr The chickens are yellow & orange

Saturday I spent crawling on the sidewalk along the house grinding and picking the sealant that the contractor who put in the sidewalk two years ago swore "it's flexible" and it's not. Wearing knee pads and kneeling on a rubber mat didn't make much of a difference after a couple of hours, my knees are bloody sore. Today is overcast and 68° perfect day to edge the grass & cut it, that took a bit of stiffness out of the knees.

Still sorting through boxes from the attic, insulators are coming on the 6th, dang, that's a different month.

finished helping a friend yesterday swap out 41 kitchen cabinet doors (started on saturday). unfortunately, he got one extra door he didnt' need, and was short one door he did need, he's going to sort it out and we'll put that one in place when it arrives in a few weeks. he said he and his wife would put in the pull knobs, so i left him my template (taped off the wrong holes) and some proper sized drill bits.

we get all done and he insists on paying me something.....hmmmm....i don't know how to price my time. he insists i name a number. so i do (it was enough to cover a new rifle magazine i had in mind), he says that's too low, writes me a larger check. wow. he was happy with the results, i'm happy to have a little more $$$ in my account. everyone is happy. a good day.

and.....and as i was leaving his house, i had to pass thru a pair of exterior garden gates, and i noted that one seemed to be rotting quite a bit.

yes, yes it was, he was hoping to get thru the winter and address it next spring. i pulled out my iphone and showed him a pic of the garden gate i had just made....hint, i know a guy who can make one or two of these to custom size. he noted that they were made out of alder. no sweat, i know a place locally that stocks all kinds of lumber. i'd have to make them a little different, as i don't have the ability to put dados in curved pieces. stay tuned.

On 9/28/2026 at 9:45 AM, BB1 said:

it's great. The rolls were VERY heavy so looking at going with 1/4 maybe. Need to mull on this a bit more. Open to hearing what others have liked, or regretted, for shop flooring.

Do not make it thinner. There is a difference between workout and work.

Seemed like everything got in the way of woodturning yesterday but did get two biscuit cutters done. Today went to hunting property to check cameras and load feeders. Did have time to turn more today.

Tomorrow more dirt work and hoping more shop time. Seems living on 5 acres means there is lots to get in the way of having fun turning wood.

Another day of foraging. This is what 50lbs of Chicken of the Woods looks like.

We're cooking and freezing the tender parts and dehydrating then grinding up the not so tender part for seasoning in soups.

On 9/29/2026 at 2:00 PM, DAB said:

i know a place locally that stocks all kinds of lumber. i'd have to make them a little different, as i don't have the ability to put dados in curved pieces. stay tuned.

Alpine? I miss them already. 4 hours from my place in NM, but doable. Too far from AZ. So far only two of the places I used to buy lumber 20 years ago are still here.

Last forage of the year

As we were searching for a lost shroom we ran into a much larger one

Hen of the Woods and Steak tips With Black Trumpete seasoning

Can't post any photos....must be a Monday thing?

Work on the cart for below the drill press continues. Got the case together on Saturday. Today was start on drawers.

Will have 6 inch casters so it can roll under the drill press table. Top will be frame in panel so anything I lay there won't roll off as there will be a "ledge."

5 hours ago, steven newman said:

Can't post any photos....must be a Monday thing?

I've been having a lot of issues posting photos directly from my phone, it's something in the last few updates. I have to restart my phone to get it to work. Or, I e-mails the photos from one e-mail address to another.

Dry fit got done, yesterday...had to chop out the remaining 6 Mortises...

Had to sharpen the Mortise Chisel a couple of times, along the way....

Will see what Tuesday brings along with the wind...