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This project started last spring when I had my neighbor cut this Silver Maple down. In August of 1999 I build this 10x12 building with a 10x11 deck. In the middle of the deck was a tree. And I thought hey that will look great and be so cool. Fast forward to 18 years more of growth and the tree is winning the battle against the deck. Roots pushing on posts, circumference of the tree is now 26 inches and I have cut rafters underneath 7 times to accommodate the tree. Frankly my great idea had a limited lifetime. So I took the deck apart, posts and all and down the tree came. Waited till spring this year and started on getting rid of the stump. Got that stump and some pesky roots out of the way. Now all the mistakes I made in the first build attempt come to light. Under that building I had poured concrete between the posts. Great idea and that has been nice when getting under it for repairs and such. BUT I only closed in three sides. The cats have been getting underneath the building through the hole under the deck. So my first order of business was to fix this mistake. I laid a concrete foundation and then added some blocks. Even remembered to put two conduits for the power. With that done I laid the post again. This time I sunk them 2 feet down. Don't even want to talk about how deep they were previously. To keep weeds out and make it easier to do the yard I laid a concrete foundation 1 inch under the deck level. Trying to keep that pesky water issue at bay. I saved a good portion of the previous deck boards so only a few new ones had to be bought. Someone gave me 2 gallons of deck stain so I gave everything 2 coats before, and sometimes right after assembly. Also added some more post to support the ramp to the deck. Over 52 inches I had to come up about 3 inches up to meet level with deck. Too small for a step, unless I wanted to kill myself so a ramp seemed better. Still working on this, I get about 2 hours a night, and two t-shirts soaked through in the current hot and humid Ga summer.

So, as long as the Dizzies stay away, I might get something started? The old bandsaw. Been sitting around, taking up space, not earning it's keep. Decided to move the old saw over to the bench, and clean it up. Yeah, THAT one. Bought it used at a garage sale back in the late 1980s. Used the heck out of it, in fact. More than got my $90 worth...but...I think I can get it running again. Having sat around a few years, it was a bit FULL of dust and crud. Slowly took all the main parts off, trying not to loose any hardware....so far, so good. Just before I turned the first bolt. I loosened the blade a hair, and plugged the saw in. A flip of the switch showed that it will run. Motor seemes to just need an air hose clean out. Took the table off, and the upper guides Until I had all the smaller stuff laid out Now, IF I can get by without any more Dizzy attacks... ok, I'm back. Air hose to blow off all the dust and crud. Wire wheels to clean out the small nooks and crannies. Now a good look at the wheels....need new tires, of course. Dry rottened and full of cracked rubber. Not too big of a deal. A DirtDevil vac uses a rubber blet of almost the exact same size. Will need to sand a crown after the tire is on. Not sure if I will do all three. Lower guides: Guide RODS need a little clean up. These are rods, not blocks. There is a bearing in the back....and it is shot. Happen to have a router bearing almost the exact size.. Upper guides: Same type of guide rods. The bearing is in great shape. Table: Needs a GOOD clean up. Drive belt: a cogged belt, and it looks like brand new! Can even read the numbers on it!. Might add some lube to the wheel bearings, if there is any. If not, well a coat of grease will help things out, anyway. White Lithium grease from work. Do I really need food safe grease in a bandsaw? Outer cover plate???? Did have one....once. Long gone now. Maybe someeday, I cobble a 1/4" plywood cover. Model number? No. 113.244513. 12" three wheel bandsaw. Wonder how many emerson parts are still available? Stay tuned, might be more to this story, besides dizzy spells....

Well, it is getting close to that date. Time to lighten the tool box at work, to make it easier to cart out when I do retire. Two items came home this time. A 12oz ball peanhammer i never used. Red headed, LONG handled, might be a Plumb, or a Buckeye brand. Then there was a hacksaw. Black plastic pistol grip. Someone had painted the metal parts a silver colour. At least it didn't rust, that way. Thought I would clean it up, to see what this thing really was And a close up of the handle. Looks like there was a place for a label? Fired up the drill press with the wire cup. Got a lot of the paint off, finally. A name started to appear on the frame Not sure how well this will turn out, but: Millers Falls Greenfield, MASS made in USA There is the Milers falls double diamond trade mark and....No. 1237. There was an ad in the 1960 Popular Mechanics with this for sale. around here, counting tax, it would be about $3...... not too bad? IF i remember, I think this was ONE of my late FIL's saws. Will need a new blade. Maybe add some M-F's red paint to the etch? Might have a few more years left in it.

Not sure IF this is woodworking related, but here goes. From the Meet & Greet in the Dungeon Shop, three planes were traded for three others. I get a few "woodies" to work on A-yup. Since the one in the middle already had it's iron resharpened in a class at the show, decided to refurb the rest of it. Wire wheels in the drill press to clean the dirt and rust off, trying the get back to bare metal. Had a small jar of Dupli-colour Black, the kind you brush on to stone chips in a car's paint job. Painted the Sargent Lever cap, and set it aside And, you can see what else needed some work. Got the rest of the parts taken apart, adjuster wheel was part brass, and part steel. The frog bolt....yes just one, seems the other was awol. More on that in a bit. The screws, and other metal parts were wire wheeled clean. The frame was sanded to remove a lot of rust, and feather out what remained of the japanning. Grabbed the paunt, again Paint was on the thick side. Well, maybe I could go out to Lowes ( not a single hardware store in this town) and try to replace the missing frog bolt? Nope, Lowes did NOT have that size of bolt. Their wood screws were also all Phillips headed, too. Well, decided to add a bit of WOW factor to this plane refurb. Picked up some BRASS screws, and a couple Brass slotted head bolts. They head a rounded to. The closest size was 1/4" x 20...got back to the shop, dug up a tap wrench, and a 1/4" x 20 tap. A drop of 3in1 oil, and spun a few new threads. Still let the paint dry just a bit longer, a wee bit tacky. Wire wheel and a LIGHT touch removed the grime/old finish from the handles. Now was the time to put this back together. Two wood screws through the frame into the sanded down base. Then a LONG woodscrew through the knob. Brass bolts to attach the frog. So far all connectors are brass. The brass wheel and a Steel bolt were added to the frog, with a drop of oil on their threads. Rear handle and it bolt was next. While attaching the frog in pace, I used an old iron to get the frog and the wooden bed coplanar. Set up a test track, again Not too bad, for a Jack plane. While I was down there today, I sharpened up the iron on a Ohio Tool Co. jack plane. Same width iron, but a BIG wood body. Cleaned the wedge, chipbreaker was cleaned, and nated tothe iron. Iron was nice and sharp, all rust removed. Test track was still sitting there, so... Still need to refinish the wood on it, but, it do work like it should. Two down, one to go.