Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

OK, @Superclam, you don't like it much. And my mum would agree with you; she always said she liked my beard because it hid my face. (Make of that what you will.)

But you know who loves it? Little Mosey Baby! I know this, because he gives me mega-kisses all day long!

He prolly won't want to give me kisses tomorrow, when I leave him On Guard and go off to Brighton Market! But at least I won't be getting up at the unholy hour of 4:30 to go! No! Because I'm going to be a visitor, not a vendor. I will buy a cup of coffee, plus a bagel from Sophie & Jacob, and sit quietly and enjoy my breakfast. And I will be incognito, what with the new, extremely short haircut and beard. I doubt I will be recognized.

Before I go I have to give Mo a capsule, wait 30 minutes and then give him a meal with the remaining two tablets.  Plus go through the rigamarole of getting the van out through the gate without the little hellion escape into the morning traffic!

I just hope the market is actually open, because there is no way for me to check that. If it isn't, I will just go home again. But I can't see why it wouldn't be. 

Garden Patrol tonight was brief. The conditions were mostly dry with just a hint of damp in the grass, with a gentle breeze - not too cold - blowing. Mo heard a noise and raced back to the gate to check it out. But he'd already done a big pee so that is good.  He is now curled up against my back, bogarting the entire cover sheet and gradually pushing me towards the edge. We're listening to some classic Elton John and The Carpenters. 

Wrote a short program to help me make what I call "Striped" bowl blanks. These are made by gluing boards together side by side, standing on edge. When a bowl is turned from one of these, the individual boards form stripes that run across the bowl from side to side and up and down.

Given the diameter of the desired bowl and the thickness of the boards, it computes how many boards of what lengths are needed to make a blank for that sized bowl. It prints a cut-list and a total for all boards so you know what length of wood you will need to start with.

The effect is better if you can mix & match wood species and so get stripes of varying colour. So far my program only caters for boards of consistent thickness. I may try to change it to manage different boards thicknesses and colours. But I'm not sure how to specify these details for the program to use. But there is plenty of special cases that it might be interesting to explore. For instance, instead of vertical, the boards might be at 45°. Or 30°. Or 60′...

Still gotta go shut the door, now that pup is apparently fast asleep behind me. He will undoubtedly wake up as soon as I move, but hopefully he won't decide to race outside and spend the next half an hour barking at the moon...

So let me do that now...

[Mr. Sparkle]

5 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

OK, @Superclam, you don't like it much. And my mum would agree with you; she always said she liked my beard because it hid my face. (Make of that what you will.)

Lol, no dislike, it's just that the difference is pretty shocking. You don't look like the same person! I've always wanted to grow a full beard like that, but it just doesn't happen for me. Somebody took a picture of me at work the other day and I didn't realize how snowy my beard got. I think it'll come off with the new year... 

[Netfoot]

4 minutes ago, Superclam said:

Lol, no dislike, it's just that the difference is pretty shocking.

Just teasing!

[ShowsILoveToHate]

33 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

OK, @Superclam, you don't like it much. And my mum would agree with you; she always said she liked my beard because it hid my face. (Make of that what you will.)

But you know who loves it? Little Mosey Baby! I know this, because he gives me mega-kisses all day long!

He prolly won't want to give me kisses tomorrow, when I leave him On Guard and go off to Brighton Market! But at least I won't be getting up at the unholy hour of 4:30 to go! No! Because I'm going to be a visitor, not a vendor. I will buy a cup of coffee, plus a bagel from Sophie & Jacob, and sit quietly and enjoy my breakfast. And I will be incognito, what with the new, extremely short haircut and beard. I doubt I will be recognized.

Before I go I have to give Mo a capsule, wait 30 minutes and then give him a meal with the remaining two tablets.  Plus go through the rigamarole of getting the van out through the gate without the little hellion escape into the morning traffic!

I just hope the market is actually open, because there is no way for me to check that. If it isn't, I will just go home again. But I can't see why it wouldn't be. 

Garden Patrol tonight was brief. The conditions were mostly dry with just a hint of damp in the grass, with a gentle breeze - not too cold - blowing. Mo heard a noise and raced back to the gate to check it out. But he'd already done a big pee so that is good.  He is now curled up against my back, bogarting the entire cover sheet and gradually pushing me towards the edge. We're listening to some classic Elton John and The Carpenters. 

Wrote a short program to help me make what I call "Striped" bowl blanks. These are made by gluing boards together side by side, standing on edge. When a bowl is turned from one of these, the individual boards form stripes that run across the bowl from side to side and up and down.

Given the diameter of the desired bowl and the thickness of the boards, it computes how many boards of what lengths are needed to make a blank for that sized bowl. It prints a cut-list and a total for all boards so you know what length of wood you will need to start with.

The effect is better if you can mix & match wood species and so get stripes of varying colour. So far my program only caters for boards of consistent thickness. I may try to change it to manage different boards thicknesses and colours. But I'm not sure how to specify these details for the program to use. But there is plenty of special cases that it might be interesting to explore. For instance, instead of vertical, the boards might be at 45°. Or 30°. Or 60′...

Still gotta go shut the door, now that pup is apparently fast asleep behind me. He will undoubtedly wake up as soon as I move, but hopefully he won't decide to race outside and spend the next half an hour barking at the moon...

So let me do that now...

Hello! I’m new to this forum and I’ve read a few of your posts here. The tamarind wood is beautiful!! You make bowls out of them? 
 

I’m glad that your pup Mo is doing better! Where do you live? I’m guessing England or Australia? I saw you mention the weather but it can be like that in many places. 🌎🌍🌏

I’ve got a couple of cats who think they own the place. 

[Netfoot]

Went off to Brighton Market to get a bagel for breakfast... and came straight back home, disappointed. The place was deserted and locked up tight as a drum! I was afraid this might happen, and I think I even mentioned it. They were open on Saturday, Christmas Eve, so I thought maybe Saturday, Old Years Day would be also open. But I guess the buying frenzy of Christmas weekend worked for them whereas the Tryptophan-overdosed Old Years weekend seemed to be less desirable.

So, I didn't get to try one of Jacob's bagels, and I believe Sophie goes home to her folks before next weekend. And Jacob says he will probably not bother to open the stall without her. 

So I'm back, to play with a terribly excited and energetic puppy. Who, since the beard has come off, has decided that my entire face has to be kissed, and not just the tip of my nose. If this continues, I will have to carry a slobber-hankie with me wherever I go!

8 hours ago, ShowsILoveToHate said:

The tamarind wood is beautiful!! You make bowls out of them? 

I own a small lathe and make bowls (and other things) out of what ever wood I can find. The spalted tamarind is very attractive and my bowls made out of that material are popular. Unfortunately, I have virtually none of the wood left. So now, I have to look for some other material or process that leads to an attractive end result.

Quote

I’m glad that your pup Mo is doing better! 

Thanks. He is pretty bright today, and I would say he is better! But I am no vet, so the course of medication will continue.

Quote

Where do you live? I’m guessing England or Australia?

I was born in Trinidad, but have been living in Barbados from the time I was 8 or 9 years old, and consider myself a Bajan. And I have the documents to prove it! I did spend some time in Britain as a young man -- 18 to 24 -- when I was at college. But that was a long time ago. More recently I did a motoring tour of England with a close friend, which was great.

I've never been to Australia but would love to go. I am still in contact with a buddy who I met as a student in England, 48 years ago. He and his sweetheart went to visit Australia when they were in their early 20s, got married and never came back! Well, he returns occasionally to visit family, but Australia has been his home for all those years.

Quote

I’ve got a couple of cats who think they own the place. 

I am not a cat person. This doesn't mean I dislike cats!  I'm fine with them crawling around, sitting in my lap, etc. It's just that if I have to choose, I will choose the puppy over the kitty. Probably because as a lad, we always had dogs around the place (once, when we still lived on a large property in Trinidad, we had 16!) and never had cats. So I'm accustomed to the puppers.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

7 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Went off to Brighton Market to get a bagel for breakfast... and came straight back home, disappointed. The place was deserted and locked up tight as a drum! I was afraid this might happen, and I think I even mentioned it. They were open on Saturday, Christmas Eve, so I thought maybe Saturday, Old Years Day would be also open. But I guess the buying frenzy of Christmas weekend worked for them whereas the Tryptophan-overdosed Old Years weekend seemed to be less desirable.

So, I didn't get to try one of Jacob's bagels, and I believe Sophie goes home to her folks before next weekend. And Jacob says he will probably not bother to open the stall without her. 

So I'm back, to play with a terribly excited and energetic puppy. Who, since the beard has come off, has decided that my entire face has to be kissed, and not just the tip of my nose. If this continues, I will have to carry a slobber-hankie with me wherever I go!

I own a small lathe and make bowls (and other things) out of what ever wood I can find. The spalted tamarind is very attractive and my bowls made out of that material are popular. Unfortunately, I have virtually none of the wood left. So now, I have to look for some other material or process that leads to an attractive end result.

Thanks. He is pretty bright today, and I would say he is better! But I am no vet, so the course of medication will continue.

I was born in Trinidad, but have been living in Barbados from the time I was 8 or 9 years old, and consider myself a Bajan. And I have the documents to prove it! I did spend some time in Britain as a young man -- 18 to 24 -- when I was at college. But that was a long time ago. More recently I did a motoring tour of England with a close friend, which was great.

I've never been to Australia but would love to go. I am still in contact with a buddy who I met as a student in England, 48 years ago. He and his sweetheart went to visit Australia when they were in their early 20s, got married and never came back! Well, he returns occasionally to visit family, but Australia has been his home for all those years.

I am not a cat person. This doesn't mean I dislike cats!  I'm fine with them crawling around, sitting in my lap, etc. It's just that if I have to choose, I will choose the puppy over the kitty. Probably because as a lad, we always had dogs around the place (once, when we still lived on a large property in Trinidad, we had 16!) and never had cats. So I'm accustomed to the puppers.

Thank you for so kindly answering my questions! 🙂

I’ve never been a dog person. But I guess I am now. My 31 years old son got married last year and his wife’s family have always owned golden retrievers. She wanted one of her own, and my son was persuaded to agree. It’s been about 2.5 years now and everyone LOVES this dog, including me!! I call him my grandpup! 🦮

 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, ShowsILoveToHate said:

I call him my grandpup!

Dotcom,

Budweiser

and Molasses

are my sons.

[Notabug]

My furry kids wish everyone a Happy New Year.

My boy, Scout, on the left, is 3.  His sister Maggie, on the right, is 11.

[Netfoot]

Ok, so Christina Aguilera is singing Genie In A Bottle and I don't apologize for listening to it. As I've said before, sometimes an artist I don't particularly like will come out with a track that I do like, and I will listen to it. In fact, apart from the odd track, she released an album called Stripped which was quite good.

I was watching a movie called "Ghost" (Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze) and let the time slip away, until Mo gave a sharp, authoritative bark to summon me for Garden Patrol. 

The sky was clear and studded with stars and crowned with a moon, waxing gibbous. There was cold, ankle deep water in the garden and some got into my Crocs so I had to squelch my way through the remainder of the patrol. The air is chill, and I don't want to take the shower I need. Getting in is no problem. The solar produces water hot enough to take your skin off! It's the getting out that I'm not looking forward to. And tomorrow, Mo has to have a bath too.

So I will go have my shower, then lock up and return to bed. I've already fallen to sleep typing this and dropped the phone, not once but twice! Don't forget, dumbass got out of bed early, to go to a farmers market that was locked up tight!

ETA: brrrrr! Back in bed, door locked, Mosie snuggling up. Telephone Line by ELO playing, teeth will continue chattering while I remain slightly damp. At least I don't have to dry my hair!

@Notabug, you have cute kids. 

Aw crap! Fireworks will begin in one minute!

ETA: Made it into the yard with seconds to spare, but it was a disappointing show. We could hear the detonations of the munitions and see lights flickering "over the horizon" of the escarpment and houses, but couldn't actually see any of the actual fireworks themselves. In fact, all we saw was a single, red ball which looked like nothing other than a marine distress flare, and it didn't even come from where the fireworks were being used. Not to mention that the entire show was only about five minutes, which is much less than usual. In fact, the fireworks display we unexpectedly saw a couple weeks ago was far more spectacular and entertaining, and lasted at least twice as long.

Happy to report that Mo handled things very creditably, neither collapsing and peeing himself with fear, nor running around and barking in a frenzy. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Netfoot

[ShowsILoveToHate]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Ok, so Christina Aguilera is singing Genie In A Bottle and I don't apologies for listening to it. As I've said before, sometimes an artist I don't particularly like will come out with a track that I do like, and I will listen to it. In fact, apart from the odd track, she released an album called Stripped which was quite good.

I was watching a movie called "Ghost" (Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze) and let the time slip away, until Mo gave a sharp, authoritative bark to summon me for Garden Patrol. 

The sky was clear and studded with stars and crowned with a moon, waxing gibbous. There was cold, ankle deep water in the garden and some got into my Crocs so I had to squelch my way through the remainder of the patrol. The air is chill, and I don't want to take the shower I need. Getting in is no problem. The solar produces water hot enough to take your skin off! It's the getting out that I'm not looking forward to. And tomorrow, Mo has to have a bath too.

So I will go have my shower, then lock up and return to bed. I've already fallen to sleep typing this and dropped the phone, not once but twice! Don't forget, dumbass got out of bed early, to go to a farmers market that was locked up tight!

ETA: brrrrr! Back in bed, door locked, Mosie snuggling up. Telephone Line by ELO playing, teeth will continue chattering while I remain slightly damp. At least I don't have to dry my hair!

@Notabug

I love ELO, AND telephone Line. Memories of my high school years. 
 

I have 2 grown adults sons. 
 

But these guys are my kids too!
 

Sierra is my white daughter. Calvin is my ginger little boy. 
Snickers is my beautiful green-eyed grandkitty. 
Merlin and Arthur are my grandkitty & grandpup. ❤️🐾🐾❤️

Spoiler

 

Ignore this spoiler alert box. I hit it accidentally. Lol

[Netfoot]

Happy New Year to you all, from Molasses and myself.

Rolled over this morning to find myself lying in a cold puddle. When I checked, there was water on the bed, floor and bedside table, and all over my phone and the bedside remote. Seems it rained during the night, and a strong breeze blew a lot of it in through the window. Normally, the first sprinkle wakes me so I can reach up and close the window. Not this time. I guess I was even more tired than I thought. I seem to be tired a lot these days. Most nights, in fact. Whether I've been working hard or relaxing with movies & music. And an afternoon nap doesn't help in the least. I'd suspect Sleeping Sickness, except I don't have the other symptoms. Not all of them, anyway...

19 hours ago, ShowsILoveToHate said:

love ELO, AND telephone Line. Memories of my high school years. 

Yes, I listen to music from Way Back When. Also some more modern stuff too. The old stuff was good. It wasn't youthful willingness to accept any old crap. Proven by the fact it is still good today! The modern stuff has to really impress to be included.

19 hours ago, ShowsILoveToHate said:

Sierra is my white daughter. Calvin is my ginger little boy. 
Snickers is my beautiful green-eyed grandkitty. 
Merlin and Arthur are my grandkitty & grandpup

You have a full housrhold household! And they look grand, too. Oh, how I wish I could have more than one pup. For years, I promised Bud I would get him a puppy for his birthday. And how I regret that he never had a chance to meet Mo, and vice versa. And that Dotty and Bud never met. But of course, they were a generation apart, so that could not have been. 

And I don't know I have what it takes to handle more than one at a time. Dotty was an absolute angel, but Buddy was a rogue and a rascal, while Mo is an absolute devil! Besides, I don't know that there is enough room in my house, bed and van to accommodate them all. I think my heart could cope, just not sure about the rest of me.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Puppy has had his bath and upon completion he raced inside to dry off on the bedclothes. He is looking at me now like I am some sort of traitor! Poor baby. Doesn't realize that I got just as wet as he did, and nearly fell on my butt because there is moss/lichen in the concrete and when it gets wet it is like an ice rink.

If I had a landlord that wasn't an asshole I would suggest he rent a power-washer, but that is about as likely as him paying for anything. 

The bedside remote was not working. I dismantled it

and dried out the pieces, warmed the circuit board with the heat gun (not too hot!) And put it out in the sun. Rescued it just in time to stop it getting some more direct rainfall, and now that it has had some drying time, it is working alllmost perfectly. Prolly because of residual moisture in the switches. I also added a new foam pad to the underside of the battery compartment lid to hold the battery steady and stop it from moving around when reassembled.

When I took it apart I was surprised to find that it didn't used those types of switch which are intermingled traces on the printed circuit board with conductive rubber buttons on top. No, these are actual, mechanical push button switched soldered into the board, so the moisture can't simply be wiped off. It will have seeped down into the switch mechanism itself, which I can't take apart. So it must be dried by warming.

Once upon a time you could balance this over a light bulb or put it on the back of the TV so rising heat would dry it out over night. Nowadays, of course, light bulbs and TV sets don't generate any heat. And I give thanks to the fight against global warming every time I wake up to find my butt freezing in the night.

When I got up this morning, I found that Mo had stolen much of the sheet, and my entire rear end was catching frostbite. (That's when I rolled over and found the puddle.) Mo had also managed to tuck himself under one of my legs and alongside the other, so as to enjoy some of my body-heat. And he wears not one, but two coats!

Won't reasemble the bedside remote until later. Will hit the PCB with a blast from the heat gun every now and again to drive out any residual moisture. In the mean time I can use the remote from my desk. 

No answer yet from the guys about going to the club today...

[Netfoot]

When things go wrong, they go wrong in groups. First, the bedroom remote getting soaked. (It's working fine again now; I just hope it's soaking has not shortened it's lifespan.)

Next, the tin opener. I know many of you think of a tin opener as something that is powered by electricity, but I won't have one of those in the house. My tin opener has a butterfly on the side that you turn by hand, and it's now non-functional due to age and wear. So I am using one of an earlier age, that you stab into the top of the tin and pump up and down. If that fails, I have several military P-51 tin openers that I can use. And if they all break (unlikely) I have a few P-38s which will swing into service before I have to cut the top off the tin with my pocket knife. But these are each a little more difficult to use that the one before. So I miss my butterfly type tin opener.

And there is something else that has stopped working but I can't remember what it is. It was on the tip of my tongue...

Wet grass and cold breeze for our Garden Patrol, with a mostly clear sky. We didn't stay long. Mo did a prodigious pee and scampered back out of the damp, and I soon followed.

Mo has been on an unusual feeding plan this past few days. Breakfast & dinner instead of lunch & dinner. Because he has to take meds 12 hours apart with food. I was also told to give him something plain to eat so as not to irritate his tummy. Rice was suggested. So I have been giving him rice with a little corned beef in it, but today he wasn't too enthusiastic, and he only ate about half.

Naturally, he was hungry as we headed off to bed, so I got a little chow, poured evaporated milk over it, and stirred in a raw egg. He inhaled it like it was smoke from a Gurkha Royal Courtesan Cigar. (Never heard of them? Look it up. You won't believe it.)

Tomorrow, I will open a tin of sardines over the rice. The liquid should make the rice more appealing, and if he still chooses not to eat the rice, the fish themselves should be enough in his tummy to satisfy his not-on-an-empty-stomach tablets.

He is right here in bed with me now, listening to By The Sea by Suede. 

For some reason I think Suede was known in the USA by the name "The London Suede." Presumably there was a name-clash with another Suede? Any way, this is the one with Brett Anderson & Bernard Butler in it. 

A short while ago Mo jumped down, retrieved a plastic bag from the trash, brought it back into bed and systematically tore it to little bits. It was such a Budweiser-esque thing to do I made no effort to stop him. I will clean up the mess in the morning.

Lunch was crackers and cheddar and thinly sliced cucumber on a smear of mayo, sprinkled lightly with salt. Mo demanded his share. Dinner was a bean stew, and not much of it! I should have boiled some potatoes or pasta to go with it (think I have a bag of shells to get rid of). Must eat a proper meal tomorrow!

Nobody went to the club today, so maybe tomorrow? Anyway, beginning to yawn, so before I start dropping the phone, I will post this and douse the lights. Mo is already halfway to dreamland...

[Netfoot]

I was obviously tired last night. I typed up a whole post and forgot to post it! Only noticed a little while ago and pressed [SAVE].

Last night was miserably cold. Mo deserted me early, when he demanded I let him out at 2:30 and wouldn't come back inside. So I was without my hot water bottle until 5:30 when he finally came in again. But even then he wouldn't snuggle. I was forced to get out of bed and brew tea only an hour later. 

Don't know what to do about the cold nights. I wake up tired in the morning, feel dozy all day, and then get to enjoy another cold night. The only ways I have of heating the house are unrealistic: blowtorch, etc. Even now, mid afternoon, I feel tired. The lads aren't flying so I have nothing else to do but nap. It would be a good afternoon at the cliff, I suspect. The breeze is strong this afternoon. And cold!  

Have not seen much of Mo today. After spending most of last night outside, barking at the stars (or something), he is probably sleeping under the van. I would take him a treat but I have to reserve treats for feeding him tablets. He is on six a day for the next few more days. And I have to keep him a little hungry, because some of his meds must be taken with food so I can't have him say no when I give him his grub because then he can't get the meds.

I think I will roast a pork loin tonight. (It's tiny!) I have no idea how to go about it, so I guess I will consult google. Thinking of a sauce made from brown sugar, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and one or two other ingredients. And I can have it with the last of the potatoes, carrots and cucumbers.

Tomorrow will be a book-tent day, so I guess I will take Mo to see them and pick up some more spuds, etc, at the same time. I'm also running low on meds, so I will maybe go line up at the pharmacy as well. I made ghtbskip the spuds, actually. I tend to eat them when I've got them in the house because I don't want them to spoil. But I have lots of pasta and rice which gets ignored in favour of the spuds!

Listening to Venus As A Boy by Björk, off her debut album. Called, uh, Debut. When it's done with nwill will go outside and take a photo of Mo under the van. I.... Eeek! Is it an earthquake? 

The little trickster has been under the bed this whole time! Now, Yawning-boy has surfaced.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

In bed with a hot cuppa tea on the bedside table. While digging around in a pile off junk, found a nice mug with a handle. My handle-less mug is fine but it can be painful to bring it out of the kitchen when it's just been filled with boiling water.

Our Garden Patrol suggests another cold night, but hopefully dry. Door's locked, Diana Ross sings Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Mo is leaning against my hip and is warm and snuggly. He's on his back with four feet in the air, demanding tummy rubs. No, now he has moved to my feet. He has given a sigh, like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. 

Never did bake that pork loin. Forgot until it was too late to contemplate it. Maybe it would be better to do it for lunch?

Anyway, want to get off to sleep early so I don't feel so tired tomorrow.  Will draw a line here and skip the book.

[andidante]

19 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Next, the tin opener. I know many of you think of a tin opener as something that is powered by electricity, but I won't have one of those in the house. My tin opener has a butterfly on the side that you turn by hand, and it's now non-functional due to age and wear. So I am using one of an earlier age, that you stab into the top of the tin and pump up and down. If that fails, I have several military P-51 tin openers that I can use. And if they all break (unlikely) I have a few P-38s which will swing into service before I have to cut the top off the tin with my pocket knife. But these are each a little more difficult to use that the one before. So I miss my butterfly type tin opener.

 

 

 

 

Just curious why you don't like electric can openers? I had one a long time ago but could never get the can to stick on the thing! I now have a manual one that I like a lot better.

[Netfoot]

6 hours ago, andidante said:

Just curious why you don't like electric can openers?

A number of years ago, when everyone was battened down to shelter from a tropical storm, I got a call from some family. Their electricity had just been cut off (deliberately) by the power company. This meant that not only were they sitting in the dark (windows boarded up) but they couldn't cook any food because they couldn't open any tins and their stove was electric anyhow. That's why I don't like electric tin openers and why I cook with gas.

Besides, like you, I have never been able to get electric tin openers to work properly for me, and doubt they can be reliable. The butterfly type are not reliable because they are quick to wear out the nylon bushing, and the electric ones are only the butterfly type but with the butterfly driven by a motor. 

[b4pjoe]

They do have battery operated tin openers now. You would need have spare batteries available though.

[Netfoot]

Just put a pot of red beans & rice to cook, when I heard a crackling/crunching noise outside. I peer out to see Mo with what looks suspiciously like a spinner in his mouth, still in the clam-shell packaging!

He takes off and naturally, I give chase. Into the dark where I stand on something terrible, but I don't know what! Back inside for a torch, and that's how I find out what it was:

Crap! They don't cost much but they really aren't for chucking away, you know?

So I search the garden, and all I can find is this:

The entire clam-shell is not to be found, and neither is the actual spinner. <sigh> No doubt I will find the spinner again, after Mo has had a chance to completely distroy it.  

No biggie. They only cost $10.50. Which is really $21 to me. Plus shipping to Florida. Plus shipping to me here. 

😕

I love my puppy, but sometimes I don't know why.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I still have not cooked that pork loin. This morning, I checked my internet banking and something didn't look right. I went over to the bank and had to line up for nearly three hours before I could speak to someone to get matters sorted. 

They had charged my account for a service which I didn't expect to come due. So my balance was lower than expected. But that's not the problem. The problem is, they never told me!

I have e-mail notifications on, so all transactions on that account are reported immediately by e-mail. Every deposit, every withdrawal at an ATM, every purchase on my Debit card. As a result I always have a pretty good idea what my balance is. But apparently, they do not send a notification if they charge something against the account. Anyway, that took until one o'clock to resolve (because fwas standing in a queue from 10:10) after which I had to get something from one place and drop it off somewhere else. Afterwards, I took Mo to meet the book-tent ladies, but it was after four by time wd got there. The ladies who usually come and fuss over him were no longer there and a different batch were on duty. But they were only too happy to come make a fuss of him.

In the end I didn't do any shopping, and didn't cook the pork loin.

When turning on the lathe, you produce a lot of sawdust. Or more correctly, shavings. Periodically I swep/vacuum it up and dispose of it. But the house is full of the stuff. It's in the kitchen. It's in the bathroom. It's in the bedroom. It's in the bed! Some of it gets tracked in, stuck tomthd bottom of my shoes, of course. But that wouldn't account for the sheer quantity of the stuff! I couldn't understand it. Until I saw this:

Taken in the dark with a crappy camera, you may not be able to tell, but the pupper is lying on a layer of shavings. I think the mystery has been solved.

On Garden Patrol tonight, I carefully quartered the garden with my torch on high. No sign of the spinner (red) or the clam-shell packaging it was in.

The grass was damp and the sky was fairly cloudy, but I doubt that it will rain. However, another cold night is very possible. Last night was uncomfortably cold, although nowhere as bad as the night before.

Mo is here lying against my legs again. I will pop out in a while and finish locking up. Elton sings Elderberry Wine. It isn't terribly late, but I'm going to pop off to sleep sharpish!

[Netfoot]

So this happened...

Some would laugh. Not me. When that big chunk of wood departed, 1" over my left shoulder, it took with it hours and hours of work. It almost took my shoulder, too. That is $50-$60 I will never see. Hours I can't get back.

Well, I guess I shouldn't complain. What I'm using now is the last of the tamarind, and the reason these pieces weren't used before, was because they were clearly of low quality.

Last night was cold, and it was at it's coldest just before dawn. Thankfully, Mo agreed to come right under the sheet with me, and snuggle. He doesn't particularly like getting under the sheet. He likes to make a nest out of it and lie on top of it. But for half an hour this morning, maybe he was feeling it too? At any rate, he helped keep me warm for 30 minutes, before demanding I get up, and backing up that demand with The Paw.

Ignoring The Paw is futile, because he will keep pawing and clawing at arm, leg, shoulder, back, butt, legs... what ever he can reach, until you succumb.

He is getting harder and harder to sneak pills into. I have to use treats made from cheese, SPAM and corned beef. And there is a good chance he will notice the pill in the treat, spit it out and eat the treat without it. Then another treat has to be "loaded" and offered. This morning he spat out the same pill twice before the third treat succeeded.

Anyway, got to go cook something for lunch. Don't know what it will be, but it will be served with cucumber & cabbage because that's all I have left in the house. Dinner last night saw the last of the carrots, and yesterday's lunch saw the last of the spuds.

I think I will have to do some cabbage, cucumber and corned beef. Because corned beef combines most easily with those things. I have a tin of tuna, so that is an option, but if I use the corned beef I can make enough for two meals - lunch & dinner. 

[Netfoot]

Just hit the sack. Mo quickly joined me. Seven Nation Army is by The White Stripes is playing.

We had a quick Garden Patrol because it was very damp, my shoes were all squelchy again, and I left them outside on the way back in. There was a fairly strong breeze and it was already cold. Thank goodness Mo seems to be feeling touchy feely tonight. I fear I may require his company later, as dawn approaches.

Hecate his medicated treats without issue, but he is supposed to eat food as well. He refused his chow, so I stirred in a little corned beef. He refused that too. I cracked an egg into the dish, which worked pretty well when last I tried it, but not this time. So I had to actually scramble him some eggs, complete with diced SPAM. Which (of course) he ate right up. Thankfully, he had only one more dose of special medicine, so after tomorrow morning, he goes back to a normal feeding routine. But I think next time I buy food for him, I will not buy puppy chow. At 16+ months I think it's time he gets adult food. But we still have a fair amount of puppy chow to finish.

I cooked up corned beef with onion, cucumber, cabbage, beans and seasoning, and had half of it for lunch with a couple of fried eggs on tip. Ate the other half for dinner. Fairly basic fare but it tasted fine, with a dollop of red butter.

Laid out my meds for the next three days. Some of the meds are in short supply. I get everything free from the poly-clinic because all my meds are on the formulary. However, you can't just go and get meds when ever you like. A pharmacy isn't allowed to dispense a refill until four days (or less) before the refill is due, which would be 30 days after the last time. So I need to check my records and see when I can go for a refill. Tomorrow or Friday, I hope, because I will start to run out over the weekend, which would be a pain!

Glued up a large bowl blank, using a program I wrote a short while back. Started with pallet wood and ran it through Mr. Noisy so many times I was deaf for 40 minutes afterwards. Gotta dig out that pair of ear muffs I used to use when I shot pistol competitively. I saw them just a few days ago. (I also have high-performance ear plugs and know exactly where they are, but they can be uncomfortable after prolonged use, and are difficult to insert and remove over and over, so I won't use them unless I have to.)

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what the finished bowl looks like. Not sure I used sufficient glue, so it may fall apart on me. Which is the story of my life. I'd also like to try sandwiching a layer of coloured paper between boards to give a hairline of colour, but that would demand I switch from aliphatic glue to epoxy. And I don't actually have any epoxy, and it is quite expensive to buy. So not just yet.

Oooo! From Now On from the album "Even In The Quietest Moments..." By Supertramp! Always thought this was their best album and just love the understated sax on this track. I know many prefer "Breakfast In America" and there is no doubt that's another great album, but  "Moments..." is my personal favourite.

From what I can make out there is something unusual going on in your House. Not quite sure I understand what, and as it isn't my House, I guess it really doesn't matter to me. Besides, since certain people with nothing better to do have a tendency to suspend me if I even utter the "P-word", far less actually discuss "P", I won't ask for an explanation.

Anyway, I will end here and get stuck in to my book. Mo is using my cover sheet as a pillow, but I'm afraid I will.havecto move him when it's time to put the light out. It's already a little nippy in here!

[Netfoot]

A bad cramp in the middle of a frigid night has left me hobbling srounfy around, this morning. So, when I was in the kitchen, concealing a tablet in a ball of corned beef, the lady last thing I wanted to hear was a loud, unfamiliar crunching noise from outside. Hobbling after the puppy, there is no way I'd have caught him up, if I didn't have corned beef treats as bait!

Puppy medicated, and stolen goods retrieved. 

If he had got these packets open, they would have vanished into the grass, never to be seen again!

Edited January 5, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Added the screws to my burgeoning collection of Servo Screws, and added them to my "R/C Fasteners" box.

They should have been in there anyway, so I guess Puppy-Mo did me a favour. And I did him one -- cooked him scrambled eggs. And hand fed them to him.

That's the last of Mo's special meds. From now on its back to regular meds for that boy!

Edited January 5, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Klepto-Puppy has been on the job again!

These are the screws I use for fastening my faceplates to bowl blanks. They have a hex head so I can use a socket driver to put them in and take them out again. I used to use Phillips drive screws but the screws go in and out so often the drive slot gets chewed up real quick. Hex heads get chewed up too (sometimes by a puppy), but they stand up to the punishment much better.

[Netfoot]

Big glue-up of boards to create a bowl blank. 

The lengths of each board were computer computed by a program I wrote. It accepth accepts the diameter of the bowl and the thickness of the boards and computes how many boards are necessary to complete a suitable blank. It also tells you the length of each board. There are also some knots and other flaws inside the glue-up that I have positioned so that they will (hopefully) be eliminated when the bowl is hollowed and the bottom rounded.

Because of the size, I went with my large faceplate. Instead of four screws, the larger item will allow use of more than just four screws. This faceplate will accommodate up to sixteen screws, I only used eight.

I had to trim some corners on the band saw to get it to turn on the spindle without the corners striking the ways. Even so, there are visible flats and corners that will have to be turned away.

An improvement would be to compute which boards need to be mitered. But the program I want to write would take the length and thickness of the boards I have available, work out the biggest bowl that can be made out of those boards. Then compute the number and lengths (and miter/chamfer angles) of boards needed to make that bowl.

I also want to try building blanks out of boards angled at 45° (and other angles) or laid flat. I also want to try a gkue-up glue-up with horizontally laid boards with gaps between them. This would result in attractive (maybe?) holes through the surface of the bowl. 

If this first bowl turns out OK, it might be a good source of bowl blanks.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Stolen!

An old tee-shirt turned workshop rag. Mo ran all over the garden flagrantly waving it around his head, dating dareing me to take it away from him. I gave chase with the knowledge that I could never catch him, but 1) cardio, and 2) fun.

Recovered!

Minus the clamshell packaging and the two screws that hold the spinner cone on to the backplate, but otherwise absolutely unscathed! Not sure how this is possible, but seeing is believing. 

How many robberies is that today alone? And night yet to fall.

Dr. Alexis called to check on Mo which I was not expecting. While I was on the phone with her asduringbher assuring her that he seems to be his normal self again, Mo attacked, knocked me off my feet and began a slobber-assault. Dr A. was last heard choking back laughter.....

Uh-oh! I hear some crunching noises from out in the garage...

Oh! OK, well, he can have that, no problem.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Been having some trouble with my new bowl gouge. I think it's to do with the grind. It came to me with the "traditional" grind on it. Which looks something like this:

But I am accustomed to using a chisel with the Ellsworth grind, named after the guy who popularized it and sometimes refered to as the "fingernail" grind. Which looks like this:

Notice the pronounced sweep-back of the sides, which gives more of a protruding tip and longer cutting edges in each of the two wings.

I have been gradually regrinding the chisel a little bit each time I sharpen it, to slowly change to the Ellsworth tip.  But may have to bite the bullet and simply go through the process of taking the time to regrinding the entire tip, then going forward from there.

Klepto-pup is lying here beside me. He's actually curled up and leaning against my back, between my shoulder blades. He was not happy with his dinner and demanded a share of my crackers and cheese. But from tomorrow, things will be back to normal, as far as his meal plan goes. And there will be none of the deluxe meals he has been getting to ensure he eats. If he won't eat his chow at lunchtime, he will see it again come dinnertime.

Go Down Gamblin'  by BS&T is playing, Mo has just rushed out to bark at something, and when he comes back in I will go lock up. 

I checked the date of my last prescription refill and I could have gone any day this week, but I forgot to check until quite late, so I will go in the morning. I could probably make it until next week, but the meds start to run out from Monday. And I don't like to wait until the last minute to renew. What if there was a huge thunderstorm Monday, and I couldn't make it to the poly-clinic? Or it was closed due to the inclemency of the weather? I would then be out of meds from Tuesday morning. So I will go tomorrow and hope I do not have to stand in line for long. (I must say I've experienced fairly rapid service so far!) And I'd better pick up a few groceries as well, because Mother Hubbard's cupboard looks well stocked in comparison to mine!

My book is waiting and Mo has not returned. I suspect he is lying on the top step or out in front of the van. It's dry, (but a cold breeze greeted us on Garden Patrol, and is in the window now). I will summon him to bed and read a while, before closing down. Oh, here he is now! OK, going to lock up now!

[Netfoot]

Got a full payload at the pharmacy and didn't spend more than 20 minutes in the place. Then, I put $20 in the tank, just in case I decide to try Brighton tomorrow. 

Supermarket with a budget of sixty bucks. Needed onions, cucumbers, carrots and milk. Got all of those, and also potatoes, pak choy and cheese. But bestvof best of all, I spotted tins of lentils on sale for only 99¢! I like lentils. Usually in soup but also in rice. So I spent five bucks on lentils. All told, I busted my budget by a whole 7¢.

Tried some rice with lentils, carrot and pak choy with a little corned beef. Seasoned with garlic and cayenne. 

I am almost satisfied with my newly ground bowl gouge. Here it is, next to the new, large bowl I am turning.

I have sanded the outside just a little, and applied a little beeswax. Much more work required on this, including hollowing, which I have only done a little of, around the edge of the big faceplate. It remains to be seen if the new grind in the chisel will make hollowing easy, or destroy the bowl!

Dr. Kristi has just acquired a new puppy. 

And speaking of puppies, I just popped out to check something and whaddya think I saw?

Edited January 7, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Why do you have to press SAVE multiple times before the post gets saved? I am sick of creating (or editing) a post, pressing SAVE, and hours later when I check my phone, it still hasn't saved! I've been saying for a while, the mobile editor it utter crap!

Listening to Hello by Lionel Richie and the Commodores. Door is locked, puppy was here a moment ago but has departed about his own business, I am in bed, and I think I will go be a customer at Brighton tomorrow. Providing the WX doesn't look horrible. And I can get the car out without a running battle with baby Mo. Not going to check my book tonight, because although I am not getting up at quite the early hour of a vendor, it's pretty early still. And this afternoon, I was falling asleep at my desk, and the time was only 5:55 PM!

After a tasty lentil rice, I made frybread (or flatbread) which I ate with onion, pak choy, corned beef and tomato sauce. Do right now, I feel quite bloated with carbs. (There is no actual sensation of bloat. It's just a saying.) So I think I will have a carb-free or at least low-carb day tomorrow. 

Puppy has not come back yet. I will encourage him by turning off the light in the living room. (The remote is working fine, despite it's recent soaking.) If I don't see him. I will then turn out the light in the passage. After that, I will turn out this light right here, and see how much sleep I can get before the alarm.

This morning I let Mo out at 5:30 and went back to bed. But around 6:00 The Paw started clawing at me and by 6:30 I gave up and got out of bed. I think one of the reasons I am always so tired is that Mo won't let me sleep in, on a morning. I could lock him out of the bedroom, but I like it when he comes and snuggles. Unfortunately, you never know when the snuggling will become scratching and digging and shrill barks in the ear. And why? I don't know. Because he never wants me to do anything in particular. It just displeases him to see me sleeping, I guess.

[Netfoot]

Back from Brighton. Surprising how few faces I saw that I knew. Had a good time anyway, chatting in particular with a woman who makes items out of Paracord and a man who makes bowls. 

Ckeck out some of the Paracord items: 

You should zoom in and see some of the work up close. Remember when I used to make collars for itty-bitty Mo? This woman puts me to shame! She goes way beyond the simple Solomon braid I was using on Mo's collars! And she makes some leashes that are pretty substantial, too!

She was complaining that the one knot she couldn't get the hang of was the Matthew Walker, and when I spoke to her about it, she was using a technique that I find confusing myself! But I like the Matthew Walker knot and fortunately there are multiple ways to tie it. I showed her a simpler way that I use and she was pleased, saying she would go home and try that technique to see if she could find success!

Here are some smaller collars, keyrings, etc, that were on display:

[Netfoot]

Have a look at the hand-fashioned bowls I saw at Brighton this morning:

These are Bajan mahogany, from drops or storm-felled trees. I had a good chat with the bowl maker, who does not turn them on a lathe. They are hollowed with various tools, shaped into organic shapes, sanded, and finished with food-safe finishes. Some of the pieces are large! Maybe 24x 24" across! They sell for up to $650, and maybe there were some selling for more (I didn't check each piece).

Have a look at these other pieces. Two are made from the Saman tree.

The two large pieces on the right with distinctively different grain are Saman.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Last night was not cold in comparison to other nights recently. I woke several times and did not find things uncomfortable. Here is hoping tonight is the same. Our Garden Patrol suggests the night will be cool, but not excessively so. 

Question: Do you think someone would buy this?

It is the bowl I last turned from tamarind which split almost completely in half. It was still sitting on the chuck this morning so I put it back on the spindle and gave it a spin. It was unbalanced (of course) and I had to stand on the leg of the lathe to keep wobble/vibration in check, but I was able to clean up the inside quite a bit. Not easy with half the bowl missing! 

Sanding was also a challenge, and when it came to finish, I had to abandon the idea of a beeswax friction-finish and settle for boiled linseed oil. Will refinish it agaun timirrowThe missing side goes all the way down, almost to the bottom of the bowl.  Still, you could probably use it to display things on the mantle piece or side board.

Cat Stevens is singing Father & Son as Mo alternates between giving me kisses and looking out the window. Poor boy has to have medicated bath #5 of 8 tomorrow. Poor daddy has to bathe him. Now, he is trying to eat the bed.

I am going to go lock up the house and see if I can get to sleep early. Think I will take my blood sugar in the morning. Prolly gonna be high, seeing as I had potatoes for dinner.

[Browncoat]

I believe someone would buy it as an art piece.  The wood is beautiful.

[Spunkygal]

It is beautiful wood but could it be further sanded to more of a tray-shape?

[Netfoot]

58 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

It is beautiful wood but could it be further sanded to more of a tray-shape?

You mean by shortening the sides?

Just gave Mo his bath. He didn't like it. I didn't like it much either. I went out into the yard, positioned the bottle of medicated soap, a bucket, and an old stool, then laid out a towel for the boy. Then I attached the garden hose to the pipe and positioned it where I could operate it from the stool. All this in warm sunshine.

Mo new what was happening. He watched me making all the preparations, and as they drew to a close, he departed! But he didn't hide. When I called him he came. He wouldn't walk to his own "doom" but when I picked him up, he didn't struggle, and  so we went to the stool.

The weather picked that moment to obscure the warm sunshine with clouds and sprinkle a fine drizzle on us. Of course.

When I sat on the stool he climbed up so his front end was in my lap. I soaked him down with lots of gentle talk, soaped and lathered him thoroughly, and then engaged him in conversation for a while. The lather has to stay on him for 10-15 minutes. 

When the time was up I hosed him down gently and wrapped him in his towel. He didn't want to come out of it, and I don't blame him. I wished someone was there to wrap me in a dry towel! Several times I removed the towel to let him run and shake himself but he kept burrowing under the towel again. Finally I got up off the stool and in to the garage where I wrapped him in the towel again on the top of the steps, and left him to his own devices. I went back out to put away the hose, and retrieve the bucket and stool. The latter. by the way is about to collapse completely. I could feel it going as I sat upon it.

It's a stool I made years ago, from form ply. It worked well until I stupidly left it sitting in a puddle in the shower, when I went away for 4-5 days. Form ply id fairly water resistant, but that was a bit too much for it. The bottom of the feet began to delaminate, and the stool's days were numbered. That number is now very small. If I had a bit of form ply to use, I would build a replacement. However, form ply has increased from $56 to $116, so that might have to wait.

Also, I am feeling a bit under the weather. After a reasonably comfortable night, mo woke me early to have the door opened, but I went back to bed. But at six, he deployed The Paw to get me up, and by half past, I couldn't take it any more, and was up. No,this isn't why I am feeling off-colour. It started last night, really.

Here is that old stool I told you about:

Don't think I will be getting to sit on it many more times...

This leg in particular looks like it's just waiting for me to try it one more time!

Edited January 8, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

This is Austin's new... Well, I don't know what to call it because it has the fuselage of a Laser, the wing of an Extra and the cowl of a Zlin. (I suggested Frankenplane...)

Today was it's first appearance at the strip, so click the links to see it making it's maiden flight!

More later this evening.

[Netfoot]

Now, if you watched the two videos of Frankenplane's maiden flight, you might be wondering why I said "Thank goodness" at the end of one of them. (If you have not watched, go watch at least the first one now!)

When a model goes down, and assuming you are close enough to hear it, the sound of the crash can tell you a lot.

If you hear a solid thump, it's probably gone down in dirt, and you will have broken the prop, probably snapped the nylon wing bolts (which are made of nylon precisely because you want them to snap rather than break the wing) and done some money nor damage to the airframe. Obviously, the loudness of the thump will indicate the severety or degree of damage.

A sharp snap means you've broken the fuzz (or the wing, or both) in half.

A crackling sound is the sound of multiple components breaking, like the wing disintegrating or the fuzz being turned into matchwood.

But this afternoon, we heard a swish, which most often means she's landed in tall grass or leaves, and you can expect minimal damage, if any.

So my "Thank goodness!" meant "You've been very lucky, you olde farte, and will probably be able to pick it up with one hand, instead of needing a dustpan and broom!" And of course, I was right! Here she is on her way back from the crash site, without a single mark on her!

Thereafter followed a discussion of possible explanations as to what happened. 

Earlier in the day we had been discussing a crash by Kev, who had managed to make the completely novice mistake of having his ailerons reversed. (Move the stick to roll right, the plane rolls left. And vice versa.) But then during a range test of the Frankenplane with engine running, the servos were extremely jittery. This was eventually tracked down to a lose sparkplug lead. It was properly attached, range test passed, and the maiden flight begun. So the general consensus was that the plug lead had worked loose again, the servo jitter had returned, and control lost, causing the crash.

More in jest than anything else, I said "You haven't done a Kevin and reversed the aileron servos, have you?" Wuh, who tell muh say dat? The reversed ailerons were rectified and a second maiden* was flown, with the aircraft performing exactly as expected. Now Aussie must decide if to resign from the club or tolerate the unmerciful ribbing that will be his if he sticks around! (It's already started.)

*Aircraft, like a few girls I knew when I was a teenager, can be virgins more than once.

Anyway Mo was thrilled to have an afternoon the fresh air, and to have Aussie, Rudy, Kevin, Ginger, Katie and Ian to play with. And I felt much better myself, if after being sicky-sicky this morning. 

Mo and I did our Garden Patrol without incident. The night was dry and cool, but since we've come back in, we've had a short but heavy shower of rain. Mo is dead to the world right now. I will pop out and lock up the house in a sec, but I will let Three Dog Night finish Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues) first.

(Do you know the origin of the band's name?)

[Spunkygal]

Regarding making the broken bowl into a tray, yes, by shortening the sides. Although the wood is beautiful, it looks like a broken bowl and I am doubtful if would sell as is. 
 

How did Three Dog Night get its name? 

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Regarding making the broken bowl into a tray, yes, by shortening the sides. Although the wood is beautiful, it looks like a broken bowl and I am doubtful if would sell as is. 

I've been giving that some thought, and I've decided to try it as is. If I get no interest shown, I will bring it back home, chuck it up and lower the rim to more of a tray as you suggest. 

Quote

How did Three Dog Night get its name?

Not really how they got the name but where it comes from and what it means:

Apparently, in Oz, indigenous tribesmen will as they reach maturity, go "walk-about" where they roam widely, living off the land, and sleeping rough, sometimes for months on end. When it is time to bed down for the night, they dig a hole, which they sleep in. The hole shelters them from any wind, and to keep warm they will throw in a dingo - the local wild dog. (My very own keep-warm "dingo" is called Molasses.) If the night is very cold, they will throw in two dingos. But very occasionally, you get a Three Dog Night...

[Netfoot]

I'm looking for a volunteer.

I need someone to call an 800 number, ask a question, jot down the answer, and send me the info.

I could call them myself, but their 800 number is not international, and I would end up paying $$$ per minute to get a simple piece of information.

[Netfoot]

Diameter 9", depth 3⅞“.

It's almost finished sanding, after which I will finish it with beeswax. The outside is already sanded and finished, but when I've finished sanding the inside I will finish the inside and rim.

This is probably the biggest bowl I've ever turned. And just about as big as my lathe will handle. Technically, it will turn a 10" bowl, but the blank would have to be perfectly circular and any smoothing and sanding would reduce the diameter.

This 9" piece really strains the lathe. Cutting greater distances from the center-line slows the lathe and the motor gets very hot. It's only half a horsepower, which is only a quarter of what a decent sized lathe would have.....

Edited January 10, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Done!

Not exactly displeased...

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Diameter 9", depth 3⅞“.

Correction: 9" x 2⅞"!

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Netfoot

[Lamb18]

20 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Diameter 9", depth 3⅞“.

It's almost finished sanding, after which I will finish it with beeswax. The outside is already sanded and finished, but when I've finished sanding the inside I will finish the inside and rim.

This is probably the biggest bowl I've ever turned. And just about as big as my lathe will handle. Technically, it will turn a 10" bowl, but the blank would have to be perfectly circular and any smoothing and sanding would reduce the diameter.

This 9" piece really strains the lathe. Cutting greater distances from the center-line slows the lathe and the motor gets very hot. It's only half a horsepower, which is only a quarter of what a decent sized lathe would have.....

Your bowl reminds me of a zebra. It's really cool!

[Netfoot]

Rock 'n' Roll Lullabye by 10cc serenades me, and Mo who has decided to sleep on the floor next to the bed. I think he will jump in before too much longer, but who knows?

Very pleased to get the "big" nine inch bowl shaped, sanded and finished without it flying into pieces or injuring me. Of course, nine inches is not large. I'd like a lathe that will swing sixteen! Or even larger, off-axis!

Mo baby is hungry. He won't eat his chow, because he has been getting deluxe grub for a couple weeks while he was on strict meds/diet regimen. So now, he comes every half an hour to tell me he is hungry and I take him to his feeding station and show him a full bowl of chow. I am hugely tempted to give him some sweet food to eat rather than him be hungry, but he has to get back in the habit of eating normal chow, with sweet grub an occasional treat rather than a daily expectation. 

Got to run Mr. Noisy tomorrow. Got a pile of small wood boards to surface so I can glue up more bowl blanks. These came from a beautiful set of pallets, and I think they are actually cedar! Certainly, if the smell is anything to go by. I must remember to use my ear-muffs. If they can manage the muzzle blast from a .357 mag., they should be able to handle Mr. Noisy! But caution: gluing cedar can be tricky to glurle glue due to oil duevtomoil content. But I have acetone to clean surfaces before gluing. Just gotta remember to use it. 

Puppy has decided to join me, so I will end here and put the lights out. It looks like tonight will be the same as last night: cold but not uncomfortably so.

So good night all, and I will let Janis serenade me into slumber.

ETA: Just found this, created last night but not posted until now. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

 Last night turned out to be uncomfortably cold after all, especially in the hours as dawn approached. Had to get up and brew hot tea to drink, once Mo insisted it was time to roll out of bed. 

He has developed a bad habit of doing a little dance when he finally persuades me to get up. He jumps up and down, spinning around oneceay and then the other. When he is facing the right way, he scratched at me with his claws and butts me with his head. I usually end up with a sore nose or lip from a head-butt and scratches on my back or arms from his claws.

Started this piece on the lathe:

I was not sure if it would fall apart but fonfsr so far it's holding together quite well. So far only shaped the outside and started hollowing a little around the faceplate. Before I can go much further I will have to sand the base and switch to the chuck.

Stopped that and started preparing dome some boards by running them through the planer. Went for the ear-muffs but of course they were not where they have been for years. Can't blame Mo because they were somewhere he could never reach.

So I planed the six small boards over and over again until I had both sides flat and paralell parallel. It took about an hour ktiny bitvat actimel a tiny bit at a time and I went completely deaf in the process. Trouble is, I have maybe ten more pieces to plane, but I'm not ready to face Mr. Nasty again so soon.

And I'm still feeling under the weather, so I don't actually want to do anything at all!l

Edited January 11, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Maybe I can type this in and actually post it!

Mo and I are in bed, but each time I try to go lock the door, Mo beats me to it and rushes out again. I have to abandon the idea until he comes back in and decides to stay. 

Still feeling pretty bad, and I have aches and pains all over. I might take two Panadol if I remember to grab them when next I attempt to lock up.

Uneventful day, so little to report. I couldn't even bring myself to prepare a meal for dinner. Not that there is much that is easy to prepare. No crackers to put cheese or peanut butter on, etc. I have one remaining egg but that would hardly touch the spot. So I took thin slices of cucumber, sprinkled lightly with salt and added a small piece of cheese.  Effectively using the cucumber slices as crackers. Not exactly a memorable meal, but it did fill up a little of the hole.

Mo is sort I'd dozing against my tummy now, so I will try to shut the door, take the Panadol and call it quits... Uh-oh! He just perked up. Well, I will still try to lock up and get to sleep.

[Netfoot]

I took one of these:

And made these:

The pallet was sourced from a company that makes foodstuff and I checked - it was heat treated instead of chemically treated.

Once dismantled, I cut the boards to leave out the nail holes and ran them through the planer many times, shaving off a hair at a time until both sides were flat and parallel. 

Running my StripedBowl program for a 9½" 9⅝" bowl made from ⅝" thick boards, I got a list of 16 17 boards at various lengths which would make up a suitable blank. These lengths were cut from the available pieces, shown here lightly clamped to hold them in shape.

Now, I have to glue the boards together so as to make a solid block that can be put on the lathe. That will take a while because I can't simply do them all at once. They will have to be glued 2-3 boards at a time and the joint allowed to set up, before the smaller pieces can be built up into bigger and bigger pieces until the blank is complete.

Now, I want to point out that this will be used to create a completely apolitical bowl, no matter what it's origin!

🤣

Edited January 11, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

There is an old adage about woodworkers: The guy with the most clamps, wins!

Here you can see a selection of my clamps being used to hold four of the smaller boards together while the glue sets up. 

And here are the four boards from the other side of the blank:

For these I am using gravity clamps. These work very well but you have to make sure the pieces don't slide sideways, using the slippery glue as a lubricant!

The remaining boards are almost the same length and can be more easily glued up in two blocks of 4 & 5 pieces respectively. 

After a couple of hours, the four parts can then be glued together and left overnight to properly cure, before a faceplate can be attached and turning begun. 

Meanwhile, I want to run an experiment on the scraps.

But first, lunch!