Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Spunkygal]

Netfoot, I love watching the process!

[Netfoot]

Since I've Been Loving You is without a doubt my favourite track from Led Zeppelin. And given the huge amount of fantastic tracks that they produced in their heyday, that is saying something! It may be a little different, but maybe that's why I like it so much. 

Mo and I are in bed, having just come in from a Garden Patrol over dry grass and comparitavely balmy. No sooner were we back under cover than a huge torrent of rain smashed down on the house, making so much noise on the metal roof I had to turn the volume up. 

I am feeling very much better than I did this morning, and for the past several days. It may be because I ate two solid meals today. Let's hope the bad-feels do not return any time soon!

Lunch was potatoes & carrots with cucumber, pak choy and the usual bully beef. Nicely seasoned and served with a bit of red butter on top, it went down a treat.

Later I retired to bed because that's where Mo was and he looked like he needed a cuddle. And I took a glass of cold Milo with me. Mo became very interested in the Milo but obviously I couldn't give him any. He had to settle for several ice cubes out of the top of the glass as the level of the Milo went down. I am not allowed chocolate (or coca-cola) but the occasional glass of Milo or Nesquik or the rare Coke over ice will just have to go ahead and kill me if it insists. I even eat a few chocolates at Christmas time, so there! (And I do mean a few, not a few pounds.)

Dinner was macaroni. I set it to boil and also boiled some more bully beef in a small saucepan to make a watery bully stew. A dollop of this went over Mo's chow which he was not showing any interest in eating. 30 seconds later his bowl was empty! Once that was out I sprinkled some flour into the pan and let it boil while I opened a bag of curry powder. (I keep a large salt shaker of flour in the freezer. Very handy.) Added some diced cucumber to the curried bully beef stew, along with a couple ladles of the starchy water from the macaroni pot.  This plus the flour thickened the curry gravy right up. But the taste of curry was only a whisper and it had no heat. (Cheap curry.) So I added the same amount of curry again, plus a generous shake of red pepper flakes. This have me a fairly tasty, curry gravy half of which which I ladeled over the macaroni. It tasted good but the curry gravy could have been a little thicker. Tomorrow I will have the remainder over some lentil rice, but I think I will thicken it a bit more first. And maybe I will cook the rice with pak choy and put the lentils in the curry. 

Bowl blank glued up and curing over night. Tomorrow, I will trim it round in the bandsaw and put it on a faceplate. I hope it holds together on the lathe. I had planned to wipe down the wood with acetone before gluing, but forgot until the block was completely glued up. I think I will stand well away from the plane of rotation and run the spindle speed up to see if she flies apart or not! I hope not, because I spent quite a bit of time putting the blank together and would hate all that effort to be for naught. 

If this works, I will have to spend a day dismantling pallets and milling the resulting lumber flat and parallel. Then I would be able to turn bowls during the day and glue up blanks at night 

Hmmm. Why parallel? If the two sides of the boards were not, but tapering to give wedges, I could alternate the wedges up/down, to give a different look to the stripes. From the side they would be like /\/\/\/\ and from the top the stripes would be alternating thick/thin. Or maybe |/|\|/|\|/| instead? Also want to try alternating wood species to give alternate colours as well. More thought needed.

Meanwhile, trying to find an easy way to compute board glue-ups for bowl blanks, I consulted ChatGPT, the online AI that I have been looking at recently. If you have not played with this beast, you really need to give it a try. It is willing to talk to you on virtually any subject you can think of, and will write songs, compose poetry, code up some software and a whole lot more. Let me try something:

Netfoot: Please generate a limerick about the TV show "The Amazing Race."

ChatGPT:
   There once was a show called "The Race"
   With challenges from every place
   Teams would travel with haste
   To be first in the race
   And win cash and fame with grace.

Netfoot: Now do one about puppies.

ChatGPT:
   With wagging tails and playful bark
   Puppies bring such joy, it's a lark
   They're small and fluffy and cute
   And playing with them is a hoot
   A house is not a home without one, as a matter of fact.

Netfoot: Can you make that a haiku?

ChatGPT:
   Puppies bring joy so true
   Tails wagging, always playful
   Home feels complete, too.

Give it a try and report back on your thoughts!

Any way, I asked it some questions about stacking boards to make a circle and it made a mathematical error! It was trying to convince me that I would need to stack enough boards to make a rectangle 15.71" wide in order to cut a 10" circle - obviously incorrect. It was using the circumference rather than the diameter! And when I pointed out it's error, it apologized!

But don't let that put you off. It may not be the greatest mathematician (or poet) but it is still pretty remarkable. 

Mo has wondered off. I will have to go out and close the door anyway, so I will invite him to rejoin me at that time. Then I will read my book for a while, then crash. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

5 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I love watching the process!

What? Producing a blank and turning a bowl? It's an interesting thing to do. Assuming it goes to plan. 

Taking a block of wood and turning it into a bowl is a very satisfying process. I've seen people trying the lathe for the first time given a short cylinder of wood just turn and turn until nothing is left. The process of shaving the wood away is relaxing. Producing something useful and/or attractive is also gratifying.

But I keep getting ideas for creating blanks by gluing up smaller pieces. This has several advantages it let's you start with smaller pieces of wood but create larger blanks and therefore larger bowls. It can lead to an attractive design simply from the arrangement of pieces in the glue up. 

I've mentioned segmented turning before - that would be the ultimate bowl blank glue up. And I will get there eventually...

[Netfoot]

After another arctic night where I kept waking up to find my butt freezing and Mo sleeping on most of my cover sheet...

I went out and trimmed my now-cured bowl blank glue-up on the bandy and attached the faceplate. 

Turning this true and removing any blemishes that showed up as material was turned away, I ended up with this shape:

Rather than add my characteristic two lines on the bottom, I cut them prominently on the side. Then I got out a burning wire I made up a while back and using the friction of the spinning piece, blackened the lines with char. This bowl could turn out to be quite attractive!

Unfortunately, there are issues. First, this wood (I think it is some variety of cedar) turns out to be awful to turn. It splinters, grabs, tears out and generally does not cooperate with the chisel. Secondly, you may recall I forgot to wipe down the boards with acetone? This is recommended when gluing cedar, to help with the fact that the wood is of an oily variety. Well, there are issues with the glue lines. They don't appear as solid as I'd like. Nothing that leaves me to believe the bowl will fall apart... but it might not hold water. Yes. "If it won't... It's art" but that only works if there is a nice, natural hole in the bowl to explain it. A bad glue-up doesn't give us art. Just a bad bowl. Anyway, I will test it out when the job is done and report back what happens.

Dr. Kristi reports she is busy and needs a rest. I'm not surprised. I have not actually seen her since just before Christmas and she looked happy and rested then, but who wouldn't look happy with Quality Street chocs at Christmas time?

Anyway, time to think about some grub. I have that curry gravy so I am still thinking rice.....

[Netfoot]

I broke my lathe. Well, it would be more accurate to say it broke, because I don't think I promoted the issue.

These are locking levers. The lathe uses two of them. The longer one on the tailstock to lock the quill and the shorter on the banjo to lock the tool rest. Apart from length of the bolt, the two are otherwise identical.

The tool rest lever failed. The handle turns but the bolt does not turn. This is because handle & bolt are normally tied together with splines. Pull the handle out against a spring, the splines disengage and the handle can be repositioned without moving the bolt. Release the handle and the spring pulls it back, reengaging the splines and allowing the bolt to be adjusted as needed.

Here is one dismantled. The splines on the bolt can be seen on the right hand end of the bolt. Normally, the splines in the handle would not be visible because they would be up inside the handle. But this photo does show the handle splines. The little pile if grey dust between bolt & handle are in fact, all that remains of the handle splines. 

Since the tailstock quill is adjusted far less frequently, I swapped handles. This worked for two days but as of today, both handles are worn beyond use.

As the lathe is unusable if tool rest and tail stock quill can't be locked, I had to go and get two ordinary, hex  bolts to do the job. The will work but a spanner will be needed to make each adjustment. This has the potential to become a huge PITA!

The bolts were listed at 31¢ each, tax inclusive. By using my discount card, I got two of them for only 66¢. I know, but I just couldn't be bothered.

Mo came into the kitchen to watch me cook lunch. (Pak choy rice and curried lentils with a little bully.) As I set the rice to boiling, a mouse shot out from under one cupboard, across the floor and under a different cupboard. Mo perked up to see the mouse, but he was gone so fast there was not much Mo could do. Before the meal was ready, Mr. Mick ran back across, and Mo made a bound to catch him but the mouse was too fast. I said to Mo, "Your Unka Buddy would have put an end to him in quick time!"

A little while ago, I went into the kitchen to brew a cup of tea. There, in the middle of the kitchen floor, lay the corpse of Mr. Mick! My little baby is following in Buddy's footsteps!

Some of the curied lentils remain. I've had curry with pasta & curry with rice, so I guess I'm having curry with potatoes for dinner tonight?

Edited January 12, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

You may remember this bowl, that I have been working on for several days. 

Hollowing continued today and was well under way. The splintery nature of the wood didn't make the job easy. 

But then, a catch:

This crack not only destroyed the top 1½" of the bowl, but the catch that caused it knocked the whole bowl out of true in the lathe. I tried to recenter it, but I just couldn't get it back true, even by re-turning the entire bowl. Er, dish. Seeing as that is all it was by time I removed most of the rim.

Besides that, the glue-up have proven to be less than perfect. 

That is a piece of paper slipped inside one if the glue joints. Obviously not tight!

😡

I have abandoned this piece.

And unfortunately, all the pallets I have are constructed of the same troublesome wood.

Edited January 13, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Just back from Garden Patrol, and buttoned up for the night. It was dry and the temperature mild, but that means little. Last night was mild when we went out, but in the wee hours it was perishing cold! I hope tonight is not more of the same, but I saw a met guy on the box saying that a cold front was coming down from the north and we could expect the chill temperature to be at it's worst late in the weekend or even Monday.

Marilyn Manson is belting out Disassociative and puppy is dozing next to my feet. Too tired to read; had cereal for dinner with a cup of tea (Grape Nuts are the only brand of cereal worth eating) and skipping my late night shower tonight. Unless I change my mind later, I which case I will get up at what ever hours and take it then.

Been cutting and planing boards from a different type of pallet in the hope of getting another bowl blank together. Would like to .mskecmore make more pieces, but have no blanks! And I'm feeling to make more biggish bowls!

Keep falling asleep so I will post this and delay no more. Not superstitious but more than one project went sideways today. So let's bring it to a close.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Had a semi-change of heart. Resurrected this bowl, seeped some glue into the bad joints and put it back on the lathe. The bottom needed a bit more hollowing, and I gave it a rough sanding before applying beeswax and buffing it in with the lathe at high speed.

It's pretty rough, and I won't attempt to sell it, but I can use it myself. I can put peppermints in it for potential customers to help themselves, and I can find a use or two for it around the house.

It's a pity. I think it would have made a pretty bowl, if it hadn't been broken. Even with the rim cut right down, it still looks kinda pretty.

[Netfoot]

Just knocked out a bowl, one of the last pieces of tamarind. There is one more piece, but it has a severe set of cracks. I will see if I can make anything with it and hope it doesn't gky fly apart and hurt me!

Anyway, here is today's bowl:

There is a large piece of wain / bark on one corner of the base. I turned the inside as big as I dared without breaking out through the side. You can clearly see the different colour of the wood on the inside as it gets close to the bark from within.

One more piece closer to another trip to the market. Could use a few sales. Went to the store this PM and only got a few things. Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers... There was no pak choy and the plantains looked sorry for themselves. Got some milk & sugar for my tea, some more cans of lentils and also Matouk's red beans. What else? Oh yes, some red butter.

Last night wasn't that bad, temperature wise. It was only uncomfortable right before sunrise, and for once The Puppy With The Paw left me alone, so I didn't rise until the "Breakfast Meds" alarm went off, and then I checked my blood sugar (low side of normal), fixed Mo his morning cheese treat, and brewed myself a cup, with the last of the sugar. That's what prompted my shopping trip.

It's time for Mo to get his evening treat, so I'd better be about it!

Edited January 15, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

<sigh>

My last piece of lathe-sized tamarind. 

I asked chatGPT (https://chat.openai.com). Given it's size and speed of rotation, the missing piece flew off at approximately 42.40 MPH. Fortunately, it flew away in the opposite direction. I was wearing my face shield but it must weigh several ounces and if it had impacted me somewhere other than my face, it would still have made a big ouchie. I got a strike on the back of my left hand weeks and weeks ago and it is still healing now.

Mo got lucky. Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. It's time for his medicated bath (#6 of 8) but the weather is not clement. It was sunny earlier and I nearly began the process but schugd black cloud approached so I held off. Good thing because it's been on & off downpours ever since. Yes, he had to get wet anyhow, but the suds are supposed to stay on his skin for 10-15 minutes before being rinsed away. A deluge from the sky doesn't make that doable. If he was a sensible doggie, we would do this in the comfort of the shower, with warm water instead of cold. But Mo is sweet, not sensible.

Anyway, we will just have to wait until conditions dry out. He doesn't have to be bathed at any specific time, just weekly. I prefer mud morning because the sun keeps him warm despite his being wet. But there is no sun right now anyway and because of the rain, it has to be later. I dare say some time tomorrow would be fine as well!

[Netfoot]

There came a bit of sunshine but I suddenly remembered the collapsing feet on my little stool!

Luckily I have a saw, and some little scraps of crappy plywood. 

Attached with three screws each leg and not sanded or finished in any way, this should get me through three more Sundays. The old, collapsing feet are on top of the stool. I intend to build myself a new stool (two, actually) but I will follow the general design of the folding table. When ever I get a day to work on things that I need...

I butt tested the new legs and even wriggling around, there was no complaints, not even a creak!

Here is a boy looking apprehensive. Probably had an idea of what's coming. 

Covered in sawdust. He insisted on sleeping under the lathe last night. And although it wasn't perishing cold or anything, he was still sorely missed in the wee hours.

Ok, no point delaying any longer...

[Netfoot]

Just cut a large block of purpleheart on the saw, to give four slabs about ¼“ thick, plus a smaller block than what I started with.

The slabs are actually thicker than ¼" but after planing planeing, hopefully...

From these slabs I am hoping to fashion one, maybe two curio boxes. Not sure how to lay them out. But see later.

The larger block, I want to cut in four lenghways lengthways. This would give four 2x2x10" pieces. I think I could turn these into spindles that sat upon larger, round bases. The bases could be cut from one of these purpleheart boards:

These items could be made as candlesticks, or bud vases. Not sure which might be more saleable. 

As I said, they are 10" tall and I could probably add ½“ in height when I add the base. But I could cut them shorter. For instance, I could make two candlesticks (or bud vases) from each piece, by cutting them down to 4" & 6". Or 4½" & 5½". This would give me four sets of two, rather than two sets of two but taller. Shorter. Which ever it is. 

Also, parts of these boards could be cut down to give more material for the construction of the curio boxes mentioned above.

Interested in any thoughts or comments you may have.

Mo has had his bath. Of course, he wouldn't come with me. He lay there like a sack of lard, forcing me to carry him to his doom. I soaked him down and lathered him up and spent 10 minutes discussing girls with him, occasionally spritzing him with the hose so he wouldn't dry out. Then he got a complete hose off to rinse the remaining suds away, before I released him from the lead.

He immediately gave a huge flap-a-tap, absolutely drenching my front with water. And when I was spitting out some of it, he walked around behind me and flap-a-tap! My back was drenched as well! I could hardly get mad, could I? It was so comical. 

By time I got tgexwater the water out my eyes, he was standing next to his towel, which was hanging on the fence behind me. He hates bathing, but he loves getting toweled off afterwards! 

After the towel he began running up and down in the sun, and was completely dry in no time. Now he looks clean and fresh and smells of... soap, instead of puppy. Oh well. You can't have everything...

I'm sorry there are no photos for me to show, but that entire event is so water-filled I refuse to take my crappy phone anywhere near it!

Now, I have to go cook something for lunch. Because to my surprise, the "Lunchtime Meds" alarm has just gone off, which means it's 2:00PM and here I was, thinking it was about 11:30.

Edited January 15, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Got a new bowl blank on the lathe. This glue-up took several days to get ready but was finally finished last night and left overnight for the adhesive to cure. 

Here is the blank:

The blank started with 21 or 22 boards. Using the big faceplate and eight screws, I was able to shape it as follows:

I am going with a recessed tenon for the chuck, when it comes time to reverse and finish hollowing. The tenon does not touch the table when the bowl is stood on its base.  The bowl sits on its rim. 

Speaking of hollowing. The faceplate is the most secure way to hold a blank on the lathe. Therefore, I like to do as much hollowing on the faceplate as I can. I don't know if other turners do this, but I like to get as much of the center hollowed while securely on the faceplate. Best if only the minimum remains to be done on the chuck; less chance of it flying off when removing wood.

Things do fly off the chuck fairly regularly. The tighter you make the chuck the less this is likely to happen, but the more damage the jaws do to the wood. And with a bowl this size (about 9½" at the belly) I have no way to grip the rim and fix the marks left by an extra tight chuck.

Anyway, hollowing has gone fairly well so far:

The big lump under the faceplate has to wait until it's on the chuck. But it comes off fairly easily, cutting down the sides with all force going down into the chuck/spindle, rather than sideways, which would tend to push the piece out of the chuck sideways.

I tend to use this lump after the chuck is brought to bear. I bring up my live center and push down into the bowl with it. This helps support the load on the chuck, and since the live center Is much narrower than the faceplate, I can remove most of the lump until I've only got an inch or less of the lump remaining, with the live center still bearing down on the center.

One thing about this blank: I have issues with the glue joints again:

I hope I can fix this without having to cut away so much of the bowl that it becomes a saucer instead!

Also considering scalloping the rim of this bowl. Have figured out how to do it, but not sure how to get the scallops equally spaced!

Mo insisted on going out at three thirty and stayed out until I reopened around six. I gave him a chance to come back in at three thirty, but he chose not to. When I opened the door this morning, there he was, sleeping on the huge pile of shavings under the lathe. He ran in and we had a very pleasant cuddle session for half an hour but then it was time to get up.

It was cold again last night. Not terribly, but enough to make me want not to come out from under the sheet. But I wanted a cuppa tea and Mo's cheese treat had to be prepared plus my own meds to take and just for good measure, I did my BS as well: 4.1 mmol/L. If you speak American instead of English, multiply by 18. Very convenient scaling factor, that. Multiply/divide as necessary to convert back and forth. And 18 is so much easier to remember than 2πb² or something like that.

Mo, having been up half the night, is taking life easy this morning:

Still got sawdust on him from his makeshift bed. Now he lies under my bed with his head poking out.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Mr. Noisy has not been doing a very good job, lately. He makes a racket, but the wood that he planes is not always as smooth and flat as I would like. Time to rotate his knives! 

Mr. Noisy uses three double-edged knives on a rotating drum. Only one edge is used per knife so when they get dull, you take 'em out, turn 'em around and put 'em back in, so the other, never before used edges are brought to bear. I've never done this before, so the knives must still be sharp on the other side. I have a box containing a brand new set of blades around here somewhere but no need to break them out just yet!

So I will attempt to rotate my blades. And (to quote Clarkson) how hard could it be?

First thing you do is vacuum the dust off and it is very important that you use the exact same outlet that Mr. Noisy normally uses. Can you guess why?

Look at the top. You will see two silver strips where pieces of wood are frequently laid across the machine. Notice two screws at the end of each strip. These are Torx T30 screws, meaning they need a special driver to loosen and tighten them. Where on earth will I get a T30 driver from?

Look at the top of the machine and notice a circle with a diagonal bar through it. The bar is black with two silvery dots on it. This is a tee-handled driver with a T30 tip. Thanks, Mr. Noisy! 

With the cover lifted off, the dusty, cobwebby interior can be seen. Most noticable are three red wing nuts. After a bit of a vacuum out (still plugged into Mr. Noisy's own outlet) the red wing nuts are undone by hand and the dust shroud lifted out. This exposes the cutter head.

Each blade is braced with a black steel plate and together they are attached with eight screws. I indicate two if them here, but you should easily see the row of screws, six of which are visible in the photo. These are (conveniently) also T30 screws so the same driver will slacken them. 

[Netfoot]

Using the conveniently provided driver, I slacken all eight screws and then spin them out with my fingers. Don't want to drop one down inside the guts, so I use my fingers for this.

Eventually all eight are out and using the silvery dots on the handle of the driver (magnets!) I lift out the support plate.

With the plate out of the way. The knife is clearly visible below, in it's shiny glory! The same two magnets can be used to lift out the knife, spin it around and put it back in place, without having to touch it with your hands. 

Knives are extremely sharp, even the dull ones! Hands off! Besides, oils from your skin (which contain salt among other things) will precipitate rusting if you touch the knives. 

Make sure the seat on the head is clean, rotate the knives and put them back in place. Put the plate back in, insert and snug up the eight screws by hand and use your convenient T30 driver to cinch them down tight. 

And you're done! not done. Three knives, remember? Press down this latch which unlocks the drum, rotate carefully to bring up the next knife, and do it all over again. Twice more.

When you've done them all, it's easy to replace the dust shroud, and then the top. And don't forget to put that T30 driver right back where you found it. For next time!

Now, you can give the entire area a quick vacuum again, then unplug the ShopVac and plug back in the planer.

Have you figured out why the vacuum cleaner must be plugged into the same outlet that Mr. Noisy uses? Because if you do that, you have to unplug Mr. Noisy! You certainly don't want to stick your hands down in there if there is the slightest chance of him powering up. If that happens, then loud as he is, you will almost certainly scream louder!

(There is an interlock that disables the machine as soon as you take the top cover off. But like every other part of a machine, the interlock itself is subject to possible failure. So don't take the risk.)

Edited January 17, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Here is that bowl, after the outside is sanded and finished, reversed in the chuck, with the faceplate removed. You can see the big hunk of wood that remains under where the faceplate used to be. 

By using the bowl gouge to cut down the side of the hunk, you are pushing the bowl on to the chuck, not putting my force sideways. So it is relatively safe to reduce the big old hunk to a much smaller spigot of wood in the very center.

And the whole time, the live center is pressed tightly into the very center, supporting the bowl and assisting the chuck to hold that bowl in place. I even undercut the spigot, since the force of the quill in the tailstock is directed through the live center, straight down into the chuck.

Eventually, when you have hollowed the bottom as much as you want to and reduced the sidewall to your preferred thickness, the spigot ha to go. Further undercutting will eventually cause the tiny remainder of the spigot to break off and fall harmlessly (usually) on to the floor. And the tailstock can be slid back, out of the way.

We are left with a little nub where the spigot was originally connected. This is carefully removed, and any final shaping of the inside and rim completed gently. 

After sanding with #50, #80, #120, #150, #180 & #220 grit sand paper and a buffing with a handful of shavings off the floor, the inside can be oiled and waxed, before the bowl is removed from the chuck.

And here is the finished item. These "stripey" bowls would be much prettier if they could be made out of two or more woods of different colour.  But just the various variations in a single species can lead to an attractive piece.

[Netfoot]

There is a bitter wind in the window and it isn't even midnight yet. The puppy has deserted me, prolly for a pike of sawdust. Can't say I blame him, really. This wooden platform is a most uncomfortable bed, and I can't remember the last time my back didn't hurt. 

Got the go-ahead for Brighton this Saturday. Dunno whose tent I will share, seeing as Sophie & Jacob won't be there until after the baby arrives.  Hope I can sell some of these things I'm making. It would be nice to pay a few bills this month!

Dinner was a simple bowl of lentil rice with carrots and 1/12th tin of bully beef. Tasted OK, though. But I'm jonesing for either fry-bread or dumplings. Guess I will make up some sort of stew tomorrow and toss in some dumplings. 

For some reason Peter, Paul And Mary are serenading me tonight. And I'm not in the mood. Let me skip that... Ok, Moby is an improvement, and then it will be Portishead and Massive Attack. 

I'm feeling like getting up and brewing tea, but I think I will go invite Mo to come in, lock up, then roll myself up into a bedclothes cocoon. Only, this caterpillar won't become a butterfly. 

Oh, look. He's back without my even calling him in. So, locking up now!

[andidante]

9 hours ago, Netfoot said:

There is a bitter wind in the window and it isn't even midnight yet. The puppy has deserted me, prolly for a pike of sawdust. Can't say I blame him, really. This wooden platform is a most uncomfortable bed, and I can't remember the last time my back didn't hurt. 

Got the go-ahead for Brighton this Saturday. Dunno whose tent I will share, seeing as Sophie & Jacob won't be there until after the baby arrives.  Hope I can sell some of these things I'm making. It would be nice to pay a few bills this month!

 

Will you be getting a new mattress at some point? Or do you think Mo would pee on that as well?

Also, good luck this weekend!! Hope you sell a lot. 

[Netfoot]

6 hours ago, andidante said:

Will you be getting a new mattress at some point? Or do you think Mo would pee on that as well?

The old mattress came to me second hand, at least 20 years ago. So I am willing to believe that Mo could detect some unacceptable trace of godnozewot that he was inclined to pee upon. So, it has finally been thrown out. 

Unfortunately, a new mattress is anything but affordable. $500-600 for a cheap one. Mo might still pee on it, so if I bought a new mattress I would need some sort of waterproof cover. But since I can't pay for a mattress in the first place, that is moot.

6 hours ago, andidante said:

Also, good luck this weekend!! Hope you sell a lot. 

Thanks! I hope so too. Got bills to pay and a few bucks on Saturday would be very welcome.

To that end, I'm in the process of building another stripey bowl. Here you see four pairs of boards glued up in pairs:

And here are two more pairs being glued up:

In 29 minutes these can come out of the clamps and this final pair can be glued together:

Notice also the boards in the background with the perspex circle on them. This is yet another glue up I am in the planning stage with. 

Also, happy to report that so far, the glue up looks good. Proper squeeze-out all along the seam and everything looking tight. This may very well be due to the fact that these boards were milled this morning, and Mr. Noisy did a great job of getting them smooth and flat. 

When the last pair has cured enough (in approx 70 minutes) I will begin gluing pairs together. And as the poem goes:

Little fleas have lesser fleas,
upon their backs to bite them.
And lesser fleas, still lesser fleas,
so, ad infinitum.

The idea is to get the entire block glued up today so it can cure overnight and be ready for the lathe tomorrow.

The glue up with the perspex circle (which is 9¾“ diameter, the max my lathe can practically swing) will be different. Instead of flat boards glued together side by side this will be square boards glued side by side and stacked one upon the other. Not sure if I can make that work, but I will give it a try!

Edited January 18, 2023 by Netfoot

[andidante]

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

The old mattress came to me second hand, at least 20 years ago. So I am willing to believe that Mo could detect some unacceptable trace of godnozewot that he was inclined to pee upon. So, it has finally been thrown out. 

Unfortunately, a new mattress is anything but affordable. $500-600 for a cheap one. Mo might still pee on it, so if I bought a new mattress I would need some sort of waterproof cover. But since I can't pay for a mattress in the first place, that is moot.

Thanks! I hope so too. Got bills to pay and a few bucks on Saturday would be very welcome.

 

Oh that makes sense and it's a shame that mattresses cost so much!! 

[Netfoot]

Now that the last pair are in clamps, I was able to look at the following potential glue up:

Three layers, with square boards running in alternating directions, and one board of a different size to the rest. This layer could either become a narrow base, or a narrow neck for a wide-based bowl. But since I don't have any of the specialized chisels used for hollowing bowls with barrow narrow necks, it will probably be the former.

But instead of all this talk, why not something to make us smile?

A friend popped around this morning and Mo made such a nuisance of himself I felt bad. 

Then, as my friend was leaving, Mo barged the gate and it was rum & black powder to get him back! Finally caught up with him. But he wouldn't walk home on the lead so muggins had to carry him home! Shoulda left him for the busses to see to!

And who knew he was such a dead weight? I know he is around 36 lbs. But when he does not want to be moved he increases his weight to at least double. That's his superpower!

Edited January 19, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Glue up complete and curing overnight.  I must say it went well, with no ugly joints that I can find.

Dunno what I will find when I start turning it tomorrow, but hopefully there won't be any problems. There is one spot on one board that is a little nasty, but I have positioned it so it won't be an issue. Like the screw holes left by a faceplate, it will vanish when the bowl is hollowed.

Can't start turning too early tomorrow, so I will begin gluing up the other blank.  Being made up of two layers of 7 boards and one of 5 boards, there will be a lot more work involved than the previous glue ups. And three layers may require that the individual layers go through the planer before being stacked, so as to be sure the faces that touch ate flat and true.

Last night was uncomfortably cold again and just now, during our nightly excursion, I got the impression rain was on its way.

I hate when it gets baking hot and you come out of the shower wet and just get wetter with sweat. This is usually followed with my fan breaking down just as all the stores sell out the last of their stocks.  But I don't like when it's teeth rattlingly cold worse.

When it's hot you can take your clothes off. Take a 10 second shower and cool down. Stand in front of the fan to dry off. When it gets cold, there is little you can do. Unless your house is equipped with some sorry of heating which no house around here is. Unless you have winter clothes in storage for your next trip abroad. 

Listening to Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love from the mid-80s. (Picture the band consisting of female musicians with pale skin, short dark hair, red lipstick and black mini-dresses.) Mo is sort of spooning with me, but upside down. His head is on my hip and his butt is in my face! The door is locked, I can use my bedside remote to kill all the lights, and I'm feeling full comfortably full from my dinner. Which was the leftover sauce from my macaroni lunch, with some Matouk's beans added, and a generous quantity of proper dumplings. You know a dumpling is proper when you cut it with your spoon and one half clings determinedly to the bottom of the spoon. 

Anyway, going to read a little of my book, which is falling apart so I'm have to hold it carefully to not lose any pages.

[Netfoot]

After curing overnight, I think I can trust the glue joints now, so over to the bandsaw to circularize the blank:

The stair step outside is cut away to leave a near perfect circle. Eight screws secure the large faceplate, and on to the lathe for true-up and outside shaping:

As usual the blank does tend to dictate what shape you get! You may be able to discern a slight wasp-waistyness near the rim? There was a piece of wood that was extremely teary-outy right at that spot. 

You may have heard me talk about tearout before. It is far worse in end-grain than in side grain. Have a look at the sidegrain of this bowl:

That is straight off the chisel - no sanding whatsoever. Contrast with this photo of the end-grain: 

You can see where the wood, instead of shearing cleanly away on the edge of the chisel, gets ripped out in chunks. That leaves a series of hole that can't be filled, so the piece of wood with the tearout has to be removed entirely, which changes the shape of the bowl. A lighter cut and a sharper chisel helps a lot with tearout, but there is a finite number of times you can sharpen! So as the bowl approaches finished, the chisel gets sharpened more often and the cuts are lighter and lighter.

You may also recall my interest in Segmented Turning. That technique can result in very beautiful pieces and is very economical with wood, allowing expensive exotics to be more easily used. But one of the unsung benefits of segmented turning is that it completely eliminates end grain! The bowl blank is side grain, all the way around it's perimeter, both outside and inside the bowl!

Another negative of end grain is that the shavings come off like shotgun pellets and can sting! Not to mention get everywhere. I'm taking a break to ease my back, and to clean out my shoes:

I will leave it to your imagination to work out where else shavings end up...

Mo went out at 3:30 and didn't come back until 7:00! And it was not a comfortable night, temp wise, so he would have been appreciated as a snuggle buddy. The little thief is fine. (Yesterday, it was a hanky, a hand broom and an awl with a very sharp point!) Right now he is relaxing on the floor of the bedroom, after his caterwauling through the wee hours, but he did open one eye and give me a little wave with the very tip of his tail, when I went to check on him...

Edited January 19, 2023 by Netfoot

[Browncoat]

13 hours ago, Netfoot said:

When it's hot you can take your clothes off. Take a 10 second shower and cool down. Stand in front of the fan to dry off.

And then immediately get all hot and sweaty again because it's hot!  There are only so many clothes you can take off and cool showers you can take, and you're still going to be hot.

 

13 hours ago, Netfoot said:

When it gets cold, there is little you can do.

You can put on more clothes, or wrap up in a blanket. Or find a sunny spot outside and bask like a lizard.  I think there's a lot you can do to warm up!  😉

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I think there's a lot you can do to warm up!  😉

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this topic. There is a great deal to do to keep cool, from spend time in the pool or going for a sea bath.

The bowl finished up nicely, sanded to #220 and finished with beeswax. Here she is getting a final buff down

and here, complete. On the outside, at least.

Meanwhile the last, smaller, base layer of the other glue-up is in clamps.

Done some research and apparently it is better to let the glue cure before putting the layers through the planer. So it won't get on the lathe tomorrow, or be taken to Brighton on Saturday. Unless it goes as a conversation starter. 

Meantime, the other piece is on the chuck and hollowing has begun. I did not do any hollowing around the faceplate as I normally do because this bowl is a little smaller and there wasn't that much room.

There is at least two inches of depth to be removed and there is too much wall thickness, so that has to go. There was a tiny crack right on the rim and getting rid of that cost me a ¼“ of depth. Taking a break now, and will finish the shaping and waxing after a cuppa tea. 

Sure hope nothing bad happens to destroy this piece at this late stage.

[Netfoot]

Done! Hollowed, sanded and beeswaxed. Here it is, in all it's glory. It didn't turn out too bad...

And these are the items I will be taking to Brighton on Saturday.

I put the finished bowl inside the ring that was left when the rough blank was circularized on the bandy:

You can see how much is lost from the diameter of the blank by time it is a fully shaped and finished bowl. There is a loss of height as well. And this was made more acute by a couple of chips/cracks in the rim that had to be removed.

I would like to make deeper bowls, but I need a specially shaped  toolrest. I bought one once, but it broke the first time I tried to use it. Took out a nice little box I was trying to make at the time. And nearly broke my arm.....

[andidante]

6 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Done! Hollowed, sanded and beeswaxed. Here it is, in all it's glory. It didn't turn out too bad...

And these are the items I will be taking to Brighton on Saturday.

 

Beautiful pieces! I am so impressed with what you can do. 

 

 

 

[Spunkygal]

Gorgeous! Be generous to yourself with pricing. Don’t give them away!

[Netfoot]

Just back from our Garden Patrol. It was quite cool already. Not many clouds visible overhead but very few stars visible as well. I can look east and see airliners on finals for BGI but again, not many stars visible in that direction either. Weatherguy said the entire region can expect colder weather for a few days, well into next week. Which prolly means a heat wave, because these guys aren't usually too reliable. 

I live on a noisy corner. Three things are most frequent. 1) a car with eardrum-busting music pumping. Yesterday, a guy drove past whose stereo was so loud it actually vibrated the wriggly tin on the roof! 2) minibusses, packed with louts who are all shouting expletives at the top of their voices. 3) motorcycles with the baffles removed from their exhaust pipes. High capacity 4-strokes are the worst.

Tonight, while on patrol, along came a chap cursing and swearing at the top of his voice to be heard over the blasting stereo fitted to his big 4-stroke motorcycle. That was a new one for me. 

Cuppa tea and a bowl of Grape Nuts for dinner again, but with a difference. I buy evaporated milk, because if I buy regular milk I drink it at an incredible rate. I've been known to drink 3-4 liters of full cream milk in a single day. So when eating cereal I have to mix evap with cold water from the taps to make it more palatable. But tonight, with the kettle in hand from brewing tea, I had hot milk with my cereal. It went down very well. 

I have nothing ready to go on the lathe tomorrow. I won't be able to glue up a blank, have the glue cure and shape/finish the bowl in a single day. So what shall I do tomorrow? I have to run next door to pick up a few peppermints and a tiny bottle of CA. Other than that, how do I spend the day?

I can try to build some sort of rack/shelving/display thingy to put items on at the market. Bigger bowls take up more room. And my table is no bigger than last time I used it.

Or I can clean out my saw and lubricate the gears and trunnions. It needs it.

Or I can try to clean up & organize even a little bit of my garage, which is like a junk yard after it was hit by a tornado. To get to the bandsaw is a literal obstacle course. 

Or I could try to resurrect my dust collector that both table saw and band saw as well as Mr. Noisy would benefit by. 

Or maybe I could make the handle(s) for my carbide tipped tools I've been planning for a while. I have a piece of mahogany that should give me at least two handles and cylinders of tamarind to dress them up with...

Or maybe I could try to make something other than a lathe turning. Something on the scrollsaw instead.

Or just veg out, eat big meals and watch limey TV shows on the computer.

Gino by Dexy's Midnight Runners is playing. Last thing I heard about Kevin Rowland was that he was walking around London in a dress, stockings and a garter belt, but no drawers, and all the wedding tackle hanging down. Flashing his junk at people, and that his new, solo album had sold less than 100 copies. And that was decades ago. Like 40 years. But there is no doubt that when the band released the albums Searching For The Young Soul Rebels & Too-Rye-Ay, they were on form.

Who will listen to all this old stuff when I drop dead? Does a piece of music cease to exist when the last person to like it dies? Does a book?

Too deep for an olde farte like me. Going to play a mindless game on the phone, read my book a little, snuggle with this puppy

and go to sleep. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Mo insisted on being let out around two, and I didn't reopen until four thirty. He was a very welcome bundle of warm at that hour!

Stsrted Started the morning by taking my BS, 3.8 which is low enough to turn on a red light on my test machine. Ran it again and got the same result so I should have immediately eaten a Mars bar or something, but didn't have one, so ignored it.

Spent some time dismantling a pallet to get this bunch of lumber:

Eleven boards (standing vertical) just over 37" long, 3½" wide and ¾" thick. Each board has a couple nail holes at the half way mark, so I may have to cut these down to 22 boards at 18" length. There are some bad spots here and there (unavoidable when breaking down pallets) so maybe fewer useable pieces, depending upon what use I want to put them to. 

There were also three more boards, around 40" long, 3¼" wide and 1⅛" thick, but these are riddled with nail holes and I would have to find a very special use for them!

Did some laundry, went out later to check on it to find that somebody

had dragged it down onto the ground. 😠

Anyway, almost time for lunch, then I will go next door and pick up a few items. When I get back I dunno what I will do. Maybe take a nap, maybe watch a movie, maybe break down another pallet.

Edited January 21, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Remember a week or so ago, I did my first glue-up for a blank, and the resulting bowl was not satisfactory? Check it out:

Top left quadrant. You are looking at that bowl, with daylight literally shining through a couple of the glue joints.

Not for sale, but good enough for some peppermints...

[Netfoot]

Off to bed early. Mo snuggling, but for how long? Patches of cloud tonight with a black sky above, pierced with some stars. More than last night but not a full array. Cool breeze blowing.

Got to get up tomorrow at what is usually the coldest part of the night. Can't snuggle down but instead got to take a shower. Car ready to go, all but my thermos of tea which is all laid out in the kitchen. Flick the switch on the kettle, take a shower, pour the water and leave the tea to draw, dress, put tea in thermos, thermos in car, lock house and depart. Plus, manage to keep the puppy inside the gate. He nearly escaped twice this afternoon when I went next door to buy CA and peppermints.

Lunch was potatoes, carrots, onion, cucumber, lentil peas, bully beef and tomato sauce, seasoned with cayenne and garlic. Dinner was simple flatbread fried in a trace of oil and smeared with red butter, eaten with red herring, eaten between my fingers. The Hot Breath loved it! So did I.

A little Suzanne Vega on the gramaphone, the auto-off set, alarm set for 6 hours 56 minutes from now, and the lights are going off!

[Netfoot]

No sales. 🫤

I cropped my face from the image because my grimace could have been used to frighten little children!

Lots of people telling me how nice the pieces are, but nobody ready to buy. (Several said they would come back later, but I always assume such promises are the bald-faced lies they mostly are.) One lady even asked if I would be back next week, so she could buy something then!

But that does bring up the silver lining to this cloud: next week I will definitely have stock. So providing I can find the $20 entrance fee...

[Netfoot]

So, obviously disappointed at the outcome of today's visit to Brighton. I had a good time. Located right next to a friend who is also a woodworker (but he does not use a lathe) we had plenty of time to chat between customers. And there were plenty of people stopping by asking about pieces. I asked most people who stopped, to pick out their favourite and it was pretty evenly divided between the large, laminated bowls and the bowls with holes large and small or an entire missing face.

Alas, nobody was buying. 

Any way, it means I can go again next week because I still have all today's pieces to offer again, and I may be able to make a couple more as well in the week ahead.

Tomorrow Mo has to have another bath. Poor boy - he really dislikes it and clings to me like a drowning man. This is the same dog that likes to go out and play in the rain! Anyway, tomorrow is #7 of 8, so next Sunday will be the last.

Now I don't generally have anything to do with FecesBook, but I was googling "Brighton Farmer's Market Barbados" and clicking links, and one of those links took me unexpectedly to that ghodawful site. There were the usual silly posts by people who have little to contribute to a conversation where nobody says anything of value, and I was about to click away when I spotted a little photo of some wood turned bowls and I thought they didn't look too bad! So, I clicked the photo in hope of a larger image, which was duly displayed. And I laughed fit to bust, because they were my own work! 🤣

They were from about 6-7 weeks ago, and apparently the market posts pictures of items from various vendors in order to lure in customers, and they used photos of some of my spalted tamarind pieces without even telling me!

I was interviewed at the market one time by a guy who asked several questions and I'm sure I did a horrible job of answering them. I've never seen that video and I'm assuming that upon review my performance wasn't considered suitable and the clip deleted. But perhapse it is out there, on somebody's web page, gathering digital dust and electronic thumbs-downs. 

Otherwise today, apart from eating two good meals, I did nothing but play with the computer, watch some movies, cuddle with Mo and nod off in my chair a few times. It is a bank holiday today, after all! But tomorrow I will break down some more pallets and Monday l will do some planeing. Starting with the three-layer glue-up I have already started on.

Mo is asleep with his head on my knee as I listen to a 1985 compilation by Chicago. This band traditionally named it's albums after the band itself with a numeric qualifier in Roman numerals. So, Chicago II, Chicago III, Chicago IV, etc. Many people don't know that there was never a Chicago I album. When the band was first formed, it took the name "Chicago Transit Authority" and their first album had the same name. By the time they came to release their second album, their fans were already abbreviating the name to simply "Chicago" and they were also getting some flac from the real Chicago Transit Authority. So they renamed the band to simply "Chicago" and that second album became "Chicago II", despite there never being an album named "Chicago I".

I've heard people describe the band as "Blood Sweat & Tears wannabees" but I think that is unjustified. Both Chicago and BS&T are worth listening to. 

Anyway, I'm going to disturb Mo's sleep now, because I have to go lock the door. There is a cool breeze in the window now, and although it isn't uncomfortable, I want to get wrapped up in case it gets any cooler.  

[Netfoot]

Mo may get a short reprive. The weather is crap, and while it sounds silly to say it (like the bathers who run out of the sea and take cover under a roof or beach brolly when it rains) I don't fancy getting him - or me - wet from the hose, when the rain might fall on us. It's not only uncomfortable and miserable to get hose-wet and rain-wet when you would rather stay dry. Also, with the rain falling there is no warming sunshine to enjoy during or after the exercise. Not to mention that I don't want rainfall to wash off the medicated shampoo before time.

This is what today looks like:

Those fronds are lashing back and forth on the wind, and as soon as I took that photo and came in to make this post, the rain started hissing down!

I'd already gone out and put the wonky stool in place and attached the hose, but thankfully not put out his towel. The other stuff can take a soaking but being wet would render the towel somewhat useless.

While out there setting things up, I went to the bedroom window which was ajar about a ¼" and pushed it open from outside. Then I made "Bloopy-booby-puppy-wuppy-gurgle-gurgle" noises until:

I've seen him stand on the bedside table many times to look out the window, and Buddy as well, before him! But this is the first time I have witnessed it from outside! All I can say is: "Those burglar bars need painting!"

Mo may not get bath #7 today, but he will get it, sooner or later. Just as soon as we get a little sunshine with blue skies to our east!

Mean time, I'm taking a rest from breaking down pallets and it being noon, I may cook and eat lunch and take in a movie or something, until it's time to get back to that. 

[andidante]

16 hours ago, Netfoot said:

They were from about 6-7 weeks ago, and apparently the market posts Chicago. This band traditionally named it's albums after the band itself with a numeric qualifier in Roman numerals. So, Chicago II, Chicago III, Chicago IV, etc. Many people don't know that there was never a Chicago I album. When the band was first formed, it took the name "Chicago Transit Authority" and their first album had the same name. By the time they came to release their second album, their fans were already abbreviating the name to simply "Chicago" and they were also getting some flac from the real Chicago Transit Authority. So they renamed the band to simply "Chicago" and that second album became "Chicago II", despite there never being an album named "Chicago I".

I

Chicago is one of my favorite bands! I never knew that back story on them so thanks for sharing that. 

[Netfoot]

Ok, broke down three pallets, and with the one I did before, I get 

some pallet wood. I have not done any math on these but I suspect I could get severel turnings out of these.

Mo would occasionally come and wander between myself and a pallet, and the whole show had to go on hold until he wandered off. I'd take the opportunity to play with him a bit and he was never far away. I stopped at this point because I wanted to rest my back, and I think it's fair to say that the boards I've already got will make tomorrow a busy day processing them into smooth, flat planks that can be glued up into bowl-blanks.

At one point I saw him adopt a pose of watchfulness

and wondered he had his sights on. It turned out to be a sparrow that dared to alight on his lawn! He lespt leapt forth like a cloth-yard long arrow from a bow of English yew... And of course the sparrow escaped with ease.

At this point I happened to catch a close look at his fur and to my surprise, Mo is suffering from a bad case of split ends!

Anyway, he is otherwise in fine form and pl asked pleased not to have had his bath today. It is not raining, but it is still blustery and altogether too cold to consider aquatic sports!

Edited January 23, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

[Netfoot]

Working on the multilayer bowl I glued up a few days ago. Previously glued boards side by side to make disks. Now, the layers require another glue up. 

You may recall there was supposed to be a third, smaller disk to be a talker foot? I had to abandon the idea because the planer didn't want to flatten the smaller disk. It just dug channels in the surface and made it essentially unusable.

I think the size was a little too small for the mechanism so the two rollers could not control the board as it passed under the cutter head. Too bad.

Meanwhile, I tried making an "emergent bowl" out of a block of purpleheart. The idea was to hollow a bowl with two wings. The wings would turn down and make the feet of the bowl. The base of the actual bowl-part would be rounded and float above the surface of the shelf or table. 

Unfortunately, it isn't working out, and because of the way I fixed the faceplate there is not much I can do to rescue anything useful. I think this block of purpleheart is a loss.

So as soon as the two-layer glue up has set well enough to move, I will start running my StripedBowl program and seeing what boards I need to cut and plane to make a fresh bowl blxnk blank. Then plane, glue up, and start turning.

Mo finally got his bath, and was not pleased. But he thoroughly enjoyed the towelling down he got afterwards. 

I think I will have some plain rice, some cucumber salad and a fried chicken leg for lunch. I have acquired 4 drumsticks and plan to eat them as soon as possible.

The drumstick is a perfect demonstration of why breast is best. If I buy a 4 oz. chicken breast in I get to eat 4 oz. of chicken. If buy a 4 oz. chicken drumstick, I get to eat 2 oz of chicken and throw out 2 oz. of bone and gristle.

Damp Molasses: 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

We had an unusual Garden Patrol tonight. Mo stuck close, but actively avoided coming within reach. This because he was playing with a little nub of wood that he had "stolen" from the floor of the garage. The place is littered with them and I have no problem with him playing with them, but he didn't know that!

It's another nearly cloudless night, with no clouds to be seen. But no stars either. The breeze was cold but light and intermittent. 

We're in bed now, with him leaning on my tummy. And we're listening to Just What I Needed by The Cars. 

Got very little done today. Phoned up the people who sold the folding table and asked when I would get my money. The lady took my number and said she would speak to Accounts Payable and get right back to me. That was at 8:45 this morning. 😠

Glued those two layers together but not too pleased with the look of the join line. Will pop it on the lathe tomorrow and see what it looks like when I true it up and run a scraper over the glue line.

Got a stack of other boards planed and trimmed and running my StripedBowl program gave me some cut lengths.

Note the errors in the output. Each line gives the length of the board(s) in decimal notation and in fractional form. The fraction is supposed to be to the nearest ⅛“ over the decimal value. Line #2 says that the boards should be 9.95 or 9 plus 8/8ths (expressed here as 1). This is a special case where the fraction 8/8ths should simply be added to the whole part to give 10. 

That having been done, the two top lines (now both calling for two 10" boards) should be replaced by a single line calling for four 10" boards.

Another edge case is the last line which calls for two boards of zero length. The bowl blank probably need a tiny fraction more width and called for a tiny board to provide it. When displayed, the length of the board was grounded to 0.00 which is silly. This case should also be watched for zero sized boards removed. Or more accurately, any board needed to provide a bare sliver of width should be dropped. You may have noticed that a 9¾" bowl calls for 10" boards. Because the program adds ⅛ to the desired radius. Which would compensate for eliminating stupidly short boards.

Will tweak the code to eliminate the funny behaviour.

Trimmed a set of boards for a 9¾“. bowl blank, which I will start gluing up tomorrow. A number of boards left, possibly even enough for another smaller bowl. There is also a number of boards yet to be planed and 6-7 pallets still to be broken. 

Lunch didn't go well. I set some rice to boil, rolled a chicken leg in a home made rub and put that in a pan to fry. The rice and chicken leg were about 95% done when the stove ran out of gas. The food was palatable but not really tasty. And since I don't have the price of a replacement gas cylinder, there won't be any hot meals for a while. I went out and bought two bags of "salt bread" rolls and had cold corned beef sandwiches for dinner and Mo enjoyed them a great deal. So did I. First proper bread I've had in months, other than my fried flat bread, which I like, but some "real" bread is a proper treat now and again. 

Eyes closing down so lights going off!

[Netfoot]

From last post:

7 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Will tweak the code to eliminate the funny behaviour.

Job's a good 'un!

Problems fixed. Second line edge case corrected to give a fractional length of "10" instead of "9 1", then first two lines of two 10" boards combined into four 10" boards 

And finally (Cyril), last two boards of length zero eliminated.

Now another problem has shown up: when I run StripedBowl --width 0.5 --diameter 7.5 it hangs. So, stuck in a loop somewhere, for reasons yet to be determined...

[Netfoot]

Today has not gone well. I put that purpleheart "emergent bowl" back on the lathe and tried to rescue it by cutting sesy away the wings and simply making a little bowl out of the center section. It fought like a pirate and it was catch after catch, each one more damaging (and painful) than the last. I finally have up on it. 

Then, the glued up blank that was curing since last night, came out of the clamps. There was a visible glue line so I chased it as if it were a crack. It soon became obvious it was going on for ever so I decided to separate the two layers and see what I could do with them individually. With a combination of small parting tool, large parting tool, hacksaw and shark saw, I finally got it apart. But not before it did this:

Yup! The lathe bent my ⅛" diamond parting tool. And the force was directed into the side of the tool so it actually had to bend ½" tool-steel.

(How it didn't break my arm I don't know, but thankfully the banjo got in the way and saved me from more than a numbing blow to the palm of my hand.)

So there goes my favourite parting tool. Bought in January 2014, for U$44.99 plus shipping/duty. A replacement would cost between U$60 and U$77 from Amazon. I could get one for half that, but it would not be a diamond parting tool, which is better.

I have another diamond parting tool, but it is ³/¹⁶" I believe. (In the case of parting tools, thinner is better.)

The glue-up of the other blank is proceeding slowly. Want to get it finished today so it can cure overnight.

There was some good news. Heard from the store who said that I the cheque should be ready tomorrow or the next day. Also, the second tsblevhas table has sold as well. I asked if they could pay for both this week and they said they couldn't see why not, so long as I got the second invoice to them in time. They agreed to an electronic copy of the invoice so within 15 minutes the PDF was on its way. If I can actually get the payment this week, I might be able to enjoy a hot meal soon!

Anyway, my back is hurting but I have to continue working on the glue up. But I won't go near the lathe again until it's done and cured, all chisels sharpened, and an attempt made to straighten that bent parting tool! 

Glass of lime squash first sirely sorely needed, but that is my reward for doing the next phase of the glue-up.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Doolally doggie!

Well, we used to have an ancient but somewhat comfortable mattress that he used to nap upon. But he decided to use it as a pissoir, so now, if he wants to lie on something soft...

Hell, I may even join him in the shavings...

Now. When he gets up from there, where do you think he will go, bringing a bucketload of shavings with him?

[Netfoot]

Wonderwall by Oasis, from one of my favourite albums of theirs, What's The Story (Morning Glory). Mo right here snuggling up against my tummy, with the house zipped up, lights off and door locked.

Mo came and told me when he wanted to go on Patrol and the first thing I saw was a little gift he left for me out in the garden:

Thank goodness I saw it. I'd hate to have found this the hard way... And me not even sure when I hot had a tetanus jab.

Bowl blank all glued up and curing overnight. Could take a break from the lathe, if I'm honest. 

Dinner was Bajan salt breads. So was lunch, come to think of it. And tomorrow the same again. also had the last of the milk so no more tea for a change.

Cool night last night, but bearable with a solid mummy-wrap with the sheet. Tonight shaping up to be the same. 

Very tired. Falling asleep mid sentence, so I will not fight it any longer.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Went to see what could be done with the remains of the layered bowl, which bent my parting tool. Ended up with this candy dish sorta thing.

In making this I discovered a nick in my tool rest.

This prevents the chisel from sliding smoothly from side to side, and clean cuts become difficult if not impossible. Had to apply a fine file to smooth out the rough spot.

Advice: Don't buy a tool rest that is chrome plated. Stainless or cast iron, but not chrome plate. It gets scraped off and needs to be filed often. And a severe blow - hard enough to, say, bend a diamond parting tool - will dig into the chrome and the soft copper that is underneath.

Here is the glue up that has been curing over night. You may notice that the glue up is not all that circular. My fault - didn't do the job very well.

The bandy was able to release the bowl blank from within the glue up. Due to the slight misshape, the final blank was slightly smaller than plannned: 9⅜" instead of 9¾".

And we screw a large faceplate to the blank in preparation for mounting on the lathe. To prevent excessive shrinkage, I measured carefully before putting the faceplate in place. If it is not central, the diameter must be reduced to true up the blank on the lathe.

[Netfoot]

Put the blank on the lathe via the faceplate and cleaned up the bottom, then fashioned a recessed tenon for the chuck to fit to.

After checking the fit, the chuck was removed again and I began to refine the outside of the bowl. And damn!

Another bad glue line. After days, literally days of work, this blank is flawed. That's a piece of old newspaper, which I slid into the gap. (The date on the paper is 4th March, 2013. I have no idea where it just came from.)

So after days of work, I have to abandon this blank. I am concluding that this wood is not suitable for gluing into bowl blanks. I had better think of some other thing to [use it for.]

So now I have no wood and no money to buy some. I did manage to finish the candy dish this morning, but even that was the result of a failed glue-up. And it's not much to show for half a week's work.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

OK, I have to take a break from the lathe for a while. And figure out how to use that wood that doesn't make good glue ups.

So, I was thinking about planters. Either put your plant directly in them, or plant them in a pot and drop the pot into the planters.

Started this as a trial, and here is what I've got so far:

The planters (or "pots") are eight-faceted, with two opposed facets taller than the rest. These taller boards will be rounded on their top corners and have a hole bored in them. A handle could be inserted in these holes but would probably interfere with any plant. In this way, the pots resemble old buckets.

According to Ashley #686, a bucket handle would be made from three or four strand rope, with Matthew Walker knots to prevent the rope pulling out of the hole. I don't actually have any suitable sized rope to hand and the handle would still get in the way unless made very long. A wooden rod handle that could be removed from the pot is an option, but I think it best to avoid a handle altogether.

As photographed, these are simply held together with painter's tape. The pots will be glued together but glue won't hold forever if constantly wetted. I will cut two narrow grooves in the outside of the pots and secure them together with copper wire, wrapped several times and twisted. Copper won't rust over time, and I have a roll of it here doing nothing. Not 100% sure about the proportions. The tall ones might be too tall and the short one too short.

Insetting the bottom should not be a problem. Cutting it to exact size might be. I can stain these a darker colour or leave them as is. Let nature colour them with age and exposure. 

These pots are straight sided. No taper. So a 22½,° bevel  has been cut on the sides of the boards. But I can use some math to compute the change in bevel angle if I want to make the top wider than the base. And obviously the boards would have to be cut on a taper, so a bit more math. But not for this first batch of pots. 

It's lunchtime and I'm hungry. There is no food in the house that can be eaten without cooking and the stove is without gas and the microwave died months ago and is now only a small cupboard. No word from the company who is supposed to be cutting me a cheque so no chance of buying gas. Ate the last of the bread for lunch yesterday, and nothing since. I told that woman on Monday that I needed that cheque urgently, and reinforced this on Tuesday. And they are three months late with the payment anyhow, due to their screwhup.  So you would think they would expedite the payment. But nowadays, nobody gives a damn about anything. 

My back is killing me. And it isn't the same pain I've had for a while. That old pain still there but it has been joined by a friend. So I will hope there are two Panadol left in that box. 

Since there is no lunch forthcoming, I guess I had better go and make bottoms for these pots.....

[Netfoot]

Right. Going to make the bottoms out of these boards.

The bottoms don't need to be tight, far less watertight. These are plant pots, after all. But I wouldn't like dirt to fall out or daylight to shine in! So, I've made these into groove & tongue so the boards won't have large gaps.

I will prolly use a few dabs of glue to hold them together so I can trace out and cut the bottoms. And I hope I will get three bottoms out of this panel. If I can only get two, I will have to make up a smaller panel to get the third. But I'm hoping I can squeeze all three out of it. You know how it is: If a board is too short, trim a little piece off the end and see if that helps!

Edited January 26, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Three octagonal bottoms cut from the panel. They are cut a little oversized so I can trim them to final dimensions. 

They also need to be thinned at the edge. They are about ½" thick and traditionally would be trimmed in one or two ways. One option: a shallow bevel would be placed on the edge to bring it down to about half it's original thickness. Alternatively: a step would be cut in the perimeter, again reducing the thickness of the edge to about half.

A groove or slot, cut around the inside of the pot is sized to match the thickness of the bottom, and the pot then assembled around it, with the base being permanently trapped in the slot. No type of fastener is needed for the bottom, because it can't come out of the slot. 

Incidentally, traditional wooden buckets would be made this way, and after a good soaking with water, the wood would swell up and seal the bucket so that it did not leak. A badly made bucket could be helped to seal by packing the joints witna paste made from ground flax seed and water. Wax and even tar were sometimes used to seal leaky buckets, but flax seed would swell up if water got into the joints, making them water tight. Tar & wax wouldn't swell.

I had a look at the copper wire I have on hand and it's much finer than I remembered, and the steel wire is much heavier. 

I'm not sure either of these can be used to strap the staves together. I'm not sure how I will assemble these buckets. I may have to resort to nails and a nailset.

Six o'clock this morning was bitterly cold again. I'm hoping tomorrow won't be a repeat. There really is no telling from observing the conditions when we do our Garden Patrol.

Speaking of, when I went out Mo was playing with something and as I approached, he snatched it up and ran off with it. Usual behaviour when he has stolen something and doesn't want to give it back. Gradual persuasion got him to show me his toy. A big, fat, dead mouse! I knew I wouldn't get it from him, so I left him with it and started the patrol. He dropped his plaything and joined me. Later, I found the mouse, intact, lying on the ground with no puppy near by, so I disposed of it.

No word about my cheque, which was promised me Wednesday. I will call tomorrow and find out what the story is. Frankly, I've been suspicious for a while now. Not that I think they don't intend to pay, but that they intend to take as long as possible to do so. I will know after tomorrow's phone call, whether the continuing delay is incompetence or company policy to improve cash flow.

Meanwhile, I rummaged around in the fridge and found two dry, leathery pieces of red herring. I cut one piece into tiny slivers and stirred it into a tin of baked beans. Now, I like baked beans, but I believe they have their place, and that place is on a slice of toast. With a fried egg on top. And preferable a couple rashers of bacon or a slice of ham. But beggars can't be choosers, so I ate my baked beans with red herring, using a long-handled teaspoon, after heating it up with some cayenne pepper. Called that dinner. I have one more piece of red herring but no more beans. 

I also had a couple of cups of black tea. Tasted as bad as American coffee, but at least it was warm.

Listening to Bohemian Rhapsody and remembering the first time I heard it. I was living in a men's hostel in the south of England, and it was a Thursday evening. I know that, because most of the guys were gathering in the TV room. As Tomorrow's World (popular science & technology showcase) was winding down, all the chairs filled up and there was plenty of conversational babbling, as we waited for the BBC's ever popularTop of the Pops. This usually consisted of popular bands with top charting songs live on stage, miming their latest hit. But that particular night came something else. A music video! First one I recall ever seeing. It was like a bomb in a  budgie cage! Six minutes later, the entire room was silent, stunned and shell-shocked. I think most of the rest of Britain probably was as well. Overnight, the music video became the default for TOTP and for musicians generally. Bohemian Rhapsody instantly became one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever, and Queen entered the history books.

By the way, if you have not seen the recent (2018) movie of the same name, starring Rami Malek, you should make the effort.

Puppy curled up against my back. Book to read. Better do that then get some sleep.

[andidante]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

 No word about my cheque, which was promised me Wednesday. I will call tomorrow and find out what the story is. Frankly, I've been suspicious for a while now. Not that I think they don't intend to pay, but that they intend to take as long as possible to do so. I will know after tomorrow's phone call, whether the continuing delay is incompetence or company policy to improve cash flow.

By the way, if you have not seen the recent (2018) movie of the same name, starring Rami Malek, you should make the effort.

 

I do hope you get paid soon so that you can have some hot food again!! How long do the tanks for your stove last? I had not heard of that before and just assumed you were hooked up to a gas line or something (forgive my ignorance).

I did see the Queen movie and he was very good in it. I enjoyed it very much!