Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Router/Shaper Table Top

Follow-up...

Here is the new table top for the router/shaper. The top is ¾" MDF with ¼" ply. The top is trimmed with maple and coated with epoxy. The fence is ¾" MDF.



The slot in the fence needs some tweaking so the T-Track will fit correctly - but the fence is useable as is.

This top will replace the original (nearly doubling the work surface):



The router base comes home Thursday and the whole thing will be assembled and put to work!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Not So Busy This Week

It wasn't such a busy week… as boat building goes.

Two weeks ago saw a flurry of activity. This week, not so much - at least not so much boat work. There were a couple of beautifully warm (low-70s) sunny days, followed by cold (low-40s) windy days. The warmer days coincided with social commitments. The colder days are not conducive to working in the barn.

The entire week was not lost or wasted. I spent a couple of days working on a new table-top (more than doubling the surface area) and fence for the Delta Router/Shaper I found lurking in the barn.

That project should be completed in the next day or two and put to work!

Inspired by Rik's progress (trial lift, gunwales and paint) with his Pathfinder project, I have been working out how to turn Gardens over. Before the hull is turned, I need to get the building platform moved over from my sister's place, and I'd like to do it without taking it apart. That means getting the Volvo wagon running… the battery did not survive the winter. That also means the dirt road into my sister's place needs to dry out a bit more.

I was introduced to a new-to-me marine supply place: Wolf's Marine in Benton Harbor, MI. Yes, it is about a two-hour drive but it makes a nice day trip, particularly on a cool but sunny spring day. Wolf's Marine has a very complete variety and inventory of new marine gear, parts and supplies (although their sailboat hardware is biased to larger sizes) . They also have an extensive inventory of used/salvaged parts. The store goes on and on and is actually pretty impressive in a free-flowing rambling sort of way. I'll keep them in mind - and take a list with me when I go - as I get closer to outfitting Gardens.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Busy Week

It has been a busy week. After finally getting into to barn, I've begun rearranging winter-stored stuff (saw horses, shop stands, tools, garden tools and supplies, etc.) to make room to work on Gardens.

I've been setting up my new workshop: cleaning the space (different part of the barn than where Gardens resides), adding a new 2HP 5-micron dust collector, arranging to purchase a new-to-me used General Industries 14" bandsaw and shopping for a new table saw (leaning toward a Grizzly).

The mizzen boom and boomkin have been completed (for now…): Fresh varnish, new paint and new hardware. One side of the rudder has been painted and the second side has been primed.

I've started down the path to learn woodturning (a small lathe was gifted to me last year) but the learning curve is a steep one for me. I've been pretty tentative with it so my practice work has not been very satisfying. And I'm annoyed with myself about not understanding new meanings to everyday words. What the heck are "quicker" and "slower" shapes? I understand every specialty has its own vocabulary and meanings for words… I'm still annoyed with myself for not "getting it" right away.

Finally this... a Craftsman style oak stand came out of the shop this week.



No, not my shop and, no, I didn't do this all by myself. It is part of my woodworking education. Projects like this are why I am setting up a new and improved workshop for myself.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Spring... Open the Barn Doors!

This week has been very spring-like! Warmish with sunshine during the daylight hours and mid-30s overnight. Enough of the snow has melted away from the barn doors that I can open the doors and get into the barn!

There is more housekeeping and rearranging to be done but I can access Gardens well enough to get back to work on her. A few degrees warmer will make epoxy work more successful but there is plenty to do while waiting: measure and laminate a blank for the keg; measure, set-up and laminate an exterior stem (the measuring done in the barn, the cutting done in the shop and the gluing/epoxy work done in the basement).

Saturday, April 5, 2014

She's Waiting...

Gloriously sunny day with temperatures in the low 40s (F) today... Enough to lift the spirits but not enough to clear a foot or so of ice and snow away from the barn door. It may not look like much, but those doors are not opening any time soon. Okay, maybe sometime soon - but not today.

And she's waiting (puts me in mind of an Eric Clapton song)... Yes, Gardens is waiting for me to get back to work on her. Meanwhile, down in the basement work continues on the boomkin, refitting the mizzen boom hardware and painting the rudder.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Disappearing Snow

Work continues on the spars: planing, ripping, and notching staves for the mizzen mast, main yard and boom; varnishing and painting the boomkin; and, installing new (more suitably sized) hardware on the mizzen boom. Gluing up the spars is next. The main mast will come later - hopefully after gaining some experience with these smaller spars.

We were out of town for five days. When we returned, most of the snow - but not all - had disappeared. The main barn doors are still snowed shut but I can get into the barn to begin setting up to resume work on Gardens' hull. Maybe, if we go away for another five days, the temperatures will warm a bit more... and work on the hull can continue.