Here are the entries made for 2019:
January: None
February:
This February has been absolute proof that Mother Nature is a bi-polar bitch! we went from 50 degrees and sunny to wind chills of -50 in a day! Even for central Illinois, that’s some pretty extreme weather changes. Still don’t have my own shop set up, so I’ve been squatting at a friend’s house and using his shop for some much needed turning time.
Below are the offerings for February, 2019:
March:
In like a lion, out like a lamb. Pretty much sums up what we’re dealing with in Central Illinois. Since I don’t have a shop back up and running (yet) I’ve spent the month focused on the woodturning club I’m in, instead of creating individual projects. Only one post for the month!
So… Now, I’m a teacher?
April:
April showers is supposed to mean rain, but we still keep getting threats of snow. Mother Nature can be a, well… really mean person! Still working on getting the shop set up, but it’ll be another slow month of making. The revised plan is to build out TWO shops, one for all activities that produce dust and a second area that will be inside, ventilated, and climate controlled, where I can do detailed ink and pyrography work assisted by technology, along with an upgraded light booth for pictures.
Here’s the offerings for April:
May:
Spring has finally come to Central Illinois, but I suspect it will only last a couple of weeks before the temperatures go well past 90. There won’t be much this month, since I still don’t have the new shop up and running. I keep inching closer, with the goal still being to have the new shop fully functional by the time fireworks light up the night sky!
Here are the offerings for May, 2019:
June:
Here are the offerings for the month:
July: None
August:
IT HAS BEGUN!!!
FINALLY, after nearly a year in limbo, I have started the demolition process to build the new shop! Once done, I’ll have the new shop, with the new lathes and the new tools up and running! With some help from friends, I’ve already got some of the new temporary wiring done so I’ll be able to use the new equipment much sooner than I had expected. It’s still going to take some time, but seeing the old, nasty, broken drywall starting to coming down really makes me smile. I already know what the first project will be, once I’m fully able to turn and there’s a HUGE piece of wood that I’ve been holding on to just for this project.
During all the time I’ve been living in limbo, waiting for a life of freedom to actually start, I’ve had more time than I should have had to think things over. In that time, I’ve come to several realizations concerning my hobby:
- I shouldn’t be storing green wood in the shop, since you never know what kind of little critters might be living in the wood. No sense bringing termites, carpenter ants, or powder post beetles into your house! To fix that, I think I have a solution to store green blanks outside of the house structure, yet close enough to the shop that I can get to it when I need to. If I pull this off, it will also help control the moisture loss, so the blanks won’t crack themselves in half before I can use them.
- From my last shop, I learned that I need to separate the “turning space” from the “finishing space”, so I’m not always fighting a dust problem. I think I’ve found a way to build a secondary workspace that will allow for carving, resin work, staining, burning, and non-aerosol finish application. This secondary space is going to have some technology added to it so I can use cameras, an I-pad, and maybe a secondary monitor to magnify the pieces while I do fine detail work. I would also be set up to start recording the work, just in case I start getting into posting videos down the road. LOTS of options open up!
- After talking to the electrician, I’ve realized that the electrical installation is going to be a LOT easier than I had expected (or had been initially told) and that much of the work I can do myself. Since the labor costs of the electrical work was likely to be the most expensive part, The whole project should come in much cheaper than I initially thought. Cheap enough that I may be able to upgrade either my dust collector or my bandsaw and still come in under budget. Sometimes, things just work out!
- While my divorce has had many, MANY positive aspects, the one I didn’t anticipate was “losing” most of my tools/machines. It is now exceedingly clear to me that if I’d have kept everything, I’d need a LOT more space to hold it all and most of the tools I lost it turns out I didn’t need. It means the footprint for my shop can be smaller without impacting my ability to create things. It means that I didn’t have to pay to store tools I really didn’t need. It means for the tools I do replace will be the right ones, because now I know what to buy and where to buy them from. It means I’ll end up with better tools, because the quality and features of the tools have continued to evolve. As an example, the Hunter carbide set I purchased is far superior to the Easy Wood tools that I lost, yet I could get a whole set for less than ONE of the old technology Easy Wood gouges. I saved enough money that I could also get a deep hollowing system that will fit the new lathes! Simply put, without the “loss” in the divorce, I’d still be using second tier tools that I paid to store and now wouldn’t even want.
- Finally, I think I have a solution (other than designer firewood) for all of the completed projects that are stacking up in the house, but that is a story for another day…
For now, here’s the projects completed for the month of August:
September: None
October:
Well the summer zipped by MUCH faster than it used to. It can’t be that I’m getting older, things are just moving faster. With the cool weather comes the promise of more time to work in my shop, assuming of course I can finish up the work to get the new shop up and running. I’m close, very, very close…
Here are the offerings for October, 2019:
November: None
December: None