Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments.....

[Dennis Peacock]

27 June 2011

Good Morning,
Well, it's been hot, dry, and well....hot here and I'm already looking forward to fall!!

Our family doctor brought some cherry by here for me to make him a "stove cover" that he wants made for his wife. Our family doctor has become a very good friend of the family and we sure enjoy his visits when he comes by. I think he has more wood that what he knows what to do with because he just buys it and store it. Sometimes I get the benefit of some of his wood and then I store it. (LOL)

This past weekend and week, I've been taking the time to teach my two boys how to ride motorcycle as I've gotten them a little Honda Rebel 250 (bought used) and teaching them about the care and feeding of the Rebel as well as wrenching when time comes for repairs. It's been a challenge and fun teaching them and seeing their joy when a skill is learned and experienced. I sure do love my family.

Well, I need to get off of here and get busy. I have painting to do today for a friend here in town....it's in trade for a chest freezer they have and no longer want and we are trading the painting of a couple of rooms in the house for the freezer.

Well, that's it for me, so what did YOU do this past weekend?

Best of weeks to you all.

[Neil Brooks]

I always thought the Rebel was a very cool bike -- like a Harley that got washed on HOT. On those rare occasions when LOML expressed an interest in riding, the Rebel usually comes to my mind.

I've had very limited shop time, so ... my best friend's wife's 50th ... came and went, and I was nowhere near finished with the serving tray I'm making her. Finally got some time in, completed the T&G bottom, and the shaping of the sides/handles.

Circumstances may mean that I might finally be able to buy a brand spanking new cabinet saw, so ... spent a fair amount of time looking at my top three contenders -- Uni, SS, and PM -- to narrow it down.

My preference would be for a 5HP, 1PH, and ... after a TON of exploration ... I still don't know which one I want.

LOL !

Luckily, the looking IS half the fun ;) And ... there's still some lingering indication that somebody out there is producing a PM2066 -- a "design-it-yourself" 2000 that gives you a nice bunch of options to choose from. Chasing down that rumor....

I've usually been very close to a doctor or two, at any given time in my life. I've had difficulty calling it a Good Thing, though :o

Meanwhile, I finally got MY bike out for the season, and had a couple of great rides through the twisties. There IS a reason for that saying, "You never see a motorcycle parked outside the psychiatrist's office :D"

[Shawn Pixley]

Returned from Brazil at noon Friday for my son's graduation. My parents were in town for the graduation as well. The ceremonies were held at East West Studios in Hollywood which is no ordinary studio for those with an interest. After driving home (LOML actually drove) I immediately went to bed due to being up for 36 hours. Saturday was low key due some serious jet lag and general exhaustion. Sunday was spent with my father watching me flatten a wane edge curly maple top with hand planes. I didn't get any woodworking, repair or carpentry training from my father. That I got from my grandfather. I was nice to spend time with dad though.

[David Hostetler]

The rebel is an interesting little bike for sure. Not sure I want a 250cc motor scooting my fat behind around, but that's another story all together...

This weekend saw much more barbecue cooked, a sagging gate got the aircraft cable and turnbuckle treatment. Sure is nice not having to fight the gate to open and close it!

All in all, I was pretty much at the mercy of LOML for the schedule this weekend. So not many of my projects got done. However I did get some garden time in, and like I said, barbecue... Which consisted of...

#1. 10lb smoked brisket. (yielded about 5 lbs after I trimmed all the fat off...)
#2. 10lb beef ribs.
#3. 3lbs of sausages on a stick.
#4. 2 packs of Hebrew National beef hot dogs.
#5. 8 ears of sweet yellow corn.
#6. 3lbs of foil roasted rosemary garlic potatoes.

Yes I do my Q so I can toss leftovers in the microwave for the rest of the week...

We took a drive out to Santa Fe Texas on Friday night out to the Bee Farm to pick up a gallon of local honey. We do a lot of traditional baked goods, and this stuff comes in really handy, particularly with traditional Amish and Mexican recipes...

[Jim Rimmer]

I happened to step out back of our shop on Friday and saw a bunch of wood from a crate that was thrown down by our wood dumpster (fortunately the dumpster was full and they didn't throw it in). I loaded that up and spent Saturday cleaning it up (removing staples and nails). I ended up with 8 - 1x10x8', about 20 - 1x8x4' and several short 2x4s (4 ft or so and a coupe of 8 footers). Not the greatest wood in the world but clean and straight. I may make a miter saw table out of some of it. (Probably worth about $200+ at the BORG - stealth gloat :D)

[David Nelson1]

I learned how not to mark up M/T joints, I then went on to learn how not to cut/chop them out, I then had the oppertunity to learn how to correct my mistakes and why they are mistakes. LOL Great weekend all in all, wife and I saw the movie Super 8. It's predictable, same story line as other films of its type, but the kids that where the main charachters did a very good job of portraying 1970's teens. Oh almost forgot the best part, rode down to Lusby late Sunday afternoon and visited with Chris Jackson and his wife. Took a tour of his soon to be dismantle shop. He had a great shop for a 2 car garage, oh and I bought a couple of small things. LOL

[BOB OLINGER]

Hey David,

What type of cooker/smoker do you have. We do a little barbecue up here in Iowa, also.

As for this weekend, the main thing was a high school class reunion on Saturday. On Sunday, church and a few odd jobs around the house; no woodworking.

[Jim Rimmer]

I learned how not to mark up M/T joints, I then went on to learn how not to cut/chop them out, I then had the oppertunity to learn how to correct my mistakes and why they are mistakes. LOL Great weekend all in all, wife and I saw the movie Super 8. It's predictable, same story line as other films of its type, but the kids that where the main charachters did a very good job of portraying 1970's teens. Oh almost forgot the best part, rode down to Lusby late Sunday afternoon and visited with Chris Jackson and his wife. Took a tour of his soon to be dismantle shop. He had a great shop for a 2 car garage, oh and I bought a couple of small things. LOL

Here's hoping your project is not now shorter than originally planned. :D

[Matt Meiser]

We JUST returned from a long weekend stategically chosen to give us 3 4-day work weeks in a row. We camped in Hartville, OH, visited some of the Amish area, went to the flea market Saturday and today, swam, went to see Cars 2 (good movie), went to a winery (where the people sitting near us asked the waitress to ask the "band" to "turn it down"--yeah, that good :rolleyes:) went to an outlet mall, and I forget what all else.

I came home with several gloats:
- A Stanley 71-1/2 router plane that needs some (but not a ton) of cleanup but is complete for $20.
- A brand new Bostitch 23ga pinner from the outlet mall for $30.
- A set of old US-made 1/8" letter stamps for $15.
- US and Metric sets of US-made, unused T-handle Allen wrenches for $20 total.
- Hinges to make my drying racks for $1 each.
- Several nights-reading worth of Woodsmith issues for $2 (much better deal than buying 1 on the news stand for $6-7.)

[David Nelson1]

Hey Jim,
Nope its not shorter. I just had to shim the back side of the tenon after I widened the mortise for alignment I need more than one marking gauge or understand the requirements and mark everything that is the same measurement before resetting the gauge. Hand chopped three practice mortises, then decided to use the hollow chisel setup. Played with the dado method of cutting tenons, band saw, and by hand. Band saw worked the best for me right now. I have some really long pieces that I'm certain will require hand cutting. I need practice with a back saw is an understatement!:rolleyes:

[David Hostetler]

Hey David,

What type of cooker/smoker do you have. We do a little barbecue up here in Iowa, also.

As for this weekend, the main thing was a high school class reunion on Saturday. On Sunday, church and a few odd jobs around the house; no woodworking.


It's a long out of production "New Braunfels Smoker" "Bandera" model smoker. Back in I guess it was 2006 New Braunfels Smoker Company got bought out by Char Broil. This smoker is garage kept, and repainted at nearly every other burn to keep the steel coated. I have had to replace the caster inserts in the legs as the OEM plastics died. I make new ones out of wood. Go figure... The prep shelf is getting kind of haggard lately. I need to build new slats and replace the hardware with Stainless Steel...

My wife bought this thing for me actually when we were dating. I had burned out a New Braunfels Silver Smoker at a cookoff, literally went right through the bottom of the fire box... Well it was time for a new one, and LOML loves my BBQ so.... My next Q is going to be fajitas though. I have about 30 lbs of beef, and 30lbs of chicken to tenderize and marinade. I cook it up, divide it up, vacuum seal it and stick it in the freezer for microwave dinners... Generally speaking, in the summer, it's my turn to cook... So we eat a LOT of BBQ...

One of my favorites though is the roasted corn. On indirect heat, I soak, and foil wrap the ears of corn in the husk, then cook then between 250 and 275 deg for 1.5 to 2 hours. Serve them with butter, and Tony Cacheries Creole Seasoning and an ice cold beer...

I have a second cooker, a Weber Smokey Joe mini kettle that we use on the beach and when camping. I HATE the public grills at the parks. Nasty nasty nasty...

[Jim Becker]

It was a really nice weekend here with a drop in the humidity, making for general pleasantness. My riding lesson was a bit challenging on Saturday as Nellie hadn't had any turnout for a few days due to bad weather and lightning, so she was living up to her show name, "Little Miz Excitable". I was major tired and not very useful after that. We did have dinner at a Mexican place we hadn't visited before. Sunday brought lawn mowing, weed destroying and fixing a minor hydraulic leak on the tractor's loader before we headed to a swim party for a girl who rides at our barn and just graduated from high school. I did get a few minutes in the shop checking inventory so I could get started on the new tack trunk commission I landed last weekend at the barn show. It will be another QSWO panel design with a contrasting trim for a frame and panel look, but without the drawer unit under it.

This week starts what we expect will be many weeks of "parental challenge"...our older daughter Tia is having knee surgery tomorrow. The rehab will not be fun 'cause she's not a good patient, not endowed with any kind of motivation to work on things that are important and most importantly, totally home for the summer due to this injury and treatment. No camp, making for all kinds of fun relative to work scheduling and even vacation plans. But this too, will pass... ;)

[BOB OLINGER]

It's a long out of production "New Braunfels Smoker" "Bandera" model smoker. Back in I guess it was 2006 New Braunfels Smoker Company got bought out by Char Broil. This smoker is garage kept, and repainted at nearly every other burn to keep the steel coated. I have had to replace the caster inserts in the legs as the OEM plastics died. I make new ones out of wood. Go figure... The prep shelf is getting kind of haggard lately. I need to build new slats and replace the hardware with Stainless Steel...

My wife bought this thing for me actually when we were dating. I had burned out a New Braunfels Silver Smoker at a cookoff, literally went right through the bottom of the fire box... Well it was time for a new one, and LOML loves my BBQ so.... My next Q is going to be fajitas though. I have about 30 lbs of beef, and 30lbs of chicken to tenderize and marinade. I cook it up, divide it up, vacuum seal it and stick it in the freezer for microwave dinners... Generally speaking, in the summer, it's my turn to cook... So we eat a LOT of BBQ...

One of my favorites though is the roasted corn. On indirect heat, I soak, and foil wrap the ears of corn in the husk, then cook then between 250 and 275 deg for 1.5 to 2 hours. Serve them with butter, and Tony Cacheries Creole Seasoning and an ice cold beer...

I have a second cooker, a Weber Smokey Joe mini kettle that we use on the beach and when camping. I HATE the public grills at the parks. Nasty nasty nasty...

David,

Thanks for the reply. I believe my smoker is also a New Braunfels, bought it like 15 yrs. or so ago at Menards. It's an upright cylinder type with pans for the charcoal/wood and water. Has about 3-4 racks. Works good. I also have an Oklahoma Joes with offset fire box. We love barbecue and is always fun trying some new ideas.

[David Hostetler]

David,

Thanks for the reply. I believe my smoker is also a New Braunfels, bought it like 15 yrs. or so ago at Menards. It's an upright cylinder type with pans for the charcoal/wood and water. Has about 3-4 racks. Works good. I also have an Oklahoma Joes with offset fire box. We love barbecue and is always fun trying some new ideas.

The Oklahoma Joe smokers were a sub brand of New Braunfels Smoker... If I recall right those were the big boys... The Bandera Smoker I have is the big upright square one. Sort of a backwards Brinkman Smoke King Deluxe (http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-Brinkmann%C2%AE-Smoke-King-Deluxe/dp/B000BONIAE). I really need to spend some quality time with a disposable sander blowing all the gunk and old finish off of it, and refurb it somewhat. I have some fire brick I want to line the fire box, and the bottom of the smoke chamber with, as well as adding a baffle to more evenly spread the heat in the smoke chamber. Quite possibly I may add a door gasket as well to keep the smoke from pouring out the door...

I love this thing because I can cook up a weeks worth of barbecue or more in one session, and neither LOML or I need to worry about much beyond taking some BBQ out of the freezer and popping it in the microwave for the rest of the week...