Turning withdrawl

[Scott Hackler]

So here it is, 2 full months since I turned on my lathe after the carpal tunnel surgery and last night I actually went out and chucked up a piece of dry elm. I have a turning club meeting tomorrow and our "challenge" was to turn an end grain goblet and return with it for show and tell.

It sure felt good to slap the tool to that spinning chunk of wood and tonight I will be finish turning the (or a different) goblet. I have an idea for a turned, carved and textured piece but appearantly in a 2 month break from turning I forgot that I can't do these complex pieces in 1 night! lol

Anyway.... I have been "able" to turn for a while (even though my hand isn't 100% yet) but instead I have been "mudding and taping" 800 square feet of basement. "Yuck" doesn't begin to describe it. I hate finishing drywall but when money is tight, I do things myself.

My wife even asked me the other day, "aren't you missing your time in the wood shop"? She is a good women and knows that I want to be out there and yet haven't taken the time for myself/fun things. That's going to change, as this weekend myself and a friend are texturing the basement and the drywall aspect will be DONE!!!

Thanks for letting me vent! :)

[Jim Burr]

I put myself through school...both times, as a finish carpenter. Sheetrock sucks!! I feel your pain, after cancer I was out of the shop for 2 months...all I wanted to do was get back in for a minute or two. My wife would have nothing to do with it!

[Marty Eargle]

Good to hear you're getting some turning time in finally, Scott! Be sure to ease into it...a few days of solid turning might be fun, but might also make you want to buy some stock in ibuprofen. :)

Looking forward to seeing your newest creation.

[Russell Eaton]

I hope you are at full speed soon, we have been missed seeing your projects.

[John Keeton]

Scott, having mudded/taped/finished a BUNCH of drywall over the years with rental properties, homes, etc., I am not quite sure that is good physical therapy following CT surgery!!!!:eek: In any event, glad to see you are back at it and I look forward to seeing the fruits of the "new hand" on the lathe.

[Brian McInturff]

Scott,
I feel for you buddy. I had to take 6 months off and then 1 year off from turning. Both times due to back surgeries. 7 fused disc later I am still turning. Take it in moderation and exercise the hand. And above all, enjoy yourself in the shop.

[charlie knighton]

Scott, glad to hear you are turning again even on limited basis, looking forward to pictures, thanks for sharing your progress.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Scott I feel your pain. I don't know which sucks more mudding sheet rock or sanding it afterwards. It will come though.

[Scott Hackler]

Sanding is just one notch worse than mudding, IMO! I am getting along pretty decent NOW with the hand, even though it hurts from time to time and there is still a knot under the cut area. This 800 square foot mud and tape nightmare was a larger project (time wise) than I had thought it would be. Of course some dummy had to have 9' ceilings in their basement, so I have worn drywall stilts so much that I am ready for the circus. For reference, I already had 1/2 of the area mudded and taped (first coat) and I still went though 4 4.5 gal buckets of mud and 1 1/2 large rolls of tape. Yep, had me enough of this activity. Due to the size and only being able to stand doing it for about 2 hours before the hand started throbbing....well that's a month of evenings!

A big sigh of relief will come after knock down is complete tomorrow. Then I can finally get back to turning some of these crazy ideas I jotted down in my new scetch book!

[Dane Fuller]

Wow, Scott. I didn't realize you'd been down that long. Taping & bedding sucks canal water. I rate it a notch above hauling hay and 2 notches above building fence. Of course, there aren't many square balers left in these parts & hauling the big round bales is a "sit in the pickup" job now. I guess I need to re-evaluate my list of jobs I hate doing....

[Tim Rinehart]

I don't mind the hanging drywall...but hate the muddin and sanding. I did figure out it's a whole lot easier to just sand it with a damped old t-shirt than sandpaper, provided you didn't get carried away with the stuff and kept pretty smooth joints.

Look forward to seeing your work again soon, your mind has to have been on overtime thinking about what you want to do. Have you been sketching out anything inspirational to tease us with a notion of what you want to do? In any way, hope your complete recovery is on its way. You're young enough it to heal quicker than us older dawgs!

[Jon McElwain]

Festool just came out with a new modular drywall sanding system. I watched the video and for a split second was thinking, hey, that doesn't look too bad. As soon as I consciously processed what I had just said, I turned off the video and ran for the shop. What was I THINKING??

Anyway, glad to her you are back at it! I can sympathize, I have been in school the last two years and my turning time is nil. I just put a piece on the lathe last night for the first time since before Christmas! :eek:

[Doug Herzberg]

Scott, glad to hear you're back in the shop. Hope it's going well, but take it easy. I've done my share of mudding and taping, but these days it's mostly repair and texture. I should probably look for a better class of tenants.

I suppose it's too much to hope that the 800 sq. ft. is your new heated shop in the basement. Probably a woman cave or something like that. Good luck with the texture.

[Scott Hackler]

No shop Doug. I have a fully insulated, heated and air conditioned 15X30 shop in the end of my garage, so priorities were set a few years ago! :) The basement project consist of a bathroom, hallway, pool table/ game room and a dedicated home theater. Yes I said that last one. Some idiot took on that massive project 6 years ago and am just now finishing the 2ND layer of drywall in that (fully sound proof) theater room. Sometimes I get carried away and when I thought about building a room to watch movies, I accidentally found the SawMill Creek of home theater building and now that plain ole room became the beginings of a dedicated THX level theater room. Of course my loving teenagers have informed me to HURRY UP and finish it so they can watch a movie before they move away! I am probably a year worth of work before the first "show". :(

But the woodshop is open for business! :)