Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments....

[Dennis Peacock]

Well, another weekend has come and gone.

I was on vacation last week and spent most all of it doing things with the family, relaxing a little and working on getting all my stuff ready to start these cabinets for our church. These cabinets will be faceframe cabinets and I'm trying my best to figure out what type of hinges to put on the doors. I've been looking at the BLUM hinges and I thought I found the hinge to use, but looked at the spec's for mounting and it has a 3/16" gap between the door and the faceframe of the cabinet "built in" at the factory. Who in their right mind uses hinges with a 3/16" gap all the way around the door??!!! I am still hoping to use a Blum adjustable hinge for these cabinets....I'm just fishing for info from any of you as to which hinge I need to use.

Spent Saturday helping Mark Cothren paint his new shop and Sunday was church and then family time again Sunday evening. I always do my best to reserve Sunday Evening as a time to sit, eat and watch what little tv I do watch with them before I start another busy week.

I am hoping and praying that all my fellow woodworkers in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi are doing ok and have survived the hurricane.

So what did you do this weekend?

Best of weeks to you all.

[Donnie Raines]

Made about 5 cornhole sets........fun :rolleyes: (for the family). Went on a big hike with my youngest daughther(that pretty much killed me) and then grilled out two or three times.

All in all pretty good :cool:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I got my truck box and shop both organized again. The shop is getting close to being ready to box up and move. I also got the El Camino out for a run Saturday.

[Tyler Howell]

Finally some saw dust in the air, back to some home remuddling after a long hiatus. Cranked up the AC and started milling up trim for the house. Lots of hand work, getting a real good fit for a change. If it ain't working I guess the key is walk away for a while.

Got the yard in shape and spent time with the family.;)

Have a good week.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Took 3 days off last week. Inlaws are here from Illinois. Thursday and Friday my FIL and I fished for walleye at Lake Roosevelt WA with a guide. Limited out more quickly than my FIL would have liked. This weekend, the kids and grandkids came over to spend some time with ILs. Not much accomplished other than spending time with family members.

[John Hart]

Spent all day in the shop Saturday being humbled by a giant log on my lathe. Sunday was spent under the car, at the keyboard and in the dirt in the backyard. Pretty versatile weekend I reckon.

I'm glad the hurricane wasn't as severe as forecasted...Hope ya'll faired well.

[Michael Gabbay]

I had a fairly productive weekend in the shop. I got a couple hours in to work on the bathroom vanity. I'm sanding now and hopefully will be able to start spraying it later this week. I'm waiting for an order of lacquer from Jeff Jewitt. I should have it by Thursday.

I also built a knock-down spary booth similar to the Highland Hardware design. That took a couple of hours yesterday to build.

Mike

[Dave Anderson NH]

I finally got a break from toolmaking this weekend. After wasting part of Saturday shopping for a new computer printer/scanner/copier and doing the install, I finally got some recreational shop time. For over 7 months the squared up tiger maple blanks for a set of cabriole legs have been sitting on my tablesaw extension awaiting my attention. I transfered my drawn paper pattern to a sheet of 3mm plywood and bandsawed it out and smoothed it. I bandsawed out the rough leg blanks after cutting the mortises, and then got most of the turning for the feet done. Sue came home from golfing and was thrilled when I told her it was for a handkerchief table for the dining room. She was worried that she was ruining the surprise, but it wasn't intended as a surprise anyway.

[Scott Coffelt]

Took my son to the KC Royals game Friday night, yes they suck but it's still summer baseball. The Greater KC YMCA had an oting and we got to walk around the warning track. You really don't get a feel of how big a ball park is until your on the field. I think dad had more fun with that then he did.

Saturday I played in a Lion's golf tourney with my dad and brother. We did pretty good shot 11 under but after a score card playoff we took thrid.

Sunday was yard work and then vegging.

[Mike Cutler]

Got the stiles and solid panels for the library door all cut. Cut the tenons on the solid panels. Started the mortises on the stiles, and then broke the Mortiser( Handle broke) :( . Got a call into Delta for a new part already, hopefully here by the end of week.
Still not a bad weekend, all in all. ;)

[Jim O'Dell]

Did a little trim work on the doors for the shop. cutting some trim for the outside edges and installing the weatherstripping into these. I'm short about 5 feet of the weatherstrip, and it comes in 30 foot rolls!! Always my luck.
Spent a lot of time Sunday afternoon in a chair with a fan blowing on me, playing with ideas on where the duct work will go, and trying to come up with some ideas for reflectors for the florescent lights when I finally get to install them. Other than that, spent several hours in front of the tv watching Lance and company. These guys just amaze me how much power they can produce with such small frames. Jim.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Finished some more pre-sold cutting boards Saturday and spent much of Sunday proving to myself that I'm still not consistent enough in my joinery to warrant spending money on real lumber. I'm mid-way through building a pair of dog dish stands, done sorta as scaled-down Arts & Crafts style tables. I'm using cheap pine, since I'm building them as an excercise, and since the dogs can't tell pine from shlamaca. (Plus, the shlamaca prices around here are unreal.)

SMC profanity rules prohibit me from accurately describing my joinery skills.

- Vaughn

[Steve Clardy]

Finally got this tough Cherry staircase under control and got paid. Yippee!!

Did some organizing on tool boxes and pickup after dragging the tools and spray guns, etc. home.
Did a little shop organizing. Picked tomatoes and stuff in the garden.
Drug out the bass boat my folks had that has sat since 1984. I knew the tarp was torn, but didn't think about it too much. Decided to drag it out of the fence row out back, and discovered it was FULL OF WATER!!! The drain plug was in it, along with 30 million misquitos!! Arghh. Got it drained, washed out. It will survive looks like. Thank goodness for fiberglass, marine grade plywood, and outdoor carpet.
Did a little mowing out back, not much to mow as it's so dry now. Yippee. I hate mowing.
Looked over my hand plane collection, er addiction. Count is up to 68. I sure wonder where these planes come from and how do they multiple?:confused: :confused: :confused:

Steve

[Chris Padilla]

Someone recently posted a hilarious little diatribe of his day in which he basically worked all day "in his shop" but really got nothing done because of all the little side-jobs that lead from one to the other.

My goal this weekend was to get all the concrete/stonework pressure-cleaned and get the pool into shape.

All my Saturday mornings until noon are taken up by my daughter's ballet, gymnastics, and swimming activities so a quarter of each weekend is already spoken for! :)

So after lunch, I get to working on the pool--fire up the motor that's been off for 6 months and then let the filter and automatic cleaner (guy who runs around the bottom sucking stuff up) run for a while and I check on the pool off an on for the rest of the day. However, first I gotta blow the back yard real quick so that leaves, twigs, crap doesn't get in the pool...only then can I remove the PITA pool cover (safety cover for the kid).

Now to the pressure-washing. Wait, I need to borrow the sprayer from the neighbor and he ain't home.:mad: No biggie, got some prep work to do first and the pool to work on.

Hmmm, the automatic cleaner doesn't appear to be doing its job...in fact, it is barely moving. I pull it out and dink around with it. Now I have to go find the manual and read up on trouble-shooting...and half-hour later and I'm no further to figuring out what is wrong with it. I get online and look for Polaris dealers...yeah, who is going to answer their phone at 4 PM on a Saturday? I cold call the first 5 dealers the Polaris web-page spits back at me...nothing. Ah, well, Monday I guess. I just let the filter run a while since the pool is pretty murky from being ignored for 6 months and leave the auto cleaner off.

A few minutes later, the phone rings. One of the pool places I called called me back even though I didn't leave any message (hello caller ID!). The guy (a thickly-accented Asian man) wants to know why I called and so I explain the problem. He asks for my address and says he can be there in a half-hour. I figure, "What the hey?" However, I have to spell my street address to him 4 times and I'm quickly regretting having him show up. Oh well, too late...he's coming...maybe he can fix the auto pool cleaner but I bet he soaks me for it. :rolleyes: Oh well, if it works, I'll be happy. I also plan to ask him about several aspects of my pool that have been a mystery to me since I moved in almost 6 years ago.

He shows up and turns out to be quite a nice man (laughs at everything! "See, I make it work real good! hahahaha") and proceeds to rip my pool cleaner apart right there on the deck dropping screws everywhere as parts come flying out of my cleaner. He quickly finds the problem--two broken belts and a worn wheel axle and a float that is filled with water (this is a Polaris 380 in case you are familiar with them). $90 for all that (not too bad actually...Polaris pool parts must have gold in them) and my cleaner is working like new again so that was the main goal and it was accomplished...at about 5 PM on a Saturday. :)

So I start asking him about some mysteries about my pool...namely, two 3-way valves (I also have a spa connected to the pool) and how water flows and how I can use the valves. He explains it to me, laughing a lot "See, water from spa flows this way!" hahahaha and then gets a black marker and labels the 4 pipes for me with arrows ("You unnerstand now??" hahahaha). However, now that he is into my pool equipment, he notices a few leaks. The booster pump (not the main filter pump) that runs the auto cleaner is leaking like a sieve and it looks to be about as old as the house (built in 1973) even though it runs quite well. Well, for $250 for a new pump and $70 to install it, he is coming over today (Monday) at 4:30 to replace it for me. The price is definately high because the pump is a Polaris pump!! Oooo.... By now, I just want all my pool equipment working correctly (the pool has been a frustration since we moved in and I really want to get a handle on it) so I say, "Fine...see you Monday." He is small man and can fit in amongst the cobwebs (both pipe and spider kind!) better than me so I'll give him the work. He also turned out to be very nice even though he was hard to 'unnerstand' at times. He cheerfully repeated everything no matter how many times I said, "Huh?" and he laughed a lot. Hey, next time I can fix my own auto pool cleaner...I paid $90 for the lesson. He also said he'll be happy to relieve me of $80/month to take care of the pool once a week. I feel good about trying it on my own (got a good book I've been reading at bedtime) so for now, I pass. Well, so much for Saturday but, as the light dwindles...

...I move stuff in the backyard that hasn't moved in a while...lottsa stuff stuck behind them (leaves, spiders, etc.) and kinda rearrange the back yard a bit. Netflix time with the wife and get the kid ready for bed...end up staying up way too late IRCing with my buddies...1 AM.

Wake up late but no biggie...it's a weekend, right!? :) I finish rearranging the backyard a bit and I blow the backyard clean (we have a large oak tree in the back)...but I have to put the pool cover back on or it'll just fill up with crap. Ugh, what a pain. BTW, pool water is looking much better...I can see all the way to the bottom now and the little auto cleaner is ripping along very nicely doing its job! :)

Okay, all done blowing to the front and come the backyard to see leaves all over again...windy day. I look up...roof is pretty well covered with leaves...gutters are full. Well, darn it, it is up to the roof to blow it and the gutters clean. Now the yard's a mess again...sigh. Hmmm, while up on the roof, I notice that the oak tree has some branches too close to the house...better prune them. Now the yard has a mess of oak tree cuttings added to it. Hmmm, while pruning the oak tree, I see the large frontyard hedge spilling over the backyard fence and dragging on the shed roof...better add those clippings to the mess.

Now the backyard looks worse than ever! :( Well, at least I was smart enough to have the pool cover on...kept most of the garbage out of it. Hey, wasn't I going to pressure-wash the concrete/stone???

So I clean up all the clippings...haul them to the curb for recycling (City of San Jose allows you to dump green waste into the street and they'll scoop it up for you)...rake up the mess. Now I blow front and back AGAIN!

Ah, finally, back to pristine condition!!! Wait, the pool cover covers up a 12" path around the pool and that needs pressure-cleaned, too. Ugh, take the pool cover off...AGAIN! I managed to blow some crap under the pool cover and into the pool but not too bad. I broom and dustpan are used here to clean up since the blower isn't the tool to use when the pool cover is off.

Okay, finally, I get to pressure-cleaning. Doh! I sure hope my neighbor is home...forgot to get the sprayer from him!!:eek: Luckily, I catch him just before he leaves for the rest of the day (I think it is 4 PM by now). Okay, it takes some maneuvering to get everything hooked up but FINALLY, I am pressure cleaning!!!:D

3 hours later, shoes, socks soaked so they go squish-squish when I walk, and my lower legs, shoes, socks CAKED in dirt and grit, my shirt/shorts spotted with dirt, my safety glasses (yeah, needed to go get those things 5 minutes after I started cleaning!) spotted, and my lower back sore from being hunched over (spray wand could be 6" longer), my neck burned, my hat soaked and spotted from spray and mostly sweat, I am done!!

Well, now have to untangle the myriad of cords and hoses and I have to drain them as well and coil everything up nicely. I leave my black socks (they were white) and black shoes (much lighter before) on the porch and walk into the house and into the shower. Man, that felt good.

This morning, all the concrete/stone/brick works looks brand-spanking new!! The LOML is quite pleased!

[Steve Clardy]

Someone recently posted a hilarious little diatribe of his day in which he basically worked all day "in his shop" but really got nothing done because of all the little side-jobs that lead from one to the other.

My goal this weekend was to get all the concrete/stonework pressure-cleaned and get the pool into shape.

All my Saturday mornings until noon are taken up by my daughter's ballet, gymnastics, and swimming activities so a quarter of each weekend is already spoken for! :)

So after lunch, I get to working on the pool--fire up the motor that's been off for 6 months and then let the filter and automatic cleaner (guy who runs around the bottom sucking stuff up) run for a while and I check on the pool off an on for the rest of the day. However, first I gotta blow the back yard real quick so that leaves, twigs, crap doesn't get in the pool...only then can I remove the PITA pool cover (safety cover for the kid).

Now to the pressure-washing. Wait, I need to borrow the sprayer from the neighbor and he ain't home.:mad: No biggie, got some prep work to do first and the pool to work on.

Hmmm, the automatic cleaner doesn't appear to be doing its job...in fact, it is barely moving. I pull it out and dink around with it. Now I have to go find the manual and read up on trouble-shooting...and half-hour later and I'm no further to figuring out what is wrong with it. I get online and look for Polaris dealers...yeah, who is going to answer their phone at 4 PM on a Saturday? I cold call the first 5 dealers the Polaris web-page spits back at me...nothing. Ah, well, Monday I guess. I just let the filter run a while since the pool is pretty murky from being ignored for 6 months and leave the auto cleaner off.

A few minutes later, the phone rings. One of the pool places I called called me back even though I didn't leave any message (hello caller ID!). The guy (a thickly-accented Asian man) wants to know why I called and so I explain the problem. He asks for my address and says he can be there in a half-hour. I figure, "What the hey?" However, I have to spell my street address to him 4 times and I'm quickly regretting having him show up. Oh well, too late...he's coming...maybe he can fix the auto pool cleaner but I bet he soaks me for it. :rolleyes: Oh well, if it works, I'll be happy. I also plan to ask him about several aspects of my pool that have been a mystery to me since I moved in almost 6 years ago.

He shows up and turns out to be quite a nice man (laughs at everything! "See, I make it work real good! hahahaha") and proceeds to rip my pool cleaner apart right there on the deck dropping screws everywhere as parts come flying out of my cleaner. He quickly finds the problem--two broken belts and a worn wheel axle and a float that is filled with water (this is a Polaris 380 in case you are familiar with them). $90 for all that (not too bad actually...Polaris pool parts must have gold in them) and my cleaner is working like new again so that was the main goal and it was accomplished...at about 5 PM on a Saturday. :)

So I start asking him about some mysteries about my pool...namely, two 3-way valves (I also have a spa connected to the pool) and how water flows and how I can use the valves. He explains it to me, laughing a lot "See, water from spa flows this way!" hahahaha and then gets a black marker and labels the 4 pipes for me with arrows ("You unnerstand now??" hahahaha). However, now that he is into my pool equipment, he notices a few leaks. The booster pump (not the main filter pump) that runs the auto cleaner is leaking like a sieve and it looks to be about as old as the house (built in 1973) even though it runs quite well. Well, for $250 for a new pump and $70 to install it, he is coming over today (Monday) at 4:30 to replace it for me. The price is definately high because the pump is a Polaris pump!! Oooo.... By now, I just want all my pool equipment working correctly (the pool has been a frustration since we moved in and I really want to get a handle on it) so I say, "Fine...see you Monday." He is small man and can fit in amongst the cobwebs (both pipe and spider kind!) better than me so I'll give him the work. He also turned out to be very nice even though he was hard to 'unnerstand' at times. He cheerfully repeated everything no matter how many times I said, "Huh?" and he laughed a lot. Hey, next time I can fix my own auto pool cleaner...I paid $90 for the lesson. He also said he'll be happy to relieve me of $80/month to take care of the pool once a week. I feel good about trying it on my own (got a good book I've been reading at bedtime) so for now, I pass. Well, so much for Saturday but, as the light dwindles...

...I move stuff in the backyard that hasn't moved in a while...lottsa stuff stuck behind them (leaves, spiders, etc.) and kinda rearrange the back yard a bit. Netflix time with the wife and get the kid ready for bed...end up staying up way too late IRCing with my buddies...1 AM.

Wake up late but no biggie...it's a weekend, right!? :) I finish rearranging the backyard a bit and I blow the backyard clean (we have a large oak tree in the back)...but I have to put the pool cover back on or it'll just fill up with crap. Ugh, what a pain. BTW, pool water is looking much better...I can see all the way to the bottom now and the little auto cleaner is ripping along very nicely doing its job! :)

Okay, all done blowing to the front and come the backyard to see leaves all over again...windy day. I look up...roof is pretty well covered with leaves...gutters are full. Well, darn it, it is up to the roof to blow it and the gutters clean. Now the yard's a mess again...sigh. Hmmm, while up on the roof, I notice that the oak tree has some branches too close to the house...better prune them. Now the yard has a mess of oak tree cuttings added to it. Hmmm, while pruning the oak tree, I see the large frontyard hedge spilling over the backyard fence and dragging on the shed roof...better add those clippings to the mess.

Now the backyard looks worse than ever! :( Well, at least I was smart enough to have the pool cover on...kept most of the garbage out of it. Hey, wasn't I going to pressure-wash the concrete/stone???

So I clean up all the clippings...haul them to the curb for recycling (City of San Jose allows you to dump green waste into the street and they'll scoop it up for you)...rake up the mess. Now I blow front and back AGAIN!

Ah, finally, back to pristine condition!!! Wait, the pool cover covers up a 12" path around the pool and that needs pressure-cleaned, too. Ugh, take the pool cover off...AGAIN! I managed to blow some crap under the pool cover and into the pool but not too bad. I broom and dustpan are used here to clean up since the blower isn't the tool to use when the pool cover is off.

Okay, finally, I get to pressure-cleaning. Doh! I sure hope my neighbor is home...forgot to get the sprayer from him!!:eek: Luckily, I catch just before he leaves for the rest of the day (I think it is 4 PM by now). Okay, take some maneuvering to get everything hooked up but FINALLY, I am pressure cleaning!!!:D

3 hours later, shoes, socks soaked so they go squish-squish when I walk, and my lower legs CAKED in dirt and grit, my shirt/shorts spotted with dirt, my safety glasses (yeah, needed to go get those things 5 minutes after I started cleaning!) spotted, and my lower back sore from being hunched over (spray wand could be 6" longer), my neck burned, my hat soaked and spotted from spray and mostly sweat, I am done!!

Well, now have to untangle the myriad of cords and hoses and I have to drain them as well and coil everything up nicely. I leave my black socks (they were white) and black shoes (much lighter before) on the porch and walk into the house and into the shower. Man, that felt good.

This morning, all the concrete/stone/brick works looks brand-spanking new!! The LOML is quite pleased!

My my yer windy today Brother Chris.:eek:
Sounds like when I attempt to clean my shop. I get the broom, then I see something to put up, or move, or throw away, or organize, or see a shelf that needs redone, or moved, or or or, etc etc. Finally at the end of the day, I am actually using the broom. LOl

[Jason Solodow]

Let's see, Friday I had 'off' from work, ended up going into the office planning on being there for maybe two hours cleaning up some leftover projects from the week.. 6 and a half hours later I leave the office after finally completing the leftover work from the week. Saturday LOML slept in, got up at 9, went out for brunch, then spent the day at the mall shopping for clothes.. (for her and me), afterwards, went home, showered, and then went out for a nice candlelit dinner of seafood on the lakefront. Sunday we got up at 11, and then the LOML helped me clean and organize the shop, afterwards we drove out to Ohio and picked up some wood from Donnie Raines, came home did some grocery shopping, ate a light dinner, and then went to bed. So, no time making dust, but otherwise a wonderful weekend with the LOML. Next weekend however, she'll be at work all weekend and I'll either be making dust or running ductwork for the DC..


Jason

[Bob Noles]

I finally got around to building a lumber storage bin under my free standing carport. You have no idea how nice it is to get all that stock out of the shop and open up some room.

[Scott Coffelt]

Nice story Chris, so now what did you really do? Sounds too fishy to me, I bet you just laid around on your tush and had the two misses wait on you hand and foot.

Yep, sounds like my typical day when I need to get something done (hahahaha). If you want fer $80/month I'll laugh fer ya.

[Don Baer]

Chris;
I pay $80/month for my pool servce and another $80/month for the gardener. I figured with all of the free time I would get it would be worth it to have my weekends free for what I want to do. Well the yard and pool both look great but it seems I still don't have time to do the things I want to do.. go figure.
Now the LOML just comes up with a bigger round 2 it list.

:(

[Chris Padilla]

Scott, I bet you would but that is pretty cheap for that service! hahaha

Don, I already pay $100/month for a gardner but I was *this* close to paying this guy to do my pool until the unexpected expenses piled up slightly. I think with the system running good, and me understanding it better, I should be able to balance the water with some initial, solid effort and then it'll be cake from here on. I have a guy coming over to give me an estimate on a solar heating system...I don't think I'm serious about it but I'm darn curious what it'll cost. I have a NG heater but I hate turning it on so we all avoid the pool unless it hits 100 degrees! haha

[Jim Becker]

I spend the weekend being thankful I actually survived the first week of being a "parent" to two "very active" girls from Russia. I thought about woodworking and even poked my head in the shop to look at the tools sleeping quietly. (They do not snore, unlike certain folks in this house...) And that reminded me I needed to sleep. But I also lost three pounds over the week...hee hee ;)

[Matt Meiser]

Saturday I did some some major picking up in the shop, burned the last of the construction debris from when I finished the place and 2 drums of scrap. Sunday I cut lawn, sprayed roundup on all the stuff that isn't supposed to be growing. Did some finishing expirimentation for the buffet--had to quit when I spilled about a pint of BLO/MS/Poly on myself and the floor. After cleaning up the mess, we went over to my parents to visit. On the way home, found a truck (95 Ranger) that we are going to buy for me to drive at least part of the time.

[Jim Hager]

I spent Saturday mowing the acreage arond the house cutting down some dead trees, piling some brush and helping the neighbor work on an old fence row that needed cleaning up. Moved a brush pile and just did general cleanup work around the place.


On Sunday I worked on a wall mounted book case to complete an office that I have going. Got the woodwork all done now on to sanding, staining and lacquer.

By the way Dennis you should try the blum 38N hinge for your face frame cabinet doors. I use them all the time and I'm very satisfied. At first glance they look like there would be a large gap around the door like you mention but not any more than a regular 1/2" overlay amerock face mounted hinge. I got the box that I have now from Plunkett Distributing in Fort Smith but I have also talked with Village Square Cabinet Supply in Benton about them too. They come in boxes of 250 (125 pair) from distrubutors but it sure makes them cheap enough to buy. I resell a lot of those to the local contractors that I do doors for. Everyone seems to be satisfied. They are adjustable up and down, in and out and left and right.

[Sam Chambers]

Finally got to cut some stuff on my new Unisaw. What a treat! Smooth, quiet (by comparison), and the dust collection works very well. Built the router table extension out of laminated MDF, banded with oak, then covered with high-pressure laminate. When I went to cut the opening for the router plate, I couldn't find my double-sided tape to attach the template, so I had to quit.

While looking for the double-sided tape, I found all the electrical parts I misplaced when I moved into this house 6 years agoi, and realized that I have almost everything I need to run more outlets in the shop. All I lack are a couple of GFCI outlets. I'll finally get to stop dragging that 25 foot extension cord all over the shop.

Now, if I start looking for something else, I'm bound to find that roll of double-sided tape!