Post-surgery progress pics

[John Miliunas]

NO, I'm NOT going to try and gross everybody out with pictures of scars and stuff like that. At the same time, I doubt very much I'll impress anyone with the caliber of WW I'm about to show but, it's progress nonetheless! What was that saying about the guys landing on the moon?: "One small step for man, one giant leap...." Well fine, this is just teeny, tiny steps, but hey, I'm just happy to be making some sawdust again!:D For those not "in the know", I had hand surgery back on the 15th of June and was in a cast, and brace, yada, yada, yada... Well, when I finally got some range of motion back into the thumb, I decided it was time to get back in the shop!:) Still with pain and missing a LOT of strength, but getting better daily.

Having seen the thread a while back on auxiliary fences, I decided it was about time I made one for myself and this was the perfect "warm-up" to do a number of different processes. The fence is basically a knock-off of many others out there, primarily intended to help as a hold-down for stock as it passes the blade. The business end of the unit measures 28" long. The T-track can also accept other aux. fences, such as zero clearance for rabbets and such. I had some Black Walnut, which I had previously planed and was acclimated to the shop and Cherry scraps, so why not? The base attached to the fence (Bies clone) is simply 1/2" ply. I drilled and tapped 3 1/4x20 holes in the fence body and attached it with hex bolts. Prior to attaching, I drilled out two acc. fence holes and fed two T-track bolts through it, chiseling out the space below flush with the bottom of the ply, thus making them "self-locking". All the fence parts are 3/4", with the face attached to the bottom by way of biscuits and glue. Dado for the T-track and the track itself screwed and glued (poly) in the dado. Rear braces flush screwed from the bottom and glued to the rear of the face. In practice, it works pretty slick, though I do intend on making some wooden feather-boards in place of those plastic things.

The cutting board was a requested one of two, which LOML wanted for presents. I had a mishap with the second one while hogging out the inlay area for the tile.:o I still may be able to salvage it, but thus far, my efforts have simply made it worse. The one which did make the grade is simply a combination of scrap Walnut, Maple and Cherry I had. LOML insisted on the 6x6" tile for "cutting cheese" or such. (That sounded BAD, didn't it?:D ) Nothing really special. 10x18", just shy of an inch thick. Made a template out of some hardboard and routed out the recess for the tile. Rounded the bottom edge, 45°ed the top edge and finished with several coats of mineral oil.

Like I said, nothing special, but it sure was fun getting back into doing something, at least a little bit productive in the shop! Thanks for taking a peak and I will welcome critiques.:) :cool:

[Lou Morrissette]

Glad to see you back in the saddle, John. Both projects show you still got it , Bud. Take it slow and keep the sawdust flying.

Lou

[David Pettibone]

Nice cutting board partner and what type of surgery did you have? Scars? Blood and guts? Talk to me. I obviously missed that you were out of commisson and I would definitely like to know what type of surgery you went through. Glad your back in the shop!!!

David:)

[Dick Parr]

Glad to see you getting back to it John. ;) Both projects look great to me.

Great job and glad to have ya back at it. :)

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hey John,

I'm glad you are back and having fun again with woodworking. Nice projects! How much pain are you in now? Hopefully not too much. Alan

[Mark Singer]

John,

That is progress!!!! I got to tell you great stuff ! Very nice fence! When you start it always leeds to bigger things and I am really glad to see you back in the shop! Hang in there and keep up the beautiful work and your wonderful spirit...that makes SMC a real Joy!

[Corey Hallagan]

Nice work John! both projects look great but that fence I hav got to make one of those. Did you have to drill and tap the top of the fence then?

Corey

[Bill Lewis]

... Well, when I finally got some range of motion back into the thumb, I decided it was time to get back in the shop!:) Still with pain and missing a LOT of strength, but getting better daily.

Well there is probably no better therapy than "using it".

Walnut for a fence!?, well that's just showin' off!

BTW, John, do you adhere the tile to the cutting board? If so what do you use for an adhesive?

[Bob Noles]

John,

I was not aware of your surgery and am sorry to learn of it, but glad the recovery is going so well. That is a great looking fence and cutting board you've produced so I would think that the surgery was a complete success. Good to hear you are coming back around and are now able to enjoy the finer things in life.

[John M. Cioffi]

Hey John,

Glad to see you back in the swing of it.
Very nice work on both projects. The inlay work still amazes me;some day I'll have to give it a try.Glad your're doing so much better. Thanks for sharing.
John:)

[Steve Ash]

John,
Looks like you are recovering well, I would think that woodworking would be good therapy for you.
Glad you are back in the shop!:cool:

[Jim Becker]

"Back in the saddle, again..." LOL!

Seriously, that's good news, John! Nice job on the project, too.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Great to see you back at it John! Every time I drove close, I heard your tools calling out to me, someone please use us!! :P

I really love the cutting board, how did you attach the tile?

[Bernie Weishapl]

John, glad to see you back. Take it easy.


Bernie

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nice useable practical projects! How's the pain while working following the surgery? Don't be to astonished if you have some lpain and it decreases overtime. After breaking my back, I built a gazebo for physical therapy. There was pain for an extended period of time but it gradually diminished and the therapy was a big part of the reduction. IMHO it's a fine line between doing enough physical therapy to gain range of motion, strength, etc. and "over doing it". Glad to hear there is sawdust in your shop again!

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for all the kind comments, guys! Feels good to have sawdust on my clothes and glue on my fingers!:D

Let's see if I can address the inquiry parts of the replies: Dave P., sent you a PM.
Alan T., yes, it still hurts (like the devil, at times!), but progressively getting better!:) My right hand thumb is actually now in more pain than the one with surgery!:o
Corey, drilled and tapped 1/4x20 holes (3 of them) to attach the "sub-plate".
Bill L., Walnut and Cherry are what I happened to have on hand AND, which were already acclimated to the shop. Didn't need that much anyway.:)

Bill L. & Jeff S., plain old silly sealer to attach the tile. The tile itself was not completely flat on the backside, so I "built up" a bit more sealer on that portion and then simply ran a bead around the inside perimeter of the recess. Heavy weight on the tile overnight did the trick just fine. BTW, in order to be sure there was good surface for adhesion, the recess was done after I oiled the board.

Thanks again for all your support! Just another reason SMC flat-out ROCKS!:D :) :cool:

[Jason Tuinstra]

Good for you, John. The projects turned out just fine. Most of all, I'm sure it's great just to be back in the shop. Good to have you back at it again.

[Greg Narozniak]

Glad to see you back!!

[Brian Hale]

John, it's GREAT to hear you're Back Where You Belong... In The Shop!

Take things slow and easy till your back to normal..

Brian :)

[scott spencer]

Keep up the good work John! Looks like that aux fence would fit my Biese....maybe you're up to making another one! :D

[Vaughn McMillan]

Good to see you're back at it John. I was thinking about you just yesterday, wondering how the recovery was going. Little steps, and you'll be running with the big dogs before you know it.

Sorta like Ken, my "PT" after breaking my back was to replace the vinyl tile in my bathroom. Not an easy task in a full body brace; took me four days to do a one-day project and it was pretty painful to boot, but the feeling of accomplishment when I was done was very therapeutic. Just had to make sure not to over-do.

Keep after em' -

- Vaughn

[John Miliunas]

Sorta like Ken, my "PT" after breaking my back was to replace the vinyl tile in my bathroom. Not an easy task in a full body brace; took me four days to do a one-day project and it was pretty painful to boot, but the feeling of accomplishment when I was done was very therapeutic. Just had to make sure not to over-do.

Keep after em' -

- Vaughn

Vaughn, you're just TOO much!!! Tiling a BR in a full body brace???:eek: OK, I admit it; I did indeed run a few things through my BS and TS and actually used my hard cast to prop up the push stick, but laying tile with all that armor on? Sheeeesh...You're a better man than I!:) You're right though...It really IS a great feeling once you get the task done! Thanks for the encouragement!:) :cool:

[Karl Laustrup]

Spring,

Glad to see you back at it, even if it is a wee bit limited at the present time. Just remember patience, patience, patience. Good things come to those who wait and all them other sayings.

Poppcock, get out there and make little ones out of big ones. ;) :D

Karl

[Roger Myers]

John....
glad to see the output and the pics....you have a great attitude and I always look forward to seeing your projects. Keep plugging!
Roger

[Vaughn McMillan]

Vaughn, you're just TOO much!!! Tiling a BR in a full body brace???
With kneepads, I was able to keep the back straight. Also, it was a small bathroom...at a dollar per tile it only cost me about $35.00. Pulling up the old stuff was the hard part, but with a hair dryer (poor man's heat gun), putty knife and patience, it was doable.:)

- Vaughn

[Les Spencer]

It's hard to keep a good man down especially one with sawdust in his veins!!!;)

[David Wilson]

John
Glad you are back at it. Work safe.

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

Welcome back John.
I am glad to see your recovery is going so well. Nice work also just dont over do it. ok.

Roger

[Tyler Howell]

You haven't missed a step. Glad to see you back.:cool:

[Pete Lamberty]

I am glad to hear that your hand is getting better. Surgery is never a fun thing to go through. Before you know it, the surgery will just be a distant memory. I really like the cutting board. The tile stands out beautifully. Great idea.

[Don Selke]

Glad to see you back John, did not know that you had surgery. Hope you continue to improve and welcome back to the shop and to the Creek where you belong.

[Dan Forman]

John---Good to see you back in the shop. I've got to figure out something like that for my Unifence.

The cutting board looks really nice, very unique with the inlaid tile. I'm sure the giftee will be thrilled.

Baby steps are the way to go in the beginning, you can't rush Mother Nature. You will be back in shape soon enough. The most important variable in healing is attitude, and you seem to have that covered pretty well. Here's wishing you all the best.

Dan

[Dale Thompson]

Hey Spring,
Let's knock off on the sympathy thing. YOU know that you can do better with NO wrists than I could do with SIX!! :( I would like to think that that is because you have more expensive tools and more servants than I do. So much for a moron THINKING!! ;)

What do you think that "VINCE" would have said if Taylor, Starr or the "Golden Boy" Paul Hornung had "wimped out" of the first two Super Bowls with a "sore wrist".?? Neither of us would even WANT to know!! :eek:

Kidding aside, bud, I'm glad to see that you are coming back. Get the other side fixed and you will embarrass me even more than you have already done over the past couple of years! :) :) I'm looking forward to it! HONEST!! :)

Dale T.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for all the additional supportive comments, guys! Very much appreciated....Even yours, Pesh!:D Oh, and for the record, this "whining" thing you speak of...Wine just puts me to sleep. I'm more of a good, old, cold beer kinda' guy myself, thank you!:)

Quite seriously, if the progress with my left hand is any indicator, I can't wait to get the other one done! The pain I still experience for the surgery hand is more related to lack of strength,with muscles and such still getting a work out, due to lack of use. It's NOT the same arthritic type pain I'm experiencing in my right hand. Hence comes my statement about "...can't wait"! After that, it's get a brain transplant and I'll be set!:D Thanks again, guys! SMC woodworkers are the BEST woodworkers and a fine bunch of people, to boot!:) :cool:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Very nice fence John! Glad you are able to get back in the swing...hope the pain goes away soon and the strength comes back fast!!

[Jerry Olexa]

John: very happy for you... great to see you back in the shop...And happy to hear the medical progress. Sounds like you made the right decision,. Now be slow aqnd careful. Don't put those now bionic hands in the saw blade. Welcome back.

[Joe Mioux]

Ditto to what everyone else said. Glad you back.

[Dale Thompson]

After that, it's get a brain transplant and I'll be set!:D :

Hey Spring,
For a Cheesehead, getting a "Brain Transplant" is pretty simple. :) I can walk into my doctor's office and get one without even making an appointment. :) The pretty ladies in the office just say, "OK, Dale, we know what you're here for. We all hope that it works THIS TIME!"! :cool: They just plug one ear and stick a suction hose in the other. The last time, they sucked out the Baby Swiss and replaced it with some Monterey Jack! They wanted to use SHARP Chedder but I associated "Sharp" with "Smart". If I got "smart", I COULD NEVER BE A CUBS FAN AGAIN!! :( :( :eek: :eek:

My point is, the future looks golden yellow for cheeseheads requiring brain transplants. :D ;)

Dale T.

[John Hart]

Hey John...Congratulations on taking the plunge...It's good to get back to rockin' and rollin' eh?

[Richard Wolf]

I hope you continue to inprove. Nice work also.

Richard

[Ernie Nyvall]

John, happy to hear you are back, and by your pictures, where you belong. Nice work.

Ernie