Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments

[Dennis Peacock]

14 Nov 2016

Good Morning Everyone,
I've really enjoyed having the bowling alley work done and I'm actually working on the LOML Jr's blanket chest that she and I started 2 years ago. She didn't want me working on it because she wanted to work with me on it...but as usual, life changes, time gets away from us all, and she has a baby to tend to now. So, I made the command decision to get busy and finish the blanket chest. If all goes well, I'll be 95% finished with it by tonight (including assembly).

A church friend of mine from a few years back contacted me and wanted me to build an island top for their new house that is currently being built. The top is to be one piece and final length is to be 10 feet long. The width of the top is to be 56 inches wide and the material is to be a mixture of domestic hardwoods with no specific pattern to the top. This will be my biggest project ever and the most expensive in material costs. So, if you have any tips and pointers about building a top this big.....Oh, and it has to be 2.25" thick. :) I'd love to hear from you for tips and pointers. I need to use cauls on this project but I've never made cauls before, so I'm a bit unsure about making them.

Back to oncall duty starting today and my hope is that it all goes very well this week.
That's it for me, so what did YOU do this past weekend.

Best of weeks to you all.

[Mike Heidrick]

Hope you have a BIG shop. 56"X10'X2.25" will be super heavy and awkward to move around and finish in the shop much less get delivered and through a house. Think stack of 2X3s 56"X10'!! Even my big JLT clamp rack is only 40" depth so that is going to be a wide glue up. . I would definitely be wanting the aid of my pneumatic flatner on that glue up. Also consider your planing at the end.

This weekend I worked on insulation and installing 2X6s. I about got that whipped in the walls! Walls need 3 more batts I hope to do today. Those areas have the most wires due to AV and network location.

[Luke Bergin]

Wife was gone all day Saturday so me and the kids just hung out and I decided to make a simple shadow box for cigar bands. Recently started saving them with the intentions of doing something with them one day and turns out Saturday was the day. Simple nothing fancy project, but the kind you can get done in a couple of hours which is always nice. Just some mitered up cherry with a couple of dados for the back panel and the glass with a hole in the top to add the bands.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/lrbergin/IMG_20161112_192053_zpsbx3rowy8.jpg (http://s49.photobucket.com/user/lrbergin/media/IMG_20161112_192053_zpsbx3rowy8.jpg.html)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/lrbergin/IMG_20161112_192607_zpsopocty5o.jpg (http://s49.photobucket.com/user/lrbergin/media/IMG_20161112_192607_zpsopocty5o.jpg.html)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/lrbergin/IMG_20161112_192749_zpsyfauqrxn.jpg (http://s49.photobucket.com/user/lrbergin/media/IMG_20161112_192749_zpsyfauqrxn.jpg.html)

[Keith Hankins]

Cool ! Like the finish too

[Keith Hankins]

Managed to get my CNC tabel hold down grid done. Leveraged my Festool hold downs so did the grid 20mm holes 17mm deep, and 96mm on center.

347446

[Dick Brown]

Had an old Craftsman direct drive table saw given to me. Plugged it in before loading it and it ran fine. Hauled it home lying on it's back as my p.u. has a topper on it. Unloaded, set on it's feet and it won't start up. Tipped it over to get at the switch to check the wiring and saw a sticker that said "Do not turn on when upside down. Has a gravity sensitive switch and could harm the motor" Stood it back on it's feet, shook it around, bounced it a few times, hit the switch and away it went. I will build brackets off the end of my assembly table, take the saw off it's stand and mount it with the top flush with the assembly table top, build a box joint jig for it, mount a dado stack and it will live there ever after with it being useful as added table space as well as box joint cutter.
Dick

[Jim Becker]

Mike, Dennis actually is blessed with a fairly generous shop space and should be able to fabricate that top in there.

Friday night and most of Saturday I actually did spend time in the shop getting the final coat of paint on the top portion of my Buffet/Hutch project and making some needed winter components for Professor Dr. SWMBO's honeybee condominiums. (quilt boxes and feeding shims) Sunday I was back on the bathroom renovation, installing the "convenience" hardware and thoroughly cleaning the tile floor. (with bleach...) Work remaining in the bathroom includes mounting the shower door system, installing the shower head and installing the toilet. I'll be glad when this project is done so I can get back on many other things that have been standing still, including some woodworking projects and some fall landscaping maintenance items.

[Mike Wilkins]

Hey Dennis; there was an article in FineHomebuilding magazine a couple of years back that covered wood counter tops, their construction, and the finishing methods used. Great article; you should be able to search their site for a review. Good luck and keep us curious folks posted. Thanks.

[Wayne Lomman]

Dennis, I have just finished a dining table nearly that size. I have one 250kg chain hoist in the shed but I had to sling another one off a rafter and do a tandem lift to turn the top over as I worked on it. That was my main achievement by the way. This dining suite is finally finished apart from the upholstery which is an SEP (someone else's problem)! I have to get out the crane truck tomorrow to lift the completed table out of the shop and get it into the house at the other end. Fortunately there are french doors into the dining area so access is easy and direct. Cheers

[mark mcfarlane]

Insulated my garage attic (used batts thinking it would be easier than renting a blower, probably a mistake) and the garage temp in the mornings is now very close to the house, which was my goal. Decked the attic with 5 sheets of 3/4" plywood, and painted the inside of the garage. Now I have a place to store my son's crap and a 'purty' temporary shop.

Finally got a verbal approval from the water district to remove an easement so I can build my new shop (took 6 months). Hopefully the paperwork will complete next week and we can start cutting down the trees.

Also built my adjust-a-bench.

Hung a Feit LED light fixture from Costco, and replaced the bulbs in an existing fluorescent fixture with Feit LED tubes (the kind that don't need the ballasts removed). The Feit LED light fixture died after 24 hours,... Costco is a 2 hour round-trip.

OK, this was actually a full week of work, my weekends are longer now. :)

[Garth Almgren]

I had Friday off and it was a rare day with no rain, so I rented an 18" trencher and dug the trench from the house to the new office. I managed to only hit one irrigation line, which I thought was not too bad. I haven't fixed it yet (need to dig out around it some more), but I already have all the parts I need to do the job.
Saturday it was raining pretty hard making for a really muddy mess, but I finished laying the dual 3/4" conduits (one for power, one for low voltage) in the trench and started backfilling.
Sunday after church I used a heat gun to bend the conduit where it comes through the sill and connected it to the panel. Next step is to pull the wire, make the final connections at both panels, and call for an inspection so I can start working on insulation and drywall.

[Jim Becker]

Hung a Feit LED light fixture from Costco, and replaced the bulbs in an existing fluorescent fixture with Feit LED tubes (the kind that don't need the ballasts removed). The Feit LED light fixture died after 24 hours,... Costco is a 2 hour round-trip.

That bites...I bought a whole lot of both variants and they've been stellar. But like anything, it's always in the cards to potentially get "that one" unit that has no will to live... (I ordered all mine online since they ship free, even though the store is only 20 minutes away)

[mark mcfarlane]

Hung a Feit LED light fixture from Costco, and replaced the bulbs in an existing fluorescent fixture with Feit LED tubes (the kind that don't need the ballasts removed). The Feit LED light fixture died after 24 hours,... ...

The Feit light was fine, my outlet was flakey. I love the light, bought 10 more yesterday...

[Jim Becker]

The Feit light was fine, my outlet was flakey. I love the light, bought 10 more yesterday...
Yea, I just ordered a few more of the replacement "tubes" to fix a closet situation in our home. I also love the LED light...my shop is a much better place because of it compared to the older "gassy tubes". :)