Creeker's Past Week's Accomplishments

[Dennis Peacock]

17 Jan 2022

Greetings,
Had some time in the shop and made a few things. Made some wooden thumb-book holders so some can read a book with one hand. Made some cell phone stands and those disappeared pretty quickly. Now I'm back to working on my son's queen bed.

That's it for me, so what did YOU do this past week?

Best of weeks to you all.

[Mr. Jeff Smith]

This past summer we completed a new standalone garage, with one double bay to serve as shop space. I've hung the CV1800 in separate bay and this past week I ran dust collection duct work in preparation of new machines I also ordered this past summer. Everything is nearly ready to go, just waiting on the equipment to really get up and running.

[Rod Sheridan]

It snowed, so much that the snow was over the gas cap on the blower, and it’s still snowing….Rod.

[Paul F Franklin]

I finished installing the crown molding on the kitchen cabinets. I now know why all the web videos on installing crown show only paint grade installs where gaps and such are easily filled with caulk or filler! Took *way* longer to fit the pre-finished cherry crown to my satisfaction and there are still a couple of places I'm not proud of. But it looks good (enough) from floor level!

The countertops were installed on Friday as scheduled. My first thought after seeing them in place was "thank god they aren't hideous"! My second thought was, "they look really nice"! Mary and I have a mixed track record of interior decorating decisions, so this was not a given by any means, especially since you are deciding based on a small sample chunk. Installers said this was the first install they could remember where they didn't need a single shim, so I guess I got the cabinets in pretty well, (he said, not very modestly ;) )

Mary and I went backsplash tile shopping on Saturday and came back with 8 or 9 samples. We picked one (of course it turned out to be the most expensive one) and I ordered the tile...should be here on Friday. Meanwhile, I am working on installing an R/O filter system to feed a sink mounted dispenser and the ice maker.

And.....like Rod, we got snow, a foot or more, with more on the way tonight. Took a couple hours and two tanks of gas for the snowblower to clear the drive this morning. I think that's more time and gas than I used all of last winter. Still, it's the first significant snow we've had this winter. Thank goodness it was cold enough that the snow wasn't heavy slush or I'd still be out there.

[Ian Paterson]

That sounds like a productive week Paul, congratulations on the countertop fit!

This week I tuned up two hand planes, one a nice Record no. 7 purchased from Ron in the SC Classifieds and the other a beastly little Sears no. 4 made by Millers Falls. The Record was in perfect condition and with a few hours of work to improve the stability of the frog was taking nice shavings. It is my first jointer plane and made quick work of a test piece that I had previously failed to flatten with my BU jack plane.

The Sears plane took a lot of work, I bought it locally last winter for $5 and spent some time derusting and sharpening but it always had terrible chatter. This week I decided to go back to work on it, lots of work. The biggest surprise was that the frog casting was too shallow for the hardware so the blade was rocking on the chip breaker screw. I ended up sanding down the screw almost to the knurling. The tote was held on by just one long bolt and was frustratingly loose so I tapped the existing second hole and used a 5/16" threaded insert and 10-24 screw which made the tote much more stable. Got some cheap 6x48" sanding belts from Harbor Freight in 80 and 120 grit, cut them, and flattened the sole using the table saw top as reference then finished up higher grits on granite. It's not a great plane, but it works now!

Today I plowed the 16" of snow that fell, it's usually one of my favorite jobs to do with the 4 wheeler but this was near the limit of my capabilities. Made some nice little sled hills for the girls though. My mother-in-law's driveway was more of a challenge, deciding where to put the snow then wrangling the loose powder... a snow blower would have been more appropriate today.

[Lisa Starr]

Got back to work with the reclaimed lumber I posted photos of a couple of weeks ago. I'm making a towel cubby for our bathroom. I managed to mill the lumber without hitting any nails and have glued up the panels needed to produce the carcase. I'm waiting on a dovetail router bit to arrive so I can begin cutting sliding dovetails for the shelves. I'm also waiting for some 1/4" dowels to arrive for glue up of the shelves. That's it for me.

[Jim Becker]

'Glad you're in the shop regular now, Dennis!

I was not in my shop this past week, other than to occasionally grab a tool or some other doo-dad. It's cold out there in the temporary shop! However, the good news is...the old property is sold and closing was this past Friday. Not only is that off my plate and mind, it also means I can actually start proceeding with both some smaller projects in this new house that I've been holding off on while having multiple mortgages as well as I can start the planning process for a new shop building that with any luck, I can get built this year sometime. First up will be a boundary survey. The actual property line on the side where the shop will go is physically located quite a few feet into the neighbor's yard and at the front is on the other side of their driveway. This likely resulted during the subdivision process back in the early 1990s as there was already a minimum lot size for the borough. So while the line is "over there", the use is grandfathered. We make up for that at the back as our yard is about 20' deeper than the actual legal property line. At any rate, I need that actual side legal boundary because it impacts setbacks for my soon to be new building. In the end, I'll actually be able to have it nearly up against the existing fence line since that will satisfy the 15' side setback requirement from the legal line. After that is completed, I can go to Zoning and get my building footprint approved while figuring out what format building will get the nod for the project. Meanwhile, I have to get some actual venting into the kitchen for over the range and work out some storage and display challenges for the kitchen/eating area. There is also a need to fully renovate the guest bath which I will do most of, leaving only a shower replacing the tub to a professional. Gonna get busy!

Paul, I may redo the backsplashes in our kitchen...and will likely get caught in the "best choice is the most expensive" thing here, too. LOL

[Kris Cook]

I spent the weeks up to Christmas putting a new subfloor and new White Oak floors in the living room of our 110 year-old house. When we bought the house 4 years ago I didn't notice (hidden behind a curtain) that the drywall was pushed away from the wall at one of the windows. Apparently the PO was a foaming contractor of sorts and when he redid the siding he foamed the exterior walls from the outside. Anyway, I decided the small repair at the window could be fixed after the floor was done. Well, after I got to looking at the walls with a straightedge it became apparent the drywall was bulged out in numerous places. I told my wife I couldn't live with the walls like that after spending over $2,500 on material for a new floor and planning to install African Mahogany trim to boot. So, we proceeded to rip the drywall off the north wall of the LR and carve the foam back flush with the studs. As it turned out, the foam was proud of the wall face up to 1-1/2" in places and a lot of places. Not ideal to take on this kind of project with a brand new floor but we got the foam flush and started installing the new drywall this last weekend. Thankfully, my wife is patient, and we got to spend Christmas with the entire family at our youngest son's house (a first for us). Good news is we have a well insulated house. Just wish the guy hadn't used this house as a learning project.

[David Publicover]

Sounds like a nice job Paul and congratulations on the sale Jim! It must be a big relief to be down to one house and able to move forward.
I managed to get into my shop this week and make a sliding “deadman” for my bench. That pretty much finishes the new bench. Our move to a new province this summer had dragged that job out.
I’ve been cleaning up some old trees that have been blown down in the last month with our winter weather cycle of “gale, cold, snow, gale, warm, rain, repeat”. Not much snow in the last one but gusts over 50 kts. We are appreciating the generator…
Next job is to dismantle a deck before spring. I did get some new Milwaukee M18 tools to help motivate me.
Cheers,
David

[Eugene Dixon]

Finished painting the pantry shelving units last week. Waiting on SIL to clear covid protocols to lift them in place. Hoping this weekend will work out but the weather forecast is looking ugly for us southerners.

Did hang blinds in dearly beloved's sewing room last week.

Also cut the burl base for the lighthouse to be sent to USF's engineering management program's honor society.

[Paul Schaefer]

I fought COVID! And appear to be winning, as I have progressed from feeling rotten to merely crummy!

Also watched some Paul Sellers videos.