Hawaii

Safe and sound in the land of perfect weather. Been here since the 23rd and today the kids arrived. Figured out how to download camera directly to iPad with wifi so I'll post a few of the pics so far and get to some of the grandchildren later. 

Sunsets abound, this from a bar down the block, still haven't gotten the right conditions for that perfect one but will keep trying. 

Went up to the top of the volcano. 

Sea level to 10,000 +. In about an hour. 

This what remains of the inside of the cone after lots of erosion (used to be 3000' higher). 

The silver sword plant. One of very few plants that survive up here. 

The view from the road to the top back down on our beach which extends off camera to the left. 

This is from about halfway up the mountain. 

We went over to the town around the point you see across the bay from us (Lahina); it has the greatest Banyon tree in the middle of the town. 

Covering an entire city block, it is over 160 years old. 

It has some pretty cool architecture. 

Solar collectors have sprouted up on many buildings and there was one wind farm on the ridge overlooking the road to Lahina.

The winds are pretty reliable and no icing problems. 

Back at our beach this little dwarf whale beached herself. A pregnant female, she was very sick and beat up on the rocks. Afraid she didn't make it in spite of many of the locals doing their best. 

Also went to Hana which is an all day affair; driving throug the rain forrest (365 " per year) the waterfalls were maxed out from last night's downpour. 

They also have an aqueduct system to irrigate the sugar cane fields over on the other side of the island.

Some of the larger trees covered with vines that had leaves over 2' long. 

Closer in on the tree on the right side of the above shot. 

Those are some large leaves! And they aren't part of the tree. Rather just a vine using the tree to get sun. Everything in apparent harmony as the trees were still thriving. 

Went to a black sand beach in Hana, had lunch ($13 bare hamburger, good though) and headed back.

. 

That brings us up to date and the arrival of Amy, Derek and the next generation. Went to tonight's sunset at the beach but was a bust. Back to the beach tomorrow to see if we can move the sand around a bit.

Rain has past and it is forecasted perfect for the rest of the week. Highs have been in the low 80's and a good breeze all night to let us sleep. 

Stay warm.

First Two Done

Well. Finally got the first two drawers installed. There were several mods as we decided to make these with dividers for cookie sheets and platters.


First there were trial fits to see what we needed for spacing on the dividers. I settled on numerous grooves with varying spacing apart for maximum flexibility.

This was the final configuration. Don't even think of picking them up when they are full. The drawer guides have a 75 lb capacity, so I think they can handle it.

The system for installing the guides is much simpler than it looks. It results in a strip of 1/2" plywood on each side. Both square to the face frame and spaced perfectly for the drawer. Once that is established, it is easy to add the guides to the drawers and side supports and slide them in.

All done and I realized that the door hinges were different than I was used to. They stick out 1/2" into the opening after they are completely open. This required a notch in the fronts.

Now that we have these done we can determine the exact height of the two drawers above them.

So it's two down and 19 to go. Think I'll take a break and go to Hawaii for a while.

Stay tuned for weather reports from paradise.

Kitchen Pull Out Drawers, Dry Fit

First, I'd just like to say that contrary to popular belief, I do have a plan. Sort of.

This is the mark one version. There have been changes, but it helps to at least sketch it out so you can look back and see what you were thinking. Or if it still seems like gibberish, wonder what you were smoking

Put the first two drawers together for trial fit. After discovering that the fronts needed to be recut on the back side (slight math error), all went very well.

 Clamping it all down to keep it square. Then drill and screw together without glue.

I decided to make drawers rather than shelves because as shelves get stuffed things tend to fall off the sides and backs. Hence the tall sides and backs to keep it all in place instead of falling off and down to the bottom of the cabinet. I use 1" over draw slides so everything is still very accessible.

Teri decided that she really liked the dividers I put in the Alaska set of drawers. They made access to the cookie sheets and baking pans much easier. So, looks like I'll finish these two and put in dividers so we can adjust as we go along.



On to the dividers. Here I'm gluing up scrap 1/8" plywood to make 1/4" dividers. I think we'll go for a walk while the glue dries, the weather's perfect.

Stay tuned and keep warm.

Kitchen Pull Out Drawers

I'll chronicle this project under this label and try to use Teri's new camera to improve the quality.

Phase one is done. Cut out all the backs, sides & bottoms from four sheets of 7 ply1/2" plywood from Home Depot. They call it B C grade with birch outer plys and it is cheaper than the 9 ply Baltic Birch carried only at the lumber yard. The Baltic Birch is definitely a superior product but the B C from Home Depot is ok for this project.

Everything is cut to size and dadoed where necessary. Next they all get some finish sanding and varathane (I like 1100 satin) on the inside surfaces. 

For the fronts I decided to use some scraps I had brought down from Alaska. All of the fronts are 3 1/2" high while the sides and backs are all higher.

There's hickory and oak from past projects. They have been cut to size, dadoed, rabbeted, edged with a router, sanded and coated with Deft natural oil finish. I also drilled up from the bottom for screws that will capture the bottom plywood and strengthen the whole unit.

I'll try to remember to get some assembly photos but things get busy during that step.

Another interesting (to me anyway) step is preparing the cabinets for the drawer guides. Trust me, I won't be doing it the easy way. I do have a system of sorts that has evolved over the years.

Enough for now.

Stay warm.

Modification

Seems that the retractable castors on my bench needed some modification.  When I would move the bench on anything but a perfectly straight path, the 2x4 would want to follow a straight line. This would put a lot of stress on the set on the outside of the curve.  Solution was simple; just put a piece of the same material used to make the upper pivot on the bottom of the assembly to cradle the 2x4 and keep it in tight to the bench.

Modification. 

Must start using the camera for these as then I can at least rotate the image.

Working on the kitchen drawers. Almost finished with the fronts; used 1x4 hardwood scraps that made it all the way from Alaska. Then a lot of sanding, some varathane and THEN I can get to some assembly.  I will document with the camera and post as I go.

Weather is good for it.

Stay warm.

Thanksgiving in Redmond

Portland kids came for Thanksgiving.

Also happened to be Louis' birthday. He has quite a fondness for all things truck/tractor/digger/logger ect. He was also fascinated with the tree. Everyone was still getting over a bug so activities were restricted but Nina got a lot of "Stack the States" and Crazy Eights in; she has her own rules of course.

Weather was a little cold but still had it's perfect moments each day, allowing for some playground time. Judy and Nina even hiked the canyon home from the playground on one of the days.

Went to our monthly COW (Central Oregon Woodworkers) meeting which is hosted by a different member on he first Monday of each month. This month we went to the Sisters high school wood shop. The teacher there runs a curriculum where each student can learn basic skills while making an Adirondack chair and then move on to build his/her own guitar or ukulele. The teacher has a cadre of volunteers (many from our group) that work with the kids to guide them through the process.

The results were amazing!  I got so involved with the guitars and ukes on display and talking to the guys I managed to leave without taking any photos. Sorry.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. I've been making a lot of sawdust and noise, usually simultaneously; sometimes there is smoke too. Next project is 21 full extension slide out drawers for the kitchen. Materials work out to almost $40 a drawer. But the labor and having your kitchen turned inside out for two weeks is free. I work for whiskey.

This is what four sheets of 1/2" plywood sawed into kit form for 21 drawers looks like. Tomorrow I start the dadoing then the assembly begins.

I hear it's a little cold out in the rest of the US.
Weather here should be perfect. For working in the heated shop, that is.

Stay warm wherever you are.

Finally!

Took quite a while, averaging a few minutes a day, but Louis' chair/step stool is done. Well, a few coats of finish to go but will look the same.

Been fun dealing with Juniper.  Basically soft but tears out or chips out at every chance. Challenging.

I'd like to coat it with epoxy before handing it over to a two year old but that's not practical. I plan to see how it does and maybe do some refinishing a few years down the road if necessary.

The above was drafted a few weeks ago. In Portland now and it fits!

Found out it holds two. 

Sort of. 

Big Timbers game this Sun. We are down by two but if we prevail we make the final game Dec 7th. 

UPDATE:  In case you hadn't heard, we lost, season over.

Back home now and awaiting kids visit for Thanksgiving. 

Clear and cold here and supposed to stay that way for a while.

Stay warm.

Stylin

I have a five year old grand daughter. 

I'm supposed to grow longer hair so she'll have more to work with. 

Figure she'll remember?

Two In A Row

Needed more bench space and shelves.  So I made this 12' bench to act as a divider in the two car side of the garage. It soon became obvious that it would really work well if I could move it across the Prius' parking space and get temporary working space, while the Prius was briefly outside.

So I designed this pivoting set of casters to go on each end of the bench.

The 2x4 pivots on a 1/2" bolt. When you push it down it raises the front of the bench with very little effort. Then the wheel passes the pivot point and the weight of the bench works to lower the other end to this position.

Then you push the aluminum arm (which is pivoting on a pin at the top) and it easily moves to the vertical.

And voila, the bench is 3/4" off the ground and easily rolls across the floor to the other side of the garage.

The remarkable thing is that this is the mark I version. Usually it takes three or four modifications to get to this stage. It actually works better than I expected and it all went together as planned.

I'll be running over to the 7/11 to buy a lottery ticket as soon as I finish this.

Emil called today to suggest a fishing trip Monday. I figure my luck will change for sure by then.

Though, the weather should be perfect.

The following weekend we are heading over to Portland for the Timber's playoff game on the 24th. Should have some good photos after that trip.

Stay warm

It Fits!

Mark your calendars. On Wednesday Ryan & I installed the roof on the play structure. 

The remarkable thing about that is the fact that it fit with only very minor trimming. I took measurements, drove back to the comfort of my shop and built the two halves there. Then I loaded them on the Subaru and brought them back. 

It was a bit tricky walking them up a ladder and over the trusses to their final resting place. But Ryan and I managed to do it without falling off the ladder or seriously wrenching a back. They are secured by the trim pieces around the perimeter and two more similar pieces on each side of the center truss. 

The framing is 50% space sheeting. I was trying to go light to enable me to get them onto the car by myself. I guess I succeeded but it was close. 

Big game tonight, but you already know that. Beat Seattle and we move on to the playoff semi finals. Rained like crazy this morning but perfect now. 

Stay warm. 

Back to the Play Structure

Back in Portland with the roof for the play structure. I made up the two sides of the roof in the comfort of my garage and brought them here for installation. 

Stopped at Pelton Dam on the Deschutes. 

View downstream from dam. The white strip between the road and the river is a fish ladder, which provides a safe route for the salmon to get around the dams to Lake Billy Chinook. 

They have a smaller, "reregulating" dam downstream. 

Interesting concept; wish they'd thought of it for the White River in Arkansas. Key phrase would be "maintain stable flows in the river". 

There were still a lot of trees in fall colors. Wait a minute, those are evergreens. 

Closer inspection showed that they were very spruce like. One had very healthy lower branches that were their usual dark green. I thought it might be some kind of fungus or parasite but it just looks like the needles turn golden. Anyone know what it is? I'll try to get some samples on the way back.

 

Also got donuts for all on the way. Nina with the "dirt baby" she made while on a school field trip. 

Weather is "Portland Perfect". You can guess what that means. Hope to have photos of a finished play  structure soon.

Stay warm.