Now The Work Starts

Went to the home opener of the Timbers in Portland. Managed a tie with three seconds left in added time. But you know all that by now. Grand kids continue to grow so fast! Our time was too short, but we'll be back next weekend.

Found a great mill out in Prineville and have our hickory flooring acclimating in the guest bedrooms.

Getting a little crowded in here. Especially in the living room where we've moved all the furniture from the dining room.

Tore up the carpet, tac strip and most of the pad, and removed the base (41 pieces). Numbered them this time as I will probably reuse all of it.

Next will be to pull up two rows of the floor slate to make room for the compass rose. Should be interesting as I'm hoping to salvage them for the fireplace. I'm not optimistic. Tomorrow I cut the door jambs and casing and start nailing down some wood. Meanwhile, the compass rose still needs the background pieces cut in. So, there is a lot to do; must get at it.

Our friends Becky and Mike have quite a talent for restoring old furniture. We gave them an old dresser (from my grandma's era) to try and salvage. Sorry, no before photos but here it is after.

They did a fantastic job!

I'm tempted to give them a shot at Grandpa Porter's old oak chest. Should we do that, I'll try to document it a little more thoroughly.

Finished raining, weather should be perfect for the rest of the week.

Stay warm where you are; winter will end, honest.

Getting There, Getting By

Almost done with latest project. Teri is in LA so I'm without adult supervision for a week. It's not pretty; but I'm managing.

Lots of unusual clamping going on. 

Clamping is relatively easy until you have to push down for the glue joint and maintain flatness. Flatness is good. I decided that my work bench was flat enough for this project. That actually makes it easy; just screw through a beam into the bench. You need lots of various length screws.

Luckily, I have acquired a few.

Most lengths from 3/4" to 12".

Here's the clamps (?) for this job.

Had to make a test run using plywood. This verified that the jigs and process would actually work.

Made up a sled for the table saw to cut very small angles required. Couldn't get good quick release hold down clamps for the fence so I made some crude ones out of hinges. Really happy with this one. Works great!

Here's the placement on the floor using the prototype. 

And here's the final version under construction.

Meanwhile, can you guess what these are?

Extra credit for those that guessed Atkins cheese cake in individual servings.

Teri gets back Wednesday.

Stay warm.