On the Nature of Shop Time

Einstein was right - time is not constant.

My shop demonstrates this to me on a regular basis - "Ill just work on this for 15 minutes!" and then "What?! Ive been in the shop for 2 hours?" Of course, Im not complaining - I love being in my shop. Im just always amazed, and a little confused, at how it happens.

This time, I decide to try to document the happenings in "shop time." Here goes:

I am finally starting to believe that the Shaker cabinet might, just might, be finished before my son starts crawling. Todays job was to start making the molding for the top and the step-back. In a remarkably sensible move, I decided that there wasnt enough time to finish - Id just rip the strips, clean them up with a plane, and stop. "Should take about 15 minutes."

First - find the board I am going to rip. Okay, there it is - half-way down in the center of a stickered pile. Sigh. Well, nothing for it, start moving wood. Unpile. Pick. Pile. Not too bad.

Put board on bench. Set marking gauge and mark off two strips, one on each edge. Flip. Repeat. Done.

Move board to saw bench. Grab rip saw from till. Start to cut. What? When did this thing get so dull? Oh...probably when I was ripping the bamboo flooring...with its "scratch resistant" coating...probably "saw resistant" too. Hmm. Okay.

Get saw vise. Put piece of 2x4 in bench vise. Clamp saw vise to 2x4. Clamp saw in saw vise. Get file - the one with the handle so I dont hurt myself. Oh. That one is too small. Hmm. Okay.

Find piece of birch in scrap pile. Find brass plumbing fitting (I actually knew exactly where it was!).

Take birch to shavehorse. Rough it out with drawknife. Fast! Clean up with spokeshave. Cut off with saw. Round end to fit brass cap. Clamp cap in vise and drill hole through for file tang.

Hmm. It moved off-center. Okay. Clean up with rat-tail file.

Screw onto birch handle. Clamp handle in vise. Drill two step hole for tang. Clamp file in vise, tang up. Get propane torch. Heat tang. Force handle down over tang. Pull back off. Reheat. Reforce. Whack with hammer. Done. Wait. The "nut" look of the brass bugs me. File it round. Okay. Now its done.

What was I doing? Oh yeah, ripping molding strips. Right. Need to sharpen the saw first.

Run jointer down saw teeth. This creates small flats on top to the taller teeth. In theory, on ALL the teeth, but this saw is a long story. I bought on eBay years ago, and boy was it messed up. I tried to reshape the teeth, and didnt do half bad for my first try at that, but its not perfect, and the teeth are only slowly becoming more uniform each time I sharpen it.

Doesnt matter - works great anyway. At least when it is sharp, so back to that. Reclamp saw lower in vise, just below the gullets. File every other gullet - trying to remove half of the flat on the top of the teeth. Reverse saw. File remaining gullets. Not bad. Not perfect - but plenty good.

Back to the board waiting on the saw bench. Rip. Rip! Holy smokes is it better! When was the last time I sharpened this saw? Rip. Rip. Done.

Hmm. I wonder if I have time to clean these up with the jack plane? Look at clock. "What! Howd that happen?" Drat! Need to clean up and call it a day.

"But it will only take about 15 minutes to plane those two strips..."

Get plane...

Continue

Projects!! A pair of chairs a chair and a desk Houzz Article

Ive been in project planning mode! Yesterday, I was looking for a piece to convert into printer/paper/office storage and found a pair of chairs in instead. Ohio has been the land of chairs, since weve been here, Ive bought 5 chairs. Mostly for our new house.

It is reeeeeally cold and windy here and winter hasnt started, Im scared. Yesterday I had to fight the wind to get to the front door and when I got inside I realized that half of my shopping bag had blown out in the driveway.

BUT the thrifting is SO good!! Look at those arms!! I just about died. Getting closer, I saw the $35 price tag, I was so excited. I was on the fence because I wasnt sure about the front legs (no pic, but there is more detail on the front, I figured if it bugged me too much I could fix them somehow). Good condition, price, and there was a pair! Sold!

Project 1:

Were planning on replacing the back cushion for one that is square and no tufting. Those arms are so pretty, I dont want too much competing with them.

When I got home, I came up with a few fabric options and shared on Instagram (thanks for your input, insta friends!). Im leaning towards a solid velvet (maybe a print on the back panel, but probably not). The stain is worn, but not horrible, I might leave it as is for now, or I might paint it white or black. 

Project 2: 

My office (in Ohio) 

Last week I worked on an article for Houzz on panels to conceal those pesky wires (see end of post for link)

Im finally getting around to reupholstering my chair (legs have been spray painted black). 

Ive narrowed it down to black and white stripe. I picked up some fabric from Ikea, its heavy weight, like duck cloth. Has anyone used it to upholster furniture? I want to make sure the quality is good before spending time .. 

and Kravet Xu Garden (sorry for the bad photoshop, I just dropped it in there) 

Project 3: 

Also, Im probably going to be swapping my desk for this one (found at Goodwill). If I do, Ill use my existing desk as a side table. Unfortunately the top corner is damaged so it will be easiest to paint, Im thinking about leaving the drawers wood. We are currently without a t.v. stand so we temporarily had it here .. since then, its been sanded and waiting for primer. 

So, tons of project ideas floating around my head! David is going to Baltimore at the end of the week for work .. so Ill have lots of time on my hands, hopefully Ill get a few things done!

--

Heres a first look at my office (first image is before :)! Make sure to check out my article on Houzz - how to have an open desk and hide wires! 

Hide Cords in Style With DIY Graphic Panels

Remodeling, decorating, and more ∨

Home improvement can start with something as minor as installing track lighting or a ceiling fan.
Work with a home decorator when choosing floor rugs or hanging new window shades in your home.

Continue

who came up with the idea of the wooden horse

#1: who came up with the idea of the wooden horse

Trojan horse - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, According to quintus smyrnaeus, odysseus thought of building a great wooden horse (the horse being the emblem of troy), hiding an elite force inside, and fooling the. D. h. lawrence - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, The return to italy allowed lawrence to renew old friendships; during these years he was particularly close to aldous huxley, who was to edit the first collection of.

History of the trojan war - stanford university, The tro jan war. the apple of discord; greek armament; finding troy; embassy to priam; the war; the trojan horse; after the war. the apple of discord. the trojan war. The wood whisperer - woodworking videos, articles, Learn woodworking with online videos, articles, viewer projects and shop tours featuring marc spagnuolo, the wood whisperer..

The wood whisperer - woodworking videos, articles, Learn woodworking with online videos, articles, viewer projects and shop tours featuring marc spagnuolo, the wood whisperer.. Thechive - funny photos and funny videos – keep calm and, There are sexy chivers among us (95 photos) chivettes like veronica keep the world spinning (22 photos) there are sexy chivers among us (128 photos). Reading journal, Turn over:to think carefully about all the details of something privy to something: knowing about something, usually official information, that other people do not know. Shira lazar - breaking news and opinion on the huffington post, With the 2014 sundance film festival underway, what's trending wanted to dig up the coolest song and dance scenes to come from the festival throughout the. Come step back in time | discover a passion for history…., Discover a passion for history. (by come step back in time). Good diy idea | the good place to find good diy idea, We all know that the skin is the first defense against any invasion from the outside, which could damage the body. the skin comes into contact with various toxic.

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself

. Here huge ants guard golden sand. Ants dig up gold and guard it

can gallop off to new adventures on this quality wooden rocking horse

Continue

a few of my favorite treats

I love sweets but not all the sugar and unhealthy fats (yes I love the occasional cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake) but on a more regular basis I prefer something that tastes great and is still pretty healthy!

So I thought I would share with you some of my healthier sweet favorites ... 

Awhile ago I stopped drinking soda, but I still like having something carbonated ... so I swapped it for seltzer water.

Seltzer water is calorie and sugar free and has no artificial flavorings. I love it plain, but if I want something a little special I will make lemonade with Stevia (a natural calorie free sweetener).

Doesnt that look perfect for a hot summer day?

Seltzer water with a splash of juice is also great, like a fruit spritzer without the calories of just juice.

and for dessert ... I recently discovered Chocolate Covered Katie and boy have I been missing out! Katie posts the most amazing healthy recipes that dont sacrifice taste. Ive only made a few but cant wait to try more. Here are some of my favorites ...

via

Chocolate Fudge Pie - This is so rich and fudgy you wont believe what the main ingredient is ... tofu, yes you did read that right, tofu ... it makes it thick and trust me, follow Katies recipe and it will taste nothing like it!  

and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip - This is also thick and really tastes like the real thing, but without butter, eggs and flour - which have been substituted with white beans - trust me, you are going to want to try it! Check out Katies recipe here

I love to eat it right off the spoon or with graham crackers - Katie also has a baked version if thats more your style.

I am by no means a dietician, but these are some healthier treats that I like to eat to satisfy my sweet tooth!

Do you have any favorite healthy substitutions? 

Continue