Time to Work

 

I took these pictures on the second day of staying home, thinking that I could post my progress every day, you know, since I have time on my hands.

This was five days later:

So, if left to my own devices I take about two hours to get up and going in the morning, and apparently on a broader level I also take two weeks to start getting things done.

At thirteen days we start to see something;

And the next day some real change:

I don't really mind tidying up, I'm just a procrastinator.  It's amazing how satisfying it is to have the space cleaned and set up.  Lots more to go.

Now, I haven't been a total couch potato, this has given me time to get some important work done around the house.  I'm splitting and stacking the logs out back, which led to making a saw buck, finally putting my birthday adze to good work.

  

 

 I'm also making a cat door for Mr. Neil.

And we're still working on the hallway floor.  I bought a carbide scraper to clean up the floor boards.  

An interesting side-note: I got these curls as I was using the scraper, and they reminded me of shavings from a tool I just learned about, the Yari Kanna.  It's a fascinating traditional tool from Japan, and was used to smooth the surface of boards and beams.  It's basically a modified spear that can be pulled along the wood.  I'm sure it takes some real skill to get nice shavings.  Cool stuff.

I Haven't Got a Leg to Stand on: I Have Three Legs To Sit On

I set myself a little task yesterday, to see if I could make a stool in one hour.

Luckily I had a slice of elm already cut, so that saved some time

Unfortunately it was sitting out in the rain, so it was wetter than an otter's backside.  

I tried to draw out some of the moisture with shavings that were laying around

I've had this black locust sitting around so I cut that to length for the legs.

   

I'm still getting the hang of this froe; I think I just need to whack it harder.

   

I tried to use a drawknife but my weak bench was moving too much, and I had a lot of material to remove so I went back to the chopping block and grabbed a hatchet.

Skipping the drawknife I used a scrub plane to rough out the legs and shape the tenons.  I was running out of time so I left the shape very rough.

The seat was mostly flat, I just evened-up some of the marks from the chainsaw, then bored holes with a slight angle.  I didn't bother working the underside, but I did clean off some of the soft and wet wood along the edge.

       

Fitting the legs was just a matter of trial and error.  I knocked the stool against the floor to really seat them, and then cut off the tops.

Is it pretty?  No.  Can I take it apart and clean it up later?  Yes.  Is it functional? 

Of course, did I finish it in one hour?  No, it was two hours, but it's done and I can use it.

Hee-Haw

Yes, I have saws, and a power planer.

But you forget my secret weapon:

Asinine Persistence.

If You've Got A Hitch, Then Scratch It; or: Don't Throw It Out, It's Only Molding; or: My Scratch Stock Is Bigger Than Yours

 It's finally time for the new roof, and that means I need to resolve the issue of the rotten molding.  I hadn't realized it was rotten, but a closer inspection revealed bees, and a fascia full of insulation and squirrel scat.  Fun times on a ladder!

 The problem with replacing old stock is that new molding will not match your original profile:  The new stuff looks the same, but it's thinner.  You can get specially made moldings, but that's a lot of money, especially if you only need a little bit.
 Other options?  Buy many router bits, or buy many molding planes.  As much as I like the second option, it's hard to justify, monetarily.

 Then, I had a thought: what about the humble scratch stock?  The scratch stock is a simple way to create a  profile in wood, usually a small bead edge.  It isn't as swift or as consistent as a plane, but if you only have to work a little bit of wood, it's a cheap option.

I had previously made a bead edge for my cabinets:

 This was a slightly larger task, but I thought I'd give it a try.
 I bought some 16 gauge steel from the Home Despot, traced the profile, then went to town with the angle grinder
 

Finished up with files, then sandpaper, then honed both sides.

Tossed it in a piece of wood and had at it.

So, half way through my success I showed my progress to my dad, and as I was explaining it I realized I goofed:  I cut off the wrong side of the profile.
That was enough for one day; I came back to it in the morning and reground the correct profile.  So far it's been working, though it is slow progress.  I was making a lot of dust the first time around, but I did a better job of honing this time and there are more shavings now.  I'm sure there will be some tweaking, but it looks like I'll have a workable molding.

Update:  So much scraping!