Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments

[Dennis Peacock]

17 Aug 2015

Greetings Everyone,
Yes, I know....I'm way early this week. I'm trying to get myself caught up from being so behind on stuff and the LOML is out of town and I've been working on the laundry, kitchen chores, general cleaning and such. So, here I am posting early so I can sleep in a bit in the morning before heading out to the day job.

Nothing special about this past weekend, just worked around the house, worked on some stuff for the day job, and played bass guitar for the last time at the church we've been attending for the past 16 years. We feel that it's time for us to go and serve at a church closer to home, so we are. It was really good serving there and I got to play music with some of the most talented musicians that I've ever seen or been around in my entire life. I've even played music with various parts of the Arkansas Symphony on special occasions and that was a real treat for me as well as a challenge on the music side of the house.
Now it's time for the next chapter in our lives and we'll see how this goes in short order.

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

Best of weeks to you all.

[Bill Clifton]

After many years of talking the LOML and I pulled off the much needed yard sale on Fri and Sat. Cleared out the garage (my shop) and netted $1000.

[Phil Mueller]

This weekend was the Detroit Woodward Ave Dream Cruise. Basically a few thousand folks from all around come to cruise their classic cars up and down a main street (Woodward Ave) through the Northern suburbs of Detroit. They estimated about a million folks came out this year to watch. Basically any classic you can think of was well represented. Spent a few hours Saturday evening joining the fun.

Other than that, just a few outside chores...mow the lawn, replace a couple of broken sprinklers.

I also stopped at a yard sale and picked up a Stanley #27 wooden plane for $7. Should be a fun restoration project. Steven Newman was kind enough to give me a few tips (thanks, Steven!). Just a pile of parts at the moment...we'll see how it goes.

[Dale Murray]

I went to Michigan to attend and photograph a friends wedding.

Bride.jpg Scene.jpg Walking.jpg Flowers.jpg

When I lived in Michigan I would attend the Dream Cruise from about 5:30am-11am then got the heck out of there. A few photos from 2005 (very old gallery tech): http://dale-murray.com/050820/index.html

Supposedly the Back to the Bricks car show in Flint Michigan is HUGE!

[Charles Taylor]

I too went to a wedding along with my wife, the bride being a sweet little girl who works with her. I spied a classic Chevrolet pulling onto the road behind us at one point on our way to the wedding. That's as close as I got to a car show.

After church and lunch on Sunday, took a detour on the way home to see if one of the local sawyers I haven't visited in ages is still in business...and fortunately he is.

I didn't even know our 17-year-old wanted a new dresser until she sent her mother a picture of one she'd found on Craigslist, for sale by someone who dresses up thrift store finds. I can't work fast enough to build one within a teenager's attention span, so we agreed with the seller on a good price and picked it up Sunday evening.

Amidst all of that, I managed to get enough time in the shop to finish milling up all the material for the drawer boxes for the tool chest I've been putting together from some of the scraps I've had lying around. In a rare episode of success, I managed to get all of the dados, grooves, and rabbets on the correct sides of all the pieces. No do-overs or goofs that need covering up.

[Mike Ontko]

I'm between projects now, and before getting back to finishing my coffee table I thought I would clean up, set up, and sharpen the planes and chisels I've been collecting (a Woodriver 4-1/2, a Woodriver medium shoulder plane, a big box store Stanley block plane, and a set of 6 Narex bench chisels). I've been using a wet/dry sandpaper on glass technique with some success but think I need to up my game with a set of water stones for the final polish and for touch ups. So, I've been reading through some older posts on that topic.

In the meantime, my peach and pear trees had finished doing their job for the year, and I inherited 15 pounds of cukes from a coworker's pickle tree, so I've been busy canning, cooking, and eating the resulting harvest over the past two weekends. The heat generated from a water bath canning pot is too hot for a glass top stove, so I run the process on a Coleman camp stove that sits on top of my workbench, so this is at least a little bit related to WW. Finished results pictured below.


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[Mike Ontko]

After many years of talking the LOML and I pulled off the much needed yard sale on Fri and Sat. Cleared out the garage (my shop) and netted $1000.

Bill, sounds like you've set yourself up for adding a few new tools to your collection - out with the old and in with the new

[Jim Dwight]

This weekend I made no sawdust. My main project was to get the lights at the end of the driveway working. The contractor cut the power to them when he added the shop garage a year ago. He ran power to what we thought was the power wire but it didn't work. So I had the job of getting it working. It seems the previous homeowner disconnected the line we gave power at the far end of the driveway and ran a new line. So I got to dig 30 foot of ditch and run some wire. But the lights work now. I should have done some cleanup, or tool sharpening or something productive but didn't. Youngest daughter was home from college for the weekend so we spent time with her.

[Phil Mueller]

Mike, it might be herecy, but I've defaulted to sandpaper on glass for all my sharpening. Take it up to 1500 grit and then strop. I found wet stones too inconvenient. May try diamond stones some day.

[Mike Ontko]

Phil, I appreciate the feedback--especially before I drop the $70 to $80 on the combination stone I've been considering. Up to now, I've only been going as high as 1000 grit, but that's only because I haven't found a higher grit paper yet. Are you using a leather pad and polishing compound for the stropping?

[Phil Mueller]

I usually can find the higher grits at auto supply stores. By the time you get to 1000, it's pretty much just polishing, so you don't need much more than a quarter sheet per tool.

Yes, I use a piece of leather (Michael's art supply) glued down to a pice of MDF and the green polishing compound (I think I picked it up from Rockler).
i coat the leather with compound and run the blade over it a few times...mirror finish.

[Bruce Page]

Spent a few hours working on a "Frozen" themed coat rack for a friends granddaughter. They're hard to see but the snowflake & snowman details will be filled in with the appropriate paint colors. It measures 11" X 26".

[Jim Becker]

It was a normal weekend with regard to the equestrian activities, mowing the lawn, etc., and had a woodworking component on Sunday...a couple of tasks for two of my tack trunk clients. Installed a combination lock on one and some heavier duty lid supports on the other. I had to make a jig for the former task to be able to drill things accurately on-site. It wasn't just a matter of a 3/4" hole as the back side had to be rebated about 5/32" so the fastening nut could go on the back of the lock due to shaft length. The jig acted as a bit guide for both the 3/4" spade bit from the front and a 1 1/8" Forstner bit for the backside. Surprisingly, that job went easy. The lid supports, which I though would be easy were a pain in the backside because they require exact screw placement (no leeway) and I had to remove some corner reinforcement material to accommodate that...with no chisel along for the ride. A sharp drill bit and a flat screwdriver used as a chisel (with a 3/4" wrench as a hammer) took care of that job. Oy! Let's just say I earned my cash spending nearly an hour in a very hot and humid, tiny tack room, dripping sweat and wishing for a cold (adult) beverage...

[Dave Cullen]

Took my '74 Norton Commando to a Brit bike show Sunday. Came home with a trophy for best in class.



I have a 1/2 completed wood project in the workshop, an outdoor cart for my new smoker, but it's too darn hot in the shop to work on it. Maybe next week...

[Shawn Pixley]

Saturday after the usual dog walking duties, I help LOML with a little sand casting in bronze. A few weeks back I built a couple of drag and cope frames and we made up some casting sand. Unfortunately, we ran out of Oxygen for the torch before the Bronze melted...

Sunday, we decided we would get a second TV for the house so the other could watch something when the partner was watching something they had no interest in. After research we bought the various items and I got them all hooked up and mounted about 6 PM. Low key after a series of 60-70 hour weeks...