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Praetorium Honoris

Monday, April 11, 2022

Turn, Turn, Turn

 Mornin' Folks (and those of you who aren't morning folks).  Been a busy, but fun, week at Rancho Juvat.  Mrs J has been keeping my handyman skills (such as they are) honed.

What skills are those, juvat?

It's a rain gutter garden, Mrs. J is planting onions and arugula in the top and bottom respectively.

Well, a little metallurgy.  There's got to be a better way to cut rain gutter than with a hack saw.  Straight cut? Not a chance.  Suggestions?

This side got some flowers as our dining room looks out over it.

A little carpentry.  I've got a tad more skill in that field.  I can turn lumber into sawdust with the best of 'em.

Yes Beans, this picture was taken while on a back break (double entendre there) before we straightened out the long wall.

A little stone masonry.  Finally found a use for the large pile of limestone leftover from our house.  Only got the plot tilled, weed barrier in and first layer (of probably two, but who knows we've got a lot of limestone left) of the wall built before we ran out of steam.  But we got a lot done in a day.

Also this week, a bit of progress on a different front.




My new woodshop now has 3" of blown foam insulation on the walls and door and 6" on the ceiling.  I can now start putting in the interior walls and moving in.  Finally.

Yes, I'm excited.

As you may have expected after last week's post in which I talked about this, "playing" with my new toy was high on my list of activities.


I spent a lot of time in my old, too small, shop practicing with the lathe.  I've been advised by several folks (you know who you are) to try turning pens.  Which I attempted to do, unsuccessfully.  After some help from "John in Philly" (Thank you!), I finally figured out my problem.  The instruction manual that I downloaded from the seller's (not Rockler) website had the speed gearing backwards.  So...When I thought I was going full blast, I was actually at its lowest speed setting.  The settings didn't make sense to me mechanically  but, hey, they're the manufacturer.  John pointed me to a Rockler (they also sell the machine) manual that had the proper schematic.  

Once that was settled, I tried my hand again  And re-learned an important lesson.

Checklists should always be used.

Experienced Pen Turners should recognize the error right away.

I grabbed a pen blank and drilled out the center, mounted it on the mandrel and wailed away at it.  This is fun, I thought, and easy.  I'll have a pen in an hour or so.  Turned the Sapele down to where I wanted it,  Pulled it off the mandrel and realized I had skipped a step. A copper core is supposed to be glued in to the center hole,  Then the pen blank should be trimmed to that length.

Back to the drawing board.

Round two (the next day after I spent an hour typing out the checklist as penance to the tree gods for wasting wood) I used a blank of Padauk (a reddish/purple wood).  Drilled the center, glued in the core,  mounted the blank and went at it again.  Much better result.


Two minor mistakes (aka lessons learned).  One, I was too timid on getting the edges all the way to the guide bushings, hence there are noticeable ridges at the point and in the middle where the pen parts and the wood don't match up.  Additionally, I should have checked the twist mechanism before I put the back half of the pen on.  Had I, I would have realized I needed to push the twist mechanism  in about 1/16" further in.  But...I love how the finish looks.  For those of you who know.  10 coats of CA glue, polished to 12000 grit.  One coat of wood polish and Voila'.  

So,  am I excited about turning wood?  You betcha', on to the next project! or as they say "Turn, Turn, Turn"




You had to know that was coming dincha? 
😎

And, there I was, copying the code for the Byrds video, while YouTube was running in the background.  This came up next.  I thought it was pretty cool. You get a twofer.




Have a great week and a prayerful Easter.

33 comments:

  1. Huh, gutter garden......interesting.....veeery interesting......idea forming, thanks juvat. Pen looks mighty spiffy and the new woodshop is progressing nicely. As for Mr. Campbell, quite the talent there, choice selection to start the week off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nylon, Sorry, got to remember to push the publish button after replying. Had a fasting blood work this morning, so blood sugar was a tad low. Usually causes me to forget the details. My story and I'm sticking to it.

      Mrs. J watched several YT videos on the Gutter Garden Idea. Fairly simple to make happen. The biggest thing about them to plan for is root rot. They recommend a quarter inch hole every 6". Evaporation is a problem here, so we went with 1/8" every foot. We'll see how that works.

      Yep, William Tell Overture is one of my favorite Classical Music pieces. He, and the orchestra, performed it quite well.

      Delete
  2. Try cutting the aluminum gutter with it upside down in your chop saw. If you have a fine tooth blade, use the fine tooth blade.
    Hold it firmly and feed slowly. Use your earpro, it's way noisy.
    A regular or fine tooth blade in one of those small battery saws also works, but you have to make several cuts because of the depth of cut. And risk of binding the blade goes up.

    I will be presenting the rain gutter garden idea to the planning committee.

    It's too early for the garden in Philly, we woke to 37 degrees this morning and NOAA had put out a frost advisory for last night and early this morning.

    Pen turning. Glad to help. I've benefited from shared knowledge and I'm glad to pass on the information.

    A very nice start on the lathe work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, John and again, thanks for your help.

      I'll keep the chop saw in mind. It was down in the old shop. I was TDL to go and get it, until halfway through the cutting.

      Delete
    2. A fine tooth plywood blade installed with the teeth facing the wrong way is great for cutting vinyl siding and soffit materials.

      I've only cut aluminum (aluminium for some readers!) in the chop saw. I've wanted a metal cutting cold saw, but so far I've not rationalized the purchase.
      There are metal cutting blades, not abrasive cutting blades, for circular saws but I haven't yet tried one.

      I recognized the acronym and sometimes that shoe fits perfectly.

      Eric O of YouTube's South Main Auto has said, "If the tool has something that can be a striking face, than it can be used as a hammer."

      Delete
    3. John,
      I'll keep those techniques in mind. Thanks.

      Lotta truth in that last.

      Delete
  3. What John said, use your miter saw.

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  4. I've used a skil saw with the carbide blade in backwards to cut sheet metal. Chop saw go really slow. Band saw will work on aluminum, too. Ear pro is a must as are safety squints. Cut and install a profile piece of wood for the end and cut next to it with your hack saw. That helps stiffen it. Tin snips?

    Very neat idea on the garden. I started some radishes and aragula in some aluminum baking pans. That worked really well. Micro greens anyone?

    Looking good at Casa del Phantom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. STxAR,
      The wooden end piece is a great idea. Wrap some tape around the whole thing would keep the whole thing from bending and warping which was the problem. Thanks.

      Delete
  5. Ah, retired life. A number of projects going on, all progressing nicely.

    Very nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarge,
      It has its high points and is generally good. I find I need to get out of the house and go somewhere regularly though. Doesn't really matter where, just somewhere. It takes a while, but you'll find your battle rhythm as will The Missus.
      Thanks.

      Delete
  6. The rain gutter is very nice Juvat - I have read of the idea but never seen it so well executed - nicely done! The pen also looks super nice too. And yay insulation!

    Back in the (very far day) when I did a bit of gutter and sheet metal work, we would have used straight snips to cut the gutter.

    Have a blessed Easter as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THB,
      Thanks.
      I thought about the snips, and have a pair, somewhere.....

      Have a Happy, Blessed Easter as well.

      Delete
  7. Fun times. I haven't turned wood since I was a kid. Dad had (and still has) a foot-treadle-powered lathe he let us play with. We call it the "monkey-motor" lathe.

    ReplyDelete
  8. a Bear,

    Oh man, I bet that was a work out. Would be neat to see it in action.

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've spent too many an hour watching videos of wood turning projects on You Tube. It's something I would love to try but haven't got the space for even a small lathe.

    Regards, Daryle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daryle,
      I've watched quite a few of them myself. Still do when I've got a question. I also watch them and turn down the volume so I can concentrate on their technique with the tools. That made quite a difference between would be Pen 1 and Pen 2.

      Delete
  10. About 48 years ago it was decreed that there “will be rain gutters at the edge of all eaves.”
    10 foot lengths coul be purchased and assembled in those days.
    For the life of me I can only vaguely remember how I trimmed them to length, but tin snips come to mind.
    I do know that the job turned out well, and that I don’t i tend to do it again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Skip,
      Some things never change, the gutter's still come in 10' pieces. The gap was 6' on the side with two. The two 4' remnants fit inside each other which allowed it to be long enough for the flower side.
      There are some jobs where hiring the professionals is good advice. Anything involving a combination of water and house generally meets that threshold.

      Delete
  11. Tin snips. The non-powered way to cut thin sheet metal of all forms.
    Nibblers, either electric or air powered (if you have a compressor)
    Sawsall with a metal cutting blade.
    Jigsaw with a metal cutting blade.
    Circular saw with a metal cutting blade, or an old plywood blade or an old regular blade.
    Standing bandsaw (aluminum cuts real easily with a fine-toothed old dull wood blade. Or get a metal cutting blade.)
    Thermite, just a fine line...
    Det cord, duct tape it down, set it off, cuts metal quite nicely.
    GAU-8, though you'll need a good backstop.

    NOT your wife's expensive sewing scissors.

    Though a cheap set of kitchen shears work for a surprising number of cuts, before they don't work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beans,
      I think the diameter of the holes left by the GAU-8 would allow too much water to flow out. It certainly would lower the chances of root rot though.
      Other than that, a FINE set of options.

      Delete
  12. Ok, so I am talking to the computer saying "tin snips", then circular saw with the metal blade--ask the nice man at Home Depot (or have your wife ask) to get the correct one...but if you use Bean's recommendation of Thermite, just a fine line---I wanna see video!! Please!!!

    And as someone who has very nice expensive sewing scissors, I fully, completely. support NOT using those to cut ANYTHING except cloth. Ask my son about that particular "Mom's Rule"...the other one like that is "Where are you going with my needle nose pliers?? They are mine, have my name on them, go clean the garage/basement/workshop/your room to find yours!" If ya put it back when you are done using it, you will know where to find them the next time...yada yada yada...

    That is a neat idea for a garden, and those flowers look so pretty there. I am going to do raised beds this year, still trying to figure out how I want them to be. I've got some time as, like John said, it is still a bit too chilly out to plant yet, even my cold loving crops like swiss chard and peas.

    That first pen isn't a mistake--it is experience!! Plus, once you have that experience, you wont do it again--hopefully...very pretty though, both of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As a chief engineer long ago I used to get hundreds of purchase chits from my snipes and in them would be dozens and dozens for tools. I used to take those back to the chief in a pail and tell him to let the guys find all the tools they dropped in the bilges while working on the Packards or the other engines because I was not buying "replacement" tools. I haven't yet had one wear out on me and the picture I posted of my dad's adjustable wrench was to the point. Yeah, the middle fell out and he still had it on his peg board.

      Delete
    2. Suz, I'm pretty sure I've got tin snips in my old workshop somewhere. I have high hopes that when I start the move to the new shop all the AWOL tools will pop to attention and ask to be transported. OT, But Mrs. J just asked me what the new shop's inside temp was. It's 90 degrees and I'd say the interior temp is around 78 degrees. And that's with no air conditioning. So, the extra thick insulation appears to be working.

      Yeah, the gutter gardens did a lot of things for us. First they do look kinda cool and add a bit of color (unbelievably badly needed in TX this year) to the view from the dining room. And they allow us to plant some herbs and small veggies, so...

      I actually was able to fix one of the two "issues" with the second pen and squeezed the parts together to get the ink cartridge into proper position. Mrs. J says she likes the slight gap between the two halves. She says it fits exactly on the skin between her thumb and pointer finger. She likes it...I love it.

      But I will do better next time.

      Delete
    3. Captain,
      Yeah, I'm reluctant to purchase anymore tools until the move is complete, as I described in my reply to Suz. Since my new shed is quite a bit bigger, one of my initial projects is to build visible storage. (And berate myself vigorously if I don't use it.) Got a lot of ideas spinning around on how to accomplish that, so we'll see.
      Thanks

      Delete
  13. I want to learn how to use a lathe!

    Stanley used to make an aggressively toothed crosscut saw that they called the Shark Saw, it even had a Great White etched on the blade. That would go through plastic guttering like nobody's business.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As to the first...So do I! 🤣

      Yeah, I got a lot of good suggestions from the Gang here. I'm sure Mrs. J will provide many opportunities for me to try them out.

      Delete
  14. Sounds like 'good' progress on a lot of fronts! That's always good, and yes, checklists for a reason!!! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Old NFO. There was a reason why, for all my 2500+ hours of flight in both 2 and single seat aircraft, I had one strapped to my knee. Now, the Pen Turning checklist (still being updated) is on my project clipboard, and my iPad, and my Phone, and my Computer.

      Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.

      Delete
  15. Woodworker, Rancher, Wine Connoisseur, Hotelier...you have quite the active retirement and set of hobbies. Mine is limited to drinking and vacationing right now, but those aren't sustainable 24/7 like yours. I need to find some hobbies before I retire!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Tuna,
      It took a while, Tuna. Fortunately, I fell into a pretty good job with the School District which cushioned the change. My last 6 months in the Pentagon with Bosnia going down, I spent a lot of 12 on/12 off tours. I was pretty well wiped clean when I retired. Didn't do much other than sleep and do family things for about 6 months, til our exchange student told me his computer teacher had walked out the door in mid class. I figured the big guy was giving me a sign. 18 years later I retired from teaching. Mrs. J has kept her eye on me ever since and tends to find things for me to do when she thinks I'm approaching boredom. I suspect your Bride will fill a similar role for you.
      But thanks for the kind words.

      Delete
    2. I have time to figure it out. Retirement is 6-11 years away, depending on how much I like/dislike the Govie job, so I can start looking slowly.

      Delete

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