quick update

Bench;
Still working on my Roubo bench. Flattening the top every chance I get. I've glued up the legs but will start on the joinery next.

Turning
A coworker had a Austrian Pine die in his yard. He asked if I wished to collect any of it. Well I didnt have a way to get the log chopped or get it home at the time he needed it cut down. I asked though for him to cut a chunk off so I could maybe cut up a couple of bowl blanks from it for practice.



lightsaber
Friend of mine's son is going as Yoda this year for Halloween. I had been thinking of playing with more turnings and even adding lightsaber to my repertoire. Still needs paint but overall a fun toy project.





well thats all for now.

new ubuntu coming

im excited about this release. there is a new installation process that copies files while you are finishing update steps. anyone wishing to try something new and fresh away from windows here it is.

I can quit anytime

Time ticks by and with seconds left will I come out on top. I’m bleary eyed and tired from sitting in front of the computer screen. The auction ends and I am the proud new owner of a Millers Falls number 9 smooth plane. A few days later It arrives in a box. I bring the box inside the house to be opened and notice my wife rolling her eyes. Box is opened and inside is a cruddy rusty tool with potential. I’m like a little kid overjoyed with my new toy. This has been a regular occurrence in our house for the last year.

My first experience with a hand plane was one I bought from a big box store. It was an awful experience. At the time I wasn't aware of what made a good tool. The blade was abysmal and the plane body poorly cast. As a frugal hobbyist woodworker I could not afford to put money into the Lie Nielson and Veritas planes. I was utterly crushed, is there no way I could keep my hobby spending under control and get a good quality tool. One day someone suggested I rehabilitate an antique tool, that was the start of the slippery slope that is hand plane collecting. At first I was limited by only being able to buy from local antique stores. Even found an antique dealer who specializes in hand tools. Alas I found eBay where there are a plethora of antique hand planes. eBay has a category dedicated to hand planes I found under the collectibles section. My daily ritual was to filter through eBay for the planes I wished to own. My pride and joy is a Keen Kutter with a Bedrock frog.

I become fascinated with even the most trivial detail of something I find interesting and I am a history geek. I delved into any source I could find to know more about the history of these tools. I surfed through the Internet for sources of information on every aspect of the planes. By this time this has cascaded into a full blown addiction. Though I found solace in that I was not alone. In the past year I have found several online who just like me collect hand planes. I could finally stop boring my close friends on the finer points on the hand planes I was collecting. Their eyes tended to glaze over as I prattled on about antique planes anyhow. At last I had a support group, an entire community of people like myself. They may not have found a start in the same way but they understood. On Roy Underhill’s The Woodwright Shop I even have a show I feel is tailored to me. I’m giddy when St. Roy breaks out a hand tool to work on a project. There is a plane with a flexible bottom that finesses curves, who knew.

The first time I took a shaving with a tool made over 60 years ago was an exciting moment. I had come a long way from the chatter prone junk I first purchased some time ago. It was the defining point in my hand tool journey. This all started as a cost effective way to further my woodworking hobby. Along the way I picked up a new hobby a few friends and an appreciation for good quality tools. Now only if I can build up a nice collection of moulding planes.

bought some more planes

I bought three new planes recently another jack plane but a good one, a long jointer which will come in handy and a router plane. the router plane is the stanley 71 has two iron cutters with it. router planes are for cutting the bottom of dados. The jointer is a wooden jointer made by Sandusky Tool CO and is 26 inches long. I need to flatten the bottom and sharpen the iron. The jack plane is a neat find. It's a bedrock plane but its not a Stanley. Stanley made planes for Simmons hardware under the Keen kutter line of planes. they made both the bedrock planes and the Baily designed planes. Its all about the frog for anyone who doesn't know a bedrock plane is a bedrock frog the frog attaches to the sole of the plane on a solid bed instead of the couple of points where the Baily frogs attach. You will see this design now on the Lie Nielson line of planes. I can imagine its expensive to make is why its not as popular since the bed it sits on has so much material to flatten.

dunlapped a plane

Ok its a bad pun but I started fettling another iron smoother. Someone sent me a smoother and I started by removing the rust with a wire wheel. takes the rust off really well. I have tried rust removal using evaporust before and while I like it, I find myself unable to get by and get some more. the wire wheel was helpful since it removes the rust well. the iron has a knick and i will have to cut a new bevel. flattening the sole should be easy but its a lot of work reguardless. I am kicking myself again for not taking pictures.

An update

well I have been posting to Lumberjocks so I never keep up this blog. In November I started on a coffee table for a friend of mine. The table was maple from Cabinet shop Mis-Cuts. Coffee Table Project

Before that I made a Shaker inspired Bread Box for my wife in our kitchen. Project was made entirely out of Pallet wood. Breadbox Project

Made a mallet from the scrap bin I have for my dad and will make a second one for me. Also planning a marking guage. but here is the mallet.

Made a napkin holder from scraps I have after my wife said she liked this one we saw at an art festival. Napkin Holder Project

Made a wishing well for someones retirement this was actually sort of a commissioned piece. Wishing Well

Been buying old hand tools for usage. there is a whole series of posts I have made in the last 6 months of planes I have bought on ebay and local antique shows and stores. my collection so far consists of;

Millers Falls No 17 Block plane
Stanley No 75 Bullnose rabbet plane
Oak Leaf No E23 Transitional smoothing plane
stanley No 5 Jack plane
Millers Falls 814 economy Jack plane
Stanley No 6 Fore plane
Stanley No 51 Spokeshave
3/4 Round Moulding plane.

a few planes planes I wish to acquire in the future are;
Millers Falls N0 9 or Stanley equivalent
Jointer plane Stanley or Millers Falls
more moulding planes in usable shape.

New Tools ...well new to me.

I'm cross-posting this blog to Lumberjocks. Here is my latest post over there.

New Antique Hand Planes tool purchase

I have found some more information on the last plane called a transitional plane. they were planes with a wood base and iron top. Its a brand called Oak Leaf. Simmons Hardware Company sold a catalog of stuff like Sears. Keen Kutter was a store brand that they sold as well. the Oak leaf tool like was created by WM Enders a company executive which I cant find much more information on. At first the tool line was labeled with Simmons Hardware above the Oak Leaf name inside of a Oak Leaf emblem. then later the Simmons was replaced with WM Enders.

Been Lazy this month

I haven't done one single woodworking project this month. I did however get my friends plane back up and running. He had crashed it a while back and I made the repairs and test ran his engine on the stand. I also spend the last weekend getting the control throws set up on my newest plane and set the trim. Here shortly I hope to fly it. Its raining this week and is expected to the rest of the week. Maybe soon I can maiden the thing after all I have had the airplane a year and have had it ready for 4 or 5 months. Its going to be a rocket with the engine I have on it. I am trying a 15"-6 prop which the engine can do fine with. I am still not quite sure where its supposed to balance but hopefully I will get that smoothed out upon flying it.

Busy Month

Well everything is crazy this month. Alot of birthdays and one in particular that keep me busy this month is my daughters birthday. Fathers day is in June of course.

I am fixing a friends airplane which was crashed two weeks ago. I have the wood worked and fixed have to recover the spots I took covering off. Then reinstall the engine and radio and it should be back up flying the next time we go.

I made a jewelry box for my niece which is in my Lumberjocks page.

Not doing much right now

Linux:
So I found that the asus/windows Anti Linux site called http://itisbetterwithwindows.com site was registered with GoDaddy so my guess is its not put out by Microsoft or Asus. the site is really generic and the video is neat but is obviously not informative. So either its a joke or someone looking to get a job with one or the other companies. This issue was irritating because the Asus netbook comes with linux and one that Asus built so why would they of all people gripe publicly about linux.

Woodworking:
Finished another table that is on my Lumberjocks page. Its a pine table I built for one of my nephews. First time building a drawer into a project.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/17376

I am working on a Jewelry Box for my niece. This is by far the most ornate woodworking piece I have ever built.

My brother is supposed to bring his table for me to refinish but has yet to bring it by. I cant get him to understand I don't have a way to get it to my garage. Its going to be a real bear to finish because he tried applying epoxy to the top.

RC airplanes:
Flew my spad again the other night its a fun plane. Got to try out the helicopter and it ran fine except the tail didn't want to stay straight after the first flight. My next plane I take out will be the Yak 54 I have been sitting on for 8 months. I am also working on getting my ugly stick moved over to 2.4 Ghz. Friend of mine crashed his pattern plane and I am going to rebuild it soon. His engine was having issues. I plan on putting it on a stand then test and tune it.

Over the winter I want to start building the Ultrasport kit I bought at Christmas. I will probably fly the yak this season then take the engine off, clean it then put it on the ultrasport as I finish it. I have retracts and retract servo for the new airplane and will take the servos out of the yak for it as well. I might end up giving the yak airframe to my friend who has his pattern plane in my shop. I rebuilt his helicopter as well. That was how I got interested in helicopters.


misc:
I am on twitter now so I have been distracted lately with it. I hope to get on track and fly more this summer. I have two projects this year I need to finish before starting on the airplane. I am going to be busy.

Safety Week Blog Post

Its Safety week so for my contribution I want to talk about hearing protection. I am an amateur woodworker who like many hobby shop furniture makers I use power tools. Which is why its a good topic to read up on for safety in your shop.

Here recently I had been having vertigo which as it turns out has nothing to do with my hearing. However in having my problem I was referred to a ENT specialist. I had a hearing/balance test and found my hearing is fine and my balance system is working the way it should. Unfortunately my vertigo turned out to be something else entirely, the doctor thinks its migraines. Before I got the appointment I did some reading. I found that loud noises can be more detrimental to your health than just simple hearing loss. Also that I need to watch how much of the loud noises I am subjected to.

Just to start with use of hearing protection is a good idea. I found in some of my reading that Loud noises just attributed to the hearing of them is linked to hearing loss for starters, big surprise. It is also linked to vertigo in some people because loud noises can damage the inner ear and mess with the system that your balance is based on. It is known that loud noises and consistent exposure can cause irritability as well. It causes Tinnitus which is a general ringing in the ears. I have noticed on occasion I would leave the shop to go into the house and have my ears ringing and buzzing.

Also physiological effects of loud noises due to long exposures are apparent now as well. Loud noises can effect the rhythm of the heart increase blood pressure etc. These effects are through the exposure to the loud noise in general and not through the ears so hearing protection doesn't offer protection in those areas. Limiting the amount of time around the noise is key. This is offering an argument that we give up power tools to the die hard hand tool users out there.

On all noise reduction products there is a number listed on the packaging. The Noise Reduction Rating(NRR) tells you how much sound the product reduces. For instance I use a set of foam plugs with a solid plastic band on them so when you take them out you can just hang it on your neck. These reduce the Noise level by 23 decibels. If I am being subjected to high levels at 80 then 23 reduces to 57 decibels. Which is above quiet but in acceptable ranges. When I looked at the various products offered at the local home store the disposable had about the best rating around 29 to 32 decibels. The headphone type available I saw offered about 20 to 22. Found these were as close i could get to finding the ones I have. There are products available that reduce noise by electronic means but I didn't research them before writing this so I do not have any information on them.

My experience as of late has made me aware even though my problem wasn't with the loud noises that I need to take them seriously. In all I would say use hearing protection at all times and try limiting the amount of time you are exposed to the sounds for your own health's sake. For further reading I am posting a link for you to read and get caught up on all that loud noises do over time. Link

Student drops out of school because of Linux

I found this story kind of unusual that someone would quit school because of Linux. The story turns out to be a case of mistaken identity of sorts. College Girl seeks a computer thinking all are the same but quickly found out differently. This story really baffles me for one reason how did she buy a Linux computer from Dell. The Linux offerings from Dell are only available from a special location on the website and at every turn remind you its not windows. According to the new story the model of laptop happens to be the same one I have. Now where I offer contention to the girl is in that she called the news agency when talking to computer people at her college would have been a better first step than to hastily think she was ripped off. From the news story it seemed like the people involved were willing to help her with it so she didn't drop from school. They probably would have been able and willing to do so without a news story being made about it. Some people are all to willing to call the media sometimes to solve their problems when a simple talk with someone more technical would have sufficed.

Linux Haters

I guess every group has to have its detractors and so goes linux with a few blogs and websites dedicated to the hatred of Linux or other such free software. I wont sit here and say Linux rules or that its for everyone. Linux is better for "me".

Some time ago I would argue with people about the benefits of using Linux to the effect of talking to a brick wall. Most of the biggest detractors have been hardcore Microsoft-ies. I am talking live breath and eat Microsoft products. Sure it offers ease of use, sure it is the more available and sure it range it wide reaching as far as hardware is concerned. I eventually after watching people who were willing to try it get discouraged over it realized its not for everyone because it's just different. The biggest obstacle most people are often baffled by is that you cant run windows software, not that's not entirely true but more on that later. Second is just about everything else is different. File storage is different, permissions are different and etc.

Windows software not running on a completely different Operating System is the first big gripe and not only is it odd but distracting. For starters you can run windows software although might not run well because of WINE. Also you can find alternatives for the software you are used to. People who use photoshop might find Gimp just as powerful for them even if it may not work for all. Lastly the expectation that people have software that was written and compiled on a certain operating system probably don't realize the impact of what all that means. There is hope there however if someone is willing to try making the concessions for the time being in what it takes to switch. You will find yourself back working the way you used to in a matter of time.

Next biggest gripe is bogus and shows also a lack of understanding of how computers work, or at least computer manufacturers. Not all hardware is made the same. When you buy that webcam the company has to either release drivers or release standards for people to write drivers from. Some companies refuse to do either for linux. You have to hope that someone had the gumption to reverse engineer the hardware to find out how to write a driver for it. Companies do often ignore linux because it saves them money to, they figure the majority use windows so why bother. Well that's fine but how do the detractors feel that it's a Linux fault or its contributors.

Ease of use is another complaint and coming from the fact I used windows for years before making the switch I noticed this too. Since the early days Linux has struggled in itself whether it wanted to be easy to use or stable. This is because its original design wasn't intended to be used on Joe Schmoes' computer at home. there have been factions of developers that have morphed its original purpose into what it is today. A bit schizophrenic at times this duality has served to limit and expand it as well. It will limit in that it will never be windows. It however has the availability to expand not only for common users but in diversity. So many versions of Linux are out there to suit the taste of everyone. Now that I have been on Linux for three or four years, I have noticed its way easier that I know it better than when I didn't. Somethings are easier to do in Linux for the fact that the resources to help you through problems are more available. This is the example I use say the GUI dies in windows you can reboot and never know why it happened. Linux you can have the GUI die get on a forum to find out why because in both cases it will happen again. I don't know about most people but I only want errors to happen once.

OK one of the gripes that bugs me most is that of the gui not being as pretty. A computer is a utilitarian thing. to ask for fluff is ridiculous. Lets just say for a minute that a gui needed to be pretty to do its job. What exactly do you expect to see? I think that is what makes linux so cool is that you want it bet you could get it added and way before windows offers it. I use gnome for instance. I like simple for me gnome is that.

I am not a hardcore Linux user in that on occasion I install it and set it up to work on a network etc. I typically do not setup servers of any kind. I wrote a script to resize pictures from our camera for posting on the internet. I mostly surf the internet and do some simple stuff and even some gaming. It works for me not to mention I am not locked to a single operating system. For me that is the biggest benefit is to just be free of the hassle. Not everyone is going to agree but hating linux for simplistic reasoning and trolling for attention by name calling those of us who disagree need to remember every should be free to choose that's the way we live.

My best friend found a geek girl

My best friend found a geek girl and a star wars geek at that. their first VD day yielded him getting her a Lightsaber and she made him this scarf

My Daughters first project

I posted on my lumberjocks page about my daughters first project.

Aero Press

I have wanted one of these for some time.



I saw Mark frauenfelder demo this on BoinBoing.net which looked so cool. My best friend bought it for me for a christmas gift. I tried it out the first night like a kid with a new toy. Let me tell you this was the best cup of coffee I have ever made at home.

New Toy

I got a new toy at a swap meet after selling some stuff. This toy is another RC venture I wanted to get into but just havent till now. The Helicopters in RC have been alluring but for one reason or another I wouldnt take the leap. My toy is a Heli-Max Axe CP.


This is what it looks like without the cowl.













This is the rotor head.

Decided to take pictures of the planes I have

The above picture is of my airplane rack, from top to bottom are my Great Planes ultrasport 40+, my Jenson Das Ugly Stik, and the Seagull Models Yak 54. To the right hanging is the eflite Cap BP electric.


this picture is of my Lanier Fokker DVII which I crashed on maiden. the cowl and firewall got busted and i cant find a cowl for it.

Linux obstacles to acceptance

often I find that the majority of reasons Linux doesn't gain acceptance just amounts to public ignorance of what Linux is and what it can do. This post is a prime example of the battles I face when talking about Linux, Mr Stark takes a sharp tone with the teacher in his correspondence but is more gentle than most would have been in his place for the comments she makes were libelous and defamatory.

A PC is not a stereotype

OK, so this is one occasion I agree with Microsoft however not every PC runs Windows mine certainly don't. I hope to get the message out. If anyone is reading this please spread the message that a PC is not always windows even if its the majority of computers that PC means Linux or Unix. It means so much more than windows. Like the Apple Commercial stated recently only so much money Microsoft can throw at the growing discontentment. Microsoft can only stomp out competition and stifle innovation for so long before people get tired of it.