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Paul Ross
Trad climber
colorado
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Superb house Steve...But do you have to remove your boots ? Have a great 2014 All the Best ..from another Senior Citizen.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Paul,
Same to you mate!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Fabulous work Steve!
How much carpentry experience did you have to draw on before undertaking such a Labor of Love?
It is funny where being addicted to grappling with big challenges as an adventure climber will take you.
I have an old Victorian Four Square in Seattle that I have been working on steadily for a very long time. Folks that come by and visit with remodeling projects of their own usually leave mine feeling better about they have bitten off. LOL
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Steve,
I've been working with my hands, making things since the age of seven.
I've made many pieces of 18th century style furniture, and this house is essentially one big piece of furniture.
That big red crane was all metalworking; welding etc.and quite useful on the project. The crane has a 200:1 Boston Gear Box, attached to a clutch, driven by a 1 HP electric motor. The boom is powered by a 25 ton hydraulic piston, also electric. It rolls around on 4 heavy casters, but one must be careful, because it weighs about as much as a small car. I made out-riggers for it, but never needed them, since it is so stable.
I agree with you about the climbing aspect, but also feel that you are also born with a certain character, and skills from day one. I taught "shop" type courses in High School for 35 years. Each year a small percentage of students
demonstrated a "natural" skill, very early in the course.
At the age of 20, I did perhaps some of my best work, where much more patience, and manipulative skills were required.
Here's an example I posted on the gun thread: A target pistol of my own design--about 1000 hours of work, made at 22 years old.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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speelyei
Trad climber
Mohave County Arizona
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On the opposite end of the spectrum...
Chicken coop and pen made from all recycled/found materials. Took longer to find the stuff then it did to throw it together.
Had to buy the birds though, $140, with waterers, feed, and garbage cans.
We get 5 eggs a day, probably more in the summer.
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Edge
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Steve, now you have me kicking myownass that I didn't stop by your new place before I fled NH to check out your lovely handiwork. Great stuff!
As for me, there's something terribly rewarding about returning to the shop on a Monday morn to find the veneering bag still holding a vacuum after being turned off for 60 hours, prying it open to the same whooshing sound that a new bag of coffee makes, and unveiling a perfectly perfect headboard.
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speelyei
Trad climber
Mohave County Arizona
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Edge, would you post some pics of the process and vacuum that you use? I have seen some surfboards that were built using a vacuum veneer pocess, and a sailboat, too. I've always been curious about it. Thanks!
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Edge
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Speelyei, it's a great tool for my work, as I do a fair amount of veneering for Federal and Contemporary furniture.
The pump I have is from Vacuum Pressing Systems in Brunswick, ME. I sold my larger one prior to moving, but this slightly smaller one is sufficient for work up to about 3' x 6'. I'll re-buy the larger one when I need to veneer something 4' x 8'.
I made the bottom platen from birch ply sprayed with lacquer so squeezed out glue won't stick. I cut raceways for the air in a 6" grid, and the vacuum hose fits through a fitting on the bag and into the raceways.
They also sell Unibond 800, a two part glue & catalyst.
You mix it up and either brush or roll it on. Since it needs to cure at 70 degrees or more, I crank up the shop heat and then cover the entire bag with an electric blanket covered by a furniture blanket.
For the curved headboard, I made a form of bandsawn ribs, covered with bending ply, and then covered by sheet plastic. The headboard was built up of 4 layers of 1/4" birch ply. I could barely bend the stack with my hands and full body weight, but once you butter it up with glue, use masking tape to keep things from sliding, and pop it in the bag, the weight of the atmosphere sucks it down tight. Once the glue dries, it holds it's new shape with zero spring back.
I think I bought the pump and a small vinyl bag as a kit from Woodcraft(?). The bag in the pics is a second, larger one I picked up. Laying up the actual show veneers is a whole 'nuther beast; this project just involved straight joints between full veneer sheets, jointed to fit tight , then held temporarily with masking tape on the inside, followed by water activated veneer tape on the outside. Once that is on you take off the masking tape from the glue side. For detailed veneering, like detailed inlays (fans, shells, eagles, etc) it's kinda like piecing together potato chips; fragile, hard to handle, and an opportunity to work on your patience and self restraint.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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So many beautiful pieces.
I have a small wood lathe that I love to turn things on but I'm such a novice.
Mainly some little boxes. Some pen bodies. I'm hoping to take a bowl making class. Last time I tried a bowl it flew across the room, up off the ceiling...great fun.
Chucked this up awhile ago and stil haven't figured what to turn it into.
My partner has a machine shop in his garage and makes virtually all the stuff for his boat. I don't like the smell of machine oil nearly as much as rich sawdust.
Can't recall what we're welding up here.
Susan
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Edge
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Susan, that blank in the top pic is a tricky size; maybe a candle stick, salt shaker, or bud vase?
With my headboard now out of the press and sanded, I finally get to put the whole shootin' match together for the first time. I just have to scribe and attach it to the cleats, then make the internal rails and plywood bed to hold the mattress. After that is final sanding, a couple coats of custom blended Watco, then three coats precat lacquer. I'm right around 100 hours in at this point.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Edge, I know how people work in your business, but if you ever feel the need for an apprentice, I'd gladly hang out in CO for a while. I'm dying to learn what you know.
Pounding nails is fun, and I love it, but I feel the need to broaden my horizon. Working with wood as a medium is something that I have chosen because I feel very strongly about it. It's not just a way to make a buck, I could do that in many jobs.
If you have any peers in NH that might want to teach, that would work as well. Hope it's ok that I told you this publicly.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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You 'da man Edge
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speelyei
Trad climber
Mohave County Arizona
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Thanks Edge! That's exactly the way the bagged surfboards were made. Looks exacting for my skill set and patience...
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speelyei
Trad climber
Mohave County Arizona
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You can buy brackets that mount to an extension ladder that will hold a plank. Use two extension ladders, and the planks span between them.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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^^^ Dremel? Cordless "mouse" sander? Gung ho illegal from the HD parking lot and a couple sheets of 160 grit?
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speelyei
Trad climber
Mohave County Arizona
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My ex wife bought one of the mouse sanders when they came out. "Ha! Look at this toy!" I guffawed.
16 years later, I am still using that sander. Sorry Katie, you were right about the sander.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Ladders, ladder brackets, and a fein tool (or other corner sander) will do the job.
Just make sure there's no lead in the paint. It's pretty easy to identify old lead paint, it curls like bacon. Mmmmm.....bacon. I miss bacon.
Make sure you seal the old wood with an epoxy before you fill it or else the filler won't take.
Sand, and then paint.
Not fun work, but it's work and all work is worthy if you put some love into it.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Susan, that blank in the top pic is a tricky size; maybe a candle stick, salt shaker, or bud vase?
Hey Edge….the bud vase…or salt shaker…perfect idea because I really need a lot more practice in hallowing out with gouges. I'm also struggling with lids for my boxes. I seem to get them off kilter or something. It's all about the right chucks I suppose. Lately I've been doing a lot more clay work. I find a lot of satisfaction in that until my bowl or jug collapses on the wheel, within milliseconds of me thinking "ok time to stop pulling".
If I ever get enough guts I'll post some pics of the little things I make…but right now they all look like "made in Japan" to me, and not the artistic part of Japan! But I do get such satisfaction taking a blank or lump of clay and something comes from it.
The furniture you build …. it is something else. Just something else. I really do lust after all the pieces I see!
Susan
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Edge
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Speelyei, I can't speak for your patience, but I would wager that your skill set is up to the task. It's just a matter of learning the process and going through the steps with attention to detail and an eye on what comes next.
Brandon, I would love to be able to take on an apprentice, but I admire you too much to bring you into the fold; think of me as a "wood guide," with the same pitfalls as a mountain guide. I'm an average climber with no desire to guide, but I'm a 5.13 woodworker who needs to keep putting up new projects to stay relevant. Ha!
Actually, the NH Furniture Masters used to talk a lot about apprenticeships, and the only way to make it viable would be for the apprentice to pay the Master, sort of like you pay for college, to offset the loss of productivity. FWIW, I am largely self taught, mainly from reading oodles and scads of books, magazines, etc. I also attended a bunch of Guild of NH Woodworkers meetings, where we would meet monthly in someone's shop and they would demonstrate a technique. I went to one where Jere Osgood demoed veneering, and I left with a used vacuum pump that looked like an espresso maker, went home and made my first Federal style piece pictured below. David Lamb demoed carving claw and ball feet, and the first ones I made for sale were on the secretary desk that is my avatar, for a US Senator. You have to just learn the process, then be willing to make the runout and not be afraid of hucking off on the lead. They cut down new trees every day to try, try again.
I think the Guild still has these demo meetings, and it's a great, cheap way to pick up some techniques. When I was president of the group there were over 300 members and lots of opportunities to learn. http://www.gnhw.org
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