kickback blues

i lost the tip of my middle finger, left hand, on my uncles table saw yesterday. i've got the kickback blues.

blue skies and bondo

well it's been a while... i've been busy with lots of things not made of wood. we got the house insulated, worked on some drainage around the foundation, taking a tax preparation course, moved some machines into the basement...

ahh, machines. the first one to come in was the poitras 4800. i took most of it apart to move it, and it went pretty well. the tables came off of the main casting, the main casting came off of the base, and then two people can move it. not too bad. spent a couple of days putting it back together, i put the five horse motor that i got with the bandsaw into this guy. i still need to mount the electrical guts to it, and wire the shop for 220V. this thing is heavy, about a 1000 pounds. got the knives sharpened, but i'm holding off putting them back in until it's not going to move anymore.

next was the rest of the gear. i went to my folks place for a weekend and spent it packing. it's amazing how much stuff i've accumulated over the years. it's all in the basement now, thanks in large part to kevin, claire's brother, who cringes every time i ask him if he's busy.

thankfully there's a door leading to the top of the basement stairs from outside. we hauled the saw out of the van and then walked it down the stairs. it went surprisingly smoothly. one step at a time.

then i decided to paint it. it got scuffed during it's voyage, and the green with red wheels had kind of a christmas thing going on, so paint and bondo and more bondo. i decided to paint it blue, with dark blue wheels. i put the first coat of paint on the small parts, and just put the last layer of bondo on the main casting. the bearing still needs to be poured, but i've got all the necessary bits together, thanks to mr. keeble, who is sending me a babbitt scraper in the mail.

using the poitras as a temporary bench for cleaning and painting. i'm getting anxious to start woodworking, but i'm a ways off. i want to get new windows and giprock the walls and paint and fix the water problem and wire it and get lights and ...

flat curves

got some pictures of the showcase cabinet i finished in may. i think it went well, and i really enjoy the interplay between glass and wood. so much so, that my next project may have something to do with that very thing. unfortunately, my next project is a little ways off right now. claire and i just bought a house and it needs immediate attention and money. so august is looking like renovations, and then six weeks of work away from home, and then setting up a shop in the basement. not an ideal basement, but it appears that i must work with what i got.

sometimes i feel like an addict

sometimes i buy wood without necessarily being in a position to do so. but i can't help myself. behold, two green flitches of 8/4 maple with great heart colour and curl. starett square for comparison.