Studio Progress

I had the opportunity to see, hear and feel one of my favorite bands, Balkan Beat Box played at the Arcata Theater Lounge. Excellent energy and great sound, a good way to recharge the body and soul. It makes one realize the importance of music and how it brings so many different kinds of people together in an almost intimate way. The BBB had of strong message of PEACE.

Back home and trying to wrap up so many loose ends. Made good progress in the studio! Baseboards for the bathroom were made from the redwood 2x4 stash that came from Crescent City. I ripped them in half and ended up with five eights by three and a half inch boards with rough sawn texture. I made some for the half bath in the house too.

From the rotting 1x fir that the nice folks at the College of the Redwoods gave me I built the cabinet (with shelves) over the breaker panel in the studio and also used that wood to fill in between the loft joists. It now looks finished but also old because of the rough texture of the wood. I still need to hang the doors to the cabinet.

The first draft design for the Windy Nip kitchen are drawn. The studio was warm because of a firing Becky did in the kiln so I took advantage of the heat. It has been cold at nights, the low temperatures have averaged around the high thirties to low forties.  Once the water pipes froze. The high temps have been in the high fifties to low sixties. It will be another beautiful blue sky day today no doubt. Sitting close by the wood stove with a hot cup of Joe typing this entry makes me feel thankful for all that I have and that reminds me off all the things I want to do before Thanksgiving. CIAU!

Sashes to Kitchen

Last night I glued up the rest of the thirty three sashes for downstairs. Next week I'll tackle the remaining sashes for upstairs. Between now and then I hope to install a Murphy bed on Monday and wrap up the first draft of the Windy Nip kitchen. Besides the paying jobs there are a few things I would like to accomplish in the near future. At least before Thanksgiving.

I'm looking over a list I made this morning. In the studio I would like to put blocking in between the loft joists and cover up all the unsightly electrical Romex. There is a hole in the wall behind the kiln to cover and baseboard in the bathroom. It has only been about 6 years since it was ready for baseboard. Last but first on the list is a closet around the breaker panel by the drafting table. I pulled an old barn door out of a pile under the cypress trees that might work for that.

Then I made a quick list for the house. Hook up the sink in the half bath, install the baseboard and hook up the proper light. My temporary light fixtures can last for years. (Still haven't replaced the two wall lights under the loft in the shearing shed.) Make slats for the bed in Oli's room, and finish the shelves in the pantry. I have my work cut out for me, better stop wasting time on this here N-7.

Sashes Galore

I have been building window sashes for a home built and designed by the artist Tony A. (You might have scene his home in Builders of the Pacific Coast by Lloyd Kahn.) Downstairs the house has 33 sashes and maybe another dozen upstairs. This project pushed me to purchase a new planer, my Powermatic 12 and 1\2 inch planer has been with me for 14 years and cost me $300 back then. The head of this machine jumps sporadically and dents the wood, a problem I have lived with for 6 or so months. Normally I would have it fixed but I think I'm ready for a replacement.  I bought the Dewalt 12 and 1\2 portable planer for $400. The planer is great! Three blades on the head and even a locking bar that helps prevent snipe.

Back to the sashes, today I finished all the machining except for the mortises. Wow, lots of pieces to keep track of! Nearly every sash is a different size so everything was numbered and that has worked great. About half of these are openers and the other are fixed. The openers will have mortise and tenon joinery and the fixed just get butt jointed and screwed and glued. I used up most of the wood for the downstairs sashes and have not measured for the upstairs windows yet. We'll need more wood for those. Check out more snaps on Flickr.