This will be some sweet bedroom furniture!

Here we go again!

Trees Down

Marlee has skills!

First Coat

Old school

Perspective

Old No. 6

Sometimes there's things that can only be done with hand tools. And sometimes it's just faster. (If you don't count the 1.5 hrs getting an old Stanley from an antique store operational again.)

The girls....

Daughters....

Wonder what it's like to have boys?

Legs!

Milling

It has come to my attention that I never actually posted any of my milling pictures. Whoops. Here is the first board off of a cant of hard yellow pine (I had just cut down a bunch for my neighbor.) I was getting 3 boards out of a log, 2"x9"x10' long.

Here is the trusty "mill" along with all the carnage. I love this monster.

And finally the finished product. 180 bd ft of nice lookin' lumber.

Table Progress

Last weekend we started with a shop full of nasty boards from the barn. Complete with cobwebs, copious amounts of dirt, and random nails and screws. If you remember, I think I posted some pictures of milling new boards with the chainsaw as replacement for the ones I was to steal from the horse stalls.

Well, I took the six I thought would make the best table and cut them to rough length and the process started last weekend (2/4).



I can't pick this thing completely off the ground. I want to put it on a scale, but I'm guessing the tabletop weighs about 200#. This was the first time I ever stalled out my 5hp tablesaw. The old oak is dense as all heck. I was seriously sore come Monday after slinging those boards across the saw and through the planer for a weekend.


This weekend started with building a second table. Torsion box style (kinda). You know, just for kicks...

I needed a way to sand all of the inside curves. So I turned a head that would fit a 3x21 sanding belt, put it on a face mount motor, and attached to this new table. Now I had a whole new tool in my shop, and it only took the morning. (Did I mention my deadline is finish dry in time for girl scouts on 2/25?)

Next was lots of mortising. And the matching tenons, but the mortises are the hard part. I was surprised how sore my upper body was from chopping mortises and the like all weekend.


Next up it's time for the two top stretchers and the curved lower one. Then it will look the part of a true trestle table.

Yeah, clamps...

Lots of 'em.

Guess who's almost as tall as mommy?

Can Shooting

Some of my best shooting ever. In the dark by porch light, you could make out a white spot. 17 yds or so.

However, cans are probably a bad idea with arrows. Spent the rest of the night refletching all four arrows as penance. (Note a fifth arrow missed. It had just been refletched a week or so ago.)

My daughters...

They decided to do some baking yesterday. 2 pies and dozens of cookies later, they even cleaned up after themselves. What's going on? I didn't help even one iota. Turned out well it looks like:

Bar number two

No old men, but a high bartender.

Grants Pass bar scene

Rachel and my first visit to a bar in Grants Pass--even got hit on by an old guy named Gary.

Made It! (175)

The goal was set in the middle of September when Jason came back to work here at the rock. It was to run 100 miles by the end of the year. A month into it, the goal was raised to run 175 miles and weigh 175 lbs. There were a few setbacks at the end, but the running goal was met:


As for the weight goal, not quite. I lost about 11-12 pounds and am now weighing in about 177.

Now, for 2012...