Here are some pictures posted below of the completed portions of the house. This spring I will paint the entire ceiling with an oil base and stinky paint to seal and cover all the old stains on the yellowish smoke stained stipple. This painting will be done when my ex-wife, her partner and Michael and Matthew head down to Disneyland (it's a surprise, so don't tell them) during spring break that’s coming up really quick, (oh no, that means I will have to work!)
| I have also been busy upgrading my shop with additional and necessary equipment like, a very effective wood chip and saw dust collection system. It is a mix of flexible 4” and 5” metal duct work with multiple blast gates and remote turn on capability. It is a two stage system with the debris being collected in a large ¼” thick cardboard barrel that has a cyclone lid on it. It is rated, the Power Point Dust Collector, quite optimistically, at 1670 CFM and it does a fabulous job. I have even fabricated a movable, Plexiglas, over arm blade guard that effectively captures most of the saw dust thrown up by the two table saw blades. This guard has the ability to be used on either of my table saws, as they are side by side. I am in the early stages of turning my 14” King Industrial band saw into a horizontal band saw, saw mill. I will be adding a 10” spacer and will turn the band saw on its side and then mount 4 solid rubber wheels on it, so I can push it through the smallish logs I will mill. The solid rubber wheels will roll on my super flat concrete floor in a simple track system. Of course this means I will need to equip this retrofit band saw project with at least a 4 hp, 220 volt electrical motor. Plus. I bought an old beaver band saw to replace the one I will upgrade to a horizontal band saw mill. I’ll keep you posted. Lastly, I have finally come up with the product I have been looking for to manufacture and sell on-line. If you recall, in my earlier posts, I have written that I wanted to move from a service provider of custom wood products, to a product manufacture of specialty wood products. The product that I will direct my shop’s capacity and horsepower to, is a wood carry case for the Apple IPad and a keyboard. I have made the first one and I will have pictures of it posted within a couple of days. This first one is made from Cherry pieces I had lying about. It is a prototype that will go a long way in helping me to determine what exactly the size, shape and functionality of the finished product will be. I have also purchased a good deal of wood burls that I will make the IPad or other tablet cases from. These cases are a high end (an over-used term, I know) bespoke piece of kit with quality brass hardware and completely smooth and durable exteriors that can also be leather covered. The interiors will be either covered with leather, velvet or a vinyl leatherette product. There is an interior partition that you can secure your IPad to whilst the keyboard is left in the case for typing. The interior will also have ample smart storage provisions for pens, styluses, chargers, cords and the like. |