What have you been up to?

[Trevanion]

There's plenty of times I'm up to something which isn't necessarily woodworking or really making anything in particular and I reckon it's the same for many of you, what have you been up to?

I've been organising all my taps, dies and associated gear, they were a complete mess before all just chucked in a drawer banging against each other, now they're all organised in a drawer banging against each other. I didn't really realise how many I actually had until I've put them all kind of in size order.

Top section has a tub of larger sized taps of various forms, along the top left to right are 1/2 BSF taps, M12, M10, M8, M6, M5, M4 ,M3, a small collection of dies and a box of easy-outs. bottom half has my wrenches and stocks for holding the taps and dies.

Bottom section has old tobacco tins as organisers, from right to left along the top are screw pitch gauges, M3/M4, M6, M8, M10, M12, M16/18. along the bottom from left to right are BSW/BSF, UNC/UNC, BA, Metric fine and a tray of odd sizes such as pipe thread/unidentifiables.

​

 

[MikeG.]

For a while, your searching will take longer! Once you're used to it, you'll be glad you went through that exercise.

I'm building a non-Welsh Dresser......painted softwood and ply, with oak shelves and worktop. Today I cleaned up the oak worktop after gluing it yesterday, and I dovetailed the long middle drawer. Unfortunately, though, my back is playing up so I didn't make the progress I wanted. In fact, it's because of my back that I'm making this in the first place, because otherwise I would be making a rooflight. I'm just too fragile to go to the woodyard to collect my order of vertical grain old-growth Douglas fir (and oak for other stuff).

 

[Blackswanwood]

Bringing some old planes back to life from a random collection of parts ... there’s another one at least in the box ....

 

[AJB Temple]

I am doing metal guttering. Endlessly. Really pleased with it though and I am quite enjoying dressing the metal gutters for the downpipes with a ball pein hammer. Three buildings like the pic, plus new kitchen (small barn) and utility. My wife and I are on a mission over the bank holiday weekend. Working from 7am to 6pm to get it done before winter.

Plastic barrel will be replaced with oak ones when they arrive. Did a deal on 10 large ones (280 litres each) for £300. The plastic ones are 5 years old now and degrading. Not in keeping either.

 

[AJB Temple]

That, by the way is temporary workshop for a few weeks.

 

[MikeG.]

That, by the way is temporary workshop for a few weeks.

Is that Lindab guttering, Adrian?

 

[billw]

Organising stuff is quite therapeutic I find!

 

[AJB Temple]

Yes Mike. I think it is great quality.

 

[MikeG.]

Yep, I specify it all the time. Just a word of caution......it's been pinched off a couple of buildings I've done over the years. Both were in town centre locations, so yours is probably a whole lot safer.

 

[Lons]

Have been knocking up a little house on stilts for my granddaughter. Still a work in progress as I intend to put on a balance board and climbing frame but it's usable and we couldn't get her out of it yesterday, took her ipad, a book and lunch then asked if I'd carve a flower to hang on the wall so quickly done and she painted it with acrylics, strange colour for a sunflower
The criteria was of course safe and solid but use only materials I already had and build it quickly. and above all she wanted it to be crooked,
Fence posts, 150mm boards and left over decking, acrylic for the windows cement slates on the roof and an old slide.
A 7 year old is easily entertained.

 

[toolsntat]

Just finished turfing out and loading too many boxes of tat n tools to sell tomorrow....
Do cast iron lathes have to be so heavy ?
https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Cars/A47AutoJumble/posts/
Cheers Andy
Say hi if you're passing

 

[Retired]

Hi,

I can't get into my workshop due to outside jobs needing doing before winter sets in.

We're shortly to have new neighbours so I've been ensuring our laurels won't start us off on a bad foot because fences and trees cause many neighbour disputes; we've never had any such problem with our current neighbour but better safe than sorry. I tired myself out yesterday cutting back the laurels and doing quite a bit of shredding; the logs are going to a woodburning friend.

Our site is very steep making any work difficult; these laurels at one point were 30' tall and over the years I've kept reducing their height now they are easy to manage. We've now got a passage between the fence and the laurels. The fence belongs to our neighbour and I erected it for her about four years ago; we'll be sorry to see her go.

Kind regards, Colin.

Laurels quickly take over.

Cherry laurels are very invasive and can become a nightmare as they age. I'll remove the old tree stump today and tidy up.

Here's a laurel stump I removed a few weeks ago; it took 24 tons of jacking pressure before it broke free. 2 x 10 ton & 1 x 2 ton bottle jacks plus 2 ton trolley jack.

I was scared of it rolling down the garden as I dragged it across using a 2,500lb winch; it took a week of hard graft to get this out. I'm still dreaming of getting into the workshop. The items top middle of the picture are roots. Now aged 73 I don't want to be climbing ladders in order to trim hedges so I've been removing lots of hedges.

Over two months of heavy work clearing the 60' long top hedge including stumps; erecting the new wire mesh fence and spreading 5 tons of wood chip mulch; there's 2 tons of mulch along this fence bottom.

 

[Lons]

You must have muscles like Popeye to get those stumps out, Damn hard work.

 

[AES]

@Trevanion: Now you just KNOW that you've started my "fetish" off again, don't you? I mean not allowing files - and other cutting tools - to clang together, even if they have been nicely sorted into tins!

Go to your local model aero or car shop and look for 1 M lengths of silicon and neoprene flexible tubing in various diameters. That will only cost you a few bob (used to anyway). Just cut off lengths suitable to fit nicely over the tap's cutting edges, you'll be surprised how flexible that tubing is, especially the silicon.

AND MUCH cheaper than new taps (or much less frustrating than trying to sharpen blunted taps)

AND keep your eyes open for various bits of waste household packing in plastic tube form (for the bigger diameter taps).

I know, I know "nagging old git", you don't have to remind me.

But agree with the above posters, I too find sorting such things out to be therapeutic.

 

[Trevanion]

Made a pin for a fellow forum member, made from 12mm round silver steel, wish I had some 3/8" hex so I didn't have to file the flats, oh well! Threaded for 3/16 BSF.

 

[threedee]

Today running out my blank coaster stock on my laser. Need to get a guilliotine and cut more.

 

[Doug B]

Re-roofed a garage last week, fitted an Ikea kitchen this week & have a full bathroom refurb the next couple of weeks Work has really picked up the last few weeks

 

[Trevanion]

Today running out my blank coaster stock on my laser. Need to get a guilliotine and cut more.

I like those! I wouldn't have thought a laser would do much to slate!

 

[threedee]

I like those! I wouldn't have thought a laser would do much to slate!

Slate/glass/granite/marble/stone off the road - all doable. Engraving, not cutting. Some super soft stones can be depth engraved, but i havent tried any.

 

[jamchuck]

Made a noise reduction cabinet for the bandsaw dust extractor. It’s the Rutland copy of the Record Power one. Recorded 98decibels with the door open and 94decibels with door closed. -3decibels reduction is equivalent to halving the sound pressure level. Result.