Complaining on Saturday (4/2/2022)
Most people like to complain and bitch about something every now and then. I’m no exception, especially on Saturdays.
My wife and I have been going to yard sales for about twelve years now. Almost every Saturday we make our rounds and hope to find something cool for a good price. Over the years we have acquired quite a few items for indoors and outdoors. Hence the fact that our interior is very eclectic. Nothing matches and we don’t care. We are comfortable with the environment.
And we also have been able to buy items and sell them on with a profit. Some extra pocket money is always welcome.
Tribute to Toby (9/30/2020)
Although it has been many years since he died, I still miss him terribly.
He was so much more than a dog and a pet; he was my buddy.
It broke my heart to have him put to sleep, but I had no choice. He was old, his hearing was gone, his eyesight was rapidly deteriorating. He had arthritis and he was hurting all the time.
In the fall of 2002, I got a call from the manager at the Humane Society. She knew that I was looking for a small dog. She guessed he could be 4-5 years old and he was a mix of who knows what.
I need a shop (9/9/2021)
I fell in love with Arizona on my first visit in 1976.
The desert, the beautiful rugged nature made a lasting impression. The summer heat I found to be bearable, but of course that is easy to say when you are a travelling in an airconditioned car.
I have been here for quite a few years now and I survived the summers without a lot or problems. However, the heat does interfere with my desire to be outside and do some woodworking.
Currently I don’t have shop and I have to do it under a carport. Realistically I can only work from late October till late April. For the rest of the year is it way to hot. The glue dries too fast, finishes I apply dried up unevenly, and my health does not allow me to be productive under those circumstances. I keep the advice of the cardiologist in mind.
And there is another problem. Because of the limited space and the nature of it, I spend a lot of time moving tools and machinery around. Of course, I want to shield them from the occasional dust storm and heavy rains. Luckily, we live in a place where I can safely leave stuff outside, albeit covered up and out of sight from prying eyes.
Woodworking & Clamps (09/9/2021)
There is one thing that most woodworkers do agree on: you can never have too many clamps.
To the outsider this statement may seem odd but keep in mind that you cannot compare clamps to any other tool. A woodworker can have too many mallets, chisels, and hand planes but those tools have limited use defined by their nature.
You can only use one hand plane at the time and if you have a variation of sizes and specialty planes you will be fine.
With clamps however it is a different story. Even with small glue up projects you may need ten or more of them. It is not uncommon that I have 15 or 20 of them in use at the same time.
And there is another factor: clamps are not all the same. There are pipe clamps, bar clamps, F-style clamps, parallel clamps. quick grip clamps, spring clamps, c-clamps, screws clamps, strap clamps. They come in various sizes and all have their use in particular circumstances. It is common to have some of each style and size in the shop. It may look like overkill, but I assure you it is not.
Last time I counted my collection there were 90 of them, and I added a few more since then.
