I was doing something in the shop yesterday and I needed some bench room. I
ended up cranking the blade on my table saw all the way down into the table
in order to find some place free of stuff.
Sometimes I wonder why I have a workbench. It stays piled up with tools,
scraps, rags, bits of steel wool. I clean and organize my shop at least
once every couple of years, but then everything gradually returns to my
usual state of disarray. I use things, then throw them on the workbench.
Tools that leave the shop don't always make it back, and I have another
pile of stuff in a box in the den that I've been meaning to take out and
put up for six months or more.
I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find* my tools.
His just disappear forever. I've bought him several sets of wrenches and
screwdrivers over the years, and when I go to find one of them, all his
toolboxes are empty except for the odd sized stuff, and there's nothing
hanging on his pegboard except an ancient, rusty handsaw and a baby food
jar with a few odd screws in it.
I guess I'm looking for someone else to say "me too" so I don't have to feel
like I'm all alone in the world.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16391 Approximate word count: 1639100
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
"HarryM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sometimes keep a tool on the workbench all day, but everything goes
back
> to its place at the end of the day. The schedule goes something like
this:
> tools away, scraps to the trash, vacuum sawdust and shavings, blow off
dust
> and myself, and usable lumber to the rack. Therein lies my problem --
> nearly every piece of lumber is potentially useable. It gets out of hand
at
> times. High school art students get scraps of exotics for jewelry
projects.
> Knife builder neighbor gets larger pieces. Pen/pencil maker stops by from
> time to time. In between, they overflow my shelf of little pieces of
> rosewood, wenge, padauk, zebrano, bubinga, etc.
> But I'm a compulsive cleaner. Sometimes clean the shop several times
> during the day. "Cup of coffee? Sure. Wait a second while I clean up."
> harrym
Dare we say "anal"?(LOL)
Nahmie
Gnube wrote:
wasps or something - I don't even understand the lust for more wood to
> play with; Sure having fun though!
I'm at odds with myself. I'm a bigtime huge treehugger. I *love* trees.
They're my babies. I can't imagine killing a baby and slicing it up and
turning it into a desk. How horrible!
Yet I love to work wood. I'm like a pro-lifer working in an abortion
clinic.
I guess mostly I just like *making* stuff, and wood is the most practical
material of choice. When I was a kid, my parents were poor, and they
couldn't afford to buy me very many of the toys I wanted. I had a whole
collection of reasonably accurate Star Wars toys I made out of cardboard
and duct tape, including an AT-AT whose leg joints were articulated. (Dad
worked in a grocery store. Lots of boxes. Duct tape I had to use
sparingly, and he was always bitching at me about how much of it I used...)
I made all kinds of things--sometimes quite large things--out of cardboard
and duct tape. Now I make it out of wood, metal, plastic, screws, bolts,
nails, glue. Dad never did any of the stuff I do, and I didn't learn this
on his knee. I own tools Dad never even imagined, and he's always coming
over (we're neighbors now) to use my shop.
Being a grown-up is fun! (Well, sometimes.)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16411 Approximate word count: 1641100
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Sounds like mine. I have to dig for tools. I'm building new kitchen
cabinets so I took one of the old ones and stuck it on the wall above my
workbench. Now I can reach up and verify a measurement and toss blades and
clamps and pencils and stuff up there and close the door real fast before
stuff falls out :)
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was doing something in the shop yesterday and I needed some bench room.
I
> ended up cranking the blade on my table saw all the way down into the
table
> in order to find some place free of stuff.
>
> Sometimes I wonder why I have a workbench. It stays piled up with tools,
> scraps, rags, bits of steel wool. I clean and organize my shop at least
> once every couple of years, but then everything gradually returns to my
> usual state of disarray. I use things, then throw them on the workbench.
> Tools that leave the shop don't always make it back, and I have another
> pile of stuff in a box in the den that I've been meaning to take out and
> put up for six months or more.
>
> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find* my
tools.
> His just disappear forever. I've bought him several sets of wrenches and
> screwdrivers over the years, and when I go to find one of them, all his
> toolboxes are empty except for the odd sized stuff, and there's nothing
> hanging on his pegboard except an ancient, rusty handsaw and a baby food
> jar with a few odd screws in it.
>
> I guess I'm looking for someone else to say "me too" so I don't have to
feel
> like I'm all alone in the world.
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> Confirmed post number: 16391 Approximate word count: 1639100
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
>
Sun, Jul 13, 2003, 8:11pm [email protected] (Silvan) says:
<snip> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find*
my tools. His just disappear forever. <snip>
He obviously has kids. I found two sockets in my driveway the
other day. And when I say "in", I mean imbedded.
JOAT
Let's just take it for granted you don't know what the Hell you're
talking about.
Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT
Web Page Update 13 Jul 2003. Some tunes I like.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/JOATorJackOfAll/page4.html
Me wrote:
> Sounds like mine. I have to dig for tools. I'm building new kitchen
> cabinets so I took one of the old ones and stuck it on the wall above my
> workbench. Now I can reach up and verify a measurement and toss blades
> and clamps and pencils and stuff up there and close the door real fast
> before stuff falls out :)
I'd probably do the same but it's one of those custom-built shops where
anybody who's taller than I am smacks his head on my lights. No room for
cabinets.
I'll have to figure out what to do with some cabinets eventually though.
One of these days I need to do what you're doing. Don't know what I'll do
with the old ones, but I won't throw them away. I have a real problem
throwing things away that could conceivably be useful some day.
I've already decided that when my kids leave home, we're taking the largest
of the two bedrooms and making a closet out of it. :)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16413 Approximate word count: 1641300
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Silvan wrote:
>
> I was doing something in the shop yesterday and I needed some bench room. I
> ended up cranking the blade on my table saw all the way down into the table
> in order to find some place free of stuff.
>
> Sometimes I wonder why I have a workbench. It stays piled up with tools,
> scraps, rags, bits of steel wool. I clean and organize my shop at least
> once every couple of years, but then everything gradually returns to my
> usual state of disarray. I use things, then throw them on the workbench.
> Tools that leave the shop don't always make it back, and I have another
> pile of stuff in a box in the den that I've been meaning to take out and
> put up for six months or more.
>
> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find* my tools.
> His just disappear forever. I've bought him several sets of wrenches and
> screwdrivers over the years, and when I go to find one of them, all his
> toolboxes are empty except for the odd sized stuff, and there's nothing
> hanging on his pegboard except an ancient, rusty handsaw and a baby food
> jar with a few odd screws in it.
>
> I guess I'm looking for someone else to say "me too" so I don't have to feel
> like I'm all alone in the world.
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> Confirmed post number: 16391 Approximate word count: 1639100
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Trust me.....you're not! And we don't even want to get into what I have
stuffed into my truck and know that I have but don't know where it is
because I didn't put it back in its proper place when the job was done.
Workbench?? Wanna try a 2'x24'er that's stacked full length & depth? But
I know what I want is there....it's just the where part that sometimes
wears me down. :-)
Scott
--
An unkind remark is like a killing frost. No matter how much it warms
up later, the damage remains.
Mekon wrote:
>
> "HarryM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Sometimes keep a tool on the workbench all day, but everything goes
> back
> > to its place at the end of the day. The schedule goes something like
> this:
> > tools away, scraps to the trash, vacuum sawdust and shavings, blow off
> dust
> > and myself, and usable lumber to the rack. Therein lies my problem --
> > nearly every piece of lumber is potentially useable. It gets out of hand
> at
> > times. High school art students get scraps of exotics for jewelry
> projects.
> > Knife builder neighbor gets larger pieces. Pen/pencil maker stops by from
> > time to time. In between, they overflow my shelf of little pieces of
> > rosewood, wenge, padauk, zebrano, bubinga, etc.
> > But I'm a compulsive cleaner. Sometimes clean the shop several times
> > during the day. "Cup of coffee? Sure. Wait a second while I clean up."
> > harrym
> >
>
> Now that's sad.... where's the fun?
>
> Mekon
Harry really needs to have a long sitdown chat with someone. LOL
Scott
--
An unkind remark is like a killing frost. No matter how much it warms
up later, the damage remains.
"Mekon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> When the pile of offcuts gets so high that Greenpeace singles you out as a
> major player in the destruction of the forests-
>
LOL! And why do we hang on to every piece, no matter how small? I miss my
workshop wood stove, which ate them for me and kept the place warm.
-- Ernie
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 03:41:16 GMT, "Mekon" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>> But I'm a compulsive cleaner. Sometimes clean the shop several times
>> during the day. "Cup of coffee? Sure. Wait a second while I clean up."
>> harrym
>>
>
>
>Now that's sad.... where's the fun?
>
>Mekon
Sounds like fun to me - I don't have a shop, and there's no chance
I'll get one, everything lives on shelving in a cupboard and I have to
break down the gear and clean up every day no matter what!
The bit that's really strange is that I save more or less all the bits
of offcut wood too - now that's nuts in my position, but it still
makes as much sense as when the rest of you do it! ;O)
I spent about 47 years more or less avoiding wood on the grounds that
it was pretty tricky stuff to deal with, and always changed size when
your back was turned, and this made getting two bits the same size
something I'd sometimes dream about. About 6 months back this all
changed, I hung up my mouse (3d Model maker) and started enjoying
myself with wood - I figure I got abducted by termites or carpenter
wasps or something - I don't even understand the lust for more wood to
play with; Sure having fun though!
First real "project" was a hole in the wall where the plumber had to
have access for repairs, and it seemed to me that it might be better
if there were a door there, over a week or two the plan emerged and I
have made last week 2 doors and a sort of home brew hinge plate
arrangement on either side of them, and I am still amazed that it's my
fault.
I made one concession though, I used my 3d model making ability to
make them in the virtual world first. This meant I had plans to work
from and more important, dimensions! In virtual world they took about
3 minutes, but in real world about 3 days! I hope that will improve as
I get used to what everything does and how it does it better!
I'm getting clamps and things as I need them and as budget will allow.
I don't want to win the lottery I just want to win a barn full of
seasoned timber! ;O)
Having a blast!
Take Care,
Gnube
Gnube writes:
>
>I made one concession though, I used my 3d model making ability to
>make them in the virtual world first. This meant I had plans to work
>from and more important, dimensions! In virtual world they took about
>3 minutes, but in real world about 3 days! I hope that will improve as
>I get used to what everything does and how it does it better!
>
>I'm getting clamps and things as I need them and as budget will allow.
>I don't want to win the lottery I just want to win a barn full of
>seasoned timber!
Wish I had decent CAD or modeling skills. I try and it spits in my eye, because
I don't have time to keep what I gain...seems like those times I back of for a
few weeks, I forget 101% of what I learned. Then, it's start from a little
behind scratch.
If you win a barn full of wood, you'll need a second barn full of tools to work
it.
I built a 32' long set of base cabinets in my VA shop. It took something under
3 weeks for me to again be unable to find things, and to find space where I
could lay out project parts. When I get back, there's another wall with 32' of
space--guess what that will get? And guess how long before it's buried, too.
Charlie Self
I think we agree, the past is over.
George W. Bush
On 14 Jul 2003 13:19:04 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
wrote:
>If you win a barn full of wood, you'll need a second barn full of tools to work
>it.
See I may be green, but my way already sounds way more interesting
than winning silly old money don't it?! ;O)
I reckon by the time I've remade it THAT many times I'll need another
barn full for project two! ;O)
Take Care,
Gnube
On 14 Jul 2003 13:19:04 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
wrote:
>Wish I had decent CAD or modeling skills. I try and it spits in my eye, because
>I don't have time to keep what I gain...seems like those times I back of for a
>few weeks, I forget 101% of what I learned. Then, it's start from a little
>behind scratch.
Well I'd class myself as little more than a newbie with that, and the
first ten years were definitely the worst! ;O)
Sold a few models down the years and had my stuff wind up in one or
two fairly famous media type places - I never did quite feel quite
right with it all in the end though. It felt like someone else was
doing and enjoying the things I made, it felt like I just did the
grind and meeting deadlines stuff the whole time - I love it that now
I get to hold what I just made in my hands and can turn it round and
see it glint or sheen now and again without using a mouse to idly
twirl it like that!
I'm really glad that I shelled out for the machines & software over
the years, and kept them once I was done with it all, as for an
individual's use it is just so wonderfully over the top for designing
wooden things, but makes it easier for me to make things by using that
part of my toolkit for what is more or less roughing out, I get to see
if I'd like it when it's finished and if not change the bits that bug
me - like a spread sheet does really!
Just about worth persevering with I'd say. Only just though, as it's a
lot of work to get really cozy with it all! Good modeling software is
the key element, and there's even some free stuff about the net if you
look about. A renderer is of limited use in this role. Using modeling
software as opposed to flat out CAD is often way, way easier - I get
lost in CAD packs despite being sort of used to them. GMAX is free,
but has a pretty horrid interface in my opinion. Some say it's better
once you get used to it - but I never got used to it! ;O)
Sorry, I rambled (must be the result of standing on firmer ground!)
Take Care,
Gnube
I don't want to win the lottery I just want to win a barn full of seasoned timber! ;O)
Kiyu wrote:
> Son?
> Is that you??
Maybe. Everybody says I was switched at birth. :)
> Actually you *ARE* alone in the world if you only have to clean and
> organize your shop once every couple of years.<G>
SWMBO never goes out there... Doesn't know a ball pein hammer from a
Forstner bit, and likes it that way.
I guess I like it that way too. ;) Isn't enough room out there for both of
us anyway.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16412 Approximate word count: 1641200
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
"Norman D. Crow" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
>
> "HarryM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Sometimes keep a tool on the workbench all day, but everything goes
> back
> > to its place at the end of the day. The schedule goes something like
> this:
> > tools away, scraps to the trash, vacuum sawdust and shavings, blow off
> dust
> > and myself, and usable lumber to the rack. Therein lies my problem --
> > nearly every piece of lumber is potentially useable. It gets out of
hand
> at
> > times. High school art students get scraps of exotics for jewelry
> projects.
> > Knife builder neighbor gets larger pieces. Pen/pencil maker stops by
from
> > time to time. In between, they overflow my shelf of little pieces of
> > rosewood, wenge, padauk, zebrano, bubinga, etc.
> > But I'm a compulsive cleaner. Sometimes clean the shop several
times
> > during the day. "Cup of coffee? Sure. Wait a second while I clean
up."
> > harrym
>
> Dare we say "anal"?(LOL)
> Nahmie
Oops! Hit send too quick! Right now my tablesaw is serving as a platform for
the Skil 12" 3 wheel bandsaw(hey, it was a gift!), because the bench has the
resident unfinished project, the "work table" (4' x 4' 3/4" ply on saw
horses) seems to have suffered an explosion in a sanding factory(gotta put
all that away). Current workspace is the front porch because it's too hot &
muggy in the basement, & not enough room for the steps I'm building for
SisIL. Now SWMBO tells me we probably have company coming next May, so it's
time to forget ww'ing and finish renovation of upstairs bathroom & bedrooms.
Let's see now, the last time I saw that big "C-clamp", it was on the shelf
under the Shop-Smith, *right*?
Nahmie
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> I was doing something in the shop yesterday and I needed some bench room. I
> ended up cranking the blade on my table saw all the way down into the table
> in order to find some place free of stuff.
>
> Sometimes I wonder why I have a workbench. It stays piled up with tools,
> scraps, rags, bits of steel wool. I clean and organize my shop at least
> once every couple of years, but then everything gradually returns to my
> usual state of disarray. I use things, then throw them on the workbench.
> Tools that leave the shop don't always make it back, and I have another
> pile of stuff in a box in the den that I've been meaning to take out and
> put up for six months or more.
>
> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find* my tools.
> His just disappear forever. I've bought him several sets of wrenches and
> screwdrivers over the years, and when I go to find one of them, all his
> toolboxes are empty except for the odd sized stuff, and there's nothing
> hanging on his pegboard except an ancient, rusty handsaw and a baby food
> jar with a few odd screws in it.
>
> I guess I'm looking for someone else to say "me too" so I don't have to feel
> like I'm all alone in the world.
Feh. When your shop is so dark and cluttered and filthy that everybody,
including yourself, is actually afraid to go in there (especially at
night) then you know you've hit rock bottom.
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> "Don't put it down, put it away" It works all the time......
Hah. Around here, it's...
Don't put it down, throw it toward the far corner.
...and that goes for EVERYTHING. Tools, half-full cans of paint, dead
animals, you name it. The place is a total shit hole. Few go there
during the day, and nobody, not even the dog, goes in there at night.
You open the door at night and peer inside, and you can sometimes see
eyes glowing in a distant corner or under the workbench. Seriously.
It's pretty goddamn creepy.
All my small tools have a place on the wall, in a shallow drawer, or on
a shelf. I have painted a silhouette of each tool in its place so there
is not quandary as to which belongs where. After each use, the tool
goes back into its place. Each time I use a large tool, I bring up the
vacuum and remove the chips and sawdust. Several times during the day,
I vacuum the floor. At the end of the day, I wash down each tool and
give it a coating of Boeshield to keep it pristine. The floor gets a
thin coat of wax each day and a major strip and rewax once per week.
The cats and small children are not allowed in the shop since fur and
spills are anathema. Adults may look at the splendor that is the work
area from the door or through a window.
This may seem excessive to the uninitiated, but the small bit of extra
effort pays off.
mahalo,
jo4hn
p.s. Sorry for writing this in crayon, but they won't let me have
anything sharp in here.
Mekon wrote:
> "Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
[snip]>
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find* my
tools.
> His just disappear forever. I've bought him several sets of wrenches and
> screwdrivers over the years, and when I go to find one of them, all his
> toolboxes are empty except for the odd sized stuff, and there's nothing
> hanging on his pegboard except an ancient, rusty handsaw and a baby food
> jar with a few odd screws in it.
>
> I guess I'm looking for someone else to say "me too" so I don't have to
feel
> like I'm all alone in the world.
It depends on what I'm working on. Lately I've been refinishing a bedroom
set, so the bench is cluttered with every scraper, brush, sander and related
tool in the house. If I'm building something I keep it pretty clean. A place
for everything and everything in its place, etc., etc.
-- Ernie
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 01:05:10 GMT, "Mekon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>When SWMBO ties string to your belt so you can find your way back to the
>door -
>
Or, when she doesn't.
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was doing something in the shop yesterday and I needed some bench room.
I
> ended up cranking the blade on my table saw all the way down into the
table
> in order to find some place free of stuff.
>
> Sometimes I wonder why I have a workbench. It stays piled up with tools,
> scraps, rags, bits of steel wool. I clean and organize my shop at least
> once every couple of years, but then everything gradually returns to my
> usual state of disarray. I use things, then throw them on the workbench.
> Tools that leave the shop don't always make it back, and I have another
> pile of stuff in a box in the den that I've been meaning to take out and
> put up for six months or more.
I'm as bad, if not worse. I'm only able to work in my shop occasionally,
but once or twice a year, I have to pull
everything out of it, sweep, vacuum up all the dust, and reorganise the wood
piles. Doesn't do any good, but I try.
My problem is that when I put something down, it instantly dissapears.
Hopefully soon I'll be able to afford to build a
bigger shop.
Steve
"Blue" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:WQnQa.11117$D%[email protected]...
> I thought I was the only one who kept every little piece of wood! Even
tiny
> pieces resulting from squaring up lumber. And the triangle left from 45
cuts
> on 2x4s...always handy as door wedges, corner braces, and a bunch of other
> stuff. I am about to be overcome by bits and pieces though! LOL
>
>
I don't buy lumber- I get it all "pre-used", or as scrap from a cabinet
shop. I always have lots of ply and mdf
scraps for building jigs or prototypes, and more oak and maple than I can
find to time to work, with a smattering
of other wood types. Almost all of the pine I use is discarded waterbed
sides (often surprisingly good lumber). In fact,
today I'm on vacation and planning to begin work on a new deck-style porch
built almost entirely from old waterbeds.
Oughtta be fun :)
Steve
HarryM wrote:
> and myself, and usable lumber to the rack. Therein lies my problem --
> nearly every piece of lumber is potentially useable. It gets out of hand
> at times.
That *is* a big part of my problem. If it's bigger than a toothpick, I can
probably use it for something eventually. I have piles of little odd
shaped scraps.
> But I'm a compulsive cleaner. Sometimes clean the shop several times
> during the day. "Cup of coffee? Sure. Wait a second while I clean up."
'Ceptin' mine are all over the workbench, or under it.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16410 Approximate word count: 1641000
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Silvan responds:
>HarryM wrote:
>
>> and myself, and usable lumber to the rack. Therein lies my problem --
>> nearly every piece of lumber is potentially useable. It gets out of hand
>> at times.
>
>That *is* a big part of my problem. If it's bigger than a toothpick, I can
>probably use it for something eventually. I have piles of little odd
>shaped scraps.
Yeah. I tried giving it to friends with wood stoves as kindling, even. But all
my friends with wood stoves are also woodworkers and are not short of kindling.
Charlie Self
Facts are stupid things.
Ronald Reagan
Most of the "sawdust pellet deals" that I've seen have electrically
operated pellet feeders. When the power goes out and it's -20 F outside
it's not a good feeling to find out that your new fancy stove won't keep
you warm.
I'll stick with wood in an old Franklin stove. Low tech, but it works.
Phil
Silvan wrote:
> Charlie Self wrote:
>
>
>>>probably use it for something eventually. I have piles of little odd
>>>shaped scraps.
>>
>>Yeah. I tried giving it to friends with wood stoves as kindling, even. But
>>all my friends with wood stoves are also woodworkers and are not short of
>>kindling.
>
>
> Everybody I know who uses wood has switched to those sawdust pellet deals.
>
Charlie Self wrote:
>>probably use it for something eventually. I have piles of little odd
>>shaped scraps.
>
> Yeah. I tried giving it to friends with wood stoves as kindling, even. But
> all my friends with wood stoves are also woodworkers and are not short of
> kindling.
Everybody I know who uses wood has switched to those sawdust pellet deals.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16428 Approximate word count: 1642800
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Silvan responds:
>> all my friends with wood stoves are also woodworkers and are not short of
>> kindling.
>
>Everybody I know who uses wood has switched to those sawdust pellet deals.
You need to get further out in the boonies. Only yuppies use such things in the
country.
Charlie Self
Facts are stupid things.
Ronald Reagan
Charlie Self wrote:
> You need to get further out in the boonies. Only yuppies use such things
> in the country.
Ain't that the truth. I used to live in the boonies. Now I live in the new
business center of town, and I haven't moved. (Well, I bought the house
next door to my parents'. I lived away for a few years, but if you gloss
over that, I've been in the same spot since 1983.)
Super Wal-Mart, Super K-Mart, Target, Borg, Lowe's, Books-a-Million, Barnes
& Noble, mall, motels, restaurants out the wazoo, and a host of other,
lesser businesses. Why, I even have an 18' high concrete wall 100' from my
bedroom window, at the top of which is a new four-lane highway. To top it
off, the vacant lot across the street now hosts an enormous 2-story steel
affair with a huge parking lot to match. The owner never finished the
thing, and I get to look at rotting OSB, and an old, broken-down U-Haul
truck.
Used to be a big cow pasture, a horticultural research farm, a corn field
and a patch of land with some weedy trees. :(
Progress sucks.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16445 Approximate word count: 1644500
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
On 15 Jul 2003 18:00:25 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
scribbled
>Silvan responds:
>
>>> all my friends with wood stoves are also woodworkers and are not short of
>>> kindling.
>>
>>Everybody I know who uses wood has switched to those sawdust pellet deals.
>
>You need to get further out in the boonies. Only yuppies use such things in the
>country.
They have been tried in the Yukon. And given up just as quickly, even
by the yuppies and other lazy slobs who don't want to get up in the
middle of the night. Good old dried & split firewood (pine & spruce)
is where it's at. The hot thing (bad pun intended) these days is the
Scandinavian style masonry stove. They rely on the thermal mass to
keep on heating through the night so you don't have to get up & feed
the fire.
Luigi
Replace "no" with "yk" twice
in reply address for real email address
PC wrote:
> Most of the "sawdust pellet deals" that I've seen have electrically
> operated pellet feeders. When the power goes out and it's -20 F outside
> it's not a good feeling to find out that your new fancy stove won't keep
> you warm.
True. I have to admit the thing puts out some heat though. Dad has one.
Gets the fuel for free because he works part time for the dealer,
maintaining his computer network. (OK, he doesn't get exactly the fuel for
free... :)
> I'll stick with wood in an old Franklin stove. Low tech, but it works.
They have a generator to run the thing in an emergency.
We have gas logs. How yuppy is that? I figure that bigass propane tank
will last awhile in a pinch though. We rarely use it otherwise. (Also
have a heat pump.)
One thing's for sure, I don't miss splitting wood. We used to get a load of
logs every year and work it up. Usually about six cords per truck. The
first year we did that, Dad didn't know what he was buying, and it was a
mostly 3' diameter red gum.
I broke a lot of Craftman mauls that year. Never did get a couple of those
damn things split until they had rotted for a few years.
To say nothing of the time the log truck broke Dad's shit pipe, and we had
to go out and deal with a geyser of sludge in the yard...
No, I think gas logs and sawdust stoves sound like a fine idea. :)
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
Confirmed post number: 16446 Approximate word count: 1644600
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
Silvan notes:
>One thing's for sure, I don't miss splitting wood. We used to get a load of
>logs every year and work it up. Usually about six cords per truck. The
>first year we did that, Dad didn't know what he was buying, and it was a
>mostly 3' diameter red gum.
Ain't it fun? I used to split it with a chainsaw. Only way to go.
>
>To say nothing of the time the log truck broke Dad's shit pipe, and we had
>to go out and deal with a geyser of sludge in the yard...
Reminds me of a farmhouse I rented many years ago: sewage pipe clogged; plumber
went out and busted said clog loose. I then discovered that the sewage pipe
drained into a local cow pasture. I never again bought local beef.
Charlie Self
We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom.
Stephen Vincent Benet
On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 11:09:27 -0400, Silvan
<[email protected]> pixelated:
>Charlie Self wrote:
>
>> Reminds me of a farmhouse I rented many years ago: sewage pipe clogged;
>> plumber went out and busted said clog loose. I then discovered that the
>> sewage pipe drained into a local cow pasture. I never again bought local
>> beef.
>
>Gack!
GOT MILK?
"Be the change you want to see in the world." --Mahatma Gandhi
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming
"Charlie Self" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Reminds me of a farmhouse I rented many years ago: sewage pipe clogged;
plumber
> went out and busted said clog loose. I then discovered that the sewage
pipe
> drained into a local cow pasture. I never again bought local beef.
Having grown up on dairy farms I can with certainty that the cows lay down
more than enough of their own sewage that there really wasn't any need to be
concerned about the little extra you all added. 8^)
"Ernie Jurick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Mekon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> >
> > When the pile of offcuts gets so high that Greenpeace singles you out as
a
> > major player in the destruction of the forests-
> >
>
> LOL! And why do we hang on to every piece, no matter how small? I miss my
> workshop wood stove, which ate them for me and kept the place warm.
> -- Ernie
>
>
My local council (what is the Merkin term for them? City Hall?) is about to
bring in a ban on new wood stoves - still, I can just do something else over
the two weeks of winter.
Mekon
On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 01:25:50 -0400 (EDT), [email protected]
(Jack-of-all-trades - JOAT) wrote:
>Sun, Jul 13, 2003, 8:11pm [email protected] (Silvan) says:
><snip> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find*
>my tools. His just disappear forever. <snip>
>
> He obviously has kids. I found two sockets in my driveway the
>other day. And when I say "in", I mean imbedded.
A friend of mine who has raised 5 sons gave me some advice the other
day. He said to get a good combination padlock for my tool chest and
not give the combination to anyone - let them saw it off after I die.
My 4 sons are starting to get to the age where they are borrowing my
tools, so I'm giving it some serious thought.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
My grandfather said if the kids didn't get access to tools, they would never
learn. All three of his sons went on to be carpenters, and one continued on to
be an Industrial Arts teacher. I think I was better at putting away my Dad's
tools than he was. Now that my Dad has passed away, I have even more incentive
to keep track of them.
"Ernie Jurick" <[email protected]> wrote in message:
> LOL! And why do we hang on to every piece, no matter how small?
cuz you just *know* you're gonna need them sooner or later! LOL!
Jim
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 08:57:45 -0500, "Steve Kreitler"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I don't want to win the lottery I just want to win a barn full of
>> seasoned timber! ;O)
>
> Now, there's a nifty tagline!
>
> Steve
>
You have a good point there sire, and thanks muchly for making it! ;O)
You also made me think that old Clint Eastwood record might have
something to offer too;
I talk to the trees, and I tell them what they are going to be once
I've done "explaining" shape & size to them!
Take Care,
Gnube
I don't want to win the lottery I just want to win a barn full of seasoned timber! ;O)
Sometimes keep a tool on the workbench all day, but everything goes back
to its place at the end of the day. The schedule goes something like this:
tools away, scraps to the trash, vacuum sawdust and shavings, blow off dust
and myself, and usable lumber to the rack. Therein lies my problem --
nearly every piece of lumber is potentially useable. It gets out of hand at
times. High school art students get scraps of exotics for jewelry projects.
Knife builder neighbor gets larger pieces. Pen/pencil maker stops by from
time to time. In between, they overflow my shelf of little pieces of
rosewood, wenge, padauk, zebrano, bubinga, etc.
But I'm a compulsive cleaner. Sometimes clean the shop several times
during the day. "Cup of coffee? Sure. Wait a second while I clean up."
harrym
"Silvan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I was doing something in the shop yesterday and I needed some bench room.
I
> ended up cranking the blade on my table saw all the way down into the
table
> in order to find some place free of stuff.
>
> Sometimes I wonder why I have a workbench. It stays piled up with tools,
> scraps, rags, bits of steel wool. I clean and organize my shop at least
> once every couple of years, but then everything gradually returns to my
> usual state of disarray. I use things, then throw them on the workbench.
> Tools that leave the shop don't always make it back, and I have another
> pile of stuff in a box in the den that I've been meaning to take out and
> put up for six months or more.
>
> I learned this from Dad I guess. At least I can eventaully *find* my
tools.
> His just disappear forever. I've bought him several sets of wrenches and
> screwdrivers over the years, and when I go to find one of them, all his
> toolboxes are empty except for the odd sized stuff, and there's nothing
> hanging on his pegboard except an ancient, rusty handsaw and a baby food
> jar with a few odd screws in it.
>
> I guess I'm looking for someone else to say "me too" so I don't have to
feel
> like I'm all alone in the world.
>
> --
> Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
> Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
> Confirmed post number: 16391 Approximate word count: 1639100
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
>