Month: April 2016

I finished off the mobile work station yesterday afternoon by putting the backboard on, installing a shelf and bolting the drill press and mitre saw in place. 

I still have to get proper lid stays to hold the extensions in place.

Today I will begin the prep work for the construction of the backyard deck. I will be dismantling the back steps which consist of a bunch of bricks cemented together with construction adhesive.

I also want to take the opportunity to save some of the patio bricks which I intend to use as a sidewalk to cover up the unsightly gate entrance shown below:

I plan to brick in from the gate to the near corner of the house almost the full width between the fence and wall. 

I also have to move everything off the patio to get ready. Deck material is scheduled to be delivered on Monday and deck construction, with the help of my cousin George, will begin right after. 

Yesterday, I bought the material I needed to make myself a mobile work station for my drill press and mitre saw. I put it on castors so I can easily move it to the centre of the garage for cutting long lengths of wood on my mitre saw. I also wanted a spot for the drill press.

The drill press base is level with the mitre saw base so a long piece of wood will rest nicely across both. I added a couple of drop down extensions using piano hinge making the overall length, when fully extended, about 9 feet.

Underneath will be space to store most of my other equipment like dremel, reciprocating saw, jig saw, and socket wrenches, all of which have their own plastic carrying cases.

Today I will add one shelf on the left and put the backer board on and maybe make a door for the right hand side. Then all I have to do is bolt the drill press and mitre saw to the cabinet and we’re done.

Yesterday, after breakfast, I went to Lowes to finalize the order for deck material. Delivery will be made this coming Monday, so I will be able to commence work immediately. 

Yesterday afternoon Jane took Ted shopping for shoes for Chris and Tonya’s upcoming wedding in June. Not only did they find shoes for Ted, Jane found some for herself. Not for the wedding, mind you…just for everyday use. She has been short of shoes ever since our move to Barrie 4 years ago when all of her shoes somehow got lost. 

Yesterday, while MY Jane was in Newmarket looking for suitable wedding jewellery, I went for coffee with my cousin George. He treated…..tnx cuz. 

Since getting an estimate of $16,000 (ridiculous amount, I think) for someone to build a deck for us in our back yard, I have been doing a little more research into the idea.

The deck would be level with the doorway so we would walk right onto  the deck….no steps down.

It would only be 18 inches above the ground, so no need for a railing. Also, because I am looking at a “floating deck – butted against the house, not attached – and with the beams sitting at ground level, there is no need for digging holes for sono tubes.

I used a handy deck designer program on the Lowes website to figure out a materials list and get an approximate price. It gave me an estimated cost of $2000 to 2300 plus tax. This is more like it.

I called Lowes to have them pull up my project design on their system (when you save your deck design, it is stored in their database) to confirm the cost estimate. Lowes will also round up everything in the materials list and deliver it to the house for $75. Looks promising for a DIY project.

We are heading out to check out suits for me to wear at Chris and Tonya’s upcoming wedding this coming June. My plan is to get a light gray summer suit and a navy blue vest along with a navy tie and pocket thing.

When the weather brightens up and starts to get warm day by day, my thoughts turn to summer activities.

Today, MY Jane and I are travelling to Vaughan to meet up with Annemarie at Lee Valley Tools, one of my all time favourite stores.

The primary purpose is so Annemarie can choose the cabinet knobs for the Tansu project.

All that’s left to be done is one more coat of varathane and installation of the knobs.

While I am clear on the main purpose of the trip to Lee Valley, I also know that they have an extensive gardening department, so I expect there will be some time spent there as well because both Annemarie and Jane love their gardens.

The Tansu cabinet project is almost complete. 

Yesterday, with the help of MY Jane, we stained everything, inside and out. All that’s left to be done now is apply the clear coat varathane and put the door knobs on. 

We are meeting with our friend, Annemarie, on Monday at Lee Valley where she will choose the hardware she likes for her new piece of furniture.

So, by the end of next week, it will be finished and ready for delivery.

In the last little while, we have noticed a small accumulation of water on the kitchen floor in front of the sink. We have a small rug right in front and that’s what was feeling wet. 

MY Jane and I play Yahtzee on our I pads pretty well every day. After breakfast, we usually sit across from one another in the sitting room and play a two out of three “champion for the day” session.

Today, while MY Jane continues with her new genealogy project, I will do some more work on the Tansu Cabinet that I am making for our good friends, Annemarie & Jim.

I thought, for fun, I would do a little video demo of my new oscillating multi tool which I use to trim off Kreg jig plugs.

http://youtu.be/MZ1rmna8N5o

I am almost ready to start doing the finish on this project. So I’ll be heading out to get the stain and varathane and some wood filler to cover up the finishing nails.

Last night, MY Jane and I decided to play a game of Rummy 500 before watching a little TV. We set up on the dining room table and, knowing that Minnie loves to join us by sprawling all over the cards, I moved all the chairs away from the table so she had no way to jump up.

Just over 55 seconds! LOL. That’s all it took and up she came. She circled the table several times looking for a way up. Then she began meowing and jumping up on the chairs that I had moved too far away for her to use.

Finally, Jane relented and let her jump onto her lap and then onto the tabletop where she promptly flopped down while Jane shuffled the deck.

By the way, Jane won…..but it was very close!

Yesterday, while MY Jane was out shopping with Ted, I did some more work on the Tansu Cabinet project. I made the doors and installed them using Euro hinges. Here’s what it looks like so far:

Using Euro hinges will allow me to unclip the doors and easily take them off to do the sanding and staining. Don’t worry, I did put that screw in there. 

Later today I’ll be applying edge trim to cover up end grain and cutting the backboards for each section using 1/4″ oak plywood. I’m happy with the progress so far. The final step will be the installation of handles and maybe some accent hardware.

This morning, after breakfast, I’ll be meeting up with Tom Rose, a friend from my correctional days. 

Have you ever been around someone who is totally negative? It tends to drag you down, doesn’t it? If you know someone like this, you can do something about it. Just tell them you don’t want to hear that kind of stuff. Why should your happiness be affected by someone who tends to wallow in self pity? 

Last week, in the tiny village of Thornton, we stopped in at the Original Flag Store to check out garden flags. We were looking for a Spring flavoured type to fly from the garage. MY Jane spotted this one, so yesterday, in defiance of Mother Natures penchant for teasing, I put grommets into it and hung it in place of the Canadian Maple Leaf…just for now.

We have collected quite an array of garden flags now and, from time to time, we even have compliments given us by neighbours out walking their dogs or passersby.

There has been more progress on the Tansu Cabinet project. Yesterday, I cut and applied the face trim pieces and I am quite satisfied with the improvement in the appearance of the overall look.

Today I will be putting in partitions in the three larger cubicles and fabricating six doors. The doors will be inset and hinges will be the Euro style cabinet hinges, the kind that are usually used on kitchen cupboards and not visible. 

I will also be applying some veneer edging wherever there is end grain of the plywood showing. Then I’ll be cutting and fitting the backboard pieces which I will stain before installing.

Jane has agreed to help me with the staining and finishing with Verathane to complete the construction. The final step will be the installation of drawer pull hardware and some accent pieces to dress it up.

I’ll have an update once the doors are done.

Keep clicking on those ads!

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I would be undertaking a new woodworking project, that being a Tansu cabinet for our friends, Annemarie and Jim. A couple of days ago, I picked up some material and began. 

Today, I will be adding some trim and making six doors. After that, I will be cutting the backboard pieces and sanding everything. I’ll keep you posted with more pictures as I progress. The cubicles just sit on top of one another for easy portability.

On another note, it looks like the ads on my blog can work for me. Every time someone clicks on one of them, a few cents comes to me. Keep clicking!

As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, MY Jane and I did our map thing by both pointing at a spot on the Ontario map and heading for a location between. The destination we came up with was Mono Mills. Jane drove the first half and I drove the last half.

We decided to take a circuitous route from our home, thus we traveled many back roads going through little hamlets like Lisle, Horning Mills, Violet Hill and Loretto. On our travels we were amazed at the amount of tree damage still visible, the result of the major ice storm we experienced a few weeks ago.

But the most exciting part of the trip was when we just happened upon the Dufferin County Museum and Archives. I remembered that I had been there several years prior trying to find out information about my Grandfather, Edgar Pickering. During my quest for information about him, I learned that his brother, James Pickering (my great Uncle) was somehow involved in the development of Hydro in the Shelbourne area.

So I asked Jane if she would be interested in stopping there and having a look. She was definitely interested.

We had a great tour of the museum, looking at all the historical artifacts there including displays of Jail and Railroad stuff.

There was a huge silo at the top of which were a number of quilts on display having been made by local ladies for church fund raising efforts.

After we finished looking around the museum proper, we went down to the archives area, staffed by two very helpful ladies, Laura Camilleri and Vanessa Lio.

I told them about my understanding that my great uncle, James Pickering, was prominent in the development of the hydro around Shelbourne and Laura, who is from Shelbourne, was very familiar with the Hydro Story.

With that, Vanessa retrieved a copy of the “Hydro Story” and sure enough, James Pickering figures prominently in the introduction of hydro to that area. In 1903 he bought a power plant from Wright and McKinley in Shelbourne and submitted a proposal:

“To light the streets of Shelbourne with 17 six-ampere lights, light the Town Hall through existing equipment at a cost to the village of $850.00 per year.
The maximum rate to private users would be .12 cents per kw unless the price of coal should exceed $4.00 per ton, in which case the rate would advance .01 cents per kw for each $1.00 rise per ton in the price of coal. Meter rentals to be .25 cents per month, the contract to run five years.”

We ended up buying a hardcover book, The History of Shelbourne, which has several entries referencing James Pickering.

I was given a “researcher” card and now have access to their website archives.
We did actually get to Mono Mills with the intention of stopping and looking at any stores that might be there, but it is such a tiny place, we had driven through it before we even knew it.
 
Once again, this spontaneous drive for no particular reason, has turned out to be another memorable and fun day.

You may have noticed an ad appearing in the top right corner of my daily blog. I’m trying a little experiment. You see, every time someone clicks on that ad, I get a commission. I have no idea what that commission is – probably a few cents for every click. I want to see if this idea is really legitimate.

Clicking doesn’t commit you to anything…just takes you to the ad.

Hopefully it’s not too distracting, but if you feel like it, give it a click, will you? Just for the fun of it.

Today, at this point anyway, MY Jane and I have nothing planned. So it could turn into one of those spontaneous outings that end up being interesting and fun. We haven’t done that for awhile. I’ve written about taking the map of Ontario and each of us closes our eyes and then puts our finger at a location somewhere on the map. Then we pick the spot in between the points we pointed to and off we go.

I’ll let you know tomorrow if we did that today. Stay tuned.

MY Jane had some indoor plants that she decided needed to be re-potted. It was a good call because when she took them out of the pots, she found that they were totally root bound. Not a good thing.

So, for a little while anyway, the kitchen became the re-potting centre. There was mud everywhere!

But she got it done and even saved a few cuttings for her Mom, Ted, so she can try to get them to root.

Never a dull moment.