Planter/Bench, Part 1

The perfect planter, to me is just as high as you would want to sit.  A nice seat goes all the way around it, and you can comfortably reach to at least the center if not the other side.  Additionally it is stable enough for you to stand on, or move if need be.

This consists of six legs made up as ‘T’ intersections of wood.  Under each T is a board to keep the planter from sinking into the ground.  Mounted on top of the Ts are six seat boards cut at a 60 degree angle.  Under the seat board is a side board that forms a T with the seat board and makes the seat strong and stable.

The whole thing is quite solid and stable.

It is also fairly simple to make.

You just make six Ts and set them in a circle.  Then you put six seat boards on them and attach them.   After that the feet and side boards make it secure.

Then you can add more side boards to go down to the bottom, or almost the bottom, and you have a nice planter.  If you don’t want to raise a tree in it, you can tack landscaping fabric into it, and form a bag to keep soil in and grass out.

Bob

October 20th, 2008 | Category: Gardening, Woodworking | One comment

Eggs

Here is the egg produced by Ameraucana chickens.

Pretty lightly blue or green or even pinkish brown eggs.   I do love these chickens.

Bob

October 17th, 2008 | Category: Chickens, Husbandry, Livestock | Leave a comment

Sharpening Tools, Part 5

A few odd points to clear up some common misunderstanding on tools and sharpness.

The first point is, that unless you are changing the actual angle of the blade to make it a lower degree angle, you are more specifically making the blade keen.

Making a blade keen does not make a weaker blade.  Thing about the jagged edge on the coarse blade edge.  They project out all by themselves.  If the finish were finer, then the blade would be stronger.  So honing and stropping should be making the blade edge stronger as well.

Some tools using blades, are set to run in a straight line.  For example a rabbet plane.  Typically the blade in the best of these planes are skewed.

Just like taking a road or path winding back and forth on a mountain is easier than climbing straight up, a skewed edge will act exactly like a much sharper blade.  So by being skewed a blade can act sharper even though it retains the strength of the actual angle of the blade.  Because the angle is skewed, the blade does not hit obstacles straight on, so it acts as if it were tougher.   As a result, skewed blades are often prefered to straight ones.  pushing a chisel or plane at an angle, will have this same effect.  A skew is a bit more complicated to make in a blade, and there is often a need for a mirror image skew.  So if a tool can be straight, and still used as if it were a skew, then the user has control and the best of all choices can be made.

Bob

Sharpening Tools, Part 1, Part2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

October 16th, 2008 | Category: Hand Tools, Sharpening, Tool Making, Tutorials, Woodworking | 4 comments

Sharpening Tools, Part 4

Dubbing.

We are not perfect in our methods.

An  ideal edge might be perfectly keen.  Sadly we will rock a bit as we sharpen.  at the very end we tend to rock just a smidgeon, and cause a fine dub.

Now we have a bit of an issue.

When we rock it back flat, the end of the blade no longer contacts the surface.  When you sharpen and sharpen and it seems to have no effect.  This is probably the cause.

It is mostly possible to avoid a double dub, since the flat of the blade can be kept fairly flat.  A double dub, will definitely raise the angle of the blade, making it less ideal.

The problem is, that once dubbed, you no longer have contact with the edge as you sharpen, unless you either increase the angle on purpose, or grind away enough steel to again have an ideal surface.   Without contacting the edge, no sharpening is going to happen.  This is where stropping comes in handy.

With fine grit in and on a slightly flexible surface, contact with the edge can still be made.

This solves a lot of human error, and allows us mortals to sharpen well by hand.  Stropping is not perfect, it does dub a bit.

Below is what happens when you strop with a lot of pressure.

You get a more extreme dubbing.  This means you have lost some of your potential sharpness.

Bob

October 15th, 2008 | Category: Hand Tools, Sharpening, Tools, Tutorials, Woodworking | Leave a comment

Chickens, dogs and people can get along, mostly.

This is Chewfa, named oddly after an almond tasting root called chufa, that is the original source for the delicious drink horchata.

Critter can get along fine!

It is not like this is a particularly good dog either.

This girl loves her chickens.

And her puppy.

I love it when animals and folk get along.

Sometimes a rooster can be downright evil.  I’m not getting along with this rooster.

Some roosters will protect their flock, and even risk themselves for their flock.

This is a good rooster.  He will fake having an injured wing, to give the other chickens a chance to run.  I love this guy.

Here he is getting between me and the chickens after seeing me take away the bad rooster.

Brave fellow this one.  I plan to breed for this fellows personality.

Bob

October 14th, 2008 | Category: Chickens | Leave a comment
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