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Anyone else slowing their shop work roll?

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I think I have enough projects to keep me shop busy for the next month or two. And usually discover two new projects for every one I finish, so there’s that.

Already slow to begin with, I have of late slowed my roll even further. Not really a conscious decision to save stuff for stay-at-home social distancing/self isolation, but I wouldn’t want to run out of things to do in the shop, and am in less of a hurry than ever.

Really wish I had laid in some derelict canoe to be rebuilt; I have everything in shop stock except new gunwales, so that wouldn’t require too many trips afield.

The dozens of old canoe seats stacked in storage may finally get sanded, varnished and webbed. The (couple) dozen DIY’ed ash thwarts and yokes, cut to shape and edge routered years ago on a visit to a late cabinet maker uncle’s well equipped shop, may finally see some finish sanding and varnish. Those were not worth the time and effort to finish at the cost of parts from Ed’s, but I have plenty of shop time to kill, and now have dust control extractor attachments. Hope I have enough fresh 1” sanding belts.

Little things; never woulda thought I could spend an entire day G/flex adapting a box full of old vacuum cleaner attachments, hoses and tube shafts to fit new vacuums. Saving all that old vacuum crap paid off; tucked away in the basement I found the six foot long, four piece, thumb button connect chrome shaft from the long-gone whole house vac.

That peculiar puppy will eventually come in handy for something. Not sure for what, but someday I know I’ll be wishing I had something sectional thumb-button break down just like that. And I will.

Got some DIY dry bags to make, and a couple fully dried Stick & Stone piece that will each need a week of carving and sanding. I might as well order a quart of white EZ-Poxy. We have two white bottomed decked canoes that need new paint. That oughta hold me for a spell.

Whadda ya got saved up or planned for stay at home shop work?
 
Forty-odd years of 35mm slides to go through, scanning some, 4x5 transparencies to scan, "after I'm dead" prints to print. This is all waiting until things (or I) get really bad. Until then, working on cutting dovetails by hand, an art I have yet to acquire. Youtube makes them look so easy!
 
I'm working on two Chestnuts, one is hanging in canvas now waiting to be tacked, the other is next for canvas.

I have a 15' fiberglass Mohawk canoe that needs to be restored, replace a piece of broken fiberglass up near the gunnel, remove bent gunnel(s) and ad new ash gunnels, make a solo webbed seat.

I also have a 14' Old Town "Stillwater" to restore. There is a small demand for them in spite of their width, nice fishing canoe or as the ads used to say "great for photography

I also have my old Chestnut Pal waiting to be planked, maybe this summer. It's got many new ribs and new in wales, it's been around.

I'm working slow, hard to get motivated when it's still cold, takes too much wood to warm up the shop when I can wait a few days and work in comfort without burning next years wood supply..
 
I 'm working on a dining table for a client that is taking way more time than I wanted, after that I have enough projects for a year if I include a new kitchen for the house and a new bathroom.... But that ain't paling the bills, so I do have a few more possible commission pieces to make....
 
Ah yes, Dining Tables, The thing that killed the small business I worked for. Too long to make them and he didn't charge enough for them.
 
I have a least two months of work on my F/G Malecite. I had to go with scarf joints which I'm not crazy about but am doing it. I need at least 19' so went with 20. Guess how long my shop is? Yup, 20' so they are a bear to store but am making due. One project to get the hull back together at a time. New addition to the workshop is a LARGE sign on the door reminding me to turn off the heat and fan, yes a few adult beverages made me have a "lapse" in my shop duties on the way out but dang it sure was toasty warm in the morning!
 
Well, I do not have much of a shop, but being as I have some time on my hands, I have been working hard on my winter wood supply. The timber is slippery as the frost has just left the ground and it is pretty soft - I gotta be careful not to tear it up too much, or slide around - dangerous. Anyway, I have been working at my wood processing and it is coming along nicely so far. Keeps me from dreaming about my Chestnut Cruiser I just bought ... waiting just across the border and I can not go get it. So frustrating.

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Ah yes, Dining Tables, The thing that killed the small business I worked for. Too long to make them and he didn't charge enough for them.

Ho I'm charging enough.... But I could have charge a bit more. Live and learn! If I knew what I know now 20 years ago.......
 
I just finished this little guy yesterday. Next on the list will be a few paddles.

The canoe is only 7.5 ft long. Built for display only of course. Just as much fun as building a full size one without the space requirements
 

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No slowing down here. I'm finally ramping back up again. I'll never run out of projects unless this goes on for a couple years.

Work has slowed down so I'm taking off at noon every day in a final push to get this dang shop done. Putting up tongue and groove on the ceiling now, then paint the ceiling, then run conduit on the ceiling before I return the rented scissor lift. Then I can wire up the rest of the shop, finish the last bit of wood on the walls and finally get moved in. Once moved in I can start making the flooring, trim, and cabinets for my house. And somewhere in there I need to get the sawmill set up again and start sawing out siding for my house (to hopefully go on this fall). Oh, and then there's the cabin/fort I want to build with a group of seven and eight year old boys this summer, which of course means more time at the sawmill sawing out the lumber for that. Not to mention the 100+ oak, ash, walnut, and maple logs I have laying around that need to get sawn up for future use/sales.

That's more than enough to get me through to winter when I can go back to work and hopefully finish the inside of my house.

Alan
 
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here’s what been taking much of my time
this is MDB doing the wiring rough in on our new house we’re building
still have years worth of projects so no chance or getting bored
 
I built three 18" hanging Orb Lights for a client. I experimented with hammered steel rivets instead of Pops. It is definitely slower and harder securing the rivets, but it looks a lot better.
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Here's five 22" ones I built for an Axe Bar in CT this summer
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Nice, nothing like mixing booze and axes. I threw axes in college on the woodsmans team, but we used full sized double bit axes. Still fun.
i do like those lights.
Jim
 
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