Above 1200 Sq/FT Plugger Workshop

[Mr onetwo]

looks like a druid alter

 

[kaymccampbell]

looks like a druid alter

You should visit him and find out. If you stop posting here, we'll know for sure.

 

[Mr onetwo]

 

[Prospecter]

Pretty sure the Druids didn't use old house foundation stones, but maybe? The granite likely came from a granite quarry up the road. "Blemished quarry seconds." These are marginally better than a rubble foundation, but the same idea. Junk on the bottom. Save the best pieces for the parts that show. Best face towards the outside.

 

[Prospecter]

Some more clean / sort / toss in the shop. Finished sorting my sockets in the metric and fractional drawers. Junkers to recycle. Spares set aside. Someday, I will go through the spares. I think I have enough to make some sets for the ReStore.

Oil and Filters change for the van. It has been overdue for a while, due to all the other services in the 100,000 mile renew (which is also long overdue). Still some bulbs for pre-emptive updates.

Shop sort also included some boat stuff.

This year's daffodil planting is around the new bench location, and the old bench location.

It's been so dry that my gravel guy and I figured he could make it across the usually wet spots in the field. 2 loads / 32 yards of 2" minus for a future project. I need to improve some field drainage with Dutch drains, hopefully to reduce the mosquito swarms in summer. He made it across okay. The tires found some mud in a few places, but he did not get stuck.

 

[Prospecter]

I was asked to pick up a new fish tank cover glass and a cover plate to hold paper flat to make PDFs with a phone. The lead time at the glass place was too long to get it done before we visited. Turns out, glass can just be sanded (gently) to smooth its edges. I had some leftover glass pieces and gave it a whirl. I used one of those file belt sanders and an 80 grit belt. It worked out pretty well. Another time, I would probably start out with 100 grit to get the edges smooth, and ease through some finer grits to get a prettier edge. The 80 grit sometimes took off some small bits that then needed re-sanding. The trick was to let the sander do the work, and barely put any pressure at all on the sander. PPE is a must due to silica.

A broken door knob repair was also requested. Someone had previously cross threaded an old bolt into the knob, which had come loose. First effort was to search the old door set cache. No direct replacement in stock. You can see the offending bolt in the middle of the blue silicone parts holder. Anyway, hard earned experience told me that, if I could manage a repair of the original parts, that would provide the happiest result. If I failed, plan b was to use a replacement shaft with a different setup. Fortunately, I was able to retap the hole to a standard size. Not too difficult since brass is soft. I sized the tap to go just a little larger, removing the damaged threads, and going slightly larger. Then I cut down a suitable bolt from the miscellaneous bolt bin, and cut a slot in the end with a Dremel to make a new set screw. Joys of old house living!

A few supplies from Harbor Freight. I needed a hand truck replacement since the old one retired to outboard motor holder duty.
My Dremel shaft lock stripped out. This has happened to me a few times over the years. Very annoying, and expensive. The shaft fortunately had a cut off wheel shaft in it at the time, so I will leave that shaft in place. I bought two cheapie versions to give a try. Also picked up some tool organizers and some supplies.

 

[Prospecter]

Looks from the workshop door that this Plugger shops at Epstein's!


Time to make the wreaths. Commercial wreath makers have been hard at it for several weeks. We have not had the cold weather to set the needles, which is a problem. Mrs. Prospector and I waited until the last minute. She is good about getting just the tips. Harder on the tipper, but easier on the wreath maker. I go for brush. (Bigger stuff, that then needs to be trimmed to tips to make a wreath.)

This wreath is double sided, meaning that the tips are wired onto both sides of the metal ring to make it thicker. In this case, both back and front tips are facing front. Ours are quite heavy. Maybe 10-15 lbs? We wire two rings together to hold the weight. Not commercially viable, but since we only make them for family, it's fine. We put our ribbons on the bottom, though many prefer the top.

Meanwhile, some Thanksgiving escapees who have much to be thankful for.

 

[Mr onetwo]

Love those glass door knobs. I grew up in a house in Bangor that had those on every door.That wreath is beautiful!

 

[Prospecter]

Love those glass door knobs. I grew up in a house in Bangor that had those on every door.That wreath is beautiful!

Thank you, OneTwo. I think that style is roughly 1900-1920ish, but I'm far from expert. A little newer than the style in this picture. The house also has two panel doors with plywood for the panels. I think that places the period of renovation for a much older house.

 

[Prospecter]

Finished up the last wreaths, and used the last tips. Tips were a little sparse toward the end, but they are for us, and will look fine from the road, and I am please to not need to go get more tips.

The first snow caught me off guard. I planned on it melting away, which it did not do. I still had to put away scaffold, get out snow shovels, put up the snow gauge. Also had to scrape off the top layers of snow on the driveway, since it did not melt. Win some. Lose some.

I needed some shims for the rudder blade, and centerboard. I used a hole saw to cut them out of milk bottles (thin) and an old cutting board (thicker).

 

[Mr onetwo]

What did you use for the rubber blade? I need to do this on my little tractor.

 

[Prospecter]

Sailboat rudder. (Steering thingy.) I should get some pictures, but the blade is sandwiched between two pieces of aluminum. I shimmed it to take out the wobble.

 

[Prospecter]

First pic is of the not yet shimmed blade of the rudder. You can see there is way too much clearance on either side. Second pic is of most of the rudder. The joint is where the bottom of the black aluminum meets the top of the mahogany blade. Shim material was cut from milk cartons and an old cutting blade.

Our wreaths are up. The small one is on the shop for me. The large one is on the side of the house for people driving by. Finally got the snow gauge out. Had to punch through a thin layer of frozen soil. Not too bad.

 

[Mr onetwo]

Sailboat rudder. (Steering thingy.) I should get some pictures, but the blade is sandwiched between two pieces of aluminum. I shimmed it to take out the wobble.

Do you get that stuff at Hamilton Marine or Tractor Supply?

 

[Prospecter]

Do you get that stuff at Hamilton Marine or Tractor Supply?

The shims come from the recycling bin and leftovers shelf. I do like Hamilton Marine, but usually shop around. HM is usually least expensive, but not always. I know the owner, and many of the employees, so I like to support local when I can. I also shop Maine Marine Salvage frequently. Incredible bargains, and it's like a U-Pic junkyard. Parts and entertainment all rolled into one!

 

[Prospecter]

We have had a couple of snow storms. Only needed to plow once, which was good - no torn up lawn, and bad - plugged up the snow blower the one time I needed to clear some snow, so I shoveled that one with the bucket loader. The snow was pretty. After rain and 50d weather, we now have unseasonably green grass. Cold tonight, which hopefully will freeze everything up so we can get a tree.

Mrs. P needed dried cherries for Christmas baking, which we need to drive to Portland to get. So we also went to Marine Salvage for teak and hardware. At $0.02 to the retail $1, I purchased freely. Mrs. P got lots of pictures of me rummaging for hardware. A lot of the stuff is for much bigger boats, so sometimes it takes a while to find what I want.

 

[Prospecter]

The teak scraps are from wrecked boats. I need to be careful to remove any metal, so I don't trip the safety module on the SawStop. (Knock on wood.) Although a single board foot of teak would pay to replace the module. If there are screw holes, I plug those before I plane the boards, so the planer also trims the plugs while removing finish and weathered wood. I noticed my planer is not feeding very well. Probably needs new feed rollers. I need to order those from an outfit that still sells parts for Foley/Belsaw planers. Not inexpensive, but still worth it to keep the old beast going rather than purchase a new one.

The hardware would be prohibitive if purchased new. If you know, you know. Boating can be a pricey hobby.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I'm jealous of your Marine Salvage. The closest we have is a scrap yard full of air conditioners. I guess I'll have to cast my own boat fittings.

 

[Prospecter]

Kay: I'm pretty fortunate to be so close. Maybe you need to take a road trip? Maine Marine Salvage (Open W & Sat in Portland), then Liberty Tool (Th - Sun in Liberty), then Lie Nielsen in Warren. Seems like a NWA President might enjoy that tour!

https://salvagemarine.net/boat-parts-sales/ is in Attleboro, MA. Stingy Sailor gets a lot of his stuff from E-Bay.

 

[Prospecter]

Some pictures of the replacement shelves for the boat. Everything is cut and fit to size. I need to clean up and sand the pieces, finish, and assemble. After I do more strenuous stuff, I like to finish out the day with little projects like this, so it will come together as I have time.

With colder temps at night, we've kept both stoves burning to supplement the heat pump. Keeps the propane back-up from kicking in. Mia is glad to finally have the stoves burning.

 

[Prospecter]

The coffee is made, the fires are going in the woodstoves, and I am settled on the couch to check the morning e-mail and comics before starting the day.

We cut the Christmas Tree yesterday. I cut the hinge, but the tree went 180d. (backward) from my intended direction. It's been years (decades) since that's happened to me. The hinge looked right, so I think maybe the branches were heavier on the back side, and some wind caught it. (Super cold and breezy yesterday.) Anyway, just shows one can never be complacent cutting trees. Lots of opportunity for surprises. The tree is in the stand, inside, but still crooked in the stand.

I also got some more shelves up and some stuff stored in the Boathouse. I am not really organizing yet, but it gets stuff under finished ceiling so I can work on the rest of the ceiling panels.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Even fake trees have a lean to them. Do you have tapered wedges for your tree?

 

[Prospecter]

Even fake trees have a lean to them. Do you have tapered wedges for your tree?

Good suggestion, Kay. I haven't tried to straighten it yet. With daylight so limited, I've been working on installing the ceiling in the Boathouse during the day. Hopefully I will get the tree straightened out and lights on tonight.

 

[Prospecter]

Slow, intermittent progress on the Boathouse. I can do maybe 8 to 10 panels at a time. Then the overhead stuff and up/down the ladder starts to get to me. The nail gun gets heavy and my legs begin to complain about the stepping. Then I shift over to making shelves, picking up, and putting stuff away. No real plan for the shelves. I build a section for some stuff. Look at what I still need to put away, and build the next section.

Mia, meanwhile, is holding down the hearth in front of the fire.

 

[jon72vega]

Mia looks alot like our Boots!
Boots by jon72vega, on Flickr

 

[Prospecter]

Mia looks alot like our Boots!
Boots by jon72vega, on Flickr

Very similar. I like that tuxedo look.

 

[Prospecter]

I put a few more panels before I ran out of daylight today. Nothing you all have not already seem pictures of. I put up just enough so I could put the tractors inside without them being in the way.

 

[Prospecter]

Off to buy a new range today. Old one is practically new. (25+ years.) But the old one kerplunked, and this one will be an upgrade. Probably should list it in the new tools thread!

 

[Prospecter]

The week in review. . .
These are our Toms. Not sure where the ladies are, but we have not seen them in a while.
Christmas tree is straight, tied off, has lights, and some ornaments. Still two boxes of ornaments to go. Kay suggested using wedges to straighten the tree. I made some prototypes, and if I had cut them to the correct size for our stand, they would have made adjusting the tree very fast and easy. I'll work on an improved model for next year.
In the midst of Christmas baking, the range went on the fritz. The manufacture date was May '05. Figuring it was probably the last one we'd buy, new ones are on sale, and not wanting to interfere with baking, we took two cars to Bangor. After selecting a range, Mrs. P continued supply acquisition while I took the range home. I had the old one gone and the new one almost in place by the time she got home. Next time we need an appliance, I'll pay for delivery and install. This was almost too much for me.

 

[Prospecter]

Some new visitors to the Creche arrived.
I got the access hatch to the Boathouse access hole filled in. Much warmer now.
We are having that cold, damp winter chill weather. Definitely borscht weather. The beets give it a festive red color. Mostly vegetables from the garden.
The new range works. I'm doing quality checks.
Four more full panels to go before I get to fussy bits.
Mia does not care for Christmas music, or tree decorating. She's had much to say. Probably best that I don't speak Cat.

 

[kaymccampbell]

If the oven still works, then you could hack up the range and make a cheap powder coat oven. I did it to my last range and was able to cook the snowblower chute and a traffic signal.

 

[Prospecter]

If the oven still works, then you could hack up the range and make a cheap powder coat oven. I did it to my last range and was able to cook the snowblower chute and a traffic signal.

Great thought. i'll need to read up on powder coating.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Great thought. i'll need to read up on powder coating.

It's easy enough. I bought the HF PC gun. It works well enough. I will tell you that you should throw away the powder that comes with it. The results are less than optimal. I bought some of the Prismatic Powder products, and the experience was night n day, while still using the HF gun. Here's a link to one of them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C5KXZQK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Prospecter]

It's easy enough. I bought the HF PC gun. It works well enough. I will tell you that you should throw away the powder that comes with it. The results are less than optimal. I bought some of the Prismatic Powder products, and the experience was night n day, while still using the HF gun. Here's a link to one of them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C5KXZQK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Thanks, Kay. Of course I have seen a lot of GJ folks using PC for various projects. Hadn't thought much about getting into it, You've given me something to think about.

 

[Prospecter]

We finished decorating the Christmas tree yesterday.

When I run out of gas and/or light on the plywood panels, I fill in with other projects. Without lights in the Boathouse, I generally can work until 3 before it is too dark to see, so I am getting to other stuff as I fill out my work days.

One minor project was to cut down some train rail sections. I have a section of narrow gauge rail from the former Rockland to ??? which probably mostly hauled blueberries, milk, lumber and granite in the steam ship era. That one is quite small. The other is a full size rail, probably from one of the Millinocket paper mill yards. Likely hauling in timber and chemicals, and hauling out paper. The rails have been nice to have, but heavy and annoying to store. They now fit on the bottom of a Workmate, where they are out of the way, and also stabilize the Workmate. The band saw works pretty well, except that, 1. The large rail needed to be turned to finish the cut, and 2. the blade is sometimes annoying to replace. The spring clamps help a lot.

The ole bod got tired of ceiling panels, so I finished up a corner section of the wall. That completes the east wall. I have four more full panels before I need to detach the garage door rails to slip the panels above them.

I also bodged together an escutcheon to cover the airline hole. I have fancier airlines in other parts of the shop, but for this one I just used a section of hose so I could move the noisy compressor into the Boathouse.

No picture, but I also emptied the cyclone dust collector, picked up, sorted, tossed, and cleaned in the shop. Seems like winter is the easiest time to get to that.

We are also burning wood. The central heat pump works well, but is set up to switch to propane at 15d. F. Generally we keep the heat pump going during the day so we don't work so hard on the wood, and then turn the HP off at night when the propane would kick in.

 

[Prospecter]

A small, GJ inspired project. I have one of those folding scaffolds that is maybe 20"ish above the ground. That's a big step up for me these days, and I don't need that much height for 8' ceilings, so I cut 3.5" off the legs. The cutoffs were determined by the amount I could cut off without needing to move the step braces. I can move the braces, but if I don't need to. . . Drilled out the rivets holding on the rubber feet. pried them off with a pry tool (purchased because of a GJ mention). Banged the feet onto the now shortened legs, and screwed them in place. Much better.

I am still working on the ceiling panels. The easy ones are done. For the next row, I need to unscrew all the garage door supports, slip the panes above them, adjust the support frames, and reattach them. If I slip the lift cables off the pulleys and am careful about the order in which I move the frame bolts, I can manage the changeover without lifting the garage doors. Kind of nice in the single digit weather we are having. I am also slowly adding shelving as I go. It's nice to get stuff where it won't need to be moved again.

We have just a little snow to cover the ground, but I still try to scrape the driveway so the little bit left will melt in the sun. Seems to melt even in single digit temps as long as I get the covering down to what's left by the snowblower.

Another small project. The shelves in the boat cabin were plywood with a teak veneer, and had delaminated at some point since 1977. One shelf was basically crumbly paper thin sheets, but the other one was in good enough shape to serve as a pattern. The wood is salvaged hatch covers and trim from Maine Marine Salvage in Portland. I pre-sanded, glued, and used a brad nailer to put them together. Brads are stainless steel. I used all my quick clamps, which are gentle on the teak, so only did one shelf at a time.

 

[Prospecter]

Another shelf photo.
The new range has better oven temperature control, a different arrangement for the bottom element, and a convection oven feature, so Mrs. P. has been experimenting. Quality checks indicate success.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I love sugar cookies. Both my mother and my wife used to make sugar cookies with green, mint flavored frosting and decorated with red hots. Been about 20 years since I had any. One of the Xmas traditions I really miss. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

 

[Prospecter]

Thanks, Jeff. The shapes are fun. We seem to have an AWOL bag of cookie cutters this year. Not so many reindeer and sleighs, but lots of dinosaurs, capaberra, hippos, giraffes, and crocodiles.

 

[jon72vega]

Merry Christmas from my family to you and yours!
Those sugar cookies sure look good!