Author: Daniel

The “bednette” (convertible bed/dinette) seemed like a good idea at the time. But it wasn’t. The seat-cushions-turned-mattress was never comfortable and despite nearly two years of attempting to acclimate to it, the truth of the matter remains: it was uncomfortable and inconvenient to transform the dining space into the bed space. And the cushions didn’t … Continue reading Bed, Bulbs, Bob, Boards, Boxes, Bees, Barrel, Backroom

I have plenty to share about other goings on, but for now… some nature. A volunteer thistle. One of two. They made a lot of seeds… I’d expect many more next year. Some ghostly mushrooms These ethereal fungi appeared overnight, several times through the course of the summer. Speaking of fungi, this little fungus + … Continue reading Autumn Nature

Somehow it’s been two months since my last post… and quite a lot has happened since then. Let’s jump right in, without regard to time sequencing. That tool cart I was making out of the lathe crate, it’s done. The crate plywood was absolute crap and therefore a huge bother to work with because of … Continue reading Completion. Water (AGAIN!). Nature. Wood.

Lots going on, per usual. Today we start in the workshop at the lathe. The second-to-last bit of installation is shown here, a dust scoop. I have no delusions of being able to catch the dust from the lathe as it flies everywhere. What’s the next best thing? Letting the dust hit the floor, then … Continue reading Lathe, Logs, Birds, and a Basket (among other things)

The very last idea for getting a wire out to the solar array for the outdoor wifi mesh device was to use the existing wires in the conduit to pull the fish tape through (by pulling the wires out), then tie the network cable to the bundle of wires and pull it all back through, … Continue reading Network Nonsense, Birds and Bees

They say of a rainy day, “it’s nice out… if you’re a duck”, but as far as I can tell, these ducks had no interest in waddling about when we were having heavy rains recently. That said, my little drainage channel (a/k/a frog habitat & nursery) seems to have attracted a pair of Mallards. Usually, … Continue reading Water, Water, Bees, and Trees

Third in the title but first in the story: the assembly table. This is the second to last (not counting the tidy/finishing room, which it a nice-to-have but not a prerequisite for using the workshop effectively) step on the workshop readiness journey. What is it? Simply a big table with melamine laminate top (resists glue, … Continue reading Freight, Fright, Table, & Tenacity

One of my major goals for the winter is to get the workshop fully operational. I’m getting close! The tool island needed a dust shroud for the chop saw – which needed a fitting for the dust hose – which of course meant it was time to spend a few minutes with CAD and my … Continue reading Workshop Progress

About a month ago, I showed you this rendering of a tool island I meant to build. I built it. Or, rather, I’ve built much of it. The tool dock shelves are pending, as is the dust collection shroud. But it is coming along nicely. Already it is helping make space in the workshop and … Continue reading Island, Saw, Fish, and Flue

While there’s a lot to be really concerned about regarding climate change, one thing that is handy about it is that unstable weather patterns also means sometimes it’s 50F in January here in the northeast. A week ago it was near zero. I took the opportunity to build the new flue supports and snow break … Continue reading Flue Fixing and a Snow Puppy