2.28.2019

We ended up getting about 4-5" of snow from this latest storm.  Enough that Jim had to go out this afternoon and use the snowblower to clear the driveway.  We'll see what March weather has in store but I peeked ahead and we are forecast for 6-10" of snow on Sunday!

When he wasn't tending to the driveway, Jim spent his time in the metal shop, continuing to work on drilling holes.  He now has all the bolt holes done in the clip angle pieces.

These pieces will act like big washers to give support to the area where the support arms will connect to the posts.  He got all those holes drilled...

He also reset up the metal bandsaw to start cutting the ends of the support arms - putting this little cut for aesthetics but also so that there are no sharp edges.

Since it's the end of the month, after a crazy, long and extremely cold winter, Jim decided to investigate how much gas we've used.  That in itself wasn't easy - he used the snowblower on the upper driveway as well, but there was absolutely no indication of where the tank is buried underneath all the snow.  Plus, since we had the ice issues, there is a thick crust of ice on top.  Jim had to take a shovel and break through the ice and try to dig to the cover of the tank - it was under at least a foot of snow.  Once he got it unburied, he was able to read the gauge.

Then an explanation of our gas usage...my smart husband has been keeping daily track of the furnace usage with the Nest thermostat app.  He plots the number of hours the furnace runs (the orange area below) as well as the average daily temperature (the blue line).  It's very predictable - as the weather gets colder, the furnace runs longer.

But then Jim was curious to see if he could make a predictive model to estimate the number of gallons of propane we've used.  We had the readings from when we installed the tank and again when we filled it up.  His model estimated that we should have 490 gallons of propane left.

When he finally was able to get to the gauge to read it - it showed we had 490 gallons left - amazing! Well...not really from my uber-smart husband!

So that was comforting.  We now know that we have plenty of propane left to take us through fall probably.  While we figured we would have enough, it's kind of like continuing to drive when you can't see your fuel gauge!

High 24/Low 6 - 4-5" of snow

2.27.2019

Jim was back down in the metal shop this morning, continuing to drill his cut pieces with button weld holes.

He drilled button weld holes in the flat bar - he'll use those pieces to connect the post to the base.  That's a lot of drilled holes!

High 12/Low 9 - snowy afternoon and very cold

2.26.2019

Besides running into town for a haircut, Jim spent the entire day down in the metal shop.  He cut more steel tubing (sorry - didn't realize this was a terrible picture!)

He started working on drilling holes in various pieces - the first hole on these small clips is for a bolt.

 Then he had to drill another bigger hole on the back for a button weld...

Continuing to drill...

This makes lots of metal shavings obviously but Jim cleans them up with a magnet...

High 21/Low -3 with winter weather advisory for 2-4" of snow tomorrow

2.25.2019

The winds were howling and the trees were swaying - but we were happy to be tucked inside the carriage house where we continue to have power.  We have friends in Ohio who are without and may be without for days from this same storm.  We got a couple inches of snow as well - a bit hard to tell exactly how much because of all the blowing.

Jim was happily working in the metal shop today, continuing to cut pieces for his wood rack...

Cutting straight bar....

The cut pieces continue to stack up...

He's also cutting the legs for the work bench he is going to build in the wood shop...

All four legs are cut...

He bought a new vise for the drill press - his old one didn't connect well to it.  Time to put it to work!

The drill press is going through this steel so smoothly...

Jim marks and scores the steel before cutting the hole - each one comes out perfect!

High 28/Low 8 - 2-3" of snow; high winds

2.24.2019

We had ice overnight - enough to coat all the trees.  Thankfully we didn't lose power - but we are in for some crazy strong winds over the next couple of day so we hope that luck holds out.

Jim spent his workday down in the metal shop.  He didn't want to put the car outside because of the weather so he moved the metal bandsaw over into the third bay.  He realigned and set everything up to cut clip angles that he will use to attach the arms to the posts of the wood rack.

He's got two different sizes to cut...

All the clip angles cut!

Jim also worked on the plumbing system for the air compressor.  He mounted the new manifold...

And did the plumbing coming out from the compressor...

These are special air hose lines - they connect easily into special adapters.  This is kind of a temporary set up for now - Jim needs to get some more parts.

But he was now able to use the air compressor for its first job - cleaning out the treadmill motor area.

High 39/Low 25 - high wind warning

2.23.2019

This morning Jim installed the spacer frames and jamb extensions in the rest of the double-hung windows.  Starting in the kitchen with the spacer frame...

Then the jamb extension...

Gorgeous!

Moving onto the other kitchen window...

Both of these windows are done and blinds back up - what a difference it makes!

 Jim discovered it was easier and more accurate to put the holes in for the blinds before they are installed...

Putting the jamb extension on the master bedroom window...

Blind back up...looks beautiful!  These really make a huge difference in the way things look when you walk into a room - so much more finished.

The rest of the afternoon, Jim spent cutting steel in the auto bay.  He now has the three vertical posts/base pieces as well as the support arms that will come off the posts.  The support arms will hold the wood once this is all assembled.

Jim got enough cut and the rest of the steel moved out of the way so that he could put his car back in. We're due for some snow/ice tonight so it will be good to have his car inside.  Off to church!

High 36/Low 24

2.22.2019

Jim got an early morning phone call that they were at the end of the driveway to drop off the steel.  Typically, these guys just drop it and leave so it was nice to get the phone call.  Jim took the 4Runner down.  The guy was throwing them off the truck - Jim was able to get handed some.

Picking up the dropped pieces...

Then Jim had to transfer all the steel pieces into the back of the 4Runner - it took 2 trips - and then into the auto bay.  You can imagine how frigid this steel was and there was over 500 pounds of steel in this order!

Once he got his hands warmed up, Jim put a coat of polyurethane on all the window jamb extensions and the bedroom spacer frame.

Then he headed to the metal shop - the drill press requires some initial work and care.  Jim first oiled and greased things up.  Then he had to break it in - run it for a certain amount of time at the different speeds.

Changing speeds requires putting the belts at various positions...

The main project Jim is using the steel for is the wood rack he is going to build in the shop.  He first has to cut some of the steel to size so he had to bring over his metal bandsaw...

He needed a way to hold up the end of the steel piece while he was cutting it.  He used an adjustable leg from our scaffolding and combined it with a car jack...so inventive!

This bandsaw traveled to New York from Ohio, so he had to spend some time adjusting and squaring things up.  But here is the first piece being cut!

He got 2 of the big pieces cut to size!

After receiving his new shingles shot last night, Jim was experiencing some mild common flu-like side effects today.  Amazing how he soldiered on and got so much heavy duty work done!

High 38/Low 14