4.30.2019

It was an interesting day.  Jim needed a new paint sprayer for all the cabinet and door work he's got on the horizon and has been looking at the best options.  He found the exact model he wanted on eBay for way less than he could get anywhere else - it was a display model but never used and in the box with all tags on.  He won the auction and we were very excited.  Until we saw that it shipped to our old apartment address.  We tried everything to get it switched but nothing worked.  Jim got notice that it was going to arrive today so I camped out in our old apartment parking lot to wait for the FedEx truck!  I had my Kindle and Diet Coke, so life was good.  Jim, however, probably got nothing done because he felt so bad and texted me every 15 minutes to make sure all was good.  I will say that the apartment has really gone downhill even more - sure made me grateful that we are now living on Angel!  

The wait was worth it - Jim is thrilled with the new paint sprayer.  There will definitely be a learning curve to using it but it is just what he wanted at a great price.

With the new primer I picked up yesterday, Jim painted the back of the face frame...

As well as the sides of the microwave cabinet...

I also picked up some new elbow conduit pieces, so Jim was able to make a better vacuum system connection to the planer.

Jim tried out our semi-gloss paint sample - I'm still thinking satin.

Jim also started prep work for our first interior door - it will go on the second bedroom since it doesn't have a door yet.  He used the jointer to straighten the edges and then glued two pieces together.  How nice is the workbench for these projects?

Jim delved into troubleshooting the chipper issues as well today.  He took off the fuel pump and filter and is going to order new ones.  Hopefully that will fix the problem!

At the end of the day, Jim did some more moving of logs back into the woods...

He basically has them all gone - all that is left are the stumps that the tree people left when they timbered part of the lot.  Jim is going to take those back and eventually dig a hole and bury them.  But this area is looking really nice now.

High 51/Low 35

4.29.2019

I ran into Saratoga this morning to do some errands, including picking up another cabinet paint sample and some primer and paint rollers for Jim.

Meanwhile, Jim did some work on the cabinet.  He lightly sanded it and then put another coat of polyurethane on the inside.  It looks so pretty.

Since the cabinet was wet and he didn't want to cause any dust, he headed down into the metal shop.  He finished doing some work on the Tiger Cub.  Then he got out the hitch connection for the Bobcat and hooked up the chipper.

Taking it outside...

Getting the power sprayer working was another task Jim had to do - he had issues with the wand the first time he used it, so he took it all apart and got it working.

The power sprayer wasn't working at the end of the year plus we got snow before Jim was able to do the last grass cutting, so the Tiger Cub definitely needed a cleanup!

Unfortunately, the chipper isn't working.  We figure it's been probably 3-4 years since it's been used.  Jim worked and worked on it but it just wouldn't stay on unless the choke was on max.  So that's now another job on his plate - he'll have to start troubleshooting to see what the problem is.

Jim brought the Bobcat up and we worked on cleaning up the trunk sections of the tree we cut down...

There was one branch underneath that needed some chainsaw work...

Taking the logs up the hill to our pile...

These are some huge trunk sections!

Getting the last of them...

 Jim spent some time taking some of the logs in the big pile back into the woods.

We don't see deer too often on the property, but these three were out for quite awhile so I could watch them out the kitchen window...

High 54/Low 36

4.28.2019

Jim did more work on my microwave cabinet today - he sanded the face frame...

He also drilled the holes for attaching the microwave through the back of the shelf.  He had to do a trial first to make sure that he wouldn't shatter the formica.

He did a sample paint job on some pieces so that we could see if we like the color and sheen of the paint.  We like the color but we're going to get another sample of paint in semigloss instead of satin for comparison.

Fitting the sides of the cabinet together...

Then carefully stapling the back on...

Ta da - it's beautiful!

Jim finishes the inside of cabinets with a clear coat of polyurethane to protect it and provide a nice, clean look...

All done and drying...

He continued to do machine maintenance - today is was the Tiger Cub lawn mower.  He took all the blades off, sharpened them and put them back on.

He got a pneumatic grease gun - which will really come in handy with all the greasing he has to do on the Bobcats.  But it worked great for the Tiger Cub too...

He sharpened the older set of blades for the chipper too so now we have spares to swap out.  We certainly have a lot of chipping coming up!

High 49/Low 28

4.27.2019

The workbench top looks so pretty now!  (Jim said I can't say that it's pretty but it is.)

Jim started working on the bottom shelf for the microwave cabinet.  He got all the necessary holes drilled and space for vent and power cord.

Jim is always the best - he puts formica on all cabinet shelves and inside drawers as he is constructing them.  Easy clean, no shelf paper - genius!  This is the formica glued to the shelf...

Then he uses his palm router to carefully cut the formica...

Perfect!

Jim had to do some hand routing of the face frame as well so that the top and bottom pieces will fit together...

Part of it done...

All finished...

You can see how the groove now matches the side panel...

And look how pretty the shelf is going to look on the bottom!

Off to church...

High 44/Low 31 - breezy and chilly!

4.26.2019

It was a rainy day - first we've had in awhile.  So no outside work today!  I ran errands this morning, including picking up some more polyurethane and contact cement for Jim at Lowe's.  At Home Depot, I picked up a sample of the color we are thinking about using for our kitchen cabinets - exciting!

Jim lightly sanded the top of the workbench this morning...

Then put another coat of polyurethane on top...

While that was setting up, he went down into the metal shop to work on getting the chipper ready to go.  He changed the oil, got it all greased up, went and picked up a new battery for it, and then put a new set of blades on it.  When he bought it, the guy gave him a new set of blades.

 Quite a difference between the new and old ones!

Jim is using his sharpener to sharpen the old ones so he can switch back and forth as they get dull as we do all the chipping that awaits us!

At the end of the day, Jim took 2 big bags of sawdust down to the end of the driveway and a new person picked them up.  This guy will take as many as we have so that's good since Jim will be making quite a bit in the months to come.

High 52/Low 41 - rainy