4.30.2020

As the old saying goes, April showers bring May flowers.  It's been raining lightly most of the day today so I guess that's appropriate!

Jim worked on glueing the other two panels for the sides of the cabinets...

And then cut and sized the panels...

He got things all prepared to paint the other side of the door.  As he did before, he attached cleats to the top and bottom of the door so that the freshly-painted door is sitting flat on the surface.

 Starting to paint...

All done and drying...

After Jim got the paint sprayer all cleaned up, he decided to take a look at the chipper.  He's been exploring battery options lately so he's hopefully going to get that tomorrow.  He's thinking that it may need a carburetor but you have to have the serial number in order to get any parts because there are so many variations.  The serial number is located on the bottom of the engine so he had to take some things apart to get to that number.  He's going to do a little maintenance on both of these machines while they are inside for now.  He also started organizing his new tool cart!

High 52/Low 50 - light rain

4.29.2020

Jim started glueing the side pieces together for the next two cabinets...

Two done and drying...

Next, a coat of paint on the other side of the cabinet door...

In the afternoon, we decided to head outside.  We were anxious to see if the chipper would run.  So after maneuvering it out of the pole barn, jumping the battery and moving the chipper up to one of our piles, it seemed to work.  Unfortunately, only for a couple of minutes.  Sigh.  Jim will definitely have to investigate it - one of those things that was not on the agenda and involves a lot of time even to troubleshoot.

After Jim got it all put away again, we decided to focus on some clean up down at the end of the driveway.  This area is going to be a focus this spring so we wanted to start by cleaning up damage from the ice storm.

Cutting up branches...

Check this out - we started clearing branches away from the stone wall and discovered that these incredibly thick, twisty vines had grown up our telephone pole!

There were almost reaching to the transformer which could cause lots of issues, so Jim started cutting them from the bottom...

And doing lots of pulling vines...

But we got all the bottom growth cut down - hopefully all the upper vines will just die off now.  Jim said he will have to keep an eye on that to make sure they don't start growing there again.

We got lots cleaned up and made a bunch of new piles that will need chipping when its back in operation.

High 60/Low 43

4.28.2020

This morning, Jim did a light sanding on the bedroom door...

Then he continued working on the millwork for the next cabinet side pieces - cutting in the tenons on the rails.  First he used the jointer...

Then he got to try out his new tool.  With birthday money from my mom (thanks, Mom!), he bought a shoulder plane.  This plane allows him to shave off very thin layers so that he can get each tenon joint to fit precisely...

Trying them out...

The millwork is all done on all four sections!

Next, Jim cleared off his workbench and covered everything with plastic to get ready to paint the bedroom door!

All done and drying...

Since we couldn't stir up any dust in the shop and it was a gorgeous day, we decided to head outside to do some more chipping.  Jim has to do some maneuvering to get the chipper out...

Fill it with gas...

And then jump the battery with the 4Runner...

But finally, we are ready to chip, working on the edges of the woods...

We were going along great - Jim had remarked how well the chipper was running.  Then it stopped.  So discouraging - Jim was already thinking of what could possibly be wrong and how much time he was going to have to devote to fixing it right when we need it.  But look how gorgeous it looks now - we only had two piles left to finish up in this area.

When Jim moved the chipper down to the pole barn, he started looking at a few things.  The air filter was clogged with leaf particles so he took that out and used the air compressor to blow it off.  We were anxious to see if it would start so Jim had to bring the 4Runner out and jump the battery again.  But it started and seemed to run well so we are optimistic that he found the issue and it will continue to work well.  However, it was getting late so Jim put all the equipment away and called it a day.

High 56/Low 33

4.27.2020

After doing lots of measuring, Jim got everything set up and started drilling the hole for the door handle...

In order to get a good, straight hole cut, he goes half way and then flips the door over...

Has to redo all the measurements and then cuts through the other side...

Looks perfect!

Next, he sets up to cut the hole for the latch...

Done...

Then he had to mortise the area for the latch plate...

After all that and a little light sanding, time for a coat of primer on the other side...

Next job was to install the top molding pieces on the window...both windows in the master bedroom...

And in the office...

Working on the awning window in the living room required a bit of a balancing act...

Doing the last one on the double window...

 The living room looks so finished now - love it!

Back down in the shop, Jim started doing the millwork on the rail pieces of the next cabinet sides...

A good start!

At the end of the day, painting the cabinet door gray, saving time for clean up...

High 43/Low 33 - light rain

4.26.2020

Jim found these tiny hinge clips online that restrict the opening of a door.  Sure are tiny!

This morning, he tried it out in the cabinet door hinge...

It worked perfectly!  No matter how hard you open the door, it won't go any farther than this so it won't hit the other cabinets, even with the knobs on.  Success!

Then Jim started working on the bedroom door - first, making sure everything is perfectly square after all the assembly - and it was.

Jim had made a sample hinge placement pattern previously - just making sure it's all good in the door frame first...

Then transferring markings to the door...

Setting up his jig...

And using the router to cut out the hinge insets...

Bringing up the door for a trial fit...

It's always tricky to get the hinges to fit together while holding a heavy door!

Look how fabulous it's going to look!

 Time for a coat of primer on the door...

And the little cabinet door...

High 50/Low 37 - light rain in PM
but 1-3" of snow expected tonight!