2.21.2019

Another morning of being grateful to wake up and have power.  We got some ice and snow overnight but thankfully all was well.

Jim again worked in the shop this morning on the window jamb extensions.  He had do all the second hole drilling, the countersunk holes to assemble the pieces, and made all the rabbet cuts.

Once that was done, he moved to sanding all the pieces...

Putting the frames together...

Then he was able to start staining...

It's kind of hard to tell from this picture because the frames are spread out to dry, but all three of the jamb extensions are now stained, including the spacer frame for the master bedroom.  He was going to wait on that because the window itself isn't stained but decided to proceed a different way.

A very productive day in the shop, especially considering that he had to knock off early.  We are heading into Saratoga for Jim to get his new shingle shot finally and pick up all my fire school printing at Staples.

High 39/Low 23

2.20.2019

Jim mostly worked in the wood shop this morning on the window jamb extensions for the last 3 double hung windows.  All the pieces are now cut to the right sizes and widths...

Here he's doing the rabbet end joint cut...

Laying the frames out...

Next he drilled the first set of holes in the two step process...

High 25/Low 20 - winter weather advisory for tonight into tomorrow

2.19.2019

It was a very cold start to the day - below zero when we got up.  The sun was out early and the snow glistened like diamonds!  Pretty to look at from inside!

Jim started his day working on the molder.  You can see how he's got everything torn apart...

But he got the engine put back together as well as other new parts...

This is a picture of the eyebolt attached to the cap of the drill press.

Now that the bulbs had a chance to warm up a bit, Jim got all of them installed in the fixtures...he's got great light in all the bays now.

After lunch, Jim had to plow the driveway from the snow we got yesterday.  He also had to clean around the trash cans and package box...

The rest of the day, Jim spent happily in the wood shop making window frame pieces.  Working on the planer...

 Cutting pieces to size....

 Using the jointer...

 By the end of the day, he has window jamb extensions made for the master bedroom and one of the kitchen windows.  We still are marveling at the difference the living room frames have made and can't wait for more!

High 25/Low 5

2.18.2019

Jim is starting to think about kitchen cabinet design.  We even picked out a gorgeous Corian design that we both really like - hopefully we can figure out a way that Jim can buy the Corian himself rather than go through a cabinet person.  We'll see.  But anyway, he wanted to open up our over-the-range microwave because that's the first cabinet he's going to build.  This is a huge microwave and it looks amazing!

Jim also continued rebuilding the molder - here's some of the new vs old parts!  He ordered a couple more pieces but he's hoping he has everything he needs at this point to get it back in operation mode.

Jim worked on installing our new window jamb extensions in the living room today.  First he had to take down the blinds and remove the temporary mounting board.

The first piece is the spacer frame...

Jim stapled it in place jus to hold it...

Once he had the fit perfect, he screwed the frame to the window.

Then he put the jamb extension on - because of the way he made the rabbet joints, everything fits together perfectly.

Using a jig to mark the location of the blind hardware...

Putting up the hardware...

Reattaching the blind...

A before and after picture - the after looks beautiful!

Time to move to the other window and repeat all of the steps above...

All done and reattaching the blind...

These windows are done except for final molding - they look SO beautiful.  The color of the stain matches the floor so well and the design is perfect.

We ended up getting 3-4" of snow today.  Jim got a notice that UPS delivered his bulbs so he walked down to get them.  It was a totally treacherous walk for him - thankfully he didn't fall.  He'll get the Bobcat out tomorrow and scrape off the snow.  The walk did get him this nice box of 25 bulbs - all appear at first glance to be in good shape.  Always a bit scary to order some things through the mail but this company said they would refund any broken bulbs.

Jim started putting the bulbs in the fixture but the bulbs were very cold and he has to really manipulate them to fit in these fixtures so he decided to wait rather than risk breaking anything.

High 25/Low 2 - 3-4" of new snow

2.17.2019

Time's a funny thing - in some ways, it feels like we have always lived here in the carriage house.  It has felt like home from the beginning and it's hard to picture us back in the apartment.  But in another way - wow, 6 months have passed since we moved in!

Jim lightly sanded the window jamb extensions and put the final coat of polyurethane on them.  They'll be ready to install soon!

Then Jim moved to the metal shop.  Now that he has the wires strung through the conduit, time to use the hot knife to cut through the insulated concrete forms for the switch box...

 Box attached and all wired up!

Next, Jim worked on wiring up the center light...

Jim had to borrow two bulbs from upstairs but we officially have light in this third bay!  It already makes a huge difference having light in that space and just wait!  We have a case of 25 of these specialty light bulbs on their way so he will be able to put bulbs in the other lights.

 Now that he has light in this bay and the drill press operational, time for its first use.  At the top of the press is a hinged cover that houses a pulley system for controlling speed.  This speed mechanism and the drill head are attached to main structural post that aligns the drill. Jim came up with a plan to attach a structural eyebolt to the cap of the structural post.  That way, he can hook his engine hoist to the eyebolt to lift it and move it to a different location in the shop.  First step - drill a hole in the center.

First project all done!

High 27/Low 17 - snow on the way tonight!

2.16.2019

The driveway is very icy right now.  I had to get a 3,000 piece mailing to the post office before they closed at noon so Jim loaded everything in my car and took me.  Going down was very slippery in spots and we didn't think we would be able to get back up.  But we did - yay!  He later went down and spread more gravel out - which is a treacherous job walking over the ice with shovelfuls of gravel!

After lunch, Jim worked on getting the wire to where he wants the switch to be for this bank of lights.    The conduit is already tight with all the wires coming down in this area that Jim wasn't sure he would be able to get any more in.  But he got the fish tape to go through so here he's attaching the two new wires...

and pulling them through...

So now the wire is fed through all the conduit.  Jim will next have to cut through the foam to put a switch box in but the challenging part is accomplished!

We are leaving early for church and heading into Lowe's to pick up some more polyurethane first.

High 32/Low 9