swt61

I find mine to be underpowered.

How to determine that your quality control division may not be up to par. We ordered these windows over 4 months ago, only to be told of delay after delay. Yesterday morning we got the call that the installers would be there within an hour. 1 hours notice is not sufficient, but we scrambled and got all the temp framing and plywood removed and the area cleared out to give them ample working space. When I left at 3:00 they were still nowhere to be seen, and had not replied to calls or texts. This morning when I arrived, this is what I found. Be assured that not 1, not 2, but 3 of the companies own men came out to measure when these were ordered.

Having a Birthday dinner/bash at the DOTU compound. I believe Jeff will be in attendance as will other non casers.

Thanks all. I worked outside today and the weather was beautiful! And I didn't get dizzy or puke once this birthday!!!

What he said.

I'm in!

Discovery of the day. The $1 special, Lg. sugar free iced coffee from McDonald's becomes a premium drink with the addition of Kirkland Irish Cream. (If maybe not so sugar free anymore)

I blame MAMENSA (Mexican American MENSA)

The other 30 students in his class are just about to learn the meaning of coveting.

Fried chicken hash from Hummingbird Cafe.

Speaking of finishes, I'm anxious to try Rubio Monocoat. It's a wax oil product that many Youtubers are enamored with. I have to admit that Doug has steered me toward natural finishes. One big benefit being ease of repairing/refinishing such a piece. No need to remove the old finish first. Just reapply and buff. And the dull glow fits my esthetic sensibility.

Al's siblings contacted me a while back. They wanted to buy him a tool for his shop, and asked my suggestion. I told them to buy a Titan Capspray 115 HVLP system, and made sure to send a link to the right one. It's the Mercedes AMG of the HVLP world. Built like a tank and smooth as silk.

This week I've been building a lot of specialty stuff at a book store/coffee shop that we're doing for a repeat client. She literally told my bosses that I'm the only one allowed to do any of the finish carpentry, and that they need to make sure to make me available to her and the project. I did a lot of fun, unique stuff at her beachfront home build about 4 years ago, and we have developed a special working relationship. She was directly involved in helping me get a $10 an hour raise about 4 months after starting with this company. Needless to say I am very thankful and loyal toward her. This project includes some custom wood countertops that I'm building, lot's of outdoor projects out of reclaimed wood (there's a huge backyard where kids can read in a very cool cabana, and has huge planters/benches and a very cool recycle bin out of recycled Cyprus. But one of the projects that I'm really going to have fun with is and indoor tree house that I am designing as well as building. It will be another cozy nook for kids to climb in and read or just hang out. Pics to follow at some point soon.

I meant to post this last week when I actually built it, but forgot to. I also forgot to take finished pictures with the newel caps in place, but use your imagination. A couple of weeks ago one of the bosses told me that he forgot to call the stair guy to build railings at the new addition of a smallish job. By the time he remembered, the stair guys schedule was too far out to meet our deadline. The railings needed to mimick the existing railings of the San Francisco Victorian home. He asked me if it was something I thought that I could do. Stairs and railings are usually a specialty, and as such are usually subbed out. A sub genre of finish carpentry, if you will. I haven't actually built indoor railings before, but I knew it was something that I could accomplish. There were no solid newel posts available in the size that I needed, so I built my own. As these will be painted, I used Poplar. It's a good, stable wood that doesn't have the most beautiful color or grain pattern, but is easy to mill and takes paint very well. The exception are the pickets, which are Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Kind of felt right using a wood from my home state. It's not soft like the usual Cedars, and has a very unique smell when cut. I got to use a lot of tradesman tricks and practices, and a lot of the math that I told my teachers I'd never need. Yes, they we're right. I did a lot of good preparation, so it wasn't just dumb luck, but it did fall together beautifully. The absence of a lower rail that the pickets sit on is a bit unique, but the existing rails pickets also connect directly to the stair treads. It actually works quite well at tying the newer, somewhat modern addition to the classic Victorian style. The caps not pictured are a pretty simple double cap design, with the bottom cap being 5/4 material, with a smaller top cap of 3/4.

Have an amazing day!

Steam and a complicated jig.

My landlord Dave's wife is in Hawaii, so the permanent and the temporary batchelors are having Migas for breakfast. Corn tortillas cut into strips and crisped in a bit of oil. Scallions and Orange bell pepper sauted with a little scorch. Tomatoes and avocado, chorizo and of course eggs.

I was thinking about Migas tomorrow, with Chorizo.

Love that burled section! Sure is looking like a woodshop!

Sure was handy having two sets of drills and impacts, while building an Ipe deck at the bosses house. At certain locations I needed different, shorter screws, that took a square drive and needed a different size drill bit to predrill.

It's not. It's Chorizo con Huevos. 😛 Seriously though, this is the dish I learned in college. My first year was at a city college in Brownsville Texas, one block from the Mexico border. The ladies in the cafeteria all came across the border to work. This was served every morning, and I loved it. It was also my first experience with fajitas. The school sucked, but the food was delicious!

Chorizo con Huevos For Brent: That translates to Mexican (in this case) sausage and eggs.

That probably translated better in your head.

I watched that shootout the other day, and thought he was right on the money.

Oh damn, that's right. My senility is starting already.