swt61

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.

Facsimile machine engaged.

Single legs are not necessarily going to be stronger. Especially Wenge, because there's going to be a section where the grain will cross the pattern and be very weak.

One thing I learned working in a Mexican food restaurant (many decades ago), is that peanut butter helps take away that burned taste. We used it in the refried beans if they got burned. A little bit does the trick.

Not Less Nessman. Say it isn't so! R.I.P. Howard.

Agreed. A sliding dovetail with a really strong species of wood would be the strongest option. I've seen it done with dominoes, but with a shallower angle. Even so, the sliding dovetail would still be superior. I also like the look of joinery like that. It shows craftsmanship. No doubt the angled legs look much nicer than the chunky, little feet. Especially on a mid century modern design. I would turn that base and legs on edge though. It'll still look great, but be immensely stronger.

Offset saw is a good idea in that space. What's your max cut capacity (length on the left side)? What are you planning between the cabinets (the space under the miter saw)? One thing I'd suggest is no miter fence on either side of the saw. Al and I both agree with the Wood Whisperer, that the only important fence is that of the saw. A fence on the cabinets could actually throw off a cut with a warped board. A T track set into the countertop on both sides of the saw, with a sliding stop block is all you need.

After researching, as much as I might like it, it surely wouldn't like me. I would have lava pouring out of my esophagus as soon as I layed down to sleep.

I don't know what chicken buldak is, but it sure looks delicious. Goes to research...

That's pretty damn cool! I literally feel like it's a whole new world. The sky is the limit on home manufacturing and problem solving ideas. For an old dude like me, it's kind of like the Jetsons coming true.

I don't miss that at all!

You can't even imagine how good they were!