Posts in: Workshop

Projects update: F150 and gardening

A few small tasks completed on the F150 this week: Sticky tailgate handle just needed some WD-40. Bolts for the tailgate mechanism access panel are marinating in Evaporust. Door panel clips replaced on the passenger side. Door striker replaced on passenger side. I had hoped that replacing the door striker on the driver side would fix the not-fully-shutting problem. It didn’t. Looks like it may be that the door hinge pin and bushing are worn out, making the door sag.

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Projects update: an unexpected task

No F150 work this week—waiting on parts. This week was an unplanned project. I have a neighbor I’ve talked to here and there over the past year, but never at length. Then out of the blue last Monday, he walked over and asked if I’d work on something for him. He had noticed I do a bit of woodworking and he needed a cover for his stove that would double as a cutting board.

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Working on a project for a neighbor but I need one final measurement from inside his house. I keep looking over to see if he’s up and about. Reminds me of when I was a kid and the neighbor always opened their door when they were home, which was my signal that I could go ask Timmy to play.

Projects update: Pond, F150, scrapple

We got a lot done this past weekend. On Saturday, we had a good, full day celebrating our anniversary. We actually left the city limits! 😊 We drove up to Bloomington, went to the greenhouse and a few other favorite shops, and went out to lunch. Then we picked up some honey from a beekeeper near Spring Mill State Park and drove home through the country. Later, we went to the theater to see “Project Hail Mary.

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Projects update: pond, F150

I used to post notes about what I was working on and I’d like to get back into that habit. Not because it’s particularly noteworthy—just because I like revisiting these memories. Pond The big job this weekend was to get the pond ready for the year. Rachel did most of that work on Saturday while I piddled with other things, like building a new sugar snap pea trellis in one of the raised beds.

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Garage cleaned and arranged! A pickup filled with trash! Some good, free stuff on the front lawn (come and get it!)! Whew, so happy to get that done. It’s been bugging me every time I pulled into the garage this past winter.

Made a small table out of a piece of firewood and some kindling (black walnut, I believe) that I’ll use when I have fires in the backyard. It’s the first project where I’ve made significant use of an axe and sloyd knife.

Been having a good time working on a rough table for outdoor, fireside use. This is a piece of firewood that caught my eye. Used a hatchet to trim off the bark and then a sloyd knife to clean it up. I think it’s black walnut? Creamy sapwood and chocolate brown heartwood.

Made an early Christmas present for Rachel today: an oak rolling pin. Started out square but with a saw, belt sander, draw knife, and some time, I got it functionally round.