Photos of bicycling and projects [bicycling, projects]

[rebeccmeister]

My FrankenTrailer with the new arm installed:



The old arm was steel and the new arm is aluminum. Some day I need to update the FrankenTrailer's fabric, but that is not a front-burner project yet.

Here is scrottie's bike with Big Mama attached, at the lumberyard:


He is parked next to racks of canoe paddles* that we were pleased to see.

There was snow on the bike path, but it was newly fallen, so it was more bumpy than slippery.


The bike route to and from the lumberyard is quite scenic. The only challenging part is climbing back up the hill at the end to get back to our house, when hauling a heavy load of wood.




Last night, I managed to get the lumber measured and cut for worm bin construction. I think I want to sand everything before assembly, so I'll get to put the new shop vac to immediate use.



Sawing this wood made it clear to me that my hand-powered miter box has developed a lot of slop when it comes to making 90-degree cuts, from use/abuse over the years. It's a plastic box, so sometimes the teeth of the miter saw come in contact with the sides of the slot and cut into them.

Also not pictured is the point where the last stages of making one of the plywood cuts with a hand saw got super precarious.

So I think I might actually wind up shopping for a (powered) compound miter saw and also a circular saw sooner rather than later. I'm anticipating that there are going to be a lot of simple wood construction projects at the boathouse this year, because we need to build a lot of storage shelves for a whole lot of supplies and equipment. Things along the lines of this oar storage rack in the shipping container that the Texas rowers had:



And storage shelves to hold plastic storage bins, and probably a new workbench.

Hand tools are fine for sporadic use, but I also need to be strategic about time and energy this year.

Have I rationalized this acquisition for myself sufficiently enough? Ha.



*This is a reference to the adventure where sytharin was marooned on the Ashby Shoal and had to paddle back in a canoe with Bubble Man, who only had planks of tongue and groove wood available as paddles.

Comments

[ranunculus]

I have LOVED my 12" compound miter saw made by De Walt. $$$
Will do miters AND you can angle the blade to do sideways cuts. The large size means it won't quite equal a radial arm saw, but will do most things well. Very accurate. Bought mine more than 20 years ago and it is going strong.
I've owned and used other brands and they were not anywhere near as good.

[rebeccmeister]

Oh my goodness, I just looked at prices at the Home Despot this morning, and I think I'm going to have to work on saving up my spending money for a little while before I can get one. But in the meantime, it helps that S already has a small circular saw...so I probably don't need to run out and get one of those.

And these do seem like they will last a lifetime.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes they are pricy, but with a sliding compound miter saw and a skill saw you can do most carpentry projects. (Do get the sliding version). I wouldn't get a battery one, a good 12 gage, 50 or 100ft extension cord should be enough for 95%+ of your projects.
Oops, this is Ranunculus

[rebeccmeister]

Yeah, this is still in line with what I'm thinking...I just have to plan and budget accordingly!

[threemeninaboat]

I was thinking of you today regarding the durability of objects.

I am passing Montmorency's clothes to Frank, a 1 year old Doberman Hound. Her backpack will be on its 4th dog (Gak, Lillian, Monty, Frank), and Irish Cable Knit Sweater on its 4th dog (Santos L Halper, Lillian, Monty, Frank).

I may need to commission an Irish Cable Knit sweater for Suzerainty, but she has a double coat and METABOLISM. :)

[rebeccmeister]

Awww, I'm glad to hear those doggo items will continue to serve doggos well!

I think I need more dog photos! Maybe Sue's sweater can be more lightweight?

[bluepapercup]

No justifications needed IMO. Power tools were invented for this exact reason - when you have more worthwhile projects to complete than there are hand-sawing hours in the week and you still need your hands and wrists fresh for other things.

[scrottie]

I have a small corded circular saw and a large corded reciprocating saw you're welcome to run off with. The recip saw I should probably donate to the tool library otherwise. The small circular saw was like $30 so not too worried about it but it was great for the TinyHouse roof project. Oh yeah, there are two of those... small and extra small. But if you want to get a battery powered circular saw for the boathouse, I understand.

The load of wood wasn't even super heavy, but I'm stuck in the middle ring on the front and out of shape.

I think the last time I had Big Mama out, I was fetching window panes, and it started raining. Thinking I need to put about six coats of epoxy and varnish on the birch (I think it was?) ply on that decking.

I keep joking about fat bikes, but fat bikes traditionally have gearing extending in to the stupid low range. That could have a lot of versatility.

[rebeccmeister]

Thanks! Probably the small corded circular saw will be enough for my uses, so then I can just spend my pennies on a solid compound miter saw.

At some point the rowers were joking that it's a Man thing that every Man has a reciprocating saw. They occasionally get used around boatyards, but mostly for demolition tasks. I'm hoping I don't need to do very many demolition tasks.

I can't say I remember what Big Mama's decking is made from, but by now I'm thinking I should not try to mix the Pettit and the Epifanes, so maybe the Epifanes should go on Big Mama.

Maybe it's time to go and test ride some fat bikes.

[scrottie]

For whatever tiny bit it's worth, I got the recip saw before we got far in to Tally Ho, which is conspiciously absent of them. But former landlord in Phoenix cut up a shed with one to move it then I helped a little with holding it up while he nailed it back together in the back yard so that fits with the demolition. But yeah, I totally fell for the marketing. It was useful for building the kayak rack but the small circular saw I got much later would have worked and cut much nicer.