Relentless forward motion [projects]
Feb. 1st, 2026 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterIt seems to me that 20°F might still be too cold to attempt oar painting on the front porch, so I'm feeling a little stuck on that particular aspect of the oar rehabilitation project.
On the other hand, sanding down the first round of epoxy work and applying the second round of epoxy to the oars in need of repair went very well. I was smart enough to stage all the oars first, before mixing up any epoxy, just to figure out how much I could get done with the number of clamps on hand.
One of the five oars I'd been repairing on is now done and ready to be painted. I have a sixth oar I need to look at again more closely; it might also be ready for painting, or it might need another round of epoxy work. I just don't have enough clamps to repair six oars simultaneously.
Check out how worn down this blade is:
Hopefully some fresh epoxy will help extend its lifespan.
A set of new sculling oars like these costs around $800 these days, so there's some incentive to keep these oars going. Given the work involved in repairing and repainting them...I also have some major incentive to teach people how to do a better job of taking care of our oars during daily use.
Since I'm temporarily stymied on the actual oar painting, I then switched to working on some other projects instead. One project involved going through my collection of dead bike wheels, to determine which ones to cannibalize in the name of an art project. That project has been very slow moving, so it felt good to keep it going forward, however incrementally.
Then, back to sewing and mending projects. I had a small bag repair project I really wanted to tackle, but it was a project that would benefit from machine sewing instead of hand sewing. You might remember my other recent machine sewing project, where just getting the sewing machine out and all set up was a real production. It's not ideal for sewing machine setup to be that involved, so I started wondering about whether I really needed to reposition the IKEA Poang chair. But if I left the chair in place, where would I sit to use the machine? Eventually, an idea occurred to me: finally, a highly practical use for a telescoping stool my mom gave me!
I suspect this mended bag isn't going to last particularly long, just because of the material it's made of (thin polyester).
But on the other hand, I like it approximately a million times better with the patches on it, compared to before, and it needed the patching. So at least now I can ENJOY using it for its remaining lifespan! I found it in the boatyard at some point, utterly abandoned and grimy. It's one of those bags that smashes into a little pouch, and those can be really convenient at times.
And with that, time to start thinking about the week ahead. Sigh.
On the other hand, sanding down the first round of epoxy work and applying the second round of epoxy to the oars in need of repair went very well. I was smart enough to stage all the oars first, before mixing up any epoxy, just to figure out how much I could get done with the number of clamps on hand.
One of the five oars I'd been repairing on is now done and ready to be painted. I have a sixth oar I need to look at again more closely; it might also be ready for painting, or it might need another round of epoxy work. I just don't have enough clamps to repair six oars simultaneously.
Check out how worn down this blade is:
Hopefully some fresh epoxy will help extend its lifespan.
A set of new sculling oars like these costs around $800 these days, so there's some incentive to keep these oars going. Given the work involved in repairing and repainting them...I also have some major incentive to teach people how to do a better job of taking care of our oars during daily use.
Since I'm temporarily stymied on the actual oar painting, I then switched to working on some other projects instead. One project involved going through my collection of dead bike wheels, to determine which ones to cannibalize in the name of an art project. That project has been very slow moving, so it felt good to keep it going forward, however incrementally.
Then, back to sewing and mending projects. I had a small bag repair project I really wanted to tackle, but it was a project that would benefit from machine sewing instead of hand sewing. You might remember my other recent machine sewing project, where just getting the sewing machine out and all set up was a real production. It's not ideal for sewing machine setup to be that involved, so I started wondering about whether I really needed to reposition the IKEA Poang chair. But if I left the chair in place, where would I sit to use the machine? Eventually, an idea occurred to me: finally, a highly practical use for a telescoping stool my mom gave me!
I suspect this mended bag isn't going to last particularly long, just because of the material it's made of (thin polyester).
But on the other hand, I like it approximately a million times better with the patches on it, compared to before, and it needed the patching. So at least now I can ENJOY using it for its remaining lifespan! I found it in the boatyard at some point, utterly abandoned and grimy. It's one of those bags that smashes into a little pouch, and those can be really convenient at times.
And with that, time to start thinking about the week ahead. Sigh.
no subject
Date: 2026-02-02 01:59 am (UTC)I like your stool. I had one like it a while ago and lost it at some point. Might well get another, I remember it as light, reasonably comfortable and very portable.