What did you do in your shop today?

Man, I've been jonesing for a track saw, but really cannot justify one. Maybe someday. That's sweeeettt!
 
Man, I've been jonesing for a track saw, but really cannot justify one. Maybe someday. That's sweeeettt!
Tool, storage box and 55" track w/ the connector to add more together was around $430. MUCH cheaper than the Festool and for my shop it will do everything I need plus more.
 
I have far too few oportunities to partipate in the forum lately, I'll beg forgivness for the following.

Finally got to spend several hours turning yesterday... yes, you heard correctly, me, the guy who makes bowls with a carving axe and adze did some turning. Though in this case my lathe may be a bit different than yours.

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Yep, more metalwork. Making a new part for the family washing machine, explanation to follow in a separate thread.
With all the tools and woodworking machinery I have, I've never actually owned a wood lathe but this beauty was my Grandfather's back in the early 1970's. needed to make a large hole dead center on an oddly shaped piece of 1/2" stainless plate steel and turn down a drive shaft to match. It's shop time, I say it counts.
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Nice lathe Kyle. You can get (or make) the part to adapt a woodturning tool rest to it and use it as a Pattern Makers lathe. See the tools on the board to get you started, just like that you’re a woodturner.
 
Nice lathe Kyle. You can get (or make) the part to adapt a woodturning tool rest to it and use it as a Pattern Makers lathe. See the tools on the board to get you started, just like that you’re a woodturner.
Thanks John.
Way back when, roughly 1980 I talked my father into bringing the lathe to our house from my Grandfather's shed where it sat since he passed away in 76. I had just started my first woodshop class in high school and really liked turning so I did make a modified tool rest and used it for wood a bit but then graduated high school and went to work in an exhibit/cabinet shop where I had access to all the industrial machines I wanted. Did do some paternmaking work on it to make mechanism parts for exhibits every once in a while, some fancy chisel handles here and there but I've been trying to keep it clean of sawdust the past several years.
Someday I'd love to get a big, vintage wood lathe when I have the space for it. As it is, this one still sits in my mother's basement some 35 miles from here. Not an inch to spare here and her basement is as dry as any I've ever seen so it's safer there than here but it will be moving north with me, hopefully soon.
 
Finally got approval for the post footings that we wanted. I really wanted to minimize the damage to the lilac bush off the corner of the deck. It completely covers in purple flowers every spring and we didn't want to lose it. Took three iterations. So today we wrestled the cement mixer down there and poured the footers. Then we had to wrestle the beast back uphill to the road. I'm the client, what the heck am I doing out there pushing a big ol' cement mixer through the gravel? Anyway, we got the footers poured. Next up: setting the posts. Feeling more and more like we might finally have a roof over half our deck.

post footers close up.webp

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Yeah can see the target much better and allows precision with the fine tip, less overfill makes a cleaner repair. Will be great for engraving. Wife got this rig from Amazon for about $120, a bargain for its capability.
My niece makes jewelry and was asking me today if I had a light I could recommend to her. Thought of your comment about the one you picked up from Amazon. Would you please share the link to the one you bought. Thanks! Chuck
 
My niece makes jewelry and was asking me today if I had a light I could recommend to her. Thought of your comment about the one you picked up from Amazon. Would you please share the link to the one you bought. Thanks! Chuck
Wife bought it maybe a year ago, can try find it on Amazon.

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Progress was made. The hard stuff is pretty much done. Took our time getting this part right because it makes all the rest of it go so much smoother. All posts and beams in place. There will be a couple short posts where the roof hips come together but all the heavy stuff is in place.

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The big black brackets on top of the beams were made by a local welder so we'll probably just paint them. Same for the brackets at the bottom of the posts.
 
I did some poor man's taxidermy work and caped out my turkey and coated it with borax and stretched it out on a board. I'm gonna mount it on a sweet piece of drift wood, along with the wings and skull. I decided the uniqueness of that turkey needs to be remembered in a special way. Pictures to follow, hopefully in a month or so.
 
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Progress was made. The hard stuff is pretty much done. Took our time getting this part right because it makes all the rest of it go so much smoother. All posts and beams in place. There will be a couple short posts where the roof hips come together but all the heavy stuff is in place.

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Love that frame work. Wow, very cool.
 
My niece makes jewelry and was asking me today if I had a light I could recommend to her. Thought of your comment about the one you picked up from Amazon. Would you please share the link to the one you bought. Thanks! Chuck
This one is almost identical to it....

Link
 
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