Turkey feather darts, brass steel tip darts and one dedicated buffer

Some years ago a good friend had given me a set of Widdy No1 turkey feather steel tipped darts. 

and

damn if these wooden darts aren't extremely intuitive to throw: supported by the natural feel of the wood and its long tear dropped axisymmetical shape.

the oldest and the youngest boys have started playing darts with me so i thought it was time to make sure they had their own sets to use. "new" players can be rather hard on darts so i thought it was best to get them their own.  stolling along ebay and found a great deal on two sets of Apex No1 turkey feather darts and as a bonus, with them came two old but seemed to be in very good condition brass sets.

widdy turkey feather dart with the blue stripe,
apex turkey feather dart with the red stripe.

when they arrived the turkey feather darts were ready to go

but 

the brass sets could use with a bit of buffing and waxing.

brass steel tipped darts after polishing and waxing

because i always have a buffer set up for action,

i just went to the tool and gave each dart about 1 minute of attention.

the bottom right of the collage shows one of each of the sets polished and the others are still in need.

the left panel shows the darts ready for waxing.

i used johnson paste wax (my main go to wax) on the buffed metal.

ready for action, i do think i broke the sound barrier when i threw them for the first time.

My one key message with this post is to strongly encourage my boys the importance of having at least one dedicated bench top buffer (or a variable speed bench grinder with a buffing wheel on one side) in the house. 

 having this tool always available will dramatically encourage one to initiate a project. at the very least it will increases the speed of starting and finishing any maintenance jobs.

The ceiling fan

Working under the kitchen sink.

i rolled over and was mesmerized by the fan.

i already had my ipad and beer next to me.

Never enough boxes

For about three months my desk has been in a state of "visible overflowing"

so 

it was time to make another round of those boxes. the ones that sit on my wall mounted shelves

and

hide my excess desk fodder (new and spent pocket notebooks, vintage pens and pencils repaired & waiting to be, designs and all sorts of stuff.

in no time at all i made six more boxes from old wine crate wood.

six more boxes made from old wine crates

 after finishing the boxes it was time to put some design work on the front slide doors.

these designs help me keep track of what is inside and adds some flash to an otherwise lack luster box design. 

some more boxes made from wine crates ready for action on wall mounted shelves

actually i now need to make another round of wall mounted shelves now.

solve one problem, make another.

damn i LOVE these problems!

Bear with a dog coat

I am just going to start out with we do NOT have a dirty house, but 

with three boys and two dogs it takes no time at all before a cleaning is in order.

this morning cleaning from under the couch revealed another dirty couch secret:

a bear wearing a dog fur coat.

fron under the couch, the bear looked utterly defeated

damn dogs!

Counter pull wall shelf for fieldnotes - a need to organize

A few weeks ago i needed to make something to organize some of my desk fodder. 

my original idea for this counter pull, wall mounted shelving unit came as a response to the number of spent field notes that were piling around the desk. i still need access to each fieldnotes book so burying them in a drawer didn't seem like a good idea.

i have been working with this shelving unit and feel i can definitely expand on its organizing potential.

so

i am going to make 6 more.

I plan to also use these for some pen storage, nib storage, and other desk essentials that are not on the current rotation.

the roofs are now on and although the bottom support brackets are built they will not be attached until tomorrow.

counter pull, wall mounted field notes shelf

i wanted a steeper roof so i cut the carcass at a 45. this really stressed some linear movement and can make something fastened to a wall a bit more dynamic looking. 

counter pull, wall mounted field notes shelf

i wanted to keep them uniform in height and construction. 

they will vary in the type of boxes that they will be holding. i will mix antique ones that i collect and make some different styles too. 

counter pull, wall mounted field notes shelf

i am hoping to finish this lot before next weekend.

i have already started making some more boxes for these too.

Table top baseball game refinish

winter time is tabletop baseball season!

today was time to give it a quick refinish for another season of gameplay.

A few years ago, whilst in the middle of one of my many tangents,  i was on the computer looking for ideas to make new table top game for me and the boys when i stumbled on a dice rolling baseball game.

i liked the idea but thought the aesthetic could use a little enrichment.

the original one i saw was on a built made out of a simple pine 1 inch thick pine plank, and had some simple lines and a scoreboard.

i started with a round oak table table top that had survived a bar fire. it was about 2" thick, finish was bubbled and smelled of smoke. i removed the finish with an old jack plane i use for such occasions and then smoothed from there. i like the heft of a solid wood game.

squared up to the size i wanted and quickly went to creating bolder color fields for the playing surface.

i really enjoy design and the layout (as simple as it is) was extremely entertaining to create.

i needed to contain the dice when rolling

and

i wanted it to be easily replaceable, after all this game is meant for young ones that will be dropping it as some point. the mahogany trim was a quick solution.

there are two types of square cut nails used. one size if for the players and the other size is for the 

game keeping.

mint tins make a perfect holder for the pieces and a place to put the directions.

with an old manual typewriter i applied to paper i made years ago and adhered to the mint tin.

i uses pigmented ink for the colorant. this ink is extremely lightfast and allows the grain to show through. plus this gave me an a color palate i wanted.

"play ball!!"

Steam trunk decoration 2

If i stared long enough at the underside of the trunks lid, 

i would swear these ladies were inviting me to their ill party.

no thank you.

underside of great grandfathers steam trunk

Steam trunk decoration

"When looking over the edge,

first one then the other eye widen, all in order to make me feel uncomfortable"

an image from my great grandfathers steam trunk.
open the lid and look down to the back of the front panel and this is what looks back.

impressed that despite the deterioration of the paper, the color is still rather intense.

Toughest waste paper bin on the block

Yesterday, I was doing some late night desk work when a moment of appreciation hit.

i had created a bunch of paper scraps and put it in my waste paper bin. when i realized how object-to-function oriented i can be.  

i am not obsessive compulsive but i to use specific tools for specific tasks. from building tools to cooking tools to desk tools. these tools either are the best tool for accuracy, efficiency or somehow establish a familiarity that allows me to access the process faster or better than others.

reaching over i tossed the paper into the Landers, Frary & Clark lunch pail. for what ever reason, i took a moment to appreciate the design of this lunch pail. there were lots of details for the owner without it being "too fancy". 

then i had a moment when i thought about the purpose of it and how i relegated from something important as worker's lunch pail to my waste paper pail. 

and may i add one of the most tough looking waste paper pails out there!

in my mind, i went through its lifespan as a functional object, the fact is that in today's modern technology these pails are not nearly as practical. the aesthetic is timeless though; from its historical use (last century workers food pail) to its fancified look. at least this tool has gained a new dedicated purpose and will continue to be admired daily.

Landers, Frary & Clark food pail seeing daily use again, although not to its purpose 100 years ago

Landers, Frary & Clark pail 

i acquired this as a great birthday gift that was given by a great friend,

thank you!

Where is the "don't go to work" tab

Found an old treasure from an 80's yellowstone trip.

very satisfying flipping this into the current date,

makes this addictive click when the metal date sits into position after the rotating the dial.

today

tomorrow

off to work. 

if this calendar had a date tab that said "don't go to work"

i would obey!

Our quilt is essential

The quilt as an essential.

the bed alone is probably one of the most important locations in our life.

anything that fosters both the family and the security of our most vulnerable times, sleeping, deserves to be respected.

what better way to dress it then to shroud with a quilt made by or passed on to family.

i was about to fall asleep and had a flash of how great this family made cover on our bed is.

been on our bed for over 13 years. this quilt is as important to the bed as the roof over the house.

BUT

something wasn't right.

focused a bit more and noticed how pristine the ribbing was.

and then it hit, the quilt was backwards.

and then i had the notion (probably just in my head) that the weight didn't feel completely right either.

everything was now jacked up, i have become so use to this cover being a certain way that once the conscious mind met up with the subconscious understanding that something was amiss then that was it.

the evidence of this quilt reasserts these feelings:

13 years of rubbing against my beard has worn away the edges on just my side of the bed.

also i just may roll around more so maybe the fabric is a bit thinner on my side and maybe that has lightened it up that one ounce or two to give me the weight difference.

i immediately turned the quilt around and all was proper once again.

thank you Vicki for making this quilt!!

Display your tools

As i have preached before, tools have the potential to be a real extension of ourselves: both physically and past the physical. through the tool we command the difficult and fulfill our potential.

there are two types of tools in my small mind, both are worthy of displaying:

1 = those tools of historical/personal significance, but are too dangerous to use so must be retired. for example grandfathers axe that has a crack through the eye.

these tools when displayed act as a portrait of an admired life or trait.

2 = the tools are those that have significance because the represent a personal feat or represent the potential we have when we set our mind and hands to it.

a hammer and a hatchet shipping crate in hanging mode

above i have two milestones in crates. the hammer though is one i have been using and is an experiment that keeps on running. that particular hammer is a turn of the century hammer that had a pretty bad chip in it. these are the types of hammers with a hard steel skin over a softer core. the chip told me that the outer skin was a good steel (it chipped rather than mushroomed). i decided to see what would happen if i were to re-mill the striking face until the chip was entirely gone. this would mean thinning up the outer skin. the only criteria i would put to this experiment is that i would use it for fine woodworking and light general house work. it is going on some time now and i have had ZERO indications of failure. 

i keep this hammer hanging to remind me to challenge knowledge and to keep this tool visible so i don't forget to keep the challenge going.

to my wife's dismay, there are many of such displays in our small home.

i do believe guests find it entertaining and i am sure when the boys have friends over it is something to behold.

placement wise this is what one would see while on their way to the bathroom.

Bathroom flowers - relieve yourself peacefully

Nothing like spring cleaning spawned on by family visiting.

with lochlann's b-day during the week family will come into town for the PARTY today.

nothing says "Welcome" like flowers in the bathroom.

Scoreboard

Almost every game we play is best out of three 

and 

because of that some of the longer games or games that get interrupted need to be kept track of.

i had a bunch of trim around and put together this simple score board.

also found a purpose for an old incomplete deck of cards.

the top panel is the game and who versus who.

the square nails hold a few cards. the others go into the bottom holder.

the back of the card has some graph paper we can write the ongoing scores.

the middle panel is the current score

the holder right below are the spent game cards.

Valentines bathroom flowers

Giving wifey some Valentines appreciation.

Flower arrangements in the bathroom.

(keeping the romance alive)

i waited until she fell asleep and then put it together.

good way to send her off to work in the morn.

Catapult wars

Mac vs me 

two out of three and the first born showed dad who the boss was.

never made it to the third game.

my set up

mac's set up

 had to buy another bag of rubber bands.

made the catapults from scrap wood from an oak pallet.

the catapults are roughly: base 11.5"x5" and the arm length is 10".

i got this design from an online site with free plans. i think it was "crush the castle". i stayed pretty true to their plans. just added a platform to give it a bit more stability.

one of our catapults.

we set up about 10 feet from each other. 

with the bands moved to a lower rung and even more bands added we can easily double the distance.

boy number two is next on the challenge.

#901 locomotive

The Athearn EMD GP7 arrived wednesday!

an older train that looks great and works very well is bringing the living room back to life again.

as i have said before the living room train has entertained the boys through their early years and even though a bit older they still enjoy the train making its rounds. since the chessie loco died the living room was really missing some of its vitality.

  yesterday i cleaned and polished the track. the track sat unused long enough that i had to dust then lightly touch it with a 600grit sand paper and then rail-zip the rails.

all is in order now.

you can see the telegraph lines i started reinstalling.

the rope light behind the train was a nice addition.

 one of my maybe near future projects is to rebuild the covered wooden bridge.

 this train house was a gift that had to be used somewhere. i do plan to rebuild the stilted platform sometime. 

i removed the old telegraph lines and started to install new ones. i use black thread. the only rub is that thread is near impossible to dust (it just balls up. yes, i just said "balls up") so i have to replace every now and then.

when i built the track around the top of the living room, i wanted it to have a furniture feel to it.

i decided to use wood, bamboo, copper, cork and waxed string.

here is an example. the telegraph poles. one bamboo skewer, split a quarter of the way down, inserted a copper triangle and tied off.

simple and clean.

telegraph pole 1

telegraph pole detail

Rock appreciation

A jack of many appreciations and tonight it was time to comb my living room rock display.

good rock, good boy.

my rock displays are not suiseki but i have a definite affinity for rocks. 

even when we were little we would scour for hours in search for that perfect rock. 

when we found it, we seemed to have properly punctuated the story of our trip.

even had a tackle box that housed my collection.

today i focus on the stand alone, submersed in a field of sand.

i am aware of the traits of the japanese art and i actually use some of their rules to define my impressions of the stone. 

but once again i do this from my plains' eye and notions.

one of my preferred brushed for working the sand.

Entryway boxes

Amongst our boxes, these three are when we first walk through the door.

as always i had to practice designs on them.

some designs are better on different surfaces and there is only one way to test it.

number one contains the boys important school papers

number two houses misc mail papers. 

and for some reason number three contains gaming supplies:

carrom soldiers, cribbage, shuffle board pucks, wood bowling, ect. 

Christmas tree 2012

With thanksgiving over, our attention goes to putting up the Christmas tree.

frances's orchestrated this year's masterpiece.

2012 Christmas tree by Frances.

next will be to finish the other seasonal decorations.

feeling festive.