Whoa!!!! It has been
quite a while since I’ve updated the ol’ blog.
So much has happened since my last post
In early January my cat had to have a bit of
surgery. Since that time she made a full
recovery. For some time after, she was a
little freaked out by everything. Within
the last few weeks she has been returning to my workshop to supervise.
It seems that bad luck was the norm for the first quarter of
the year. Electrical issues in the shop
prevented me from any production in January and February. With some help from my buddy the electricity
was running without any hiccups. I ran
new wiring for the hammer and moved the light switch to a more convenient
location.
When the electrical problems first started I thought I’d be
able to work around the issue.
Negative. My 14” bandsaw was
still working. Oh yeah, it crapped out
two or three days later. The motor just
died on it. I spent quite a while
looking for a 230v motor for it without any luck. Then a buddy gave me a motor almost as old as
the saw. As my luck would have it, there
was no wiring diagram on it OR at the manufacturer. They told me their records didn’t go back
that far. Saw gets moved to the side for
now.
On to the benchtop bandsaw that I have. It only gets occasional use but comes in
handy in a pinch. My plan was to sell it
to a friend. Then I need it. A couple of knife handles later it is
starting to sputter and squeak so loud that I need ear plugs. Saw number 2 taken offline!
I am starting to get mad now. What else can happen? Don’t EVER ask this stupid question because
there is always something waiting to smack you down.
There are two drill presses in the shop. One is a 12 or 16 speed floor standing model
and the other is a small 5 speed bench model.
They are each used for different processes. The large one is able to drill larger holes
and can’t take any bits less than 1/10th of an inch. Not a problem until the small drill doesn’t
turn when the power is cut on. This is
what I use to drill holes in my leather sheaths for stitching them. Dang! Now
what am I gonna do?
In need of a bandsaw, I purchase a benchtop saw from ebay…as
is, looks like new in box. Not a bad
price. Delivered right to the shop. Open the box and the base is bent and a
couple parts are missing. Luckily as a
homesteader and artisan I can whip this thing back into shape in less than half
an hour. No need whining about it just
get it ready to use. Next thing is to
mount it to a base and set it in place of the big bandsaw. Once it started running I was impressed at
how well it cuts. There is so much
backlog of work in the shop that I waste no time in cutting out different wood
items to get ready for upcoming shows.
Forward one week…get to shop after work, knife handles need to be
shaped. Flip the switch, NOTHING! This can not be happening. Oh it is, it is happening!
That makes four machines that have commited suicide within
one month in my shop.
We had a show coming up soon so my gears switched to
knives. Working on four new knives had
me scrambling for a new drill press to do sheath work. A good friend picked one up for me in Nashville. That was a great help to me. Sheath work was going to get done without
incident. So I thought. The leather sheaths were made, drilled,
stained and stitched.
There was one kydex sheath to make so the material was
cut. Next it goes onto a griddle to heat
so that it can be formed. All is going
well. From there it goes into a foam
press that forms it around the knife. I
turn to get something…(wait for it)…and yank the griddle to the floor, breaking
the plastic legs underneath.
A man can only take so much.
So what do I do? I STOMP the crap
out of that griddle. My poor wife witnessed
the whole event with her jaw dropping to the ground. Luckily the sheath turned out fine. Keep focused.
Get ready for the show!
Our first show of the year was March 8th in Fayetteville, TN. It was hosted by the Elk Valley Crafters
Association. We were surprised that we had more space than
we thought. So I had to run to Walmart
to buy another table to set up. It
turned out to be a nice day and we enjoyed ourselves talking with everyone.
The next weekend my mother-in-law came down to visit. As we were giving her and her friend a tour
of the house, I hear some weird noise coming from our bedroom closet. What the?
Shucks it’s just the water heater spewing hot water from the top access
plate. It’s a long way to the water
meter so I set out running. The next 6
hours are spent taking out the old water heater, driving 35 miles to get a new
one and installing the new water heater.
At this point there was no need to smash things. Keep a smile on the face and take it all in
stride. We decide to call our wonderful
friend to go through the house and shop with her positive words and burning
sage.
Well that seems to have turned things around for us. I got my big bandsaw running and it is working
better than ever. We had a good Blooming
Arts Festival in Linden, TN last weekend. The weather was supposed to get rough but
that never happened. So many nice people
came to our booth and had good things to say.
Can’t wait for the next show.
That’s it for now. Been so busy
in the shop trying to put a bunch of knives together. Hope the weather starts
to warm up for everyone soon. Flowers
are blooming and trees are starting to bud here. See Y’all Soon!
