GLAD the Work’s Done and the Harvest Can Begin

This is a shop update, not a political or religious manifesto. I know the title could go either way.

Briefly, the video shows the results of a few projects I’ve been delaying so I could finish BOB; things I needed to accomplish to make my operations smoother.

First, I installed small shelfs to hold my digital readouts for my Unique Products lathe. I’ll replace the clamps with something smaller, when I find something smaller.

I’ll still have to use the calipers to get measurements, but the digital readouts will speed my process by helping me cut to the required distance faster while the goal is farther away, and in smaller increments, down to a half thousandth, once I get close to final size. It’ll be a million times easier this way than with the digital caliper alone.

I next put doors on my kiln. I’d kept it inside the cubby hole leading from the basement to the back yard. A register-style space heater was enough to dry spalted wood quickly. I’ll probably add some insulation, but I’m glad to have the doors on. You’ll get to see a crap ton of wood inside this little job. I couldn’t be more tickled with the kiln.

Last, my finishing booth. I started out applying CA glue on a regular lathe, filling up the basement with noxious stink, and over several months, I’ve progressed to a booth that sits on the driveway so the fumes disappear, with a heater inside, a lathe, and UV lights to cure the finish. I put the last coats of BOB on while snow was falling, and the booth was 90 degrees inside.

Best of all, the finishing process is quick, and finishing can be a do-it-right-the-first-time job.

Finishing efficiently, without breathing fumes that would kill me, was the logjam holding back production. Now the logjam is busted, and I’m stoked. One more project for the evening and I’m done.