Framed

so if you read the last blog you might have or might not have been waiting for the update on what i did with my window frames. well i have done nothing with them. it has been an incredibly busy time of year and i have been unable to accomplish anything tangible.

i have been watching a lot of youtube though. i love youtube. i have learnt so much from there. people freely sharing their knowledge, sometimes sharing mistakes that they have made. there is a lot to learn from there. i follow a couple great people on youtube. yes there is a lot of junk there too, but you just filter and then keep what you like. one of the guys i follow on youtube is called steve ramsey. he does woodworking. what i love about his projects is that they show that it is not difficult. he would take seemingly complicated things and make them simple without using complex or other than the normal tools or equipment.

i really liked a picture frame that he had made in the beginning of this year and was really keen to try it. i needed an excuse though... my sister in law got married and i had committed myself to making a wedding gift. she got married last year, so i was really starting to feel the pressure. here was my excuse.

most hand made frames' downfall are the mitered joints. if you get these wrong then the frame looks shoddy. i wanted mine to be perfect. well steve knew that and in that same week uploaded another video showing you how to make a simple jig to get yourself perfect miters every time.

these are the videos i mentioned:

and

having that ammo i made both. my miter sled is not as neat as his and i did not think it picture worthy but it did the job and that matters .

the frames started as a small sheet of plywood that i got from a crate that i picked up for free. yes the free stuff again! i stripped the crate and used its lid. i followed the same process as on steves video. "want to be any good? then copy the masters" they say. so i cut some strips of plywood. laminated them and worked them into the basic frame shape (cutting the rabbet for the picture to sit in etc.) 

then came the careful measuring of the picture. while preparing for the wedding last year, i found some owlets in a tree and took a picture of them. i had this canvas printed and blocked to A3 size. 

i'm known for making a hash with cutting so i measured and remeasured and it paid off! here is the frame around the picture for the first time:

 when i glued it it measured square without any adjustments. that mitre sled is really a neat little addition to a workshop and will be used quite a bit more in the future. i sanded the frame as smooth as i could get it and then beat it with a piece of chain i found in my workshop. making marks in the wood. i used some black spray paint and gave the wood a very light coat of black. immediately after spraying i would rub the wet paint into the wood with a cloth. i then proceeded to sand the entire thing again. all the little indentations where now highlighted by the black paint. it also gave the corners and edges more definition.  the frame then got a coat of raw linseed oil. i love the smell of linseed oil. i gave it that "not-born-yesterday" look. exactly what i wanted. 

to mount the picture in the frame i used some hard board/masonite that also got a coating of linseed oil. these where just nailed in place at 45 degrees. yes i measured each on to make sure. i also fitted some wire to hang the picture. i had to use screws to hook the wire around since the frame is fairly heavy. 

i'm super stoked about how this turned out. hope she likes it! 

i'm now getting closer and closer to being able to rebuild the engine on the honda. a little more shop cleaning and i'll be there. hold thumbs! 

Hung for throwing a sign...

Sooner rather than later has become a bit of a something that has started sticking with me. its great, i'm a born procrastinator... but the sign needed to go up. did not like having it lying around when it should be hanging!

at work we have a surplus of hardware that came from crates, either holding the crates together or holding the contents in place. i found two bolts that were the same and a broken drip stand in the scrap box. i drilled two little holes into the head of the bolt and welded the drip stand hooks to the head of the bolt. and painted the welded area, rust is cool but destructive. i like the cool, not the destructive...

to connect the hooks to the sign i drilled a hole from the top as long as the bolt is. perpendicular to this hole i used the same size drill to make a slot that could take the nut. drilled it just deep enough so the nut would closely line up to the bolt shaft drilled before. slip the nut in the slot and fasten the whole deal together.

i made a little bracket from off-cut scraps i found in my scrap box at home, and hooked a chain in there.

the sign is about 200mm from the wall so it clears the tool wall nicely to retain access to the tools etc. so there. done and dusted.

next project got lined up for me yesterday. i have wooden window frames and i need to do some maintenance on the one which involves giving it an annual coat of varnish, and this time repairing some holes where the screws holding the latches are pulling out the wood. maybe i'll put a bit of that up here too...

Throw a sign!

a little while ago i saw a fantastic picture on Facebook. it was an old race car from the around the 70s, Grand Prix style, was difficult to tell exactly what is was because it was from behind. it had a stunning set of exhaust pipes, three on each side. all abreast. there is something about exhaust pipes stacked like that. i have always loved it, a symmetrical outflow of power i suppose? really messes up my brains just thinking of it. must be why i really enjoy the 6 cylinder bikes from long ago. cannot get enough of it.

anyway, back to the point. what made the said photograph that much cooler was the caption. "Let me play you the song of my people". i instantly needed that in my workshop. like an utterance over my Honda that one day, it will sing that song again!

the gears in my head started turning. i found some fonts that i liked and made the printout in A3. seemed to be the right size for my sign. those letters then got stuck on some Masonite and individually cut out on the scroll saw. this was some great practice on a piece of equipment i do not use often enough!

i sprayed the letters and then edged them all with a little brush. i worked on the layout and blackened the wooden backing (that i picked up on the beach) to add effect using a heat gun.

i'm fairly satisfied with the end result. i'm still needing to fabricate some brackets to hang the sign from the rafters. but this is its temporary spot.

while making this i was thinking that all of this could get laser cut or the lettering could just get bought of the shelf, but would this then appeal to my people? ;)

Look back

A quick look at the fountain area now. i really enjoy peoples projects and love watching them evolve into what is happening inside the builders head. i get so involved in some of the projects that i even get a sense of self satisfaction when someone else finishes a project and show the completed picture. 

however every so often i come across deeply gripping projects, you know like that TV series that you almost cannot wait for the next episode. except these projects come very close to completion and then the builder and the updates just disappear. in vain you visit the blog, YouTube channel or forum thread, hoping you missed the update and could catch the next exciting bit but only to be disappointed. some of these projects never, ever reappear. 

being busy with a grocery money project myself i understand that some projects take long. you work in spurts that are powered by every little bit of cash you can squeeze out of your budget. these projects do take long and updates are few, but they get completed. so i thought i must show off what the fountain area looks like now. i'm very happy with the way it turned out.

i added some edging around the beds and raised the level of the soil to make the beds a little more level. planted some greenery (this is going to take a little while to grow and fill the area). most of the flowering plants have started flowering - that was with a little coercion using some refined chicken manure. it is in powered form and waters into the ground really quickly. less stench and a nice little kick start for the newly planted plants. 

.the grass however seems to be taking its time. hope that it will show face again in summer! 

Fixed up in flames

i love dumpster diving! whenever i get rid of my garden refuse or drop off some recycling i have to stop at the steel recycling dumpster. it is incredible what people throw away! (its also incredible what people will take out the trash! *drops head in shame*). i dropped off some chopped branches after an excessive garden cleaning spree and stopped at the metal bin again and found this three tier metal shelf. it was rusty but the shelves seemed not to be rusted through and the whole thing was still in a sturdy fair condition.

now the recycling part of the dump is a low income site and there are people that work there that sort all the rubbish and then generate an income from selling the scrap steel and glass. so you always need to enter into some negotiations to buy what ever scrap you would like to take. i approached the guy in charge and motioned to the dumpster that had the shelf sticking out the top. "how much you going to charge me for that shelf?" he gave a deep sigh and a slight whistle, "that is a lot of steel, uh, R30." thats about $3 and i had that in my pocket. suddenly i owned a rusted shelf.

At home i took it apart and put a wire brush to it removing the rust and loose paint. it was somewhat pitted but the shelves would still be able to hold what ever i had to put on it. i got hold of some gloss black Rustoleum appliance epoxy and gave it a couple coats before re-assembly. just leaving it plain black would have been terrible so i  scratched around and got hold of some colors i had left over from previous projects and set the back plate alight.

always nice to have some fun in the workshop. i've made some brackets for the shelf to sit on since i'm planning to mount it on the wall. you can barely see them sticking out from behind the little blue desk next to the shelf. they still need a little finishing, some holes and some paint. hope to have the shelf on the wall  by the end of friday. yay for more packing space!

Stuff

apart from building fountains i have invested a considerable amount of time in sorting out all my rubbish. being a hoarder it does not bode well when you have limited space. i needed to get rid of some stuff (because i wanted to get other stuff).

i endeavored to replace the leaking roof on my single garage that i'm using as a workshop for all things with wheels. i had attempted many different things to try and safe the old fibrous cement roof and had just given up. i could stand the damp wetness no longer, everything that was inside this garage was getting destroyed by the leaking roof. so a new roof was going on. one days really hard work paid off. i officially have a dry place to work. i don't have to strategically place everything away from where the leaks where anymore. this was incredibly freeing!

now that it was dry i could go ahead and solve a problem that i have had for ages!

i have always coveted a proper too rack. to keep everything within reach and nicely organised. having some old crates on hand and just having heard of the french cleat system i got cracking to make this space accessible. i started with the garage looking like this:

there was no access and everything was being stored on top of each other and nothing was being packed away because it was too big a mission.

so for my tools i made this:

this was GREAT fun since every little shelf was a project on its own. all the shelves are modular and the entire rack can be re-arranged to suit the need at the time. having worked with it once or twice now, i'm in love... 

the racks look like this from the side:

i also made a shelf to triple the floor space along the back wall, it so worked out that the honda and the bike lift fit into the gap as if it was made for it! and although still full, i can walk in and use the workbench without removing anything from the garage. 

the work bench underneath the tool rack has been relegated to the driveway and the one on the other wall has been given a new back board and a new work top. the  bench vise was mounted on it and it was moved in place. 

the little blue table in the front (it was my childhood desk in my bedroom) will be put on wheels and will become a moving island in the garage that is the perfect height for stripping a DOHC CB750 engine. 

there is still a lot to be done but the place is becoming a much more functional space, adn i did not need to get rid of too much of my junk... 

Cornered

It seems that i'm not very diligent...

since my last post i have had a new addition to the family, a little boy full of life, and life has changed dramatically. for the better, but right now we are MUCH busier. apart from that there has been a couple of things that have happened, everyone has been ill and things are returning to a greater sense of normality. i'm feeling a little more human and it feels like my creative me is rearing his head again and it is feeling fantastic!

for the Honda, i have slowly been gathering more spares to do a complete rebuild on the engine. it is the right thing to do i suppose, these old bikes are great and the are reliable if kept in a proper state. so i thought it good to start with a clean page and take 3 engines that i now have and make one good one. new seals and gaskets EVERYWHERE, etc and so on. and what i don't use might be useful to someone else and could help me get some of my money back...

with all of that happening in the background. i have had this ugly little corner in my garden that has been a thorn in my side for some time. we have attempted to get various different plants to grow there, and it has not been very successful... too little sun and being stingy with municipal water is not a helpful combination. what this area needed was a water feature...

i have a relatively old house and a modern looking thing would be completely out of place. i don't really care for "rock art" so that was out too... decided that i'll design my own.

being in shade most of the time minimizes water loss due to evaporation, and is a great spot for the lilies that we have been trying to propagate. when this was published the new leaves had just made their appearance. this has really made a great difference to my little back yard and the has brought a nice calming feel.