What's on your workbench - May 2021

Good morning, Dax~


Sweet bird - coming along "swimmingly"?


No decoys right now. I am in the middle of 4 vessels - 2 gunning boats and 2 canoes - and just replacerd the drive belt on my lawn tractor. Mowing Season opened here yesterday....


However, a decoy maker from The First State has been busy. From the Bench of George Williams:


He showed these Speckled Teal at Havre de Grace recently.


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And put some nice drooping scapulars over the tertials on seSpoonbills.


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All the best,


SJS

 
George, very well executed shovelers!

Joel, beautiful blocks, which took more time to paint, the drake or hen?
 
Hey Rick,

The hen took more time - more individual feather detail. For most species the hens are the more complex paint jobs in my experience.

Joel
 
View attachment A-5 Mag 20+2.jpgView attachment superposed+1959 2.jpgView attachment A-5 Mag 20.jpg

I don't know why these posted in this sequence. I sold the Mod/Full choked superposed from the pair I bought and picked-up this Auto-5 Magnum 20 with a vent rib full and and 28" IC barrel. The stock was heavily soiled and badly crazed, but the nice feather crotch was evident and it carries through on both sides quite well. Only on the right side of the fore arm. I used Laurel Mountain's Permalynn stock oil both as the initial sealer coats thinned by 2/3s with mineral spirits and sanded-in via 600 and left to dry prior a second sanded-in coat. I filled most of the pores, but not all, leaving a surface that better resembles the original. Some folks use a fine clay powder to completely fill the pours prior an oil coat, I prefer using the finish and fine sanding dust as a slurry to fill the pores since it doesn't leave the pores as an evident dark filed of sp/ ecs in the finish. Seven 50:50 coats were applied. The one nice aspect of the permalynn oil over Pilkintons is that it dries overnight where the Pilkington's has to sit for two days prior being reworked. Still thisgun took nearly three weeks to finish prior re-assembly. I usually average one visible mark per grouse hunt...

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I completed another bowl today using a different technique. Normally when a bowl is turned, the wood will have been fully dried before turning.

This bowl was turned while the wood was still wet with sap moisture. What this means is that the bowl, as the wood dries, will change shape due to the wood shrinkage. This change in shape is most visible in the sideview photos. The wavy profile of the rim, is entirely a function and result of the natural drying process.


This process makes for a very unique shape. One that can not be duplicated as the process is controlled by nature.


I hope you enjoy the photos.



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That's a very pleasing bowl Dave. It seems the grain accentuates the warping - I guess it's the grain that caused it. How big is it, if I remember correctly you have an 8" lathe?
 
SJ Fairbank said:
That's a very pleasing bowl Dave. It seems the grain accentuates the warping - I guess it's the grain that caused it. How big is it, if I remember correctly you have an 8" lathe?
Click to expand...

The grain/growth rings do indeed dictate the shrinkage. The denser portions shrink less than the rest. Even on the face of the surface, the grain is accentuated. (almost like rumble strips [laugh] )

My lathe has a 14 inch diameter capacity. This bowl is 7 1/2 dia. by 2 1/2 deep.
 

Rick,

Mighty fine job on that humpback stock. Ya brought out the "voice" in the wood.

Two thumbs up!


If ya average one visible mark on the stock per grouse hunt, yer doin' it right.

Most likely yer also bleeding from briars & thorns, etc.... and as ya well know, nothing makes a gun rust faster than blood. [;)]

The "before" the season photo looks good.


Best regards
Vince
 
As I've mentioned before this is the year of machine restorations for me. I'm trying to knock out six machines this year which will complete every machine I have so I can get back to boats and woodworking.

The machine I'm working on now is a Baldor 2x48 belt sander. I decided to use a spare drill press stand and table to mount the sander on. It will provide a nice platform for the sander. First order of business was to clean years of rust off the drill press stand and make a mobile base. I decided to try something new and bend angle iron to the shape of the drill press foot. The bend was achieved by cutting slots into one side of the angle iron. A little basic geometry showed me how many kerfs to cut and the spacing. Bent like a charm! Then I welded the kerfs closed and grinded everything flush. I spent tonight making wheel mounts. All that's left now is to grind a few hard corners, mount the wheels, prime and paint.


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A second project I completed a week ago was making jointer push blocks and holder. I saw a neat idea on Instagram and copied it, but mounted the holders under the infeed and outfeed tables to keep them safely stored yet easily reached.


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All~


Excellent work all around!


More From the Bench of George Williams:


View attachment GWilliams - 3 Hen Gadwall.jpg



I've been focusing on boats - when I'm not mowing or planting around thee farm (put in a bunch of Winterberry Holly and Witch Hazel this morning....).


Son Ben's Merrimack needed keel repair and a new deck. Both he and the vessel are once again up on Lake Champlain.



View attachment Bens Canoe on Forester .jpg



I just delivered this stripper to a friend. I'm guessing it was a kit boat, built by a novice. I rebuilt the decks and rails - and refurbished the seats and yoke. It's a lovely shape and I dearly wanted to paint the hull a solid color - but the owner prefers the existing exterior finish. Here it is last month.



View attachment Pierce 01 - BEFORE.JPG



Here it is as delivered today.


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I will post more details separately.


All the best,


SJS



 
No pictures but I'm stoked.

Back story; Back in 1995 I ran my local river with a 14 foot Jon boat powered by a 25hp Johnson Jet Outboard motor. After many many trips up and down the river, plus a couple rebuilds of the jet pump, I managed to seize up the bearings in the pump unit. At that point, I researched and sourced a used lower unit designed for a standard prop. I installed the lower unit but never actually put the motor on the water after the install.

This motor sat on a test stand untouched, until about 3 years ago. I got to thinking, do I really want to keep a "rope pull start" engine, any more as I get a bit older? (Ahem, cough, cough) So I sourced the used parts to retro fit to electric start. I pulled the plugs and spun it over just to confirm everything was hooked up correctly but, once again the engine never was actually started or left the test stand.

Today I drug it out from the back corner of my garage. Hooked up a water hose, hooked up a fuel tank and gerry-rigged a 12 volt power source with enough amps the spin the starter. I pulled the plugs, spray oil the cylinders and cranked it over a few seconds to lube everything. Then installed the plugs, pumped the fuel line full, primed the carbs (uses a primer rather than a choke on this model) and hit the starter button.

Just as expected, the engine fired right up and runs great on the test stand. Near as I can figure, the last time this engine was fired up was 21 years ago.

Woohoo,,,,,,,, I think I will throw it on a hull and give it some exercise. [w00t]

PS; I do plan to install a new water pump impeller first.
 
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