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THORARINSONMay 23 Boat Building Lessons Learned
I have been building furniture for about 20 years now. I started out with a handful of tools and aspiration of becoming the next “Stickley”. Producing high end, expensive hand made furniture. And here I am today with nice shop and an arsenal of tools that would make Norm Abram grin. I build 1-2 furniture pieces a month, and sell 2-3 pieces a year the rest fill my house. I take great pride and countless hours telling visitors stories of turning barn boards or lumber recovered from horse stalls into Sideboard hutches and Morris chairs. I don’t use nails it’s all exposed through tennon joinery. So building a boat seemed like a breeze in comparison to an 8’ wide 7’ tall mahogany China Hutch. The boys (all 6) were immediately excited, finally a project we can all enjoy and not be given a raised eyebrow when shutting a cabinet door to hard or setting a glass on a chairs arm rest or coffee table. Here are my lessons learned from the experience. · Building a stitch and glue boat is more chemistry than carpentry. · It’s a 2-1 ratio for resin and hardener…”do not think otherwise” · White vinegar will remove wet epoxy from hair and skin. · A good barber can remove dried epoxy from hair. · Drill-fill-drill. · Learn to love wearing rubber gloves. · Spring clamps: buy 30, then go back and buy 30 more. · Learn to love sanding, even when its 10 pm on a work night. · Use “Interlux” paint, read the label. Then read the label again and visit the company’s website. · Blue painters tape and 3M Fine-line tape, know the difference between them. · Less is more when applying: epoxy, primer, paint and varnish. And the most important lesson: Don’t forget to check in with your loved ones. You have now been in the (cellar, garage, wood shop, car port, or tent) for the better part of a month working on your boat and they see you covered with sawdust, epoxy dust, and running to and from the hardware store for god know what. Your (wife, husband, girlfriend, etc.) just need to know the lawn will get mowed and that you will be rejoining your family unit in the near future. They are excited about the boat because you are. They are tired of hearing about scarf joints, hanging knees, copper wire stitches, epoxy, sanding, and bubbles in the varnish that will need to be wet sanded again. They dream of a leisurely paddle on stream or lake and hope that you won’t raise that same eyebrow when they bang the paddle against the coaming rail. I have to get back to the boat now, I know that 8th coat of varnish on the deck will be the last one needed. September 10 i'm not making this upExcuse me, can I ask you a question? By: Jon A. Pudlitzke
I am not making this up. During a recent trip to the Mega-Depot a fellow asked me the following question after tapping me on the shoulder.
Fellow: “Dyer thinks I should use this ¼“ washer with or without a lock washer?”
After discussing what he was up to it was decided a lock washer would be best. I then asked him the following question.
Me: “So what made you ask me for help?” Fellow: ”Simple, you had that tape measure clipped to your belt and that carpenter pencil behind your ear was a dead give away. All you construction workers know about this stuff.”
Now over the years I have given out my fair share of free advice about things dealing with carpentry and construction. I did a call in radio show one time, people would ask questions about doors, windows and odd things. The following is the actual transcript of my last day on the show as well as my career in radio.
Me: “Good afternoon how can I help you today?” Caller: “I’ve got squirrels in my crawl space!” Me: “Say again?” Caller: “Are ya deaf? I said I’ve got squirrels in my crawlspace!” Me: “Sounds like you need to get yourself to the emergency room and get those varmints removed before they do any further damage” Caller: “How dare you, I’m coming down there and……” Me: “Well it looks as if that’s all for today I’ll see all tomor…….”
After so many years and so many questions I decided to share some of my favorite with you. So here for your enjoyment are some of the most frequently asked questions and my best attempts at advice.
Q: "How come there is always extra dirt leftover after I fill a hole back in?" A: Simple, the extra space is taken up by the pipe wrench and socket set you buried.
Q: "I bought my wife a circular saw as an anniversary gift and she took the kids to her mother's house a couple days ago, should I call her?" A: Yes, ask her where the heck that saw is, and if she'll answer that, ask where she hid the TV remote
Q: "Why does my three year old always have his finger in his nose?" A: Don't worry, kids are explorers. Try to think of him as being the Lewis and Clark of bodily functions.
Q: My neighbor loaned me his hedge trimmers three years ago and I haven’t returned them. Should I take them back and apologize? A: Stop and think man! You gave your neighbor the best gift of all…the opportunity to shop for a new and improved hedge trimmer. So stop asking me questions and get over there and borrow them before someone else does him the favor!
So if your in need of some good old fashioned honest advice at the hardware store or lumber yard, find yourself somebody that’s got tools clipped to him or better yet find the oldest most grizzled looking carpenter (they usually have no more than 8 ¾ fingers) and fire away with the questions. If he takes his hat off and scratches his head before uttering a word be prepared to take notes, because he probably wont repeat himself.
As for me I’m currently working on a sociological experiment. That’s right, I’ve hired myself an attorney and started wearing a stethoscope, lab coat and carry an aluminum clipboard whenever I leave the house.
Q: “Excuse me Dr. Could you take a look at this mole?” A: “Hmmmm? You’d better take of your shirt so I can get a better look.” August 28 Vancouver WA WWII commemorationjosh and i spent a lazy afternoon visiting the sites at the WWII commemoration @ Fort Vancouver.... |
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