DIY Renos

Flush Twice, its a long way to Winnipeg!"


....


Growing up there, the water was bad, I can't imagine how it is now 30 years later. Even back then Mom would boil the tap water for drinking. Luckey though on the farm, the well water was drinkable, 10x better than in the city.

 

Good old Mother Earth News. A passive solar boiler would melt enough snow and by the time it comes into the main system in the basement, we'd have clean cold water.

Victoria, BC. used to have the best city water in Canada. How is it now?

 

I signed up for their free email subscription at Mother Earth News. After I ranted, I got a link to this article to build your own passive solar water heater:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/2007-10-01/Build-Your-Own-Solar-Water-Heater.aspx

 

Check this out! Pedal-powered machines DIY!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/human-powered-machine-zl0z1211zrob.aspx

 

Do you flush twice? Salmon taste funny?

 

I'm liking that..... I could be the couch creature, and Deb could power the TV!



What do you think guys? We all should get our wives this for X-Mas!

 

Yeah, and you'd have to join a choir, singing Soprano!

Unless she watches Oprah or the soaps.

 

I believe they catch a lot of Crappy off the Island

 

Well...... the only local sea food we eat (and we eat alot) is cout by friends who don't fish anywhere near poopulated areas.

Beautiful Sidney, just as you get off the ferry for example......

A friend works as a "mad scientist" out there for a company that just does all kids of wierd stuff, mainly testing for toxins in foods, meat and veggies from all over the world. They had salmon come from some where else and needed a comparison for the toxins. They went to the Sidny fish market and bout a fresh salmon, took it back to the mad scientist lab and could not use our local cout fresh salmon...... it had more toxins than the other one:confused:

Still creeps me out when we do the marine drive out there..... the big sewage plant is hidden from view, and you see all these bouts out there fishing, fishing rite where they pump it out...................

Don't worry about red tide in those waters, it's the brown tite that will kill ya!

 

Cabinets and plumbing

The best plans of mice and men aft go awry.

The upstairs can't be insulated until the old vent stack is knocked down, the old bathroom water line is capped off, and the old kitchen sink is removed. Can't do those until the new cabinets are painted (polyurethane). Can't do that without extending the sink corner to the opposite wall, which means a second corner cabinet. Since we decided on making non-standard counter depths (31 inches) with a 6 inch deep and high backsplash, so the wife can plant seedlings and have space for nick-nacks, and spice niches, and recipe holders, and... and drop-down counter sections to open and close the 3 kitchen windows during the summer. Well, Christmas was almost missed, except for the annual Christmas Cake baking session, and New Years will be a 2 minute event.

Just going like a blue-a$$ed fly in mating season.

I ain't complaining, just looking at how complex these things can get when you break all the rules of Standard construction sizes. Cabinetshops all have junky seconds for sale, but even trying to find deep countertops pushes you into commercial-grade custom prices. So we figured we'd use a high grade Polyurethane (3 coats) on Birch Ply and maple counter edging. I LOVE my ROUTER TABLE (Bosch RA1180). The newer RA1181 doesn't have all the features that this one has, and mine has a stronger fence guide than the newer one. Sweet.

Should have it done this week. What's really hard about this, is having to change hats so often, sometimes in the middle of the main project. Cabinets, electrical, framing, plumbing, tool sharpening, drywall, sanding and painting. You lose your train of thought and the 'next detail step'. So I make notes on where I left off with sketches, and change hats.

I'll post pics once its painted.

Happy new Years folks! The Best to one and all.

 

Dowels vs. Biscuits. They have their uses and their issues. When I get richer and stupider, I'll buy a biscuit machine. In the meanwhile, I'll use Sears' Biscuit jig. Like biscuits, the dowelling requires dead-on setup. Andy lent me an oldie, but goodie that his father used, so I did some WWW digging and found the manufacturer's website:

http://www.dowl-it.com/

There's another type too, with a good reputation:
http://dowelmax.com/

On the thickness issue, both will center perfectly. Its the Horizontal (along the edge) that's the PITA. I first match up the ends of the wood pieces that I want to join, then I draw lines across the split to match up the alignment. Then I use the tape to lay out where I want the dowels or biscuits, and try to straighten out any curvature in the stock (plywood especially on longer lengths), by adding a dowel/biscuit at the curve/bend).

I do the first panel's dowel hole (biscuits are more forgiving) - no problem. And then I do the first dowel hole in the other panel, insert the dowel centering cone in the first panel in the second hole and a dowel in the first hole of the first panel, always registering from the first hole (important step). and repeat that to the last dowel. Depending on the wood's purpose (countertop edge, versus plywood joining for the floor), I'd use more in the edge (bullnose).

Biscuits with a router, on the otherhand, need exact hieght adjustment. So when you do one panel/piece, you immediately do the other with the same setup. Problem is that the other piece might not be ready to match up, unless you use the router with another bit. And buying another router right now is not in the cards. So the dowel system, if I'm careful gets used more often. A good biscuit machine can cost from $300 to $900. The Dowl-it comes in at under $100 with all the options, or under $50 for the basic rig (same quality, just no drill bits and size varieties).

So what's that got to do with wagons? How about real wood trim? I'm starting to plan for my Spring restoration, and this house reno is giving me some great practice! Ciao!

BTW, Sears doesn't sell that Biscuit jig anymore, but Sears US does have an electric one, or you can get it from Craftsman in the US. Slick rig, for under $100.
http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-17539-6-amp-corded-plate-jointer/p-00917539000P?vName=Power+Tools+%26+Equipment&prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=L4

They were originally called Lamello cutters:
http://www.csaw.com/lamello/index.html

And they do it best, with Bosch and Makita following close behind. For a home hobbyist, Makita or the Sears machines are just fine. You could also use the bit alone in your router table, but most times, you need to bring the machine to the cabinet. Automotive trim has curves, so that would be a special fixture, for biscuit systems.

Almost done the second corner cabinet - maybe today.

 

All this biscuit talkin has made me hungry and it's still breakfast time here.
As in the old song, "Please pass the biscuits. Pass the biscuits please."

Biscuits-n-Gravy! Yum yum! Have fun in the kitchen S'n Norman.

 

Now that I think of it, those 55 to 58 Chevy wagons wouldn't look right with wood. No biscuits for you.

 

Personally I think ALL station wagons look great with wood on them.
Wouldn't you really rather have a woody ?
Maybe I'll do mine with shelf liner paper.