Jose's Casita

We're getting ready for a rod trip very soon. We will hook up the trailer an head north, for a while. I have to visit some family in Oregon that I haven't seen in years. Then we will just wander for 3 or 4 weeks. Since I do most (all) of the cooking on these adventures, I decided that I need a spice cabinet of my own. First, I ordered 15 little Mason Jars from Amazon. They turned out to be perfect for what I envisioned. I laid them out and began to figure out how to arrange them. Five rows of three jars worked best. I assembled a box from some left over oak in the scrap bin. I finger jointed the corners and rabbeted in the front and back panels. The shelves are Masonite with oak faces. While I was feeling creative, I whittled out a spoon from some mahogany, made another bottle opener from some unknown hardwood and stuck them and the knife, that I made in an earlier post, in the lid. I applied a picture to the outside of the lid, the same way as I did with the ukulele case. While all of this was going on, I felt that my friend, Jose Cuervo, needed a place to live. What could be more suitable than with all the spices? Cooking is hard work and, sometimes, a little poquito of Jose helps you to relax and free up the creative juices. Tequila Sunrise for breakfast and a Margarita in the evening. Yeah!!

Mother's Day and Family Treasures

I finished this today, one day late for Mother's Day. There is a back story, of course. Years ago, when I was, maybe 9 or 10 years old, my mother announced that she was getting "The Spice Rack". She was very excited. It seems the rack belonged to an aunt and Mom was promised that it would go to her upon the aunts passing. When she brought it home, my dad mounted it to the kitchen wall, where it hung until 1971. That's when the story takes a tragic turn. 1971 was the year of the Sylmar earthquake. The spice rack did not fare well. Most of the jars fell and were shattered into hundreds of pieces. Mom was devastated. She had only a few prized possessions and it was, probably, at the top of the list. When she died in 1996, I was given many of her belongings. I didn't realize that a few jars survived. She had, carefully, wrapped them up and put them in a box. Now we fast forward to the 21st Century. I was able to go online and after several years of searching, I found a few, matching, jars. I now had enough to arrange them in a symmetrical, balanced display. Originally, there were quite a few more jars, perhaps 10 or 12 of the large ones and 16 or 18 of the small ones. Knowing that finding more was going to be difficult, I used what I had. Some, notably, the oil and vinegar bottles are chipped. I'll think of them as battle scars. I made up this shelf to display them. They will also hang in our kitchen. This time, I will use liberal amounts of museum putty to secure them to the shelf so, when the "Big One" hits, they will stand a chance of surviving. I wish I had been able to do this while she was still alive but I'm sure she would love it

Rocket Science

My grand daughter had a birthday recently. Of course, there were balloons everywhere. I noticed the empty helium tank and thought it was  a waste to toss it out. I know that it, probably, gets recycled, but I wondered if it could be repurposed. I got on line and saw these rocket stoves. They can be made from old cans, propane tanks and so forth. So, I got to work. I cut  a hole in the top, where the valve was and another on the side. I took a piece of exhaust tubing from the scrap pile and cut it in half at a 45 degree angle I welded the two pieces back together so theye mad a 90 degree turn. I stuck it into the tank so one end came through the hole on the side and the other end poked up through the hole on top. I welded the tube to the tank at the side opening. Before welding the top closed, the tank was filled with vermiculite. This insulates the stove and keeps as much of the heat as possible in the firebox and the chimney. I made up a little, square grille to hole the pot or pan and three legs to support it. The horizontal tube is the fire box. A small sheet metal divider was cut and inserted in the tube. The wood sits on this divider. As it burns, air is drawn in through the bottom of the tube, under the divider and the heat pulls the flame up through the chimney. I fired it up and was able to fry an egg with it. I find that lighter wood, like pine, seems to work better that slower burning hardwood. It's nothing that you can just light and walk away from. Fuel needs to be added often, but it works pretty well. Just another, quicky, project that I threw together because I was bored and broke. As soon as I scrape up a few bucks, I'll finish the wood lathe

Time For A Rest

Next, I need a tool rest. I deviated from the plans again. The original plans assume that the builder has no metal working tools. I do. It called for an assemblage of various pipe fittings and other, store bought, hardware. I knew that it would look hokey and homebrewed, so I devised my own rest. The base was made from two pieces of oak, laminated together, much the same as directed in the book. After that, I was off on my own. I machined a collar from some aluminum that I had in the scrap bin. It was drilled and tapped and attached to the base with 1/4 inch screws. It was bored through to 3/4 inch. Another hole was drilled through the side and tapped for the locking screw which I added a little, turned handle to. The tool rest itself is simply two pieces of 3/4 inch cold rolled welded into a "T" shape. I can always make up a new rest for different situations. I'm sure this one will do for 99% of all the turning that I will do. I made up another handle on my small lathe to lock down the rest assembly to the lathe bed. The original plan called for a wooden hand wheel but I thought this will work just as well. Also, I have a hand wheel, in my junk bin, that I will use for the tail stock and I don't want a mismatched set

Visible Mean Of Support

I finished up the pedestals, that support the lathe, today. They are made of 3/4 inch particle board. I was going to use MDF, but the other stuff is cheaper and once it's painted it will look just as good. Both of them are identical. I went ahead and primed them and the guard. I then put on two coats of the same red paint that I used on my router table and my planer/spindle sander cart. The right side will have a shelf for storage, the left will house the motor. Next, I have to build the motor mount system and hang the doors. I also went ahead and cut the threads on the left end of the spindle. It's really beginning to look like a machine now.

 

Making Headway

I've just about finished the headstock. It was made up from eight pieces of oak laminated together. I deviated a bit from the plans in the book. I decided to thread both ends of the spindle. The left end has yet to be threaded. I have to wait until I'm in final mockup, so I can determine the length of the threads. The reason for this is, if I ever want to turn a large bowl or platter, that exceeds the capacity over the ways, I can put a faceplate on the other end and set up a portable tool rest. Since the threads are right handed, I'll have to lock the faceplate onto the spindle with a set screw so it doesn't spin itself off. I did find that I cut the spindle a tad short and didn't allow enough for the threads. To get the additional length, that I need, I recessed both of the flange bearings into the headstock. It gives it a more custom look, which I like. At the same time as was doing this, I glued the ways to each other with the laminated plywood spacers in between. Everything came out nice and even with no ugly gaps. Next, I think I'll make the pedestals that serve as the base for the machine. It's cut from one sheet of MDF or particle board. I'll do the tailstock last. I blew the budget on the headstock lumber. It took ten feet of  3/4 x 8 red oak. It ran 55 bucks. I will need a similar amount for the tailstock. All that will remain, after that, is some electrical cord, a V belt, a quart of red paint and some assorted hardware

En Garde

I though I'd make something cheap, so I made a belt guard for the lathe. It's made from scrap plywood and some Masonite that I had in the shop. I didn't follow the plans in the book for this part since I would have had to buy some more material. Still trying to do this on a budget and still end up with an attractive machine.  I laminated some plywood squares together  and cut out the upper and lower curved portions on the band saw. I notched each piece at the ends of the legs to recess the Masonite sides into. The inside was brought up flush with some 1/2 inch plywood strips. Another piece of Masonite was cut and glued to the assembly to form the front of the guard. I used my trim router to cut it flush with the sides. A hole was drilled so the spindle will stick through. Once everything it sanded smooth and even, I'll fill the plywood edge grain with plastic body filler. I cut a little sheet metal clip to hold it onto the headstock. Once the machine is mounted to the pedestals, I'll make up some sort of clip to hold it at the bottom .