You dismissed my thought that there might be a way to store a variety of lengths of lumber without any effort. I ended up sticking the big planks and stacking short lengths against the wall but, as it turns out, I had already invented the storage system but forgotten about it. I use it to store shovels and sledgehammers.
I even have another, spare, condemned ladder, about fifteen feet in length, that could be used to create a graduated set of vertical bays. Wasn’t needed, this time around.
I spent another couple of hours with my cedar log; here’s the result.
My whole world smells of ginger, tonight. I also sawed off the branch stump from each half because they didn’t seem to offer any bigger planks from the next step. They’ll probably become bowl blanks. Now I’m deciding how to resaw the main halves. Any uses for two-foot, 2×3 planks of lightweight, rot-resistant character wood?
A couple of commissions have come in, which is nice but out of schedule. First is to design, build and install a green oak framed floor in the Drawing Room for Monica, provided she doesn’t decided on limecrete after all. The other is a funeral urn. Monica’s brother, Kevin, was divorced years ago but somehow his wayward wife’s funeral has become his responsibility. She was accidentally killed in a homeless hostel fire last week, poor woman, while we all thought she would kill herself through drugs or alcohol. An English wood box with no glue or fasteners, to rot quickly and cleanly, is the request. Some of that local beech will be good, with tight dovetails and beeswax seals. Dowel pins will hold the lid shut, I think. Ideas?
Monica has been looking for a nursing home for her parents. One of the manager-owners had the grace and kindness to explain, in detail, how the system works and what needs to be done. She also pointed out that Daddy may have a kind of dementia that is much quicker-moving than anyone has yet realised, so Monica is now chasing the GP for a more considered diagnosis.
Ordered a wood-threading set yesterday: a big one for making clamps and vices and a little one for drawer-knobs. They’ve always fascinated me so now I get to discover how difficult and frustrating it is to create good, wooden threads. If I get the hang of it, though, there’ll be a hundred uses.
Project Pigsty is nearly done. Just a load of wood and stone to shift to their new homes beyond the barn. October’s job is to survey and model the existing, converted and new barns; and to submit the amended plans to Council for consideration. M has moved some cash into the Projects account so I can also start looking for a second-hand mini-digger and dumper-truck, with which to dig the septic tank, pond, quarry, terraces etc, plus a knackered lathe and mill for the Smithy. Jobs for winter days.
One grand outcome of Project Pigsty is a dozen big sacks of nail-infested, half-rotten firewood fit only for the workshop stove. Guess where I’ll be spending my dark winter evenings?