Sunday May 6, 2012

Weather

We hit a bit of a cool spell this week. Temperatures were in the low 40s to mid 70s. All in all quite pleasant. We have not had any rain to speak of all week. The ground is dry and the grasses are not growing much at all. We do need some rain but the storms have been passing north and south of us. Nothing new is blooming.

Shop

I was able to complete the power tool bench. I put on a top of two layers of MDF so it should be very sturdy. I have some dark Poly finish that will be applied. Painting is one of those things I tend to put off, the bench I did about a year and a half ago is still waiting for paint.

The bench was designed around the use of bench top tool and storage of those and other tools.


Bench top tools in place. Blue base is one I built for the scroll saw about four shops ago.

Toy box

The toy box was mostly cut out but progress stalled as several other things had to get done around here. I also had my first ever bout with Hay Fever caused by something in the park where we had the radio picnic. That seems to have taken me out for about two days.

Antenna launcher

I completed the antenna launcher. The launcher throws a puck connected to a fishing reel line. Once the line is over a tree, a rope is connected and pulled back over. Then one end of the antenna can be pulled up with a rope. It uses air pressure to launch the puck. On the first test the puck flew a couple hundred feet into the air and about the same distance horizontal. It also broke the light line. I charge it from a portable air tank.

The tee handle has a push button switch and two 9 Volt batteries.

Sunday May 6, 2012

Weather

After a bit of April coolness we have moved back into hot and humid weather, breaking records in many places. We did get a little rain, about a half an inch. The temperatures here have been in the high 80s and low 90s with heat indices over 100. The very mild winter has had one downside, Ticks are out in full force. Any trip to the woods or tall grass requires a shake down and a shower after. We treat the grass around the house but beyond that is a DMZ of sorts. There is an Army Worm that is devastating farmers hay fields and pastures. They are taking a first cutting early and spraying like crazy to control a worm that can destroy a field in an afternoon.

Blooming

The only plant with new blooms is a Tulip Popular. The flowers are buried within the trees foliage so there is not a spectacular show but the flowers are big and showy even if hidden.

Tulip Popular blooms hidden in the foliage.

Shop

I completed the base of the next cabinet. This is the cabinet that will be under the bench power tools and will also be used to store bench power tools. I used some drawers a friend gave me many years ago. They are high quality construction and I just could not bring myself to discard them. The first three went into this bench but there are nine more. I have a couple of ideas.

Base of the benchtop power tool bench.

Toybox

I also started another project. I need to make a trip to town for some MDF for the power tool bench top so until then I will be working on this toybox.

The basic toybox waiting for a roof and paint.

The week

Other than that it was a busy week. I cleaned out all the trash metal and sent it off this week. We also helped out at the school field days and I went to an auction. There were a couple of things I was interested in at the auction but they went over my price. Either some things are going too high or I am just plain cheap.

1. When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany
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2. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
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3. The Road to Grace (The Walk)
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4. A People's Ecology: Explorations in Sustainable Living
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5. I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy
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6. Techno-Fix: Why Technology Won't Save Us Or the Environment
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7. Millennial Momentum: How a New Generation Is Remaking America
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