Two more block letter names were made Wednesday

March 2, 2017 - Thursday

8 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Well, darn, I wish there was something more to talk about than what I did in the shop on Wednesday. 

It's the time of year. Other than the occasional foray onto the ice to go fishing, there's not a lot a person can do outside for entertainment... unless you count shoveling and plowing snow. 

It's either stay inside and watch television or make dust out in the shop. I'll take the shop.

Worry not, there are more outside projects and adventures on the agenda for this summer than ever. The shop will soon be a fond recent memory, not to be awakened until next fall, once warm weather arrives.

Well, that's a lie, but I am eager to be busy outdoors rather than being inside looking out.

I was a bit distraught to see that something, a raccoon, I imagine, had torn down two of the suet cages and ripped apart the live cage set to catch squirrels Tuesday night. 

I doubt it was a bear. It's still awfully early in the year and cold. Since snow was falling this morning, there were no visible tracks.

I refilled the bird feeders and hung the cages filled with suet. Oh, and I also set a raccoon trap that is dog proof. Whew, what a rodeo that would be if Brutus managed to get one of his delicate tootsies caught. 

Returning home from my morning walk, I cleared the drive and patio of two inches of newly fallen snow then it was back to the shop.

I managed to salvage the bowl that broke apart on Tuesday. Hmm, how best to hide the small cracks made from breaking. I decided to make a sugar bowl with matching handles on each side.

The biggest challenge was to cut and carve two handles from a tiny piece of wild cherry.

To make them similar was the challenge. The next step is to make a lid to fit over the bowl. 

The sugar bowl is in the foreground.

There was a perfect size stock still mounted in the lathe from which to turn another tea cup and saucer. Why not?

I'm finding the most difficult challenge in turning a tea set is to make the cups exact. The new one has thicker walls and is a fraction taller than the other two. Oh well, I doubt a four-year-old little girl is really going to know or care.

The newest cup is on the far left

It's amazing, the various shades of color that can come out of the same species of tree. Yesterday's cup was much lighter than those made previously even though all are wild cherry.

It was getting on into the afternoon. I carried in wood and scraped the drive a bit more. I just didn't want to go in the house so I headed back to the shop thinking I'd watch television, maybe take a short nap, and think deep thoughts. 

I ended up making two more block names instead.

Someone asked if I hand carve each. No. The first step is to cut as much as I can using the band saw. Then I move to the scroll saw for the finer cuts. In the end, I use a Dremel with a barrel sander attached to give them a rustic look. After timing myself, it appears that each name takes around forty-five minutes to an hour from start to finish.

Sargie was home by 6:30 last night and we enjoyed a large salad for supper. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

She opens the Vision Center today. I'm going for my usual walk then plan to dig out the maple pans and grate from under the snow alongside the barn. It appears that warmer weather is headed our way on Sunday and next week is forecast to be above freezing every day, but drop below freezing each night, a perfect formula to make sap run. 

Other than that... it's back to the shop. There are three names to cut out on the agenda for today.  I also need to make a trip to town on errands, so it appears Thursday's going to be a busy one.

Meanwhile, I'm going to listen to the news, sip a cup of coffee, and think happy thoughts of warm weather and summertime activities.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

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