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January 27, 2020 – One down and four to go

January 27, 2020 /

My first cabinet is assembled. It is the most complicated one. Hopefully, the rest will go quicker. In fact today I did all of the millwork to go from rough lumber to panel glue up for the second cabinet. With any luck that one will be near completion tomorrow.

The broom ‘drawer’

Here are five tips I have learned by building this first cabinet.

  • Bandsaw setup for re-sawing is critical. This is an area that I have really struggled with. I have tried to get half inch boards from 1 1/4″ and ended up with firewood because the blade wandered so badly. Make sure the blade is tensioned and the guides are tight. I have also learned my saw better and know how much allowance I need to make a quality cut.
  • Dust collection saves time and gives better results (usually). I have never really used dust collection preferring to cleanup the mess later. After hooking a shop vac to the tools, I believe that it improves precision (in re-sawing) and productivity.
  • Mobile bases on tools in a small shop are worth the cost. I don’t have mobility on all of my tools and what I notice is that instead of moving machines to optimum positioning, I will suffer with less than desirable results rather than milling a new piece. That will be in the works for the next project
  • Water-based polyurethane is a great product. It is a little pricey at $50/gallon but you save tremendously on clean-up and I can get six coats on in a day with a serious two hour dry time. I still prefer the warm look of an oil based product, but it is really hard to argue with the performance of a water-based.
  • Pitch still runs after 15 years. When you hit a pitch pocket that hasn’t been exposed to air, it drips out and makes a mess of everything. I have some paint thinner on hand to wipe it off, but usually after it gets all over.

I am technically nearing the end of week two on this project and there are still lots of things to do, but I am enjoying the process. The next update will be after I hit another milestone.

January 24, 2020 – Making Enchiladas

January 24, 2020 /

I had a hankering to make enchiladas last week. I spent a little more time learning to edit the video for a better viewing. I know, I need to work on my dynamics a little bit, but hopefully there improvement in the overall quality.

Ground Beef Enchiladas

January 23, 2020 – Tacticool Thursday

January 23, 2020 /

I thought that I would talk about belts today and some of the things that I have learned through the years.

Three different belts

The top one is a casual belt that I have worn for years. The bottom two are advertised a pistol belts. Hopefully the picture captures the thickness differences between the three belts. That increased thickness is an attempt to influence the stiffness of the belt. The theory is that increased stiffness keeps the pants and the firearm in place.

Belts held horizontally

The number of options available in gun belts are something to consider. The typical thickness are 1 1/2 – 2″. If you wear khakis or more dress pants beware of the belt width, thicker belts tend to not fit into more formal dress.

Then there is color. Again, if you are trying to coordinate your dress, consider having multiple belt option like black and brown. A tip here is that the holster hardware is often black, so black belts conceal Inside the Waist Band (IWB) type hardware better. I have more brown shoes and I think brown is more informal, so I tend to lean toward that color.

Belt length is subjective to your waist size. Many manufacturers offer measurement instructions so that you get a proper fitting belt. Depending on how you wear the pistol, you may need more length to carry IWB versus Outside the Waistband (OWB). My first belt I bought was at my peak of fitness and now no longer fits. Consider your weight trends when buying a belt, ideally you would be in the center of the belt holes when wearing your handgun in the preferred method. If you use a normal belt to measure your waist, be aware that those belts may stretch while you are cinching them up and give you a smaller waist size that you want. Hence, my first belt I ordered had little adjustment remaining (to get fat!).

These belts can be pretty pricy. I think my first one was $65. Since I was looking to replace my belt recently, I ran across a screaming deal from Midway USA. Normal price for the belts were $50, but I got special birthday pricing and paid $26 per belt. I just got them last week, so don’t know how well they hold up, but so far so good. Remind me and I will update after a year of wear.

January 23, 2020 – Building cabinets is easy, just 800 simple steps

January 22, 2020 /

In today’s ‘insta’ world I feel like the difference between easy and simple get used interchangeably without regard to the actual definition. We are bombarded by marketing pertaining to fitness, weight-loss, entrepreneurship, making money, selling on ebay, buying a car, taking supplements on and on, add naseum.

Human beings use there brains to process information into relatable chunks. By our nature, we want to get things done the most expedient way unless for some reason we particularly enjoy the activity. It is natural to optimize it by cutting corners or combining steps.

Using a personal example, often times when baking recipes call for sifting the flour and pre-mixing the dry ingredients. I understand the science behind the instructions (typically a gluten reaction minimization) but I don’t like doing the extra dishes and I cant say that I have noticed the difference, so I don’t do it.

The word easy should imply a skill level or expertise, meaning requiring little. Whereas the word simple is more of a duration. Easy can be simple and simple is usually easy but they are not mutually exclusive. Using the two effectively in any sort of endeavor requires knowing yourself, likes and dislikes.

For instance, I have been studying content creation and building a brand, making money etc. for a while now. The Gary Vanderchuck idea of 1000 true fans sounds good, but you have to know something about the internet and computers, marketing, have something to offer and be consistent in delivering to build a brand. I think that I can do it, I want to do it, but will I? I know that one of the things I really don’t want to do is manage social media interactions while I have millions of content ideas.

Our society is developing automation and widget’s to make these things easier if you take the simple steps of setting them up. Think about writing a book fifty years ago using a typewriter, later a computer made editing easier. Now you can self publish and sell a book on Amazon (Publish on Demand). An author from fifty years ago might say that it is easy. So, these evaluations are also relative to the context of the opinion, however I would argue that it is easy to become an author in today’s world. What’s not as easy is to make a living without the right marketing or luck.

In the end, I think the formula for success is not that hard (read: easy) when you genuinely apply yourself every day (read: simple). Also consider that if others are doing it, than you can probably make it work. I am experimenting with the medium, the formatting and my abilities to find the right fit. It probably wont be what I thought it would be, the journey is a growing experience.

January 22, 2020 – Introducing the “Pantry Project”

January 21, 2020 /

A few days before Christmas, we had a problem. It was a big one. The supply line for the toilet had been leaking and it caused the ceiling in the pantry to collapse. Of course I had no idea that was going on and the kids said “oh yeah, the floor is always wet”. Days before Christmas we had a ruined pantry, a leak, a mess and to top it off we were leaving for two weeks.

Fortunately, we have a friend that has done some work for us before and we were able to get him to work on the repairs while we were gone. After fixing all of the damage I started looking at the empty pantry and thought, this would be the time to make some changes if I wanted.

The old pantry

I talked to my wife about the situation and she was game. So I started thinking about what I wanted to change. I didn’t like how full it was or all of the clutter, brooms and mops blocked the dryer door when carelessly stowed. I wanted to add a wine cooler (mini fridge for now). The bank of drawers were largely useless. The shelves were added as an afterthought and were at risk of tipping over or collapsing when pressure applied.

At first, I wanted to do this the tyical way. I was going to use prefinished plywood and build cabinets quickly. But, my wife didn’t want the expense so we compromised on this idea that I had always had. Back when we moved into this house, there was a Douglas Fir that we had removed. I hired a portable mill to cut the lumber and it has been dried and stacked, waiting to build a project that belonged to this home. So, that is what I am going to do.

Plans for the pantry

It wont be the fastest way to get this done, but in the end, I think the story will be worth it. Stay tuned for updates, I estimate this will take six weeks or so to complete.

January 17, 2020 – Ready for Fall Bounty?

January 17, 2020 /

Believe it or not, what you do matters for the quantity or quality of fall harvest. Now is the time to not only start thinking about it but actually doing something about it.

Like what you may ask. For instance, it is time to start pruning, spraying (if you are into that), and seed starting for minimum cost and optimum diversity.

Pruned and trained Concord Grape vine

The grape vine I have pictured above I am training to cover the fence. It makes a great screen when it starts growing. Grapes need to be pruned to a bearing nodule. All fruiting will happen on new growth.

Remove water shoots for long term health and productivity

For fruit trees like apples, all water shoots (last years growth), damaged and diseased branches should be removed. This tree was neglected for several years before we moved in and the water shoots got multiple years growth. That creates exposure to heart wood which will eventually rot if not covered, so stay on top of it. This tree also has a fungus problem, but I don’t spray, I just cut out the bad parts of the apple. Now would be the time to treat. It takes several applications of dormant spray throughout the winter.

Lest we forget our flowery friends, Roses should be pruned to one or two main stems as well. Grafted roses can and will start shoots from the root stock causing an errant red rose belonging to the root stock to appear with your desired variety. Conventional wisdom in this part of the world is to prune around Presidents day, but I usually do it when I am pruning other things.

Seed starting is probably a whole additional topic. Suffice to say for this post, start calculating days back from your annual frost date to determine when seeds need to get started for your garden. Consider things that are difficult, expensive or exotic to grow because even at $1.99/lb for organic celery there isn’t a lot of return on investment unless you are going to do some specific preserving.

Have a great weekend and good luck with your harvest.

January 16, 2020 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

January 16, 2020 /

Well, not exactly. But as I started thinking about blog/podcast segments and what I am interested in, I think that Thursday is a great day to talk about things you might do this weekend like shooting, hunting and the outdoors.

A few months ago, my son joined a school sponsored trap team. That team is hosted by the local Elk’s lodge. One thing lead to another and I am now involved with the Elks and running the local gun range. One of the things that trap team is doing is putting on Hunter’s Safety this weekend.

Back when I was kid, I took hunter’s safety. It was a summer pursuit where my brother and I attended class for half a day for about a week at the local Boy’s and Girls club. Now, with the advent of the internet and online learning, you can largely complete the course with an on-line learning experience. That being said, most states (including mine) do not consider the online experience complete without a ‘field’ day. So that is what we are going to do this weekend.

This event is a bit self-serving because safety training is required to participate in the upcoming trap season. But, there are a lot of reasons to take Hunter’s Safety.

  • Hunting – Youths under the age of 18 are required to present a Hunter’s Safety certificate to obtain a license (in my state). Some states require adults to pass a state specific hunters safety course to get an out of state license.
  • Safety – The class covers many aspects of hunting equipment including basics of firearms and archery tackle. Knowing how the specifics operate and fundamental firearms rules makes a person more well rounded and aware of potential dangers. This event will use live fire in a supervised environment to hone those skills.
  • Ethics – Hunting is rooted in tradition. It is a fun and rewarding pursuit that brings a meal to the table with a story and a memory. But to have a positive outcome the when and where are important.

Even if you are not a hunter or a gun person, I still highly recommend these skills as a well rounded person because there are more than 200 million guns in this country and you never know when you might run into one. The NRA offers a free course for a number of states https://nra.yourlearningportal.com/Course/HuntersEdActivityInfoPage and links to your state if not currently approved.

Right now is the tail end of waterfowl and small game season, we will be getting into spring bear and turkey within a few months and the big game season is looming this fall, especially if you are wanting to put in for lottery type tags. Happy hunting and building memories.

January 14, 2020 – Making Menudo

January 15, 2020 /

I finally got around to editing the video I took last month on how I made menudo. It was such a busy time with Christmas looming that the end wasn’t quite as strong as the beginning. But you should get a good idea of what is involved. Enjoy.

Some of the best I have made yet.

January 9, 2020 – Painting your front door

January 9, 2020 /

In the Winter? Yes, as long as it is not freezing, exterior painting can be done, even in the Winter. I choose to do it now because I had the time and it wasn’t raining.

First prep the surface

To start with, it is helpful to know what you are dealing with. This door is a fiberglass door that was stained with a water-based stain. Read, the substrate is stable and the surface had some oxidation, but nothing a quality paint couldn’t cover. I didn’t need to sand or repair anything before I started

To prepare the surface, I brushed off all of the cobwebs. I also masked around the glass with some very flexible tape. I didn’t do this, but you could run a loop of masking tape around the locksets. However a careful paintbrush drawing away from the hardware on each stroke saves masking time.

I used a high grade, hardware store exterior paint and primer in one to paint. I really prefer a well known paint store branded paint, but they do not sell my preferred line in quarts and the sample size paint is not as durable as I would like. Think $80-100/gal for high performance paint.

Why expensive paint and what is the difference? I happen to know a lot about this area so here are some reasons. You want a paint that is performance tested in your climate. Not all major brands test in the Pacific Northwest for our conditions like consistent wetness. More expensive paint is going to have better hide – less recoats to get the final outcome. The additives are more durable, colors are going to stay truer, longer and not fade as quickly. Adhesion to less pure substrates is much better with expensive paint.

This is what it looked like after three coats. I will probably give it a fourth coat (not what I was hoping for) to finish this, but the overall result sure is striking. I like it so much that I am thinking I will pain the back door again this summer.

January 8, 2020 – Happy New Year; Remove Your Barriers

January 8, 2020 /
This really rings true for me

Welcome to 2020. Time to get back to work. I first heard of this video several months ago and I was struck at how much this description resonated with me and my charactere. I think that it boils down to whether you really want to do something or not and how difficult it may be.

I think that you have to be intellectually honest with yourself on that subject. Like this project for instance. I have wanted to do something like this for years, but as you can see I have made little progress. It will also be difficult to make some income, let alone a living right now.

Almost daily, while I was on vacation I thought “If I was really doing this blog as a job, I would be posting daily, despite being on vacation”. The platform is mobile enabled, so I could have done it with my phone – but that’s much harder than using a computer. So I didn’t.

“When I get back, I will have all these ideas”. I still do, it has taken me five days to get back into the swing of things.

“When I work for myself, I can arrange my own schedule”. Yes, but if you dont work during the day, you still need to do it in the evening.

Hopefully this year, I will move beyond some of my own Toolbox Fallacy. I encourage you to look critically at yours.