How'd it go today?

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It being sunday, I did some turning.
Managed to finish the large elm burl bowl for my neighbour.
Quite an attractive piece of burl, that one.
 
The holes and gaps were what she was attracted to when she picked this bowl out of the hundreds I have on my drying loft.
Think of it more like a piece of sculpture than something to use. The rough parts contrast nicely with the polished surface.

Kind of like this sculptural holder for a pair of sai that I made for my sensei to bring to Okinawa last month as a gift to the old weapons master he was training with. It is a ying/yang thing. The picture is crappy, makes the whole thing seem out of balance, where in reality it is not. P1010985.JPG




My salad bowls don't have holes in them, but I don't use filler, I just pick wood without holes for those.
 
Oh Lawdy hot out .With that tiny bit of rain it's like a sauna .

I did manage to stack that cord of maple I split yesterday .Work 10 minutes rest 15 got-er -done though .

I have some oak back in the woods under the canopies and out of the sun I think I'll attack next .
 
Apparently old Tokumura sensei was quite taken with it, too.:)

Glad I wasn't the one who had to drag that lump of solid wood all the way to Okinawa:lol:
 
Very nice, Stig. It's hard to fill anything other than small voids and irregularities and have it look nice. The natural is usually an improvement over artificial, is my conclusion.

Finishing up a wooden deck for someone. one with a covered roof. A friend asked me to help him do it for his friends. I like the guy a lot, but he sure isn't a carpenter, and the folks don't have so much expectation over the quality of work. It will hold up and all, but kind of short on workmanship. I do the smaller tasks and try and make them tight. It isn't very interesting for me to work on such a project, just doing it to help someone, and for the pay. Folks undervaluing workmanship make a big mistake. I could put it into long paragraphs why, but it is just something that I have come to see in a big way. It's a strange thing about some people, they can be good kindly folks and conscientious in most other regards, but crude workmanship is something that their brains are asleep to. Something is very dead about haphazard work. I don't see how it can be enjoyable, either to do, or use, for that matter Anyway, one more day and I'm out of there. A couple weekends is all I have put into it, I think I'll survive.
 
Don't know about "How'd it go today?" yet....more concerned about "How it's gonna go today". Fixing to head out and tackle that storm damaged elm. I won't know until I climb up to and past the damage just how sound the top is. Iffen I don't post no more, you'll know I didn't make it! :( I'm pretty confident that it'll support me. Gonna take it slow and easy though.
 
I used to love that thrill but now I don't miss it any more. So much safer and easier in the bucket, knowing my support is always solid. Good luck Scott.
 
Replaced some brake lines on my Moms car. The two going to the rear were crispy in the back, not bad towards the front. I flared them about midway up and replaced from there back. The fuel lines don't have a long time before they need replacing. Do them all up with copper/nickle and should be good for the life of the car.

Not much fun lying on concrete with cracked ribs. I crashed a new to me mountain bike on to concrete when the bars slipped in the neck wedge. I landed on the adjustable horns that were straight up. Teach me to look everything over first.
 
Ouch, cracked ribs are a real dis-enjoyment.

Took today off after 7 straight work days. Took some paper work up to township office for property split & talked with the supervisor about the work I've done in the cemetery so far...They are extremely happy and impressed...that was nice to hear!:D Stopped at the Bank & Post Office. Pickin' banjo in front of the fan the rest of the day while I hydrate....removing a dying Maple in the graveyard tomorrow...supposed to hit 100f again. Am I really still in MI?:?
 
Finally finished a small job I started yesterday. Dropped a 90' dead chestnut oak over a elderly couples lane. Rushed to get it on the ground just before a thunder (& lightning) storm hit. :\:
Got packed and gone before the rain. :)
Early this morning got it limbed, bucked and stacked ... 90°-90%. :whine: Went home, changed shirts, had lunch. :)
Gear was still out when another storm hit - got it all put away in the rain, wet. :( Changed shirts again. :)
Sun's back out - gotta go out again and unpack and clean it all so it will dry ... again hot & humid. :(
Looks like another 4 shirt day in paradise. :D
 
Well, the elm went okay. (Thanks for all the good wishes.) I set a rigging friction saver in the pecan to lift/swing the two low limbs that were over the metal carport. Climbed up, notched and backcut, then dropped down and pulled them with the truck. Had to climb once for the first limb, but had to make two trips up for the second, as it wouldn't release from the hinge. Then proceeded to the top, limbing as I went (excluding the two big limbs to the right). Wound up tying in about 45' above the break. It was more sound than I originally thought.

Got the tree done in 4 1/2 hours, then came home and burned 3 tanks of gas through the push mower. Went to the shed to cool down, and wound up sharpening up 3 saws. I'm clean and cool now....and pretty apt to stay that way the remainder of the evening. :lol:

Here are two pics of the tree, if anyone missed it a few weeks ago.

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