In the Yard

Well, not many finished projects, but here is some of what I have been doing. I built the wall across my back yard to separate the 2 levels. I haven't glued down the top row of bricks yet. I'm also moving dirt still, lots of it. I don't plan on planting grass until fall so I'm not pushing the work too much. I still haven't finished the final little pieces on the brick patio. I really need to get that done.


The rototiller handle broke while a neighbor was using it. No big deal, but they did get it welded back together for me. It's over 30 years old and still working.



Here you see our garden, all in pots under the deck to stay out of the heat. They look great and this picture is full size so it will take longer to open.


Enjoy, and be careful of the blisters.

Current Projects

Ice Cream Scoop

I haven't been entirely away from wood working lately and here is an Ice Cream scoop that I turned from a piece of Myrtle wood and a kit that had the two brass parts. The scoop part that inserts into the Myrtle wood handle was not round, close maybe, so I made a little extra epoxy to make sure that I had enough to fill the hole I drilled. Also, there was a knot at the back end of the handle that I turned away, at least I thought I did until I parted the handle of the lathe. The end had a crack in it, so I sanded the end by hand, filling the crack with sawdust. Then I added some this super-glue, let it dry, then repeat until the crack was filled.

Sugar Scoop

This unfinished piece was from a branch of an ornamental fruit tree I cut down to build the shop. As I was turning I thought the color was great, but as I got to the center of the wood, I found that the core was almost rotten: very brittle, soft, and easily damaged. I turned the scoop center and did have a knot bust out, taking the whole side with it. I used the opening to an advantage so I could see how this the bowl part was. But when I got to the handle, the core either ripped out or was already gone, so the second picture shows why I didn't finish the scoop. I figured no handle, no scoop.

Spoon

I took another branch of the ornamental tree and split it down the center so I wouldn't have to worry about the rotten core. Here you see the first half of the branch that I turned to get ready to make a spoon. At this point the wood looks pretty good, so I'm hopping I can finish this project.