Posts: 469
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Peoria, AZ
Since I took the time to read everyone's plans for 2017, I might as well add my own:
1. Build my workbench
2. Re-run the dust collection once all the big tools find their final resting spot
3. Stop searching Craigslist for new tools
4. Learn to use hand tools in the shop
5. Learn to sharpen said hand tools
6. Did I mention stop searching Craigslist for new tools???
I rang in 2017 by upgrading my planer to a 15" Grizzly G0453 in pristine condition that I found on Craigslist for a good price. LOML gave me the go-ahead for it and two days later, a Powermatic 209 planer (20") in new condition shows up on Craigslist about 5 miles from my house for $900. I spent half the night figuring out how I could convince LOML that what I really wanted was a 20" planer. I've got to condition myself to just avoid Craigslist and focus on the tools/projects that I have in the garage waiting for me.
Posts: 2,391
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Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Irving, Tx
[quote pid='6622656' dateline='1389002884']
Bill Holt
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[quote pid='6623511' dateline='1389044715']
I have finished the drawings for a credenza style entertainment cabinet and a matching coffee table. Last night the LOML asked for an elegant quilt hanger, so:
1. Design and build quilt hanger (Jan)
2. Locate and mill 100 bf of Mesquite (by the Feb 15)
3. Complete entertainment cabinet (by Mar 7)
4. Complete coffee table (by Mar 28)
I have never been goal driven so this will be a nice test.
[/quote]
Report 2015: 1. Quilt hanger - done 2. entertainment cabinet - done, 3. Coffee table - scratch, 4. Blanket chest for neighbor - done 2016: Quilt display cabinet for LOML, 5 kiosk cabinets for my church, trestle dinning table & bench for DNL, 2 decretive/sound control walls for church orchestra, 20+ bowels for Fort Worth Empty Bowl Project - done
2017: This morning, daughter ordered entertainment cabinet, shelving, coffered ceiling, and a desk for their new house. So 2017 looks to be a good year!
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
Posts: 13,415
Threads: 4
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: New Jersey
Having had a bit of a cascade of health issues, including one surgery that's kept me mostly out of the shop for the last month (been sharpening saws, however), all of which issues are headed in the right direction if not resolved, my plan is to remember every day how lucky I am and appreciate how friends and family have given me the support I needed to move forward. Not much else matters, really......
Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere
Non impediti ratione cogitationis
Posts: 13,412
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: Texas
I'm going to make all efforts to make it to 2018, and anything between now and then is up for grabs.
Plans always change as well as priorities.
Posts: 10,118
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Joined: Sep 2006
Location: South Alabama
Four years after the initial thread, I'm 2 for 3.
Steve S.
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Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
- T. S. Eliot
Tutorials and Build-Alongs at
The Literary Workshop
Posts: 1,448
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Joined: Apr 2007
I'd like to get into my home shop more often than I did in the past year. Working full time in a busy cabinet shop has put a damper on that.
Stay healthy and employed in order to get one step closer to that ever elusive retirement dream.
Chip away at the long list of home repair/remodeling chores.
Enjoy that company of my family and friends at all turns.
All the best!
Bob
"All that I do or say is all that I ever will be"
Billy Joe Shaver, Old Five and Dimers Like Me
Posts: 20,381
Threads: 4
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: CinDay
Some kind of thread, going through it was like a walk through yesterday. Some of those folks have passed, others just not here anymore, hope they are well. I'm still thrilled each morning when I wake up, and happy when I do get to play in the shop. Longer than 5 minutes, and I start smiling. Usually the first 5 I'm cussing myself for not cleaning up better the last time I was out there.
Worst thing they can do is cook ya and eat ya
GW
Posts: 314
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Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Carson Valley, NV
Finally build a real workbench.
Have been using a store bought generic workbench for years.
Posts: 2,682
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Joined: Feb 2011
Location: Elkhart, IA
Turning - the Wife gifted me a mini-lathe for Christmas and I have already made a handful of pens, a lidded box and a couple bottle toppers....I think I have the bug.
Posts: 183
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Joined: Mar 2010
Happy New Year! Continuing the tradition that efmrrt started back in 2013 here is my annual update.
(01-05-2017, 11:59 PM)ckx707 Wrote: Goals for 2017:
1) Finish the bed before the 3rd anniversary of starting that project in September of 2014
Done... Finally. See post for details
2) Turn something for my wife as a thank you for the lathe she surprised me with for my birthday
It turns out (pun intended) the learning curve on the lathe has been steeper than I expected and while I made a few attempts at bowls I only managed to prove that bowls may not be the best starting point. With the limited shop time I have I struggled to dedicate the time needed to start with some simple beginner projects and ended shifting focus back to flat work where I could see more direct progress towards a piece of furniture.
3) 5th anniversary gift for my wife... #5 is traditionally wood so I really need to make this one count
Done... I finished the walnut bed mentioned above right around midnight the night before our anniversary and was able to surprise my wife with it the next day. I think the surprise was more around the fact that it was actually done
4) Turn a bowl
As mentioned above this didn't happen but will be something I focus on working towards in 2018
5) Turn a Christmas ornament of some kind
Same as the bowl... I think a simple ornament may actually be where I focus as a start to get comfortable and build some skills on the lathe.
6) Insulate the shop attic and garage door before next winter
With the limited time I get in the shop I can't justify keeping it heated 24/7 and my experience last year showed that the natural gas was so cheap that improving the insulation had a very poor ROI so I'm punting on this until things change and I am actually heating more than a few days a month.
7) Complete at least one other piece of furniture
I'm about half way done with a pair of walnut nightstands to match the bed... does that count as one complete piece?
8) Get my daughter involved in at least one project
Not much progress here either... I think part of the reason I haven't made progress with this is that I set this goal without a specific project in mind so I'm going to make this a higher priority next year.
Looking forward I'd like to focus on the following woodworking goals for 2018... mostly carried over from last year:
1) Define a routine for more consistent shop time
2) Complete the walnut night stands
3) Turn a few Christmas ornaments or decorations as skill builders and gifts for next year
4) Turn handles for the Czeck Edge awl and marking knife kits I purchased
5) Turn a bowl
6) Build a plant stand (request from the wife)
7) Build bunk beds for the boys
8) Build a cheese slicer with my daughter
