Getting dark already?

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Not really, but close enough.  The sun is definitely setting earlier and earlier.  Not only a cooler sun, but less of it.  I'll keep pushing to get beyond that.  Sun lamps don't really work.  Some years, lately, I have pushed through.  Last year was a monster hard year, if there was more than just the weather going on.  This year?  I hope it will be better, after a less than successful summer.  No complaints.  Being that most of those similarly ill can't even contemplate more, and many have lost altogether.  Hmm...  I take that back.  Complaining can be a good thing.  It might mean you still have enough sense to try for better?  I suppose it is how you use it, and do it?

As I begin planning for a few things, I have begun looking at what a wood shop really needs.  I don't have the space for a full wood/mechanical/exercise shop.  I have the back third of a wide and a half, extra long, garage.  Even with folding, break-down, and other techniques and special tools, I am very limited.  Still, the goal is to create a tool/machine shop that will see me to many smaller tasks.  Compromise, due to financial limits, is beyond a doubt in any case.  Further complicating matters are the number of opinions on what is really needed for a multi-use shop.  Farmers, often, to be honest, are some of the best men to speak with.  They do, and make do.  The problem with their notions is that they often have what they have, and use it, without really knowing even if it is "the right" machine or tool, always.  But, they do get done, often, what moderns didn't know could be done.  When money is tight, they have no choice.  When something breaks in some seasons, there might not be time to call someone in.  Make do.  Good for ideas, not always in a repeatable manner for someone who doesn't have immediate need.

I found a video that lays out woodworking very well.  What a shop needs, and a good range of options and notions about best fit.  It doesn't get down to the nitty-gritty on specific machines.  It does a very good job of generalities on those, but rather more specific regarding hand tools.  I think it is probably the best piece of shop setup advice, for a wood shop, I have seen.  I have been reading for years, now.  That doesn't make me an expert, it just means I'm not blind.  There are too many who are a bit too... precise.  Demanding .001 inch clearances, machines or tools that are beyond all but the wealthiest, and such.  Here, again, a farmer type can often set you straight.  Though a man who has worked with his hands for much of his life, in various fields, can also be of service.  Avoid theorists and snobs.  Oh, right, here you go.  The first half is about hand tools, though the whole thing is worth a watch, imho.


I did learn a few things, as well.  While I have worked with some of these tools, and I did take shop in high school, there is much I simply don't know.  The various chisels, for example.  Now, of course, I am mostly looking at hand tools, for now.  If I get the shop going, and actually do work, and begin doing more work, and time becomes more of an issue, then I would begin looking at the heavier/electric equipment.  Money, as well, is always an issue.  And, this is as much a notion about prep as it is about future shop use.  So, I will want a few other tools, as well.  However, for just a basic shop, this good information for a starter kit.

I should have the sharpening tools needed.  I do have a wheel grinder too, though I... think I prefer hand sharpening... at least to start out.  Bit by bit, the shop and world is coming into focus.  Function?  Then again, just today, I was thinking.  I wondered why getting a shop going was becoming such a psychic priority.  Ah!  If I do happen to find a wife?  I'll need a place to hide, since I don't have a job.  Trust me.  Just... trust me.  A home is only just big enough for one large ego at a time, for long periods of time.  I probably ought to get my fishing equipment in order, too, while I'm at it.  :)  I am nothing, if not practical.  I try to be honest.  And... I have tried my best to learn my limits.

After feeding the girls, letting Sam out, then listening to some music, Sassy decided to see what happens when she pokes an ogre with a claw.  What!  I was a bit incensed.  Oh, no, I don't chase em' down, or swat at them.  I just holler.  A bit of a roar, first, as that claw was sharp.  What the...  She never does that, without cause.  After getting over the insult, I checked water... just in case.  The litter was clean.  She had just been fed.  I had even given her extra attention today.  Oh well.  Oh, she did feel bad.  She ran off, with her guilty run, but it was her...  "Yes, what I did was wrong, but there was a reason." stomp.  Yeah... I know the girls pretty well.  Never mind.  I don't hold grudges, just chuckled it off.  Still not sure what her deal was.

Well...  I am hoping to get a little work done this afternoon.  Another cup of coffee and I'll try to get to some of it.