Off Topic

Gone Mobile

Submitted by Leif on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 12:14pm

It seems everything has gone mobile these days, what with smart phones, iphones, and hand-held devices being all the rage.  Even I've been sucked in, though only peripherally - while my phone is not a "smart" phone per se, it can browse the web. 

So - far behind the other sites out there, I've gone and finally added mobile capabilities to the site, so now (while you are stranded in that airport or wherever) you can read your favorite Norse Woodsmith articles and blog feeds on your phone.  I realize most blogging sites have this capability already, but hey! I'm a bit of a luddite and slow to adapt.

I've included a small applet below that will give you a preview of what the site looks like on a phone. 

Leif

 

Of canted blades, nibs, skewed backs, and sawmaking allegory

Submitted by Leif on Sun, 08/31/2008 - 7:09am

I see bit of discussion on the web lately of the finer points of hand saw design. I certainly welcome that there is enough interest in the subject to spur such debate, so thought I might throw my hat in the ring, FWIW.

On canted (tapered blade heights) backsaws:

One thing noticed by many is that on older backsaws, the blade varies in height along it's length - from narrower at the front (toe) to wider at the back (heel). Then, sometime in the mid-1800's, the trend was to a more parallel back - where the cutting edge of the blade is parallel to the back of the saw. In this illustration, the upper saw's cutting edge is parallel to the edge, and the lower is "canted":

A parallel blade (upper) compared to a "canted" blade (lower)

If you look closely you can see the blade at the left end of the saw is not as deep as he blade at the back.

Lily Whites are Long Gone

Submitted by Leif on Tue, 08/19/2008 - 12:03pm

Any reader of this site knows I am a fan of oil stones... One of the finest quality oil stones out there are by the Norton company are known as "Lily White Washita" stones.  These are the type of stones I learned how to sharpen on - I had one of these stones for many years, and lost it through a mishap 10 or 12 years ago now - and I have missed it. They had gone out of production many years ago and were no longer available, but still command a hefty price for a vintage one on ebay and the like when you found a used one. 

Then, a couple years ago, Joel Moskowitz at Tools for Working Wood worked his magic with the Norton company (the manufacturer and owner of the quarry where they are mined) and got them to resurrect their Lily White Washita line of oil stones. 

When I heard they were available again I was ecstatic.  But of course I didn't buy any right away - I always had something else that was more important to get first, as I now have a hard translucent arkansas that's been serving me quite well.  However - I nearly waited too long...

Post Falls Dam

Submitted by Leif on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 7:35pm

This is the Post Falls Dam on Memorial Weekend, 2008 - running pretty much at full throttle.  What you can't see in the video is the hundreds of swallows that are flying close to the surface of the water in the second clip..  Sorry for the video quality, best I can do with the camera - it's not a video camera, just a picture camera...   The sound is just as you hear in the clip - a constant and very loud roar...    This is almost entirely from snow melt - there was a lot of snow in the mountains this year.

The first shot in the video is of the spillway - what used to be the falls...  The second is directly below the falls, but you just can't seem to get the two in the same shot - and the third is downriver at Corbin Park, where  - if you are familiar with the area - you can see the river is running very high.  

 

Here's a photo of the dam:

Post Falls Dam

 

 Here's a couple photos from a friend - further downriver, the river goes through Spokane:

Spinning Wheels - no not the song

Submitted by Leif on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 7:40pm

Though it does show a little of the environment I grew up in - these were the first thing I thought they were singing about the first time I heard that song...

No, I'm talking about the real thing, which are used for making yarn from raw materials such as wool or cotton:

Old Wheel

This one is an antique, made sometime in the later half of the 1800's, and was built by the brother of this man - my great great grandfather:

A Good Neighbor Gloat

Submitted by Leif on Sun, 11/11/2007 - 12:58pm

Building a new shop can be expensive to do, but is sure helps to have good friends. This morning, my neighbor Mike (an HVAC tech) delivered these to me completely gratis:

Not just one - but two 5-ton heat pumps! Seems a well-off summer lake residence is getting remodeled, and both of these were being taken out to be scrapped... The one on the left is older, but was for the little-used basement of the house, and the one on the right has a new compressor installed last year which is still under warranty... Both worked well when removed... Either way, if one breaks - I've got a spare!

Later this week he's going to bring over over the mating air handlers (each with 20k supplement heating elements)!!! This in combination with the wood stove, I should have heat in the shop well covered. As well as air conditioning... Smile

Reminiscing about my very first project.

Submitted by Leif on Thu, 10/04/2007 - 6:51pm

It's been a strange week or two. I've been reminiscing, mostly about my early life with my parents, both of which have passed on. Mom went first, about 2 years ago, and as of last week, Dad's been gone a year now. It's funny what can bring those memories back - it's not just anniversaries and the like. Most often for me, it's different smells.

One is the smell of old machinery... the smell of 50 year old grease on an old truck, tractor or car. If you've ever smelled it, you know what I'm referring to - it's a distinctive odor, not anything like a modern mechanic's shop. It's the smell of the old "H" or "M" tractors; the old flatbed truck; and all of that ancient machinery that is still toiling away on the old farm, decades "past their prime" - and to this day, to be truthful, still are, in the possession of my uncle.

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