So there we were canoeing 12 miles uplake to the primitive camping area. I was in the back to provide the power. My friend and he was supposed to steer and I discovered he didn't know how to do that. In other words, I paddled and he made me work harder.
It took all day. I was disappointed that my friend had exaggerated his canoeing skills, but maybe he underestmated mine and thought we were more even than we were. And when you are about to spend a week camping and hiking in wilderness, you don't won't to start an argument, you know?
So we found a designated campsite that looked good. Seemed like a good spot to fish, the wind drifted in from the lake, and there was a flat open spot for heating our dried food.
We put on some mosquito repellent, made a quick dinner of rather boring freeze-dried spaghetti and went to bed. It was a good thing my tent had a full front mesh cover. Because we both woke up to see it completely covered with mosquitos trying to get at us! Seriously, it was COMPLETELY covered. That is a very scary thing to see.
But they were definitely night-oriented mosquitoes. Or they gave up getting at us. The next morning, I said well let's get out on a hike. He said, why don't we try to catch some fish for dinner first. Well, OK. So we went out in the canoe. And caught nothing. I had even caught a few crickets and a few worms.
Then my friend took a nap. And I realized that if I wanted to hike around, I was going to do it alone. Which is not safe... So I didn't.
By the 3rd day, we were out in the canoe again trying to catch some fish. I don't like fish, but the freeze dried food was pretty awful, so I could have eaten one. That's when my friend (who was not skilled in a canoe) tipped us over.
I saw it coming. He leaned too far over. I yelled at him and tried to balance by leaning to the opposite side, but he outweighed me by 80 pounds. Over we went! Fishing rods, tackle, anchor, ropes, all overboard.
Thankfully it was only 8' deep. But guess who can't swim or dive? My friend. And of course he wouldn't know how to get in a canoe without tipping it. I tossed over the other anchor (attached to the canoe) to keep us at the spot and spent an hour retrieving our stuff while my friend put the stuff I handed to him into the canoe.
That night I said we were leaving in the morning. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was fine there, but he was completely inept.
We left in the morning. 12 miles can be a fairly long trip, especially when you are basically doing all the paddling. As we got to the widest part of the lake, a squall blew over. Suddenly the waves were 2' high.
My friend panicked and started paddling every whichway and I told him that if he did that we were going to die. I told him to lay down in the bottom of the canoe and I would paddle quarterwise of the waves to the lee shore.
We got there, waited out the squall, and arrived in the main camp after dark (thanks to lights).
I asked the camp manager for a regular tent spot (which he gladly gave after hearing my sad story) and set up the tent. My friend just fell asleep on the ground in it. I went fishing...
Sometimes, you are just to worked up to sleep. So I dropped a 16" bass I caught right at the dock on him, the only fish caught on the trip, LOL!
When I learn that I do something poorly, I try to improve at it. And quite frankly, I usually achieve "competncy". And if it is something I just can't get good at, I admit it (like playing any musical instrument or learning a foreign language). "Jack of all trades, master at none" is my life...
My friend never wanted to learn anything he didn't already know. He refused my attempts to give advice on boats and canoes. In fact, he seemed not to have a simple understanding of basic physical reality.
Years later, when I had a Jon Boat (basically a rowboat with a sloped front), he stepped off the pier onto the boat. With one foot on each. Have you ever seen what happens when you stand one foot on a pier and another on a boat that moves? Yes, he actually had his feet spread apart as the boat moved away until he fell into the water!
I always thought that was a joke like slipping on a banana peel. But it was real... I watched him fall into the water. It was only 4' deep there and the pier was only 2' above the water. But he couldn't even get himself up onto the pier with my help (and he was 6'4") and had to wade to shore. I'm amazed he didn't drown on the way.
Showing posts with label Fishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fishing. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Neat Neighbor
This may all seem a bit weird. I have a cross the street neighbor who managed to get permission to build a McMansion on the wetland across the street. And he is the father of the Crazy Guy who lived next door to the property. Yet he is friendly and we talk.
This guy is SLICK! He not only got permission to build on a wetland (by bringing in 10 loads of soil), he bought the utterly unbuildable property next to his IN EXCHANGE for 6 acres of wetlands behind him. I would NOT play poker with this guy!
On the other hand, he is utterly friendly and helpful to neighbors.
The wetlands behind him have been draining for years. It is now mostly woods and creeks. So we were talking yesterday. He has a personal herd of deer in his 6 acres and hunts regularly (with a crossbow!) and there are several good fishing spots there too.
I tried not to drool while he described it all. I very briefly mentioned that I was an experienced deer hunter in my younger days and still enjoyed fishing, but didn't outright ask. But I would sure like an invitation. We just compared some hunting and fishing experiences though.
This guy is ultra-competent. He does his own deer butchering and aging. He grows corn for the deer (not where he hunts). He can recognize most of them individually by sight. He enlarged his concrete driveway by himself! I saw him atop his 2.5 story house last week inspecting his shingles! He goes to bed at sunset and gets up at dawn. He snowblows other peoples' driveways just for something to do!
He doesn't seem to own a computer. He mentioned being at a target range a mile away and thought he recognized some of his deer there, and thought the properties were adjacent. When I asked if he had "googled" it, he "said" he didn't know what that was (but keep in mind this guy is slick).
He mentioned that turtles all came around when he was fishing in the back area because they had learned he injured the fish when he got the hooks out of the fishs' stomachs. So I mentioned that I had learned a trick for that. You go up through the open gills with a long nose plier, get ahold of the top of the hook and twist it so that it slides right back out. No harm. I'm a catch and release type.
That got his attention! He likes to catch fish, not harm them.
And I mentioned that I had bought a really good hunting crossbow a few years ago but didn't know where to hunt. But I didn't push it...
He says there are too many deer around here, and I agree. I mentioned that there are too few places to hunt, and he agreed. I told him I had driven to southern maryland and back 2 weeks ago looking a lots and saw 4 fresh-dead deer obviously killed by cars. I have a concern about that.
Years ago, a friend and were driving home after a day of fishing and he hit a deer. He stopped to look at the damage to his car; I went to look at the deer. My friend questioned my priorities, but I wanted the deer out of the road because if an unsuspecting driver hit it, it could actually overturn the car.
An injured deer can be dangerous by kicking, so I kicked it a few times myself. It was dead, so I dragged it off the road. It wasn't a busy road, but I would have felt terrible if some other driver had been injured hitting it.
We got to my house and documented the car damage for insurance purposes. But 3 days after, part of my left hand went numb. I feared it was carpal tunnel syndrome (because I spend a lot of time at work typing). After having a doctor basically electrocute me in small doses (enough to finally send me into shock), I learned the deer impact had caused a fracture in my 5th (6th?) vertabra of my neck, impacting the ulner nerve.
To this day, the little and ring finger of my left hand aren't entirely "there", if you know what I mean. They move fine, but I can't feel them like the other fingers.
So I do not love deer overpopulation...
I stopped hunting deer when I was 22 and bowshot a doe. Field-dressing her, milk gushed out. I was fine with intestines and stomach, etc, but milk? Dang. It meant I had orphaned a fawn or two, too.
But I would like to hunt again. I can't use a bow worth a damn (never could really) but I can use a crossbow. And I would give the meat to charities that accept it for food for the homeless.
But I need a safe place to hunt. There are CRAZY gun-hunters out there who fire at anything that moves (my dad was shot by one once). And here is this neighbor with a personal herd of deer who says he has too many there...
And I want him to invite me to hunt with him...
I'm just not in his circle. Yet.
We have some things in common. Hunting, fishing, DIY home and yard stuff; general compency. It could be interesting. He's slick and I'm not. I don't even cheat at solitare. But I am also "slick-proof". He might find that to be a relief. Or a challenge. LOL!
But I sure could use a real-life, face-time, neighbor friend...
This guy is SLICK! He not only got permission to build on a wetland (by bringing in 10 loads of soil), he bought the utterly unbuildable property next to his IN EXCHANGE for 6 acres of wetlands behind him. I would NOT play poker with this guy!
On the other hand, he is utterly friendly and helpful to neighbors.
The wetlands behind him have been draining for years. It is now mostly woods and creeks. So we were talking yesterday. He has a personal herd of deer in his 6 acres and hunts regularly (with a crossbow!) and there are several good fishing spots there too.
I tried not to drool while he described it all. I very briefly mentioned that I was an experienced deer hunter in my younger days and still enjoyed fishing, but didn't outright ask. But I would sure like an invitation. We just compared some hunting and fishing experiences though.
This guy is ultra-competent. He does his own deer butchering and aging. He grows corn for the deer (not where he hunts). He can recognize most of them individually by sight. He enlarged his concrete driveway by himself! I saw him atop his 2.5 story house last week inspecting his shingles! He goes to bed at sunset and gets up at dawn. He snowblows other peoples' driveways just for something to do!
He doesn't seem to own a computer. He mentioned being at a target range a mile away and thought he recognized some of his deer there, and thought the properties were adjacent. When I asked if he had "googled" it, he "said" he didn't know what that was (but keep in mind this guy is slick).
He mentioned that turtles all came around when he was fishing in the back area because they had learned he injured the fish when he got the hooks out of the fishs' stomachs. So I mentioned that I had learned a trick for that. You go up through the open gills with a long nose plier, get ahold of the top of the hook and twist it so that it slides right back out. No harm. I'm a catch and release type.
That got his attention! He likes to catch fish, not harm them.
And I mentioned that I had bought a really good hunting crossbow a few years ago but didn't know where to hunt. But I didn't push it...
He says there are too many deer around here, and I agree. I mentioned that there are too few places to hunt, and he agreed. I told him I had driven to southern maryland and back 2 weeks ago looking a lots and saw 4 fresh-dead deer obviously killed by cars. I have a concern about that.
Years ago, a friend and were driving home after a day of fishing and he hit a deer. He stopped to look at the damage to his car; I went to look at the deer. My friend questioned my priorities, but I wanted the deer out of the road because if an unsuspecting driver hit it, it could actually overturn the car.
An injured deer can be dangerous by kicking, so I kicked it a few times myself. It was dead, so I dragged it off the road. It wasn't a busy road, but I would have felt terrible if some other driver had been injured hitting it.
We got to my house and documented the car damage for insurance purposes. But 3 days after, part of my left hand went numb. I feared it was carpal tunnel syndrome (because I spend a lot of time at work typing). After having a doctor basically electrocute me in small doses (enough to finally send me into shock), I learned the deer impact had caused a fracture in my 5th (6th?) vertabra of my neck, impacting the ulner nerve.
To this day, the little and ring finger of my left hand aren't entirely "there", if you know what I mean. They move fine, but I can't feel them like the other fingers.
So I do not love deer overpopulation...
I stopped hunting deer when I was 22 and bowshot a doe. Field-dressing her, milk gushed out. I was fine with intestines and stomach, etc, but milk? Dang. It meant I had orphaned a fawn or two, too.
But I would like to hunt again. I can't use a bow worth a damn (never could really) but I can use a crossbow. And I would give the meat to charities that accept it for food for the homeless.
But I need a safe place to hunt. There are CRAZY gun-hunters out there who fire at anything that moves (my dad was shot by one once). And here is this neighbor with a personal herd of deer who says he has too many there...
And I want him to invite me to hunt with him...
I'm just not in his circle. Yet.
We have some things in common. Hunting, fishing, DIY home and yard stuff; general compency. It could be interesting. He's slick and I'm not. I don't even cheat at solitare. But I am also "slick-proof". He might find that to be a relief. Or a challenge. LOL!
But I sure could use a real-life, face-time, neighbor friend...
Friday, October 2, 2009
AHAH, The Boat Canopy Problem Solved.
I've figured it out! Using available parts...
1. I didn't like the straight up sides and 45 degree roof because it was too tall.
2. I didn't like hoop supports because there was no top ridgepole connecting them and that was weak.
3. I didn't the gable design because it was too wide at the bottom.
4. I didn't like the tee design, because while it gave me a lower roof angle, the front an back were weird and it required way too many cuts and connectors.
So it FINALLY hit me like a cold wet fist in the dark of an alley (oh wait, that's a detective story). Seriously, I suddenly realized I could build a straight up frame to the height of the boat and THEN put in hoops on top into 45 degree elbows. I haven't seen THAT on any website. I'm sure someone has done that somewhere, but I haven't seen it anywhere.
So 1.25" pipe uprights on a sled base (no ground level cross-supports), 45 degree elbows on top with cross supports above the boat, and then 3/4" hoops over those. The 3/4" pipe will just stay in the 1.25" slip connections by torque! I'll use some solvent in there too. And my good idea is that the hoops won't just go from side to side unsupported, they will go into cross pieces ("Xs") as "half hoops" and the Xs will connect to a ridgepole!
That brings the height down to about 6', only 2' higher than the boat. And to give the top greater strength, I will attach plastic snow fence over it to support the poly tarp!
Yee Hah!
I have to rush off to sketch it on graph paper and list the parts and pipes I need! And its all available locally! I knew I would figure it out eventually...
1. I didn't like the straight up sides and 45 degree roof because it was too tall.
2. I didn't like hoop supports because there was no top ridgepole connecting them and that was weak.
3. I didn't the gable design because it was too wide at the bottom.
4. I didn't like the tee design, because while it gave me a lower roof angle, the front an back were weird and it required way too many cuts and connectors.
So it FINALLY hit me like a cold wet fist in the dark of an alley (oh wait, that's a detective story). Seriously, I suddenly realized I could build a straight up frame to the height of the boat and THEN put in hoops on top into 45 degree elbows. I haven't seen THAT on any website. I'm sure someone has done that somewhere, but I haven't seen it anywhere.
So 1.25" pipe uprights on a sled base (no ground level cross-supports), 45 degree elbows on top with cross supports above the boat, and then 3/4" hoops over those. The 3/4" pipe will just stay in the 1.25" slip connections by torque! I'll use some solvent in there too. And my good idea is that the hoops won't just go from side to side unsupported, they will go into cross pieces ("Xs") as "half hoops" and the Xs will connect to a ridgepole!
That brings the height down to about 6', only 2' higher than the boat. And to give the top greater strength, I will attach plastic snow fence over it to support the poly tarp!
Yee Hah!
I have to rush off to sketch it on graph paper and list the parts and pipes I need! And its all available locally! I knew I would figure it out eventually...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
No Project Day
Well, maybe call it "Project Relax". I simply had a good relaxing day today.
First, I went fishing with my best friend Jeffrey. On the way to the fishing place, we stopped at a farmers market. There is lots of crap merchandise there, but still some Amish stands. We bought pickles and relishes from them, and we found a small basket of tomatoes to split between us. There are a few stands with tools and we saw some very strange ones. I wish I had remembered to bring my camera. Some tools were really THAT weird.
We got to the "lake" (a reservoir actually - no one outside of Maryland would call it a lake). Maryland is one of the few states that actually has no natural lakes. But we like to fish there.
We were out on the water at 4 pm. Fishing 10 minutes later. We were using only top water flies and bass bugs. The wind was light, the water was still, the temp was 75 degrees F, the light was partly cloudy... A perfect day to be out fishing. We didn't catch a thing (the previous time, we caught a bass and 3 panfish, so there ARE fish there). But we had strikes and nibbles, so there was some excitement.
Fly fishing for bass is not productive, but we enjoyed it. The lake (it is actually also a State Park) closes at sunset, so we were on our way home after only 3 hours.
As we returned home, we stopped at Home Depot (a big box hardware store if you don't know of it) and looked for some stuff. Jeffrey wanted special cleaning product (which we didn't find), but he found knee pads. I found some neoprene gloves and nylon strap tie-downs for the boat. My old ones weren't holding any more.
After Jeffrey left for home, I made a great dinner. Filet Mignon, baked potato, steamed broccoli, and tomato salad. With wine (Zinfandel)...
Watched some great TV afterward, (Miracle Planet for 3 hours, and finally my favorite animation - Kim Possible - at 1:30 am). Next time, back to projects! I finally cleared out another framed garden box a yesterday! No more weeds, poison ivy, or day lilies left there! And it took an hour to finally dig out the sapling that was deep in that bed. I had to dig down 2 feet in a 2 ft circle to finally get it up. But it was worth the effort!
More about that next time...
First, I went fishing with my best friend Jeffrey. On the way to the fishing place, we stopped at a farmers market. There is lots of crap merchandise there, but still some Amish stands. We bought pickles and relishes from them, and we found a small basket of tomatoes to split between us. There are a few stands with tools and we saw some very strange ones. I wish I had remembered to bring my camera. Some tools were really THAT weird.
We got to the "lake" (a reservoir actually - no one outside of Maryland would call it a lake). Maryland is one of the few states that actually has no natural lakes. But we like to fish there.
We were out on the water at 4 pm. Fishing 10 minutes later. We were using only top water flies and bass bugs. The wind was light, the water was still, the temp was 75 degrees F, the light was partly cloudy... A perfect day to be out fishing. We didn't catch a thing (the previous time, we caught a bass and 3 panfish, so there ARE fish there). But we had strikes and nibbles, so there was some excitement.
Fly fishing for bass is not productive, but we enjoyed it. The lake (it is actually also a State Park) closes at sunset, so we were on our way home after only 3 hours.
As we returned home, we stopped at Home Depot (a big box hardware store if you don't know of it) and looked for some stuff. Jeffrey wanted special cleaning product (which we didn't find), but he found knee pads. I found some neoprene gloves and nylon strap tie-downs for the boat. My old ones weren't holding any more.
After Jeffrey left for home, I made a great dinner. Filet Mignon, baked potato, steamed broccoli, and tomato salad. With wine (Zinfandel)...
Watched some great TV afterward, (Miracle Planet for 3 hours, and finally my favorite animation - Kim Possible - at 1:30 am). Next time, back to projects! I finally cleared out another framed garden box a yesterday! No more weeds, poison ivy, or day lilies left there! And it took an hour to finally dig out the sapling that was deep in that bed. I had to dig down 2 feet in a 2 ft circle to finally get it up. But it was worth the effort!
More about that next time...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project, Completed
I decided to give the rod rack 2 coats of polyurathane. I couldn't do all surfaces each day, so it took 4 days. It's not that it will get much wear and tear, but in the garage it will be exposed to a lot of humidity changes and there isn't anything in the construction that will allow much natural warp shifting.
So here are the final pictures:
Construction Notes: If I had it to do over again, I would have made the 3/4 holes on the top shelf smaller. The opening only needs to be large enough to accept the upper part of the rod. Also, I would make the base holes a bit larger (or at a slight angle). A couple of the base holes were a bit tight.
Fishing Equipment Notes: Anyone looking at the actual rods will notice I have 3 bait-casting rods, 4 spin-casting rods, and 3 fly-casting rods. From the left, the first 3 are for casting baits and large weights into tidal waters, the second 3 are for casting different weight lures in freshwater, and the last 3 are fly rods. 1 of those is a short rod for barrel loop casts in shrubby conditions, 1 is for for casting heavy bass flies and popping bugs, and the one in the cover is my "good real fly rod" for trout. The one spinning rod without a reel (7th from left) is just kind of lonely and waiting for a new reel. The short stubby rod (8th from left) is a "Chesapeake Bay" rod for dropping bait from a boat straight down. I've never caught a fish with it, but I keep it around just in case it is "the right one for some trip". LOL!
If anyone has a question about the construction (or anything else), just leave a comment...
Next project: Movable PVC frame tent for the boat.
So here are the final pictures:
Construction Notes: If I had it to do over again, I would have made the 3/4 holes on the top shelf smaller. The opening only needs to be large enough to accept the upper part of the rod. Also, I would make the base holes a bit larger (or at a slight angle). A couple of the base holes were a bit tight.
Fishing Equipment Notes: Anyone looking at the actual rods will notice I have 3 bait-casting rods, 4 spin-casting rods, and 3 fly-casting rods. From the left, the first 3 are for casting baits and large weights into tidal waters, the second 3 are for casting different weight lures in freshwater, and the last 3 are fly rods. 1 of those is a short rod for barrel loop casts in shrubby conditions, 1 is for for casting heavy bass flies and popping bugs, and the one in the cover is my "good real fly rod" for trout. The one spinning rod without a reel (7th from left) is just kind of lonely and waiting for a new reel. The short stubby rod (8th from left) is a "Chesapeake Bay" rod for dropping bait from a boat straight down. I've never caught a fish with it, but I keep it around just in case it is "the right one for some trip". LOL!
If anyone has a question about the construction (or anything else), just leave a comment...
Next project: Movable PVC frame tent for the boat.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project, Part 6
I took a few days off from the project (fishing, errands, shopping, TV) but got back to it yesterday. It was "glue and screw" time. I took the time to very carefully align all the corners square and flush.
Since I was using mostly 1 x 4" boards and had many places where I was screwing through the wide edge into endgrain, I made a small drilling jig. Nothing fancy, just a piece of scrap from 1 board. I drilled pilot holes centered halfway of the thickness and set 3/4" from the ends. You can see it in the 1st picture (where I was using it as a clamping block). It really made it easy to drill pilot holes evenly spaced, straight, and right in the center of the boards.
I did half of the basic frame yesterday and let it dry overnight, using a framing square to keep it, well, "square".
Today, I glued and screwed the other half, plus attached the 2 cross braces. When that was done, I prepared to cut (to fit) and attach the 2 vertical braces.
OOPS! I had estimated the 2 pieces to be 23" (and had a 46 1/2" board for the purpose. Guess what? The space to be braced was actually 23 1/2" on each side. I was 1/2" short. I HATE "nominal sizes"! Why can't a 1 x 4" board actually be 1 x 4"?
Fortunately, with all the corners being connected in 3 directions, and glued and screwed on all the edges, it was solid as a rock. So here it is, ready to be polyurathaned tomorrow.
I'll post the "finished" picture when the polyurathane is dry and I have the rack in place with the rods on it...
Since I was using mostly 1 x 4" boards and had many places where I was screwing through the wide edge into endgrain, I made a small drilling jig. Nothing fancy, just a piece of scrap from 1 board. I drilled pilot holes centered halfway of the thickness and set 3/4" from the ends. You can see it in the 1st picture (where I was using it as a clamping block). It really made it easy to drill pilot holes evenly spaced, straight, and right in the center of the boards.
I did half of the basic frame yesterday and let it dry overnight, using a framing square to keep it, well, "square".
Today, I glued and screwed the other half, plus attached the 2 cross braces. When that was done, I prepared to cut (to fit) and attach the 2 vertical braces.
OOPS! I had estimated the 2 pieces to be 23" (and had a 46 1/2" board for the purpose. Guess what? The space to be braced was actually 23 1/2" on each side. I was 1/2" short. I HATE "nominal sizes"! Why can't a 1 x 4" board actually be 1 x 4"?
Fortunately, with all the corners being connected in 3 directions, and glued and screwed on all the edges, it was solid as a rock. So here it is, ready to be polyurathaned tomorrow.
I'll post the "finished" picture when the polyurathane is dry and I have the rack in place with the rods on it...
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project, Part 5
Yee Hah! I got half the sides stained early today and did the other sides stained this evening (fruitwood stain). I have to say that brushing on stain with scraps of old white tee shirts works great! It goes on so smooth and evenly. I wear cheap disposable latex gloves, so there isn't even any stain on my skin.
I did one full side, one long edge, and one short edge on each board this morning, and all the other edges this evening. I'll be putting on at least one coat of polyurathane tomorrow. Might do 2 coats.
I did one full side, one long edge, and one short edge on each board this morning, and all the other edges this evening. I'll be putting on at least one coat of polyurathane tomorrow. Might do 2 coats.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project, Part 4
OK, today I remade the rod shelf. First, I clamped it to the base and transferred the centerpoints with a square.
Drilled the slots on the upper shelf, and set it back on the base to check for errors.
It all looks good. I had to eyeball it a little, even with the square. But they all matched up within 1/8", so that's fine.
After I was satisfied that almost all the cutting was done ((2 side pieces need to be fitted into place at the end, I gave all the pieces a thorough sanding. The boards were quite smooth, but as I learned from a previous project, there is a slight film that makes for uneven staining. I went to a 150 grit. With the random orbital sander, that does a nice job for a garage rack. If it was for in-the-house furniture, I would go to 240 and maybe even 320. But there is a limit to how smooth you can sand softwood anyway.
Tomorrow, I'll dry-fit the pieces together, drill pilot screw holes, and tape the areas to be left unstained for glueup. Then, stain the pieces. Next day, I'll give it 1 coat of polyurathene. After that, it's "glue, screw, and done"!
Drilled the slots on the upper shelf, and set it back on the base to check for errors.
It all looks good. I had to eyeball it a little, even with the square. But they all matched up within 1/8", so that's fine.
After I was satisfied that almost all the cutting was done ((2 side pieces need to be fitted into place at the end, I gave all the pieces a thorough sanding. The boards were quite smooth, but as I learned from a previous project, there is a slight film that makes for uneven staining. I went to a 150 grit. With the random orbital sander, that does a nice job for a garage rack. If it was for in-the-house furniture, I would go to 240 and maybe even 320. But there is a limit to how smooth you can sand softwood anyway.
Tomorrow, I'll dry-fit the pieces together, drill pilot screw holes, and tape the areas to be left unstained for glueup. Then, stain the pieces. Next day, I'll give it 1 coat of polyurathene. After that, it's "glue, screw, and done"!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project, Part 3
Today, I set about making holes in the base (F) and slots in the upper shelf (E) for the rods to rest in. After 2 hours of careful work, the only thing I can say is *#>&@*
Translated, that means "OOPS". It happens to me in every project. I do something that seems right but that has a flaw and/or I mismeasure something. On this project, I managed to do both at the same time...
The base has holes halfway through for the butt end on the rods. Some are fat, some medium, and some thin. So I decided to drill them to fit. I put paper tape on the base (so I could mark on it) and measured out the centerpoints. Then to be absolutely sure the shelf slots would match the base holes, I put the boards edge to edge and used a square to mark the shelf slots.
I drilled the holes in the base. The forstner bits are great for large flat holes. It looked great! Then I drilled half-holes in the upper shelf.
I was very careful about that. I used a sacrificial board underneath (because they were through-holes) to prevent tearout. I drilled a test hole in a piece of scrap board. I got some tearout anyway. Well that's the bottom side, so I decided to live with it.
That's part of the *#>&@*< feeling. Because of the way I transferred the base centerpoints to the shelf, the bottom of the shelf as I drilled it would actually be the top side when assembled!
So, when I put the cleancut side of the shelf "up", this is what I saw.
When I switched it so the holes matched up, the tearout side was "up".
And then I noticed that one of the shelf holes was 1/4" offset!
ARGGGGH! I am NOT a happy camper right now. Luckily, I have another 4" board. I'll remake the shelf tomorrow. This time, I'll know to put the shelf board ON TOP OF the base, not NEXT TO it when I transfer the centerpoints...
Translated, that means "OOPS". It happens to me in every project. I do something that seems right but that has a flaw and/or I mismeasure something. On this project, I managed to do both at the same time...
The base has holes halfway through for the butt end on the rods. Some are fat, some medium, and some thin. So I decided to drill them to fit. I put paper tape on the base (so I could mark on it) and measured out the centerpoints. Then to be absolutely sure the shelf slots would match the base holes, I put the boards edge to edge and used a square to mark the shelf slots.
I drilled the holes in the base. The forstner bits are great for large flat holes. It looked great! Then I drilled half-holes in the upper shelf.
I was very careful about that. I used a sacrificial board underneath (because they were through-holes) to prevent tearout. I drilled a test hole in a piece of scrap board. I got some tearout anyway. Well that's the bottom side, so I decided to live with it.
That's part of the *#>&@*< feeling. Because of the way I transferred the base centerpoints to the shelf, the bottom of the shelf as I drilled it would actually be the top side when assembled!
So, when I put the cleancut side of the shelf "up", this is what I saw.
When I switched it so the holes matched up, the tearout side was "up".
And then I noticed that one of the shelf holes was 1/4" offset!
ARGGGGH! I am NOT a happy camper right now. Luckily, I have another 4" board. I'll remake the shelf tomorrow. This time, I'll know to put the shelf board ON TOP OF the base, not NEXT TO it when I transfer the centerpoints...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project, Part 2
OK! The base glued together well and only needed a little scraping on the edges for minor glue squeezeout. I used a finishing sander for good measure.
The first thing to do today was to make the cross boards EXACTLY the same lengths. I trimmed one end of the base board (F) on the table saw, then cut it 46". I used that to mark the lengths of boards A, B, and E. I tried to figure out a way to set up a "stop" on the miter gauge, but the fence can only get 30" from the table saw blade and the miter gauge isn't long enough on the other side of the blade to set up one there.
I could have set up a stop on the radial arm saw bench, but it seems to be about 1/4 degree out of square and I can't seem to adjust it any better than that. Oh well, it is good for rough deck and fence work, if not for cabinetry.
So I trimmed the pieces to size as best I could. When I stacked them all together even at one end, they were within 1/64" at the other. I clamped the stack together and power sanded the difference smooth. They ended up perfect.
I trimmed the sides (D) to 33" and am ready to start putting the frame together (Boards A, B, D and D).
I also need to rout slots into board E and drill 1 1/4" holes with forstner bits 1" deep into board F. But it is time for dinner, and I like to have wine with dinner, so there won't be any more woodworking tonight!
The first thing to do today was to make the cross boards EXACTLY the same lengths. I trimmed one end of the base board (F) on the table saw, then cut it 46". I used that to mark the lengths of boards A, B, and E. I tried to figure out a way to set up a "stop" on the miter gauge, but the fence can only get 30" from the table saw blade and the miter gauge isn't long enough on the other side of the blade to set up one there.
I could have set up a stop on the radial arm saw bench, but it seems to be about 1/4 degree out of square and I can't seem to adjust it any better than that. Oh well, it is good for rough deck and fence work, if not for cabinetry.
So I trimmed the pieces to size as best I could. When I stacked them all together even at one end, they were within 1/64" at the other. I clamped the stack together and power sanded the difference smooth. They ended up perfect.
I trimmed the sides (D) to 33" and am ready to start putting the frame together (Boards A, B, D and D).
I also need to rout slots into board E and drill 1 1/4" holes with forstner bits 1" deep into board F. But it is time for dinner, and I like to have wine with dinner, so there won't be any more woodworking tonight!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Fishing Rod Rack Project
FISHING ROD RACK
After having my fishing rods leaning against the garage wall for years, and having them all fall over whenever one got bumped, I decided I needed a rod rack. I looked at some for purchase but I didn't like any of them (all were either too cute, way too fancy, or held too few rods). Besides, why buy when you can build?
So I sat down to design one. My 1st design had all the rods standing straight up through holes, but I realized they would all lean slightly in different angles. Functional, but aesthetically unpleasing...
So I tried again. This time, I decided to have them set in holes in the base and lean into slots in a higher shelf. That would have them all at a consistent angle. It took a while to find a height for the upper shelf where no ferrules would be in the way. And I reworked the design a couple of times to make sure the construction was solid.
So here is what I came up with (double-click the picture for enlargement):
I was surprised to notice that the front and back views are identical. I was also trying to use boards I already had, so the 2" base is actually two 1" boards glued together.
So I laid out my boards:
Most of the boards needed to be cut approximately in half. That was too long for my table saw (because of the Incra Fence), but my old radial saw has plenty of room. Since there is at least 2" of waste on each board, I could cut them all oversize (the radial arm saw does not seem to cut as squarely as the table saw).
Boards A, B, E, and F have to all be exactly the same length, so I glued up the 2 boards for F (the base) and left it until tomorrow.
You can never have too many clamps. LOL!
After having my fishing rods leaning against the garage wall for years, and having them all fall over whenever one got bumped, I decided I needed a rod rack. I looked at some for purchase but I didn't like any of them (all were either too cute, way too fancy, or held too few rods). Besides, why buy when you can build?
So I sat down to design one. My 1st design had all the rods standing straight up through holes, but I realized they would all lean slightly in different angles. Functional, but aesthetically unpleasing...
So I tried again. This time, I decided to have them set in holes in the base and lean into slots in a higher shelf. That would have them all at a consistent angle. It took a while to find a height for the upper shelf where no ferrules would be in the way. And I reworked the design a couple of times to make sure the construction was solid.
So here is what I came up with (double-click the picture for enlargement):
I was surprised to notice that the front and back views are identical. I was also trying to use boards I already had, so the 2" base is actually two 1" boards glued together.
So I laid out my boards:
Most of the boards needed to be cut approximately in half. That was too long for my table saw (because of the Incra Fence), but my old radial saw has plenty of room. Since there is at least 2" of waste on each board, I could cut them all oversize (the radial arm saw does not seem to cut as squarely as the table saw).
Boards A, B, E, and F have to all be exactly the same length, so I glued up the 2 boards for F (the base) and left it until tomorrow.
You can never have too many clamps. LOL!
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