Or as the distinguished Congresswoman from home state of Minnesota might say. “What Winter Hath Wrought, Eleven.”
Once things finally melted off from this past Snowzilla, I discovered another severe after-effect.
The stone foundation walls leading to the underground root cellar were pretty much wrecked by the ice-rain-sleet-rain deep freeze in late January. After more than a hundred years of being in place the base rocks were literally pushed out of place by the block of ice accumulating behind it. Yikes.
I’m hoping my brother is feeling strong as I plan to excavate and reinstall several hundred pounds of rock wall during his scheduled fall visit. It can’t be all firewood fun and games.
One of Mrs. Barn’s favorite things is the annual visit from “Eddie the Spoon Guy” at the craft market during our local celebration of all things pertaining to maple syrup. She stocks up on a multitude of wooden spoons, spatulas and similar items to use and to give as gifts throughout the year. This year Eddie had some teensy spoons that she thought would be perfect as gifts for each of the grandsons.
Once she had them home she asked, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have their names carved into the handles?” What could I say, other than, “Of course.”
Sorry, just can’t seem to get this image to load horizontally.
Givin the diminutive size of the workpieces my first task was to find a good work holding system, something that would hold these itty bitty pieces solidly yet allow me to have access to the surfaces to be worked. Fortunately, I have a jeweler’s bench top rotating vise with movable jaws, allowing a close fit for the round a tapered handles. To maximize the grip and eliminate the risk of damage I used abrasive pads to cushion the jaws. That solution worked perfectly, padding the wood yet gabbing the spoons hard and steady.
Then the question was, “What do I use for the incising?” Using a chip carving knife was not within my ken as the pieces were like carving names on a round pencil. In other words, beyond my confident skill set. I thought about using one of my engraving burins or a tiny chasing tool, but practice with them was not encouraging. Looking through my box of carving tools I came across a 1mm veiner from a project I cannot even remember now. That was just the ticket.
The end result was great. I won’t show that as I strive to protect my loved ones from the netbots.
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