Coffee Table Done.

**The links in this post go to older posts dealing with the tables various parts.**

Some projects seem to go on forever. This coffee table is one of them. It all started with me making a table top out of some antique tongue and grove paneling. After that i let the table top sit around the shop for a bit.

Later I was given an old pine beam from one of the historic businesses in down town Red Lodge. I turned this  beam into the tables skirt. The wood is so dry and stable with amazing grain patterns and tight knots. I'm going to be sad when its all gone.

Finally to match the table top rim i made the legs out of kiln dried oak. Not the most fun to work with but really durable. 

So here are some pics of the finished table. If you want it its $1500 of varnished beauty.

Cheers.

Knight Stick

I have been doing a whole lot of night skiing lately. I grew up skiing under the lights and i love getting out in the dark. 

When the sun goes down on the trails there is a whole group of people that come out to play in the dark. Needless to sat the views are amazing. Imagine the above pic except with the big city of Billings lit up on the horizon.

One of the issues in the dark is out skiing the head lamp. If you get going with any speed a head lamp just cant push out the light far enough. Another problem is line of sight of a headlamp does not illuminate very far down or over blind rolls.

Enter the Knight stick. Its a 3ft ish Alaskan Yellow Cedar wand with a 350 lumin mountain bike light mounted on the top.

I ordered a hot pink bmx grip to bottom off the set up but as you can see it has yet to arrive.

So far i have had it out four nights, gotten into the trees, bumps, and general crud. It makes a huge difference. So like any problem a little creativity + time and the solution will present itself.
Cheers.

January Thaw

If you track the weather in my small part of Montana you will know that we are in the middle of our annual January thaw. This means unless you travel the snow conditions are groomers and sketch. To be honest i kinda like sketchy groomers (hey its better than skiing in Indiana), so me, myself, and i headed to the mountain.

I have now had the Back Seat Love Seat in operation for a week or so. It makes a huge difference when getting ready to go especially when you want to avoid the crowds in the lodge or just sit in the sun and finish your coffee.

After caffeinating in the sun i  headed to the summit. The gate to the Cole Creek lift was open, shocked and a bit hesitant (Cole Creek can have some of the worst/best conditions) i headed in to scope things out.

The conditions were not ideal. Lots of exposed detritus, moguls and wind blown crust. It was definitely not for everyone, in fact i'm sure some will describe the conditions using language like "shit" and "garbage". To those i simply grin,  i had a blast. The snow was questionable, the terrain steep and technical (especially after you factor in all the exposed rocks and stumps), but there were only four or five of us in there. Hurrah for our own private resort! While the rest of the mountain suffered with Martin Luther King Day racer crowds i happily dodged and hop turned my day away.

I guess it doesn't matter what the conditions are, i love skiing!
Oh! my broken skis are fixed, if Cole Creek didn't break em' me thinks i'm good for a while.

Over at the Rainy Day Boat Shop it was a really short (one day) week. If you follow this blog you may remember a table top and skirt built using re-claimed lumber. I finally got around to building some legs for it.

After a lot of debating with myself i went the coffee table route. The legs are dovetailed together, as you can see below it takes quite a few cuts to get it all in sync.

After cutting, fitting, and clamping here is how it looked.

I gotta say i'm really excited to finish this piece up. Well if you need me i'll be at Sylvan Peak the rest of the week (doing some fill in for folks).
Cheers.

This Week: The dark Specter of Equipment Failure.

Another beautiful week here on the Beartooth Front. 

I was finishing a morning of skiing when a funny loose feeling in my turns made me feel a little sketchy. 

After stopping to inspect the situation this is what i found. Needless to say my morning of skiing did not turn into a afternoon of skiing. So i headed over to the shop to see how bad the situation was.

For a short time K2 Skis made tele skis with mounting inserts built into the ski (like a snowboard). I thought it was a fantastic idea at the time and got a hold of a pair. After removing the binding from the ski i realized that these inserts didn't fail, nor did the binding, just the aluminum mounting plate.

Here is what the plate looked like.

 I am super glad that those two little machine screws up front didn't let go. That would have made for one hell of a mouse trap.

 Anyhow i got a hold of the folks at 22 designs (the binding manufacturer) and ordered new mounting hardware (they haven't made the plates for years). The Templates and screws are sitting on my desk right now, the folks over at 22 designs are on the ball!

Other goings on includes the posting of The Back Seat Love Seat on Etsy! Now you can have one of your very own.

Look at how good they look in the back of the car,

or at the hockey tournament.

Which reminds me about the Pot Lid Holders i also posted on Etsy.

The holder really helps clear up the counter clutter

Finally, after doing a little trim work in Washoe i got around to building the skirt for the table i've been working on.

I cant wait to get legs on. That's all for for now,
Cheers!

What am i going to do with a gun rack?

Howdy all!

Its been chilly here in southern Montana. Trying to get varnish to dry is a real pain in the neck not to mention trying to get epoxy to kick. If its cold give yourself twice the recommended time for glue and finishes to harden up. Additionally having a stove helps.

I have had a Mosin-Nagant rifle for years and always wanted a way to display it. Now i'm not a gun nut, i do however appreciate the history and workmanship that goes into hardware like this. In other words if you want to debate gun rights lets do it elsewhere...

So back to the rack. After some thought i decided that i would like to display it vertically, everyone makes a horizontal rack so lets be different.

After some measuring cutting i came up with this arrangement.

I think it looks really good. I put a single hanger on the rack but a person could just as easily screw the affair to a stud. If you want one get a hold of me.

 Another little project. After building a table top (see this link) i milled up a antique beam i had lying around for the skirt/apron.  

Worm drive, handsaw, and thickness planer and i had enough stock to get going.

Just to be sure that keep thoroughly busy i built and upholstered another Back Seat Love Seat.

If your interested in one of these get a hold of me. They will eventually appear on Etsy but for the meanwhile an e-mail is the best way.