My Workshop and DC unit

[Jill]

Hi all,

Since I like to see the faces behind the posts (thanks, Danielle), here's one of me working last week. Natural DC - Albany Doctor, perfect weather, about 24*C with sun and a cooling breeze. And yeah, I know, I need to mow our workshop! Now don't let me complain about the cold for the rest of the year (since I still have CQld. blood!)!

Cheers,

Jill

[Tex B]

Jill, that's the most outstanding workshop I've seen in years. And all the raw material you have stored out there!!

Tex

[Termite]

Couldn't complain about the work environment. I'm green Jill. :D
No not a bloody Greenie, jealous. ;)

[RufflyRustic]

Wow - Great Photo Jill!!! Thanks! No wonder you are building your home there. Love the creek in the background.

cheers
Wendy

[Jill]

Thanks Tex & Termite - shame it's all state forest!! Nice place to live, though! We hope to plant some forestry (for fine furniture) on our land this year, though.

Seeing Jow's pics of the English winter, and hearing so many of you saying about the heat in the Eastern States, and Darwin, I am appreciating this 'almost perfect' weather here!! Need a jacket on lots of days (AND a cap, since I don't have much hair to keep me warm!), but great for building all day long.

Cheers,

Jill

[Jill]

Thanks Wendy - we must have been posting at the same time! It's my dream block - over 30 acres (for us to have some farm stock, orchard, big veggie garden, etc.); State forest all around us; and just a few quiet neighbours that are into training trotting horses.


Cheers,

Jill

[bennylaird]

Only hassle I can see is no walls to hang stuff on?

Would love to have a place like that, I'm on 1/3 acre after having the normal development block or 600 metres. Could never go back.

No hair at all for me so your workshop would need the Akubra and lots of sun creme for me lol.

[zenwood]

Jill: you are outstanding in your field:D

And it's an outstanding field, too. Beautiful outlook.

It is nice to see the face behind the posts (even when covered with safety gear). Thanks for the pic.

[Jill]

Walls on way, Benny! Once we finish the house, we'll have a workshop WITH walls!! Can't wait, though I'll still do things like thicknessing outside - love that fresh air! Lol about the head protection! Maybe you should see Wongo about the offcuts from his daughter's first visit to the hairdresser?!

Thanks Zenwood!...love the view, too - esp. since most of the year here it is lush and green, as you'll see in pics of our house as it nears completion!

And here is an one without the safety gear, etc., with my husband.

Cheers,

Jill

[bennylaird]

The thicknesser is a must as you will need the shavings for your chook shed. My chooks love it and you don't get Chook poo all over the eggs any more lol.

Here's the amount of hair I have so would need the offcuts and a good glue.

[RufflyRustic]

Great Photo Jill! Yep, I think we were posting at the same time. I have to be honest. I'm not game to post a pic of me when working, I scare myself enough let alone anyone else ;)

cheers
Wendy

[Jill]

Wow, nice plane, Benny - and that hair - you have a hairdo like some of my male rellies! My grandpa was shiny on top at 22 y.o.! Our daughters have about 4-6 times as much hair as me, thanks to my husband's genes!

We do use the wood shavings in the chook nests and on the floor = non-smelly chookpen! Nice to see your face, too - you're waayyyy slimmer & sensible-looking than the guy on your avator!

Cheers,

Jill

[Jill]

Wendy - we did it AGAIN! Maybe it's because I take so long to post!! I'd love to see a pic of you - even when working! Take note I didn't post one taken at the end of the day..Jarrah dust gives quite an amazingly major make-over!

Cheers,

Jill

[oges]

Here's the amount of hair I have so would need the offcuts and a good glue.
Been standing too close to those props? :D

Great photo's Jill, thanks for showing. I use a covered deck for most of my work as im still without a proper shed, works well tho. Scrollsaw has its home in the laundry which is a nice sized room.

[bennylaird]

If I got anywhere near that prop I'd be hopping around playing golf with one arm.

Any old aeromodellers out there will show you there prop scars on the flicking finger.

Jill, how do you go with Roo's from the state forest? Would imagine you would have them at the garden? Just need to keep them out of the vines, surely your going to have a few acres lol. Shiraz perhaps?

[amelie]

Jill - you're my hero!!! No shed, powerful engine & a beautiful view.

I use an old kitchen table under my patio as a workshed. Power point from the kitchen and off I go. Looks like you undertake much more exciting projects than myself. What are you making at the moment (besides a house)?

Regards

[Harry72]

Here's the amount of hair I have
Your not Zenwoods long lost twin brother are you?

Ruffy is right Jill thats a nice photo of you'se... look better in front of your Ubeaut house tho! :)

[Jill]

Benny - there are usually about 60 - 70 roos up on the neighbour's paddock (in the background of the first pic) every afternoon! We get a few on our place now and then - and that is why I am waiting to plant up my big garden...fencing = time! Last year the rabbits, roos and calves ate off everything as it kept regrowing, except for the tomatoes, and then the roos decided they were great to sleep on, just when they started bearing!! So this year, I only used our little shadehouse - stacked with heaps of veggies that are going really well. About the vines....we're not drinkers, sorry! But I'd love to have some table grapes later!

Amelie - I'd love to see your work. Projects - at the moment I am concentrating on getting the house built, but also helping our 13 y.o. daughter build her desk (& bed & other furniture soon). I'll also be soon building a wardrobe for our eldest daughter. I worked out I have about 70 + doors to build yet for the house - for rooms and built-ins, and that's just the doors!! Then a sleigh bed for one daughter, and other furniture for the house - whatever we need - which will keep me in projects for the next 12 months at least! After that I want to build a guitar & a few other things - oh, plus a couple of beds for the younger girls...with them helping. One wants a twig bed, so we'll make that out of tagasaste off our place, using a round tenon drill bit. We're also building a matching hanging cradle in a stand.

Thanks, Harry - down the track we'll be able to take one like that! We
got the roof on the garage yest. arvo. We're getting there, slowly but surely.

Cheers,

Jill

[bennylaird]

With all those projects you have no time to be on here, get back out in your "shed" and do some work.....................

Hope the vegies survive this year.

[Tonyz]

For REAL farmers :p (not that Iam one) there is no such thing as roos and emus........................omly big rabbits and giant chickens :eek: :D Tonto

[Jill]

Lol - put that whip away, Benny - ladies have other responsibilities to co-ordinate as well - children, washing, cleaning, etc., plus being on here is part of my R & R, AND inspiration/education/etc.!!! Any more excuses I can dredge up...:p

Tonto - I grew up a farmer's daughter but maybe Queensland farmers haven't caught on?! I hear you guys like to catch big reds bare handed....?

Cheers,

Jill

[RufflyRustic]

Well said Jill - our work doesn't stop sometimes. I personally make it stop by going out and making sawdust - much more fun :D

cheers
Wendy

[amelie]

FAR OUT Jill. When do you sleep and eat? 70 doors did you say? I'm knocking knees at the thought of my first dovetail drawer.

At the moment I am sanding and whitewashing a New Zealand pine wardrobe (circa 1930); also I am building a Tassie Oak bureau in a French Provincial style, a storage shelf for my mum, some decorative wall hat stands, some cute little storage drawers for my study, and hopefully I can convert an old insurance desk (circa 1920) into a great hall stand/desk (it's beyond repair to it's original state).

Although this sounds mildly impressive I am truly a novice with lots and lots of trial and ERROR. I just love the amazing versatility of timber. It will let me make a mistake and try again.

One day I would love to see a picture of that sleigh bed. Stay happy.

Amelie:)

[bennylaird]

Lol - put that whip away, Benny - ladies have other responsibilities to co-ordinate as well - children, washing, cleaning, etc., plus being on here is part of my R & R, AND inspiration/education/etc.!!! Any more excuses I can dredge up...:p


My wife gets home from work later than I so I get to do the washing, cooking, cleaning etc as well. She won't mow or wippersnip or feed the animals. Bit one sided this new age job sharing.

Might have to borrow some of your excuses to make more dust.

[bennylaird]

Thought you girls might like this one?


A woman was sitting at a bar enjoying an after work cocktail with her girlfriends when an exceptionally tall, handsome, extremely sexy middle-aged man entered. He was so striking that the woman could not take her eyes off him.

The young-at-heart man noticed her overly attentive stare and walked directly toward her (as all men will).

Before she could offer her apologies for so rudely staring, he leaned over and whispered to her, "I'll do anything, absolutely anything, that you want me to do, no matter how kinky, for $20.00......on one condition."
(There are always conditions)

Flabbergasted, the woman asked what the condition was.

Then he replied, "You have to tell me what you want me to do in just three words." (controlling, huh?)

The woman considered his proposition for a moment, then slowly removed a $20.00 from her purse, which she pressed into the man's hand along with her address.
She looked deeply into his eyes, and slowly, and meaningfully said....







"Clean my house."

[RufflyRustic]

I certainly wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like that :D

Amelie - when do you eat and sleep??? Wow - great projects. Hope you can post some pictures sometime.
cheers
Wendy

[Jill]

Hmmm, so do I, Wendy - it's lucky people can't see our house, sometimes, but then - we wood-working females have priorities, right!! ;) Actually, I'm really lucky to have daughters who love to cook (even the 7 y.o. can whip up a great meal!), and the kids all don't mind helping blitz the house now and then!

Wow, Benny - good for you being so multi-skilled! Thanks for the joke, too! :D

Amelie - when are you going to show us pics?!! I'd love to see some, even if they are still works in progress!

Cheers,

Jill

[amelie]

Sorry about the long break in transmission. Jill & wendy - I'll try to figure out how to post a photo. Wish me luck!!!:)

[la Huerta]

ahhh Benny , that's bloody hilarious, i can't stop laughing, going to pass that one on down the cyber space road if that's ok...

Jill...you seemed to have inspired and attracted the attention of most of the forum, do you normaly have this effect on woodworkers...and are you related to wonderwoman or superwoman...




well you've inspired me too...i'd love to have a bit of property and build a house, if you can do it then so can i...i can feel your positive energy from here...good work and well done.

la H

[bennylaird]

ahhh Benny , that's bloody hilarious, i can't stop laughing, going to pass that one on down the cyber space road if that's ok...

No probs, thats where I stole it from anyway.:D :D :D

[Jill]

I just found these, sorry! How're you going with posting pics, Amelie?

La Huerta - thanks for the chuckle and the encouragement! Building can be loads of fun - hope you get to do it, too - and we'll be cheering you on from the sidelines, too!

Cheers,

Jill

[la Huerta]

woopy!!! i can feel the encouragement already...keep cheering , it's working.....yeh !

[dan_tom]

Thanks for the pics Jill! I agree, photos of "whilst you woodwork" are never flattering - bits of wood sprayed up from the table saw into your hair, saw dust all over... a shower at the end of the day feels well deserved!

I also have to be quick when waxing with bees wax, as I am allergic to bees and the wax makes my hands swell. I have since learnt to either take off the wedding rings first and do it quickly and wash quickly, or ask Tom to apply the final coat of wax while I take a shower! I like the finishing part of a job though. The colour the emerges from the timber when you apply a finish is amazing.

Cheers
Dan

[la Huerta]

Dan, have you tried other waxes, or is bees wax just so good it's worth the pain and suffering...i use it to and yes it's real nice ...

[Jill]

Hi Danielle,

Shame about the allergy to beeswax! We used beeswax filler sticks on Danita's desk, and loved the smell - the kids were asking me when I am going to buy some more honey in the natural comb to eat!

La Huerta - so when are you doing the foundations?!! I've just started our kids off on a little model round house - which will be built out of mud (w' stone foundations), with poured earth or tiled floors. About 1.2 m diameter - which will then have timber doors, shutters, etc., and thatched roof. We'll build another one as well, (living areas - this first one is the bedroom/bathroom one) linking the two with a pergola area (pea gravelled) with a wall to the south, creating a Winter sun trap. We're puddling the mud, and have the rocks ready to lay! We'll then build other buildings they design, incorporating passive solar design & natural building techniques so they can learn about them as we go. We're having fun. This is for a bit of R&R between building our house, and schooling the kids, etc.!! See - building is addictive and gets under your skin - literally, esp. if you are using clay like the kids and I are!!

Cheers,

Jill

[la Huerta]

building is the easy part, it's getting out of Sydney that's a challange, many have tried and failed, most of the population infact...

i love Greek and mexican style architecture, like created by Luis Barragan or Georgio Brignone.....very earthy...can be built using clay, bricks, mud, cement, hay ,rocks, what ever is available at hand...

[Jill]

Hmm, that could be a problem - though what a waste, when you have such great design ideas!! I love all those styles, too!

Cheers,

Jill

[TTIT]

Is the "CQld" Central Qld ???? Anywhere near Emerald????

[Jill]

Hi TTIT - Emerald was my husband's home town for many years (did his elect. trade at Gregory mine), and I lived there for a couple of yrs. After we were married we lived in Clermont for 4 yrs, so still went to Em'd a lot. Spent a year or so in Biloela after a couple of yrs in the UK, then about 10 yrs or so around Rocky (Gracemere & Kabra on acreage), so we've moved around a little.

So yes - Emerald is very familiar to us! We've only been over here in the West for almost 3 yrs now.

Now you know our life history!!:rolleyes:

Cheers,

Jill

[TTIT]

Cool! I've been here over 10 years now - used to look after Gregory mines instrumentation and computers. Now look after the 32 schools networks in the district - great source of timber. Alpine oak from Middlemount, Jacaranda from Clermont, Dead Finish and Emu apple from Lochington etc - the groundsmen are only too happy to have someone else cart it away! Just have to convince Duaringa that the Budgeroo tree is becoming a danger to the kids!!!! ;) Keep up the great work on that house - can't wait to see it finished!:)

[dan_tom]

La Huerta, I have tried other waxes, but am most fond of bees waxes - so put up with the pain and suffering (or make Tom do the buffing!). The bees wax and citrus oils smell much nicer than the chemical-ly ones!

Cheer
Danielle

[Jill]

TTIT - we probably know some of the same people! Lucky you having access to all that timber for your turning!! Plenty of Jacaranda trees over here in the SW, too - only just/almost over their flowering now!!! COOL weather here compared to there - esp. this Summer, apparently. Have you tried any Beef wood, (I think it's called)?

Danielle - when ever I have used wax, I've made my own - put a tin on the stove (one that you can store the wax in), fill with 7 parts olive oil or tung oil (or similar - whatever oil you prefer for your timber work), and one part beeswax. I then added (when partly cooled) my own blend of pure essential oils...lavender/neroli/eucalyptus. There's no reason why you couldn't use the same recipe and put in canauba wax or other, I would think? Then add the pure ess. oils you wanted to get whatever scent you want. You may need to experiment to get the exact consistency you want, this being a very basic kind of recipe! Maybe others have better recipes than this one? I try to go for the most natural finishes I can, too - I don't like the headaches I get from turps based finishes.

Cheers,

Jill

[TTIT]

TTIT - we probably know some of the same people! Lucky you having access to all that timber for your turning!! Plenty of Jacaranda trees over here in the SW, too - only just/almost over their flowering now!!! COOL weather here compared to there - esp. this Summer, apparently. Have you tried any Beef wood, (I think it's called)?

Jill

This summer has been the hottest on record here apparently - love my air-conditioned shed! Actually tried to try my first piece of Beefwood last week - found a small one the railways had pushed over. Roughed out a small pot and headed impatiently to the microwave to nuke it into submission - big mistake - virtually crumbled on me. Will let the rest of the tree season traditionally and try again later (but I just hate waiting to try new timbers I collect)

[Jill]

You fellas hooked off with our warm weather, obviously!

Ahhh - shame about the beefwood in the microwave! Lucky you have more to work with!

Jill

[Gympietech]

TTIT & Jill,
I guess I'm still near CQ - Gympie (like you had to guess!)
Spent a year in Rocky & a year in Mt. Morgan, then 3 years in Biloela. TTIT - you have probably met up with my wife, a Senior Teacher from those parts. I taught DesTech in Bilo for a little, too. Don't you love the things people throw away? Scored some flooring from a contractor in Bilo a while ago - kept me in wodshavings for weeks!
Trevor.

[Jill]

Oops, sorry Trevor - I hardly get on this part of the forum, and it was so long since I posted this that I hadn't recognised it as my thread for a bit (~ blonde?!)! So you've been around the CQ ridges, too, by the sounds of it! We love it here, but drool over the kind of soil we left behind! Mind you, you can grow anything pretty well here, still - as long as it can tolerate the frosts! We like it being reliably green and fresh for over half the year - makes it worth putting up with the cold!

Cheers,

Jill

[Little Festo]

Hello Jill,

Just moved in to new premises, 5 and half acres of sloping tree covered hillside, great view but no too many places to build a workshop but have selected a site with a great view, possibly will be too distracting. At present I share a small workshop with a three meter carpet snake, he leaves me alone although I get a bit nervouse when he/she climbes over the rafters directly above the lathe when I'm turning.

Nic photos - Will post some pics soon

Peter from Pomona (QLD)

[Jill]

Hi Peter! Pomona is a beautiful spot! It will sure be a major change in climate from Darwin! We have some friends near Pomona, also on a block! What size workshop are you building? Yikes - the carpet snake! We haven't seen any down here in the SW, yet. I'd rather see them than dugites and tigers! We saw plenty of carpets when we lived in Qld - one gave me a fright one night, resting on our loft floor window sill when I opened the window...you know the cold stare of a snake esp. when you're looking eye to eye!

Keep us posted on your workshop!

Cheers,

Jill

[Little Festo]

Hello Jill,

The workshop will be a bit smaller than originally planned, about 5X8 meters. There will be a two meter lean-to on one side. The workshop will be built next to a 10,000 gallon concrete tank. It has a few leaks and we will be building a new tank so I was thinking of turning it into a storage area for all of my roughed out turning blanks. Its' about 5 meters in diameter and approx 2.7 meters tall, looks quite solid. Thought I add a few windows and a skylight - a door to of course.

Building should be underway in a about a month, ground needs to be leveled first.

Peter

[Jill]

Hi again, Peter,

Sorry - I often forget to check this section - even though it stares me in the face when I open WWF!

The tank sounds like a good storage area for your timber! I imagine it would stop the termites pretty well!

Happy building! Are you going to build it yourself? Only a matter of weeks, now, until we will be able to move into the house and set up our workshop! Bliss - both!

Cheers,

Jill