Finished ripping that old oak….then planed the sawn sides smooth. Unfortunately, in the course of that I broke a small part on my best plane. The part was not original, in fact it was a distinctly inferior modern replacement. Nevertheless I have to find another replacement, or, perhaps, make one. I am getting more comfortable with simple metalwork.
A little more shop time tonight. Nothing fancy, just legs for a stool. I did not want to buy more wood, so I am using some leftover oak (from discarded church pews). Did not have any in the right size, so I have to rip (saw longways) about 4 feet of thoroughly seasoned, very dry oak, 1 1/2 inches thick. …..
…. without power tools. I have several hand saws, and did some experimenting. A very cheap rip saw from Harbor Freight proved to be worth about what I paid for it. A pull saw (Japanese style blade) from Home Depot actually worked OK, though it is not specifically intended for ripping. My big Japanese rip saw did quite well, but I think my Putsch saw from Germany did better.
This is hard work. That oak is tough. I am getting some exercise on this project.
Did a another platelet donation at the downtown Minneapolis Red Cross today. It takes a while (2+ hours), but I don’t really mind. All I do is lie on my back for a couple hours and doze off. Occasionally the nurses (mostly female) stop by and tell me what a great guy I am for doing this!
Back in the summer of 2004 I realized I had way too many books, and was never going to do much with a lot of them. Rather than dumping the lot at a used bookstore, getting pennies on the dollar, I have been selling them on Amazon.com. This takes longer–sometimes a book will not sell for months–but I get a much more reasonable return. Also there is some satisfaction in knowing that the book is going to someone who cares.
Parting is hard. These books, mostly advanced math and physics, are part of the dreams of my youth, and I have been carrying them, in more than one way, for a long time. I was going to list one particular quantum mechanics book tonight, but glancing through it brought back so many happy memories of college and grad school studies (OK–you knew I was weird) that I put it back on the shelf. Still, I did list 9 others, and one has already sold for nearly $40.
There is a basket on the floor receptionist’s desk, labeled:
Halloween Candy Amnesty Program
Make your home safer by turning in your leftover Halloween candy here.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 