Happy New Year!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well, I hope you all had a great holiday season.

As for us here at the Folly it went well. Now that we have had some down time it's time to put on our big boy britches and get started again.

First off, the fat man in the red velour pantsuit was real nice to me this year. I was fortunate to get several new toys to help me whip this place into shape.

Have you ever seen one of these things?

It's called Square Check for tape measures. I have no idea how I've gotten along without one of these. The fat man gave me two (I figure Percy will take one at some point).

This little puppy is going to come in handy when I go to install the crown molding.

It's an 18” True Angle Protractor made by CompoundMiter.

Anyone who is either putting in crown molding, or has an old house with weird angles, needs one of these.

Now, how many of you have ever tried to cut a razor straight line on a long piece of lumber only to find out you weren't as accurate as you though? I know I have.

This bad boy will definitely help keep the cuts straight.

It's an E. Emerson Tool Co. 50” All in One straight edge clamp. Now all I need to do is get the 99" version!!









Okay, you know the built-in cabinet I need to start working on? The next two toys are going to make it so much easier to build.

This is a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig w/Face Clamp.

This little doohickey makes it extremely easy to make pocket joins for cabinetry. Not only will it come in handy with the built-in, but it should make the rest of the kitchen cabinets come together easily.

In fact, just about anything you need to make a joint for, and don't want to make a fancy one, this is the jig for you.

Okay, this set of drill bits may not look like much but trust me, if you need to attach a hing to anything you've got to have some of these!

These are Insty-Drive Self-centering bits and can make the difference between a 'Joe Blow Handyman' job and professional finish. As the ad states "You’ll get perfectly centered pilot holes for accurate hinge and hardware installation every time"!

Now, you can either hunt all over for these, or you can do like the fat man did and visit the Rockler Woodworking & Hardware web site.

You know... I really should get a kick-back or something for these little endorsements.

Okay, now that the brag session is over, let's on with what's been happening here at the Folly.

To be honest...not much, other than stripping wainscoating.

However, I have been keeping busy with a few other projects and trying to figure out a few problems along the way.

I don't know how many of you look at Freecycle, but you need to. Go to the web site and look for your local site. One of my projects came to me via Freecycle.

I was able to pick up this Craftsman, 10", 3HP table saw and it does work. The gent it came from got rid off it because he is getting older and wanted something easier to move around. He was also having trouble with the arbor bearing (he forgot to replace the retaining rings and the woodruff key) and just didn't want to mess with it any more.

All I need too do is replace the arbor bearing (it's on order), put the motor back on, clean up the top, put the extensions back on and then "Bob's your uncle".

These are the side extensions.

The saw even came with the rip fence and miter gauge.




Can you believe I got this for free - yes - FREE!!! By joining your local Freecycle you can find treasures like this too!

Now, I do plan to restore this saw, not just throw it back together, so it will be an ongoing project. I know I'll eventually replace the rip fence, but not sure when. However, I do want to replace the pulley system ASAP with machined steel pulleys and a Power-Twist link-belt.

I'll post up-dates on this project as it goes along.

On a side note, I also repaired a drill that my parents gave me almost 20 years ago. The power cable was bad and just needed to be repaired.

The only other project of note is just a little one. Nothing much really, but it made SWMBO happy.

Several months ago we found an old porch light at an antique store and SWMBO wanted it. We already have a porch light next to the side door leading out of the basement, but we've never really been happy with it.

Unfortunately we did not think to get a good 'before' picture, but here is a picture of the parts after SWMBO cleaned them up.

The metal casting is brass. We thought about removing the paint all together, but it was intended to be black. Also, the little glass panes are frosted and the finial is brass.

It was going to be a simple job to restore but when I started to check the electrical connections one of the wires fell off and the whole socket assembly wasn't in the best shape. So, a trip to Lowe's was made to get the parts.

Here's the finished light.

Didn't turn out half bad did it?

If the weather is as nice this weekend as is being indicated we plan to go ahead and install it.









Other than this I have two problems to address.

Do you remember the crack that was forming in the wall of the kitchen way back last November? If not, go here.

Now this stupid crack looks like someone head-butted the wall!! So, I'm going to start poking around to see if I can figure out what is causing it. This wasn't a delay I was counting on.

The other issue I don't even want to talk about. It really ticks me off because I screwed something up by taking a shortcut. Now I have to re-do something I don't want to re-do.

maybe, once the embarrassment fades, I'll tell you what it is and show you some pictures.

I have also taken some additional pictures of some problem areas dealing with the second floor, but those will have to wait till later to get posted.

It's now getting late and it's been a busy day. I think I'll go ahead and call it a day.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry