2023 What did you do today....

[Longcruise]

Congratulations on your staying power Pat. 

[Roy from Pa]

Congrats, Pat..

 

[Kirkll]

If your like me I was gonna cut a big hog last year and installed a 50 thousand BTU gas heater because gas was cheap to use. Well our gas company got sold to new owners. And everyone's heating cost have went up 30 percent in two years. So for no more bows than I build it is not worth the extra $$$ to heat the shop every day.
Thought about a wood burner but they won't insure it with that.

The area I heat is about 24 x 24’ with a 10’ ceiling. Non insulated pole barn, with a wood floor. Having that wood floor makes a huge difference alone… my whole work area is actually 24 x 36’, but I use an arctic curtain to keep the heat in a smaller area…..

I put in an 80K BTU forced air Mr Heater Big Maxx, and it does the job as well as my wood stove ever did and is cheaper to run, and a hell of a lot less work involved than cutting and handling firewood. My average propane cost is about $150 a month from November through March running it about 7-8 hours a day. But…. When we get those stretches of really cold weather, I don’t log as many hours out there either….

The trick is heating it up to at least 60-65 degrees every day.  All the wood in the shop holds the heat even at night and it’s usually 10 degrees warmer in the morning than outside temp. I rarely see it get below freezing in the heated portion out there, and I shut it down at 7 pm each day.    Kirk

[garyschuler]

Kirk, I bought a drywall heater that a Sheetrock guys use to heat rooms & houses for drying mud. It is made by a heating outfit in Medford. Basically a commercial fan blower unit with heating coils. About 33”c 33” x 4’ tall. It has a programmable digital Thermostat on it.  Heats my shop to 70* in about an hour and is quiet. Runs off 220. Works great and not that costly to run.
Kirk here are pics and sticker info in the 220v shop/ Drywall heater. Sorry abour the late reply.

[Crooked Stic]

Mine is Mr. Heater also The walls insulatef good but only the eves stuffed no ceiling.24x26

[Kirkll]

Kirk, I bought a drywall heater that a Sheetrock guys use to heat rooms & houses for drying mud. It is made by a heating outfit in Medford. Basically a commercial fan blower unit with heating coils. About 33”c 33” x 4’ tall. It has a programmable digital Thermostat on it.  Heats my shop to 70* in about an hour and is quiet. Runs off 220. Works great and not that costly to run.

I wouldn’t mind getting the specs on that rig Gary. See what kind of amps it pulls , btu output, and where to buy one.

There are times when the propane prices jump up, it might be better using a small electric furnace cost wise….   Thanks for sharing this.

I’m still waiting for my new heat exchanger to arrive, but went down and got some brass fittings to plumb in my big 100,000 btu cannon heater…. Going to do that tomorrow. I really don’t like the noise it makes. Sounds like a jet engine running.
But…. Heats that shop up in 20 minutes no problem. It also sucks a lot of propane in a hurry.

I’d settle for warmer weather, so I can work out there without the heat…. Maybe do some spring chinook fishing too without freezing my bloody arse off.   Kirk

[DesM8]

Today I worked on turning a cheap old carpenters hatchet of my grandfathers into something like a carving axe/hatchet.  Lots of deep pitting on one side, so I did the unthinkable and removed the patina    Reshaped the head a bit as well.  I don't think he'd have minded the more 'viking' look.  Carved the handle out of a chunk of hickory that was left over from the last bow.   Needs a completely redone bevel and possibly heat treating.  Whatever the mess of a bevel is now, it was likely put on there with a bench grinder.  Once its hung and sharpened I think it's gonna turn out nice!

[Pat B]

Nice bearded ax you are making there. 

[DesM8]

Thankya Pat, been a fun project so far.  I really like the look of bearded axes, thought about removing the hammer head completely, but I like the extra weight/balance it gives the head.  Short and relatively hefty for its size, should make a good controllable chopper/carver to help rough out all that osage 

[Pat B]

and with the bearded head you can choke up on the handle to get better control for more detailed work.   

[Jon Lipovac]

Just finished up a bow for the Iowa Bowhunters Association banquet. They will be auctioning of tickets for it.

Now I can get back on the swap bow, hopefully.

[Bryan Adolphe]

Very nice well done Jon !

[Pat B]

Beautiful bow, Jon.   

[kennym]

Awesome job Jon!!

[Mad Max]

x4

[Buemaker]

Nice one for sure.

[Jeff Freeman]

I did some splitting, grinding and chopping. No not wood. Lol

[DesM8]

Lookin good!  That little die cutter deal looks like it does a great job.  I gotta come up with something better than scissors for the next batch I do 

[Jeff Freeman]

The chopper works great for what I want.

[Jeff Freeman]

Chopper