Going to Build

 . . . tie a knot and hold on" Thats how the saying is supposed to go. At one point several years ago I worked for an Operating Room that was going through a lot of changes. Our charge nurse found this cute little saying and thought she would burst morale, little did she fully understand what critics an OR staff can contain. Not that Im proud of it now, but my younger, more passive aggressive self walked around one evening with a sharpie and modified every sign I could to read "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a noose and hang yourself."  The curse is I took what could be an up beat reminder to stay happy and focused and drowned it in my defeatist sarcasm forever. Now whenever I think of that saying, or hear someone say they are at the end of their rope, a noose is the only thing that comes to mind.

I am kind of battling that same mentality right now and all I have to do is convince myself to hold on and well come out the other side soon. I also have to remind myself to stay away from the proverbial gallows pole. In my quest to refurbish, renew and add to my hand tools I am starting to walk the line. Some of these items have been used and abused by myself for a few years, and god knows how long by others before they got to me. I have learned a ton along this curve and god knows they were needed lessons, I see the need for a book out there to help others walk a similar path. (maybe I will write that myself one day because I havent found one that I think does the entire process justice) but the truth is Im not a woodworker because I like to MAKE tools, Im a woodworker because I like to USE tools to MAKE sawdust. And though there has been some of that along the way, I feel like I am putting in a lot of work, and in my conscious mind I know Im making progress and doing well, but in my subconscious mind Im doing a lot of work and there is not much extra or new to show for it. Mostly I am working on the tools I own, not adding new ones, so I see nothing extra or added in my minds eye to prove progress, and I get restless at times when I see no progress.

Its the difference between hanging drywall and finishing drywall. Hanging drywall is very satisfying, you have bare studs before you, and you get to work. Several sheets up and you can see progress. Several more sheets and you have transformed bare studs into a wall. Then comes the muding, taping, and sanding to finish the drywall. You still know you are making progress, but you feel like you are covering the same ground again and again, revisiting the same dimple in the wall over and over. Hanging drywall - very gratifying, finishing drywall requires more persistence and discipline.

I guess I still have to work on the discipline part a bit.

The planes were finished today, just the scrub plane in the mail to go. For good measure I also took apart all my spokeshaves today and sharpened them as well. So the planes are done (again minus 1) so I set up to sharpen the last two saws of the four brothers. Then I made the mistake of coming upstairs to get a drink and take a break. I never made it back down to the shop. Instead my wife and I ended up taking an impromptu Saturday afternoon nap together. (I must admit, that was pretty gratifying as well)

Next on the agenda is remaking handles for my bench chisels. Out with the crap poly-plastic handles and in with some nice oak  wooden ones. The trick will be making them without a lathe set up... Rasp, drawknife, spokeshave, and scraper card I guess. Well see how it goes. Anyhow until then

Cheers

Oldwolf

When landscaping for our own home or as a career, you got to have the most important landscaping equipment hand. Dong so will help you do the job easier and faster, and not to mention, more creatively. Among the must haves are the two classifications of landscaping equipment; the landscape making and the landscape maintenance equipments.

These tools and equipments will still vary according to where and what it will be used to. For example, you are planning to landscape a whole acre; that will require huge trucks, trailers, mixers, and loaders to move around soil and stones from one place to another. Pumps are also required to make artificial hills, lakes, and other beauteous additions. But if you are planning for residential landscaping only, then that will require smaller landscaping equipments, too.

Landscape making equipments include lawn mowers, lawn tractors, and other tractor-mounted equipments for moving around soil, gravel, stones, and other materials. Blowers, leaf suckers, sprinkler system, snow throwers, hedge trimmers, and garden utility loaders are also important tools in starting out a landscape. After shaping the grounds into desired shape and appearance, its time to put out the secondary tools and landscaping equipments for the task. Lightings and other accessories should be put into place.

In doing so, cutters and electrical wires are very important. In placing plants, pavers, and trees, you will also need shovels, trowels, rakes, wheel barrows, bolos, and sprinkles. When everything is done, its time to finish the task by coloring those parts or areas that needed to be accentuated. Just make sure that the color you will use will compensate the theme of your landscape; therefore, it is important to have a color palette handy.

Now that you already have a landscape, you need a set of landscape maintenance equipments to ensure the design will last according to your time frame. These equipments will also vary on what type of landscape you have as there are landscapes that are made especially for dry conditions, like the Xeriscaping or Souhwestern landscaping. It uses native and succulent plants to favor the sparse water in the Southwest. So it does not require a lot of watering and maintenance as well. But if you have something Mediterranean, like the Tuscan landscaping, it will need abundant maintenance.

Parts of the important maintenance landscaping equipments you will need are sprinklers, daggers, wheelbarrow, bolos, cutters, shovel, lawn mower, and knife. All these will help you restore your landscaping all the time. The frequency of use of these equipments will greatly depend on the type of landscaping as well. But for the purpose of having your lawn, backyard, or swimming pool landscaping properly maintained, it is best to have all these tools and equipments ready all the time.

Landscaping is a very nice enhancement that adds grandeur to the overall appearance of a residence or institution but it needs to be properly maintained. And maintenance doesn’t have to be actually difficult, especially if you have the right tools. So skip the difficulties of having to maintain an almost forgotten landscaped residence by getting just the right tools and equipments for the task.

By doing this, you get the view and overall theme you want for your home while spending less for the maintenance. So before going over a landscaping task, check out if you already have the complete landscaping equipment you need.