Things that make you disproportionately happy.

[Cugel]

Today me and t'ladywife finished the long and tedious business of scraping sticky old varnish from the surface of what seemed like acres of oak kitchen worktop, to replace with a tough new coat of oil & wax that will prevent the various scratches, water-marks and other damage that the original sticky varnish let occur. Tens of hours scraping, sanding, mending and oiling.

But what a fine result. It looks like new and is impervious to the attacks of splash and other kitchen action. Best of all, it's finished; at last!

Back to making the fancy oak coat stand festooned with wrought iron hooks from an arty blacksmith - proper woodwork.

Cugel

[Cyril Haearn]

Proper woodwork? How traditional are you? What is the split between power tools and hand tools at Cugel Towers?

[Audax67]

All taken together, this can't be beaten:

- Breakfast: banana/chocolate sandwich
- 45k on the bike
- Coffee + patisserie
- 45k t'other way into a stiff wind, beautiful weather & scenery**
- Lunch: the missus's egg/Greek yogurt/feta/black olive quiche, ice cream
- Good coffee + salt chocolate
- Dinner: Tarte Flambée

And that was my Saturday.

**

[Cugel]

Proper woodwork? How traditional are you? What is the split between power tools and hand tools at Cugel Towers?

The Cugel shed is full of every kind of mantoy of the wood-spoiling kind. The Cugel uses them as the fancy takes him, although mortise chisels and the associated knocker now gather dust unless there's a Barnsley-style Cotswold Arts & Crafts item needing a through wedged tenons.

Why confine oneself to only the modes and procedures defined by some woodworking ideologue-zealot? There are plenty of them about, you know. Some are quite rabidly agin' the power tool. I suspect some of the redder-eyed ilk might go about wrecking them Ludd-fashion, so I have set a collie to guard the Cugel shed.

The tool that makes me disproportionately happy is the Festool Domino (both the large and the small one). As I intimated, I have little patience with the mortise chisel, as it takes 300 mortise choppings to become good enough to make a proper one. Each chopping session to make the rectangular 'ole takes ages..... Then you have to make the tenon an exact fit (easier by hand but still a long job unless you've practiced by sawing 300 of them until you can get it right first time).

The Festool domino machine makes a mortise in 5 seconds. The clever Cherman manufacturer also makes and sells loose tenons of many sizes to fit the domino holes. As M&T joints are mostly internal/invisible to the nekkid eye, this is a goot thing.

Cugel, rabbeting on.

[MockCyclist]

Wot Cugel said. I'm a machine woodworker.

What made me disproportionately happy was making this chair using a Domino. Disproportionately, because it was the first ever chair that I made, and it was made in no time at all really and without any mistakes. It was meant to be a prototype, I just didn't expect it to turn out so well at the first attempt. The final ones were going to have a burr panel but Mrs Mock, who upholstered the seat, decided it's too heavy in oak. Other stuff made in my machine room in the background.

[Cugel]

Wot Cugel said. I'm a machine woodworker.

What made me disproportionately happy was making this chair using a Domino. Disproportionately, because it was the first ever chair that I made, and it was made in no time at all really and without any mistakes. It was meant to be a prototype, I just didn't expect it to turn out so well at the first attempt. The final ones were going to have a burr panel but Mrs Mock, who upholstered the seat, decided it's too heavy in oak. Other stuff made in my machine room in the background.

Good clean design with fine use of contrasting timbers and grain patterns. What style would you name it? It does have a degree of English Arts & Crafts but with a dollop of scandi-modern perhaps. Perhaps we could call it "Ikea as it should be done".

Cugel

[reohn2]

I don't quite know why but this bridge always makes me dispropotionately happy

Click to enlarge.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipM ... vTWKV9bInO

[peetee]

Sitting in a sunny warm (not hot) garden with nothing better to do than listen to the bees buzzing happily as they collect nectar.
Actually, there probably isn't anything better one could do to pacify heart, body and soul.

[philvantwo]

Wearing just a hat like mick f does?

[Cugel]

I don't quite know why but this bridge always makes me dispropotionately happy
20190630_140203.jpg
Click to enlarge.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipM ... vTWKV9bInO

I yam tempted to post my 296 photos of Lancaster canal bridges now. But I won't.

Cugel

[Cyril Haearn]

I like pictures of railway tracks, perfect geometry and regularity

[fausto copy]

I don't quite know why but this bridge always makes me dispropotionately happy
20190630_140203.jpg
Click to enlarge.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipM ... vTWKV9bInO

I yam tempted to post my 296 photos of Lancaster canal bridges now. But I won't.

Cugel

If you'd done it properly (as I would have expected from you ) I thought that you would have 374 photos; one from each side
fausto.

[mercalia]

new potatoes smothered in butter. could eat them just on their own. Rest of the year I dont eat 'taters

[Cugel]

I like pictures of railway tracks, perfect geometry and regularity

I had many books about the railways but now have just half a dozen, following the house-move weed of book. If you attend the Lancaster charity shops, you may find some of the others.

You can, you know, buy a computer program that allows you to build and run your own railways.

https://store.trainzportal.com/

I have been addicted, in the past, to building fantasy routes to look as realistic as a 3D computer program railway can be. I've given it up as it's too addictive and can eat hours & hours, especially after midnight.

Cugel

[Mike Sales]

new potatoes smothered in butter. could eat them just on their own. Rest of the year I dont eat 'taters

Surely with mint sauce?