Tassie oak end grain cutting board

Finished this board yesterday. There were many problems, apparently Tassie oak can be a difficult wood, it takes on water easily and is not  stable. Very surprising to see such a light timber turn bright red when oiled. Again finished with tung oil. Glue job was not as I had hoped. 

Rows were cut in the rain, finished board is only 35 mm and could twist. I have two other boards in the kitchen so it's not going to get heavy use.

Bye Koolewong

Wow, we didn't get to live there very long, under two years. The leaving was difficult, at least the boat is happy as it dominates the car port. Still lots of sorting out to do.

Our kitchen is smaller and there is no dedicated space for my spices and small bottles, so I made a rack on wheels that fits in the gap beside the fridge. Small fixed castors were attached to the bottom.

The timber was re-purposed, Brett had two unwanted paintings, we removed the canvas from the frame which I re-cut and laminated. The timber used is oregon, the shelves pine,  6 mm dowels for the railings.

I used dowel butt joints to assemble the main frame and was my first attempt at using dowels as a construction technique. The shelves have two dowels at each end. The concern was drilling straight, I used the Haron dowel jib available from Bunnings. The frame came out square, flat, everything it should be. Accuracy is critical and I was worried that the frame would never come together but got it basically right first time!

I used two coats of Feast Watsons hard flooring oil because it needed a strong finish as it will get a lot of use. Basically it's not a favourite, produces an uneven surface and slow drying. Never use a brush with this product, use a clean rag. I then applied wax and buffed. In hindsight, tung and wax would have been better and still have achieved a satin finish.

Generally happy overall, finish disappointing. I used a pencil to make my lines which I thought had been removed but reappeared when I applied the flooring oil. So my marking out tools will change.

Next job is a new workbench for outside. My old bench is a shocker, screw heads protruding, uneven boards and wobbly.

Made in Koolewong! End grain cutting boards

I have a workshop in my garage and have made a few end grain cutting boards. The first was made from pine, the second one which I kept is American red oak and the most recent spotted gum. A local Sydney species.

My first board was the easiest. Just 30 x 30 mm pine in a checker board pattern.  I was very pleased with my first board and really didn't want to part with it. My mother is testing it for me. Finished with olive oil!

Now using Tung oil. Olive oil is not used anywhere else in timber work as a preservative as it oxidises very quickly. Definitely food safe but not so good for you when it goes off. Tung oil provides a much better finish, penetrates more deeply into the timber and polishes up extremely well.

My favourite board is made from American red oak, the colours are intense and I love the tonal variability. It does burn easily, so I adjusted the belt sander to half speed to stop the timber from burning. This board looks a bit dry right now and could do with a sand down and re-oil. I only applied a single application of oil when it should have had at least two coats.

This board has a running pattern which I like very much.

The colour is lost here, the timber should appear blood red. I love the rays, they shine like silver.

As the timber is so chunky and heavy the handle becomes essential for picking up the board from the kitchen counter. I will incorporate small feet on future boards, I like the idea of making non slip feet from timber and leather and I will also replace the steel handle with one made of leather. 

Finally my last board completed today. Spotted gum is a more difficult timber to work with, it cuts and polishes up well. My concern is the grain is going to raise very easily and it will need regular rubbing back and reoiling. The colour is worth it.

I made the mistake of not buying enough timber, the extra timber was not quite the same size so I ran it in on alternative rows to create a running random pattern. 

Hopefully with some practice will be able to use my router to carve handles etc in my future boards. My next project is to strip back our coffee table and make some shelves for my art supplies that have laid on the floor for just over a year.

Oranjeboom

This is my case for January, very cheap at around $40. This Dutch made lager is quite enjoyable with light hops and good malty flavour. Smooth mouth feel and soft carbonation. On pouring this beer has a short lived head which is my preference.

Easy drinking, perfect cold after mowing the lawn. A bargain, not as good as my normal beer, Chang and Tui.

Hop Hog

We tried Feral Brewing Co's Hop Hog. Not for the weak hearted, when I think American style I tend to expect cheese in a can, bad coffee and deep fired chicken. This American styled IPA is a beer with aggressive bitterness and more then a hint of citrus and pine resin, velvety mouth feel and gentle floral notes. A very well crafted American style IPA.

My partner was troubled by the bitterness so it is unlikely that I will buy this beer again as a 6 pack.  I buy 10 bottles from Dan Murphies, my favourites and new brews, either European or local craft beer and I will include Hop Hog in a future tasters collection.

Huge flathead

I caught this decent sized flathead off the oyster rakes in Brisbane Waters just opposite Koolewong. We had a few hours so we decided to fish around home. I was using a RMG lure and I could see a flathead rise to the surface but didn't connect. This guy was caught on a pumpkin seed plastic and 4 lb fluorocarbon leader.

I also lost a whiting earlier, a big one that tore under the boat and broke my line.  In a few minutes I'd caught my flathead. That's all I needed for the day, I just tried a few other hard bodies to see if I could get anything else. 

Bad clients

All of my clients are wonderful and I have a very good friendly relationship with them all. Why? I tend to be relaxed with them and therefore they communicate much more freely and naturally.

I don't have a strategy for avoid the rotten ones, other than gut feeling and that's normally a fairly accurate indication that something is wrong. So why did I ignore it today, because I needed to work. 

The client was an elderly man, he didn't like my rate but I limited my work to two hours. The garden needed a mow, weeding of garden beds and pots, removal of leaves from paving and spraying for weeds. I arrived early, the gate was open so I started work straight away at 7.55 am. He came out and spoke to me at around 8.15 am  and worked hard and fast for the next two hours.

He tried to imply that I started work at 8.30 am and questioned why I was asking to be paid for two hours. He then started to be vague about the rate we had agreed. He offered me $100 in cash but I couldn't provide any change ($16). I did offer to get change from a client nearby but he wouldn't accept this. I felt that from some of his conversation (seemed to know a bit of law relating to payments) that he had been in trouble before for not paying what he owes people.  I finally stood my ground and accepted a cheque which I banked immediately and that will be the end of him as client. 

From now on that gut feeling is critical, there were other issues as well. When we first met he was angry and derogatory towards me.  I'm not allowed to name him, but avoid the units with the large gate in Albany Street, Point Frederick (SK, Central Coast Highway end).

Papa Walrus

Here is a first view of our 'new' boat, my first boat. Launching does give me a slightly nervous tummy but it was worth it. He's quite a cutie. No fish for me but Brett had two small tailor in the first five minutes, he might be a lucky boat. I saw a tailor try to come to the surface to take my Yo Zuri stick lure, a first and we could have been going to fast. I'll have my licence from next Saturday.

My first rocket from the garden. The rest...

My first Rocket from the garden. The rest is going crazy.

New fungi puff ball

When I first saw this I thought it was a child's toy or a weird piece of plastic buried in the soil. Digging revealed a small puff ball that bursts open and this strange membrane breaks out and expands into this mesh ball about 15 cm wide. Not a great photo light was low. I found another three.

Koolewong

We are finally moving, I'm getting a real garden, a proper place for Frank to play. I cannot wait. The verge veggie box was a failure. Most people just picked everything they could lay their hands on well before ripening. They will take a 3 cm capsicum, the only red chilli, rip the top of the celery.

We did get enough spinach for this Hunza pie.

The $10 box from Flower Power rotted away, although it was meant to be treated timber. At the new house I will build possum proof boxes and ramp up the scale but space is still limited

The house has water views, birds, possums, koalas and a native garden and I will use this blog to record the development of the garden, especially the veggie patch.