The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[Atomic77]

Take it as a complement... Not everyone has your skill and attention to detail. And like you said before... It's really more about the journey for you. (I paraphrased.)
Keep up the good work buddy. It's awesome!

[dales133]

I think it's just as much about the build and the research as it is about the camping

[tony.latham]

I think it's just as much about the build and the research as it is about the camping

I just like dangling carrots. Monkeying with KC's brain:




Looks like the temps going to break 32º. Think I'll grab the rod and go drift an egg pattern in a favorite steelhead run. It may be more worthwhile than poking a fine craftsman with a crooked willow stick.

T

[Wolffarmer]

It was a fine day here today. 50+ degrees in town where they do the official counting. When KC gets that all finished he is going to sleep real sound up there at Poet Crick.

Randy

[KCStudly]

Don’t even think twice about it, Tony. Although it is easy to misread intent in this format, I could use a good swift kick in the pants the way I have been floundering about lately.

Michael, complement taken. Thank you, sir.

Dale, it is absolutely a mental exercise, as much or more so than a physical effort, especially at this stage. I just wish I was better organized in my day to day plan, what to have ready and what to concentrate my efforts on.

Thank you to all that have made nice comments and continually support my efforts.

Randy, I could sure use a rest. Being well insulated and with the cozy dark stain inside, I should be able to sleep very soundly!

Ran some errands this morning and picked up a new wick for the heater. Got that going and was glad I had taken the time to get that sorted out, despite the fact that it rained all day bringing a warm front with it.

Karl is getting the break press sorted out; has the back gauge working again, and is troubleshooting the hydraulics to see why it isn’t making full pressure all of the time (borrowed a test rig from one of his repeat customers who happens to be a hydraulics shop… not a problem with the pump, suspect relief valve lifting early), and is chasing down a couple of symptoms. But it is functioning, so that is a good thing.

I worked on the shovel handle mount blocking (lower street side), getting it dry fit and flushed off to the kicker spar at the front. Had to trim it here and there, knock the lower back side corner off to clear the bead of sealant there, and shave the back to thin it a tad.


Next I started zeroing in on where the axe mount blocking needed to go. Since the axe head is offset to one side of the handle, and preferring to face the edge inward I needed to be sure that the TB lid wasn’t going to whack into it every time it was opened. So I made a cardboard template of one side of the TB, flipped it up on the edge of the locker and used that to judge clearance.


The length of the handle put the upper block right on top of the reinforcing strip where the front wall and ceiling skins meet, so I used the table saw to slab out a rabbet.


In the plan this portion of the front wall should still be flat, but the reinforcing strip has a little ripple in it, presumably due to the stress from the front radius, so there was a bit of a gap behind the block. Not obvious in the pic, but you can see the darker shadow line near the upper corner.


I thought about using thickened epoxy to glue this on, but, of course, those products were at home staying warm. I was toting the PL around with me, so that is what I used. Used a 2x4 spaced out and bar clamped to the front via the door jambs and wedge shims.



It was about this time that I realized that I hadn’t soaked the thread holes in the mix yet; another product that got left behind. I’ll have to build a dam out of tape and drizzle some in.

I started piecing together a clamp setup for the shovel block, but decided to wait and seal the thread holes before installation.

One of those “didn’t get much done” days.

[bonnie]

Hey, KC. I popped in to check on this masterpiece. You are making great progress. Sometimes, those little steps begin the next "wow, I did all that" phase.

[GPW]

Thinking the weather has a good deal to do with not getting much done... Fortunately Spring is on the way !!!

[KCStudly]

Thanks for the kind words, Bonnie. I have popped out to Mecca for a short time Monday and Wednesday to apply coatings of the mix to the thread holes in the blocks. Basically filled them up, let sit for a few minutes, then poured the excess off. Tape dam did the trick for the one already glued on. Finding it difficult to move on much else.

Yes, GPW, the cold and short dark days are discouraging; tho the days are getting longer now.

Some welcome distractions "consulting" with Karl on his troubleshooting efforts on the press. Monday evening I helped him lift the 20hp motor armature out from behind. He found the front bearing was on its way out, but fortunately had not caused any damage yet. That's back together now with a new rubber "spider" in the coupling to the hydraulic pump. He had a thorough read of the manual and found that he was not using the stroke controls properly; not going into slow speed/high pressure mode at the appropriate point, causing the low pressure relief valve to lift. That was the chatter we were hearing. Mo' better now. Last couple of things are to make sure it is not sucking air into the hydraulics, replace a couple of worn bushings in the ram ends, and further troubleshoot the banging noise on reversal (either one or both of those things contributing, or possibly a loose ram piston). Still, it is a great piece of equipment and he is happy that he is getting all of these little things sorted out with relatively little additional cost; still about 50 cents on the dollar compared to more costly options that are typically out there.

I confessed to Karl that I sometimes feel guilty that I am overstaying my welcome at the shop, and he wholeheartedly assured me that he enjoys having me there (at least to bounce ideas off of), so I don't feel so bad about that aspect of the timeline. We did discuss the rig we will need to hoist the cabin out of the loft in much greater detail, refining the plan; so someday that will come to pass.

[Mary C]

KC, I have been watching you......and your fantastic build. your talent and your attention to detail is wonderful. I am presently working on Grits I just wish I had a way to post pictures. I hope I will be able to soon. I am taking lots of pictures. but......your build...............is so wonderful. I have been thinking about how you were going to get it down I wish I could be there to watch. If you can, get someone to take lots of pictures. I feel we are in this together.

Mary C.

[S. Heisley]

I have a friend, who, in his heyday, was one of the best mold makers in Los Angeles, maybe even the best. But, he would take forever to make a mold. He didn't just measure twice and cut once, he measured about 15 times before he made a cut. His boss would tell him, "Make the cut, just make the cut!" and still, my friend would remeasure and rethink it. He never lost his job and people would wait for him, no matter how long it took.

My point is.....We'll watch and wait, no matter how long it takes.

[Ned B]

+1 on the we're patiently waiting bandwagon...


fascinating build, and can't wait to see it finished so you can go enjoy it. Even if it isn't at the poet creek at first.

[KCStudly]

Well thank you all. I just need to accept that it is my process and some things "need" more attention than others, especially the "signature features".

Mary, one of the things I asked for and got for xmas was a 256gig HDTV rated SD card for my camera. Now I can take extended videos and plan on setting a camera up to capture the grand lowering. I have never used video editing software, and don't really have time right now to learn it, but I would like to. (That and I would like to document the trip to "the crick", so will have to conger up a rigid mount for the camera.)

Tonight's exploits in a sec.

[KCStudly]

So this is a little tedious, and it seems that I am obsessing over this small aspect of the build, but I see it as a prerequisite to moving forward with the front wall/roof foam.

Here is how I got “the mix” into the bolt holes on the blocking for the axe head mount using blue tape to form a cofferdam.


The other tool mount blocks, which haven’t been installed yet, were easier. I tried to get a pic showing the holes filled with the mix, but it didn’t show up in the pic too well. In the second pic you can just see the reflection of the ceiling joist shadows in the plastic drape overhead.



Next up is a classic case of: planned it, started working it, had a good idea for a revision (offered by Karl), decided to do it that way, left it, came back to it and built it the first way… oops. The revision would have been better and there is no right way to get from here to there without starting over. Do over. The good news is that after doing all of the pondering, layout, dry fitting, and tool coordinating, the second time around only took a short effort.

I’m talking about the axe head mount. My short term goal is to at least get the rest of tool blocking glued to the front wall this weekend (and maybe more). However, I was a little concerned about placement of the lower axe handle mount. Until the side pieces that straddle the nock of the handle on the upper mount are glued in place, I can’t be 100/ct sure that the bottom of the handle will land where I expect it to. It is curved, after all. So in my convoluted way, I decided that I needed to at least get the upper mount glued up so that I can bolt it in place and locate the lower block.

So I proceeded to counterbore the mounting bolt holes (which will be captured under the axe handle when it is locked, indicated by the pencil outline).



The milled slot to the left is intended to capture a fabricated T-bolt that the locking knob will thread onto. In the original plan this T-bolt would be installed and captured between the base of the mount and the side piece that registers on the nock. You can see the piece of 1/4 inch SS round bar that I cut and shaped to fit the slot, and the 1/4-20 bolt that will be cut down and welded to the cross piece.



About this time I was wishing that I didn’t have to finish the T-bolt before gluing up the mount. That’s when I remembered Karl’s suggestion to put the slot on the back and let the bolt stick all the way thru. This would also allow the T-bolt to be replaced later should the threads ever become damaged, but would still capture it when the mount is installed. Unfortunately, there was no easy fix except to make the base of the mount over again. Here is “Take 2” mocked up with the locating side pieces (still not cut to final length).


… and the backside.


I used the bolt as an alignment pin, trimmed and glued the left side piece onto the base. The right side piece has now been rough cut to length and is just mocked up here with the hinge for the hasp. Because the bolt is still long at this point, I spaced it all up off the bench so that the larger shank of the bolt could slide all the way in.


Tomorrow I can use the axe for final alignment and glue the second piece on. While that is setting up I can work to glue the shovel mount blocking onto the front wall.

Bit by bit, bite by bite, getting it done slowly but surely.

[dales133]

Do you guys do F ratings on timber?
Here it's a F1 being the highest finishing, fence better ect rating F1 is red gum posts and it crisp ones to the total number or years of exposure to the elements as far as I'm aware. There is some crazily resilient trees and subsequently timber here.
What the rating on the stuff you use

[KCStudly]

Do you guys do F ratings on timber?

Sorry to admit that I don't know. I know we have grading systems that cover structural lumber (usually DF... Douglass Fir in my area) and ply, and they usually have stamp marks.

My Okoume ply was sold under a Lloyd's of London spec for marine grade, but I didn't see any markings on it or the cedar. The cedar started out as 2x10 x 10 ft clear select. Because of the horse trading I did with Rover Mike, labor for saw time, the ply and timbers were drop shipped to his shop and I never saw any literature or markings that may have come with it.