Have generator, will travel

This weekend, I finally got around to project that has been on my list for a while.  I moved the giant Kohler propane generator that was originally by the house. It's now over at the shop. We haven't used the Kohler since the early winter after we purchased a much smaller (2000w vs 12000w) Honda inverter generator.  The Honda is perfect for supplementing our solar energy in the off season.  The Kohler was just too big for us to run efficiently.  Even with full charge on the batteries and some house load, we were only using about 15% of the generator's capacity and still burning lots of propane (1-2 gals/hr).  With the Honda, we can set our charger to load the generator at about 75% of it's capacity  (regardless of house loads) and it still sips fuel (~0.25gals/hr).  We run the Honda a little longer, but it's works out well in our favor. As an added bonus, the Honda is a great complement to the Scamp -- it'll even run the AC.

So the Kohler will get re-purposed as a shop generator for running larger 240v power tools like my table saw and other large gems that I might come across on Craig's list.  I've been contemplating going this route for some time, but was reluctant due to the lack of propane over at the shop.  A quick call to our propane company, Montana Propane, cured my reluctance.  They offered to replace our existing 1000-gallon rental tank with two 500-gallon tanks at only the cost of parts for hooking up the second tank.  The even cut us a deal on the rental price for 2 tanks so they come out to the same price as a single larger tank. Cass and I have been thinking the 1000-gallon tank was too large and obnoxious for our needs for a while anyway, so everyone's happy!

Our new coffee table!

Every year, downtown Helena holds a Fall Art Walk.  And every year I tell myself, "Next year I'm going to build something to put in the Art Walk."  Well,this year I'm finally going through with it!  

I have been working on this table for about a month.  I really like the contrast of walnut and maple.  I finished the table in clear shellac.  Shellac is pretty easy to work with and I like the way it brings out the grain in walnut.

This year is Helena's 29th annual Art Walk.  The night is a bit of a kickoff to the holiday season. Downtown businesses host an artist or artists for the evening and people walk from store to store eating appetizers, drinking wine and beer, and hopefully buying some art.  The night has always been a highlight of the fall for Cass and I.  The Helena Woodworker's Guild has generally put on a great show at the Placer Building (a historic hotel downtown hotel turned apartment building).  My table will be part of the guild's display for the whopping price of NFS (Not For Sale).  Neither Cass or I are willing to part it at this point.  I am just hoping to test the waters and get a little exposure.  Maybe another year (baby steps).

Piedra y Madera

Last Saturday I convinced a few folks from the Helena Woodworkers Guild and the manger at Helena's Restore to head over to Missoula and take part in a charity event called Spontaneous Construction (SponCon). The event takes place at Home Resource in Missoula. Home resource is a nonprofit building material resource center.  They have been hosting SponCon for the last 5 years.  In the event, they challenge teams to create something (artistic, functional, or otherwise) using only store materials in a 6-hour period.  The store is very well stocked, so with a little ingenuity the sky is the limit.

Since I was the only person in our group who had even visited Home Resource, we showed up on Saturday morning with open minds but little in the way of ideas. We all agreed that we should do something relatively simple so we could enjoy the event without stressing about the 6-hour time limit.  Our team consisted of Jeff Camplese of Rising Sun Woodworking, Will Rex of Golden Stone Carpentry, Steve Staneart from Helena's Restore and myself. Given the large stock of items, coming up with an idea turned out to be relatively easy.  Will's wife Heidi immediately found some really cool granite slab remnants.  Almost simultaneously, Jeff came across a 1" thick reclaimed pine board that he really liked.  Within minutes we had a sketch drawn out for our "Piedra y Madera" (Stone and Wood) sofa/hall shelf. The whole piece is made from a single piece of wood and likely a single stone.  The only hardware used for assembly were 6 old square nails.  Our piece qualified for the benefit auction and will get raffled off on October 19th in Missoula.

Check out the photo gallery of the event to see some of the other creations.  Also, check out this time-lapsed video posted by a friend of mine. He also has more on the re-purposed garden tool project on his blog, Montana Wildlife Gardener.

A mirror for Cassie's Birthday

It's been a while since I had a chance to build furniture. I took a break from house projects to build Cassie a mirror for her birthday. It was fun to work with wood again.  

Her birthday was early in December, and I finally got the mirror finished and hung -- only 3 weeks late.  The design is Stickley inspired.  Traditionally made out quarter-sawn oak, I opted for red elm.