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Week 168

Sunday

The first couple of hours in the garage on Sunday were spent working out the dimensions of the segments for the second Ash porthole liner. The first liner's segments had been such a bad fit the fitter had decided to start again from scratch. Instead of using a protractor and ruler to draw out the segments, the fitter drew a circle of the relevant diameter on the backing board. He then bisected that circle with a straight line drawn through the centre. Then, having ascertained the circumference of the circle, used a pair of dividers to work out the segment positions. Once he was happy that the dividers were set correctly he was able to set the compass to the same size and divide the circle into twelve. He then drew lines across the centre between two of the marked positions. Finally, he could measure the segment piece lengths and work out thickness and width.

With the relevant sizes calculated, the small selection of Ash offcuts could be examined to find suitable pieces from which the segments could be made. This wasn't a very difficult job as there were only three offcuts! However, choosing the right two meant a reduction in waste and left some Ash for possible use on the fitter's boat.

The Ash was cut into strips, thicknessed and then sawn into segment sizes and the first two layers of segments glued and clamped together. The use of the thicknesser highlighted a long standing need to find a home for a couple of pieces of the machine - the planer fence and the half of the table only used when planing. These have tended to find a home on the floor in the past, space now at a premium with the introduction of the router table.

The chosen resting place for these items was on the wall panel above the machine. Screws and wooden buckles were fitted to the panels and the items "hung up" out of the way.

There were a few visits to the laptop during the day to monitor train performance in case of delays due to the bad weather. Daughter was returning from Manchester during the evening and was concerned that train delays might result in her being trapped up north. Fortunately, easement of the recent cold spell meant that trains were operating almost normally - notice that we didn't say punctually!

We finished work in the garage around 5pm - doing anything else would have delayed our evening meal. We ate, called family and then settled down to watch a DVD. The fitter popped out briefly to collect daughter from the local station and, having delivered her home safely, returned home, finished watching the DVD, had a drink and went to bed.

Monday

These morning lie-ins and late breakfasts are playing havoc on our work schedule! Once again it was after 9am before the fitter ventured into the garage, except briefly to turn the radiator on before we sat down to breakfast.

The first task in the garage was to release the two glued up porthole liner layers from their respective strap clamps and to glue up and clamp the third layer. This was followed by a brief journey to the supermarket to collect Mrs. Fitter and the weekly shopping.

We'd had a little snow overnight on Sunday and this needed to be cleared from the car (and the snow removed from the drive) before the fitter set out. He'd quickly cleared the drive and opened the driver's side door of the car so that he could get in and start the car. He then switched on the front wipers to clear the thin layer of snow from the windscreen. The wipers did this very effectively, managing to sweep much of the off side of the windscreen's covering into the gap between door hinge post and windscreen corner and, thus, into the foot well of the car on the driver's side. The fitter had to then try and scoop as much of the snow out of the car before heading off to pick up his passenger.

Mrs. Fitter was waiting in the car park with what looked like enough shopping to last for a four week canal boat cruise! This was soon loaded into the boot of the car and shortly after we arrived home. The fitter was then commandeered to go and collect a friend of his wife and transport her to our neighbour's house where their tame chiropodist was holding court.

The fitter had been on the point of making that latter journey when he got a call from the boatyard, a call he returned as soon as he was back from his errand. This resulted in the fitter spending a short while on the laptop helping the boatyard with a small problem with their advertising. He also undertook to visit the boatyard for a couple of hours on Tuesday to provide more assistance.

From then until lunch the fitter was engrossed in securing the bottom layer of the porthole liner to the backboard and then reducing the inside diameter to the required size - the outside would be retained at the initial size until all three layers had been glued together to provide a bit more strength in the structure.

After lunch the liner's middle layer was glued and clamped in position. This completed the day's work on the Ash liner.

Although the fitter wanted to make a start on something for his own boat, this could logically wait until later in the week, when he'd be looking for infill tasks in between work on the Oak liners for Rachel. And so it came to pass that a start was made on one of Rachel's fitments.

With the lathe's faceplate fixed to the backing plate to which the Ash porthole liner was glued, the fitter couldn't use either the backboard - to work out what size Rachel's liner components need to be, nor could he use the faceplate on another backboard to work on porthole surrounds for another part of Rachel using a smaller backing board. Instead he decided to make a start on Rachel's vent surrounds. These are approximately 160mm in diameter and up to 110mm deep. They are mounted in the ceiling panels and obscure the foam insulation between the upper side of the ceiling panel and the lower side of the cabin roof upon which the vent is fitted.

The first task was to work out the size of the components - four layers of oak varying between 25mm and 35mm thick and either 25mm or 45mm wide. Having ascertained sizes, including lengths, the various offcuts of oak were examined for suitable candidates. Two were found and suitable size strips cut off the pieces using the bandsaw. The strips were then run through the planer and thicknesser.

The machined strips could then be cut into segment size pieces on the table saw. In an effort to minimise the gaps between segments the fitter tried clamping the strips to the sliding fence to stop the strips from moving when they made contact with the saw's blade. This seemed to have worked for although gaps were still apparent they weren't as bad as those that we'd had on Boxing Day when we made the first Ash liner.

The fitter cut the first layer's segments, had to adjust one piece on the bandsaw and bench sander, and then glued and clamped the layer together. Happy that the angle of cut was as good as it could be, the fitter cut the segments for the next two layers and was able to glue and clamp one of those before time ran out.

He closed the garage, changed into something a little cleaner (or less impregnated with sawdust) and had his meal. He watched some early evening television, had a spell on the laptop writing up these notes and then returned to the television to watch another programme before heading for bed.

Tuesday

We were up just after 7am. The fitter had had a restless start to the night, woken a few times early on and then managed to sleep through until 6.45am and thus avoiding having to make the early morning cuppa.

Showers and breakfast quickly followed for Mrs. Fitter was spending the day at church and the fitter wanted to shape the middle layer of the Ash liner and glue on the top layer before he headed off to the boatyard. He also wanted to try and buy a couple of additional faceplates for the lathe so that he could speed up the production process for liners and other woodwork for Rachel. After all it is only nine weeks until the start of the 2010 trip boat season, and from then on production would be naturally slowed. With sixteen large liners to make, six vent covers and ten small liners (plus a few things we'd like to make for our own boat) we can't afford to have to wait several days for the individual layers to be ready to be turned because we only have one backing board on which to fix everything.

The lathe work was soon completed and the shopping equally soon ordered. With luck the goods will arrive on Wednesday and production can step up a level.

The time at the boatyard was spent primarily in the office working on advertising for the 2010 season. The Boss had disappeared by the time this work was complete and in an effort to pass the time the fitter checked the gas bottles on his own boat. One bottle was empty and needed changing.

The Boss still wasn't back when the gas bottle had been swapped so the fitter returned to the office for a short while. The Boss eventually returned and the fitter was able to tie up a couple of loose ends with him before heading for home for a slightly later lunch. He visited Screwfix - to buy a couple of strap clamps (so that we can have up to four liner segments clamped at the same time) - and Wickes - to buy a 4'x2'sheet of 12mm MDF. Part of the MDF will be used to fit a second layer to the router table drawer containing the ¼ inch router bits as we've run out of space for same in the bottom layer. Some more of the MDF may be used to make a sled for the table saw that we hope will help us resolve the problems we're currently experiencing in getting good butt joins in the segment layers.

The snow was fast melting and the road outside the fitter's house which had been a bit like a skating rink just a few days earlier was now quite slushy. The fitter backed on to his drive, unloaded the car and made and ate his lunch.

Lunch was finished just before 3pm whereupon the fitter headed for the laptop to check to see if a specific mail had arrived. This mail, which the fitter had sent himself from the boatyard earlier, contained an advertisement that needed modifying. The mail hadn't arrived (and still hadn't, when these notes were being written some five hours later).

With nothing else to do on the computer the fitter headed for the garage. He quickly released the first two layers of the vent cover from the strap clamps and glued and clamped the third layer which was then left overnight to cure.

He removed the clamps that had been securing the top layer of the Ash liner, fixed faceplate with attached backing board and liner segments onto the lathe and spent the next hour or so (apart from the afternoon tea break) virtually completing the liner. All that remained to be done was to remove the liner from the backboard, fix it to the chuck and extended jaw set in an inverted position and strip off the excess depth through which the screws securing the liner to the backboard had been fitted.

There was a temptation to fit the liner into the chuck jaws but it was nearly meal time so the fitter turned everything off, closed the garage and went and got changed. He unsuccessfully checked his mail for the wanted item and then headed downstairs to eat. With normal television schedules now resumed after the holiday, we watched out customary early evening programmes before the fitter broke away (to avoid the weekly soaps) and headed for the laptop to check mail again, check forum and write up these notes.

More snow is forecast overnight but the weather then appears to warm up. We may yet return to staying on the boat overnight for a couple of days each week if that is the case (another good reason to minimise delays to lathe work).

Wednesday

We weren't that late getting up on Wednesday morning. Now that the external temperature has generally risen back to more acceptable levels we've decided to jettison the second duvet, especially as the fitter has woken in a bit of a sweat for the last couple of days.

We had breakfast and the fitter checked the laptop to see if the mail that he'd been expecting had arrived. It still hadn't, so he made a request to the boatyard for it to be sent again. That copy didn't arrive either. However, the Boss eventually managed to send the wanted element, which had arrived when the fitter checked his mail after lunch.

The first job in the garage was to separate the Ash porthole liner from the backboard. The fitter decided to saw the finished element of the liner from the layer that was screwed to the backboard but first he decided to increase the depth of the liner to allow for the thickness of the saw cut.

The backboard and faceplate were removed from the lathe once the Ash liner was separated and replaced by the chuck and expanding jaws onto which the liner was fitted, the underside cleaned up and given a couple of coats of sanding sealer and then removed from the lathe and put to one side, finished.

The faceplates that the fitter had ordered on Wednesday had arrived during this latter process so the next task was to prepare the backboards for the vent liners and Rachel's smaller porthole liners. Rachel has 15" diameter portholes in the cabin sides in lieu of windows in part of the boat. It also has 9" diameter portholes in her pigeon boxes. A pigeon box is a roof mounted vent that can be opened for ventilation but also allows light in through the portholes.

The fitter decided that he'd make a start of one of the vent liners as the lower three layers had already been clamped up. The first layer was screwed to the backboard. This required the faceplate to be removed, the liner layer to be screwed to the backboard and the faceplate refitted - the screws to hold the liner are under the area of the faceplate.

The upper part of the first layer was then shaped - the bottom part, where the screws were, had to retain the original shape. The fitter then went to glue the next layer to the shaped one and discovered that the diameter of this next layer was too large. The length of the segment pieces was 10mm too long. The fitter didn't know how this had happened and assumed that he'd simply misread the ruler (as usual) when marking out.

He broke the layer down, cut 10mm off each segment and adjusted the mitre angles slightly to improve the fit. He re-glued the segments, strap clamped it and in a change from recent trends, then glued and G clamped the layer to the shaped layer on the backboard. The other untouched layer also had segments that were too long so this had to be broken down, have the segments trimmed and then be re-glued and clamped. These trimming operations weren't easy because the segments were only 85mm long and needed 10mm cut off.

The fitter then spent some time checking the set up of the table saw before cutting the segments for the fourth and top layer of the vent liner. The diameter of this layer is larger than the other three because it will become the layer that is placed on the face of the ceiling panels rather than be simply something that is hidden from view between the backside of the ceiling panel and the inside of the roof.

Amazingly the mitres were a lot more accurate than previous efforts and the fitter was on the verge of glueing up those segments when he thought he'd check the size. He was aghast to find that this layer was also too large. The segment lengths were again too big. The fitter paused - he actually swore first and then paused - and then realised how this had happened.

When he was measuring the position of the stop that he was using to position the segments he'd measured at right angles to the blade, forgetting that he was cutting at an angle of 30° to the blade and should have measured diagonally to position the stop, This would have placed the stop closer to the blade and reduced the length of the segments. All he needs to do is to remember to make diagonal measurements when he sets the saw up for the remaining liners.

The top layers segments were trimmed to length on the bandsaw as this was deemed safer than trying to use the table saw, The segments were then glued and clamped together and left to be used on Thursday morning.

The fitter had intended to spend some time sharpening his tools but there was no time after he'd decided to shape the layer that he'd earlier glued to the layer on the backboard. Having completed the shaping he was able to glue the next layer on - the layers need to be shaped individually as the overall depth of the finished liner would be too great to allow shaping to take place then.

The fitter changed before eating, watched some television and then adjourned to the laptop where he spent a fruitless hour trying unsuccessfully to modify the advert for the boatyard - the modification won't reproduce well when reduced to match the size of the advert. The evening was rounded off with a session on the forum and in writing up the day's notes on this page.

Thursday

Despite shedding one duvet we didn't seem to sleep any better, waking at some unearthly hour (more than once) and then, after we'd had a cup of tea and tossed and turned for some while we must have both drifted off to sleep, waking to find it was 8am.

The fitter checked his laptop briefly before venturing into the garage on Thursday morning. He was expecting a mail from the Boss with depths of the vent liners but that mailed hadn't been sent at that time.

In the garage the fitter removed the clamps from the vent liner assembly and placed said assembly on the lathe. He soon shaped the third layer and had the fourth (and top) layer glued and clamped in place. He then adjourned to the laptop again - still no mail from the Boss - to write a letter. It was tea time by the time this was completed.

We took the letter to the postbox after our drink and continued on to the furniture store from whence we'd ordered our new suite. Paperwork connected to the sale had been incorrectly completed and needed to be re-submitted. It was lunch time by the time that we'd walked there and walked back.

Turning the television on whilst you have lunch is not a good idea in our house! Not only did we watch a programme that we often do but the television then remained on for another ninety minutes, so it was 3pm by the time the fitter returned to the garage.

The fitter risked the glue having set and removed clamps from the vent liner once again, placed it on the lathe and completed shaping said liner. He then parted it off from the backboard, cleaned up the freshly cut edge and put it to one side to go to the pub later (where it would be handed to the Boss).

There was just time for a general clear up and some lathe tool sharpening before the fitter closed the garage and went and showered just before his meal. He watched his usual early evening programme and then hit the laptop again to check mail and write up the day's events on here - the details of the quiz results would be added later in the week.

And so they were. We left home shortly after 8pm and drove over to the pub in poor visibility - also known as fog. We arrived about ten minutes before usual quiz time and having bought our drinks, sat down in our usual place (not too far from the bar) to await the start of the quiz. We even passed a pleasant few minutes chatting generally to the landlady. At that stage there were potentially three teams in the pub.

It stayed that way for several minutes - long after the quiz would normally have started and we began to think that the quiz had been cancelled. This likelihood was emphasized when the landlady appeared with a brand new pack of cards, which she handed to the largest group in the pub. We're in for an early night, we thought.

We'd sent a text to the Boss to advise him that we had arrived at the pub and he replied indicating what he was drinking! He arrived about ten minutes later, a few moments after the grease monkey. And this seems to have triggered a change of heart by the landlord because the next thing that we know is that the quiz sheets are being handed out. The rest of the evening passed off as usual.

We managed to come second out of five teams, although a good ten points behind the winners. We were also several points ahead of our nearest rivals. We drove home afterwards in slightly better visibility for much of the way and were in bed just after 11.30pm. The snow was definitely thawing with the temperature seeming to stay above freezing.

Friday

A fair part of Friday morning was spent on the computer successfully trying to produce a modified advert for the boatyard. Then it was back to the garage and time to make a start on another liner. Because it takes so long for the glue to cure the fitter decided to cut and glue all the segments for another vent liner because he knew the measurements of those segments. Then, whilst the glue was curing, he could work out the measurements for one of the other style of liners and, if time permitted, which it eventually turned out that it didn't, he could make a start on preparing the segments for one of those liners.

We won't bore you with the process, which was generally a repeat of what we'd done previously, save that we were a little more careful in lining up blade and fence on the table saw to improve the accuracy of the mitres. This worked to some degree but something is still not right because even using a stop - and there's nowhere firm to clamp the stop to - we still ended up with segments of slightly varying lengths and the angles, whilst better than they have been, were still very slightly adrift.

We now have a dilemma. The vent liners only have six segments per layer. We have depth measurements for four and know that there could be up to a further three to make after the initial four. Do we cut the segments for all of the vents whilst we have the mitre gauge angle set fairly accurately at 30° or do we throw caution to the wind and change the mitre block angle to 15° which is what we'll need for the other two types of the liner, reverting back to 30° when we return to the vent liners?

We don't have much timber at present so can't really afford to cut pieces that we aren't going to use in the near future. On the other hand, we've taken a lot of effort to line up the mitre gauge and the results are improving all the time. As we'll no doubt have the same hassle when we start cutting 15° mitres we're a little loathe to undo the good work that we've done so far. We'll sleep on it on Friday night and see what we decide.

We'd cut and glued all four layers for the vent liner by 4pm but the glue hadn't had time to cure so we couldn't make a start on assembly/shaping. Instead the fitter spent a while working out the segment sizes for the other two types of liner but declined to start cutting them at that time of day. Do you get the feeling that the fitter's not too enamoured with the prospect of all the liners that he's got to make?

With one or two things that the fitter wanted to do on the computer, he closed the garage and headed upstairs until mealtime. He returned to the laptop briefly after the usual early evening television programme to write up the day's notes and check mail and forum. The rest of the evening was spent in front of the box!

Saturday

The fitter woke and thought about offering to make the tea until he looked at the clock - it was 12.20am! Not to be outdone, he thought the same the second time he woke and then looked at the clock - it was 2.45am. Mrs. Fitter then offered to make the tea at 4am - that's more like it (for us at least) - and promptly went back to sleep until 7am by which time we were thinking of getting up, so we went without the tea.

We had breakfast and then Mrs. Fitter headed for the supermarket to top up a few low running supplies. The fitter went into the garage, fitted and shaped the first layer of the second vent liner and then clamped the second layer on just as Mrs. Fitter returned from the shop. A quick change (by the fitter) and we headed off to Axminster Tools in High Wycombe. The prime aim was to purchase a gauge that we hoped would be more accurate for setting the table saw's mitre gauge - with hundreds of mitres to cut we do need to get them as accurate as possible. However, we were planning to take the opportunity to get one or two other things, including some connectors for the chip extractor hose to reduce the strain on the existing hose as it only just reaches the lathe. We've had the extension piece for some while but couldn't connect it to the hose on the extractor as we didn't have a connector of the right diameter.

We left home around 10.30am and were back again almost exactly three hours later after an uneventful journey. The rain, which had by this time helped to wash away a fair amount of the snow, wasn't too continuous, with long spells of dryness as we seemed to move from one puddle to another or from one pothole to another.

Back home we had our lunch and our second cup of tea of the day (perhaps we wouldn't have such a disturbed night!) and then it was back to the garage where the vent liner had the clamps removed and the second layer shaped and the third layer glued and clamped on. We'd bought some quicker curing PVA adhesive at High Wycombe in the hope that this will enable us to reduce the time between glueing and subsequent shaping of layers. We used this and noted that we'd just about be able to shape this layer and then glue and clamp the final one before we stopped for the day in a couple of hours time.

With the vent liner in the clamps we unpacked the rest of the shopping. We used our newly purchased angle checker and found that the previous one was slightly out. This probably accounted for the most recent errors when making up the layers for the vent liner.

Once the shopping was out of the way we could turn our attention to cutting the timber for the first of the sixteen porthole liners for Rachel. At this stage we're still using offcuts that we bought cheaply from a local sawmill. Consequently we're having to work out which pieces are best to use to get the most economical results when the timber is cut.

The fitter cut what he thought was sufficient timber but after planing and thicknessing he was a little concerned that he cut things a bit too tight. Unfortunately, time was running out, so sawing the mitres and glueing the segments for the porthole liner would have to wait until Sunday if the fitter was to achieve his aim and get the third layer on the vent liner shaped and the fourth layer glued and clamped in place before meal time.

He only just made it, hanging up his apron just as Mrs. Fitter was completing the cooking of the evening meal.

We watched a recorded television program after we'd eaten and then the fitter adjourned to the laptop to check mail and forum and to complete this week's notes on this page whilst Mrs. Fitter watched one of her favourite television programmes. Our bedtime drink followed and we were in bed by 10.30pm.

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