Building a sign is only half the fun

When I am dreamng up our cool projects I am also starting to think about how we will permanently mount it, how we will hold it up for fabrication and how we will transport it to it's permanent home. If possible the mounting points do all three but sometimes we have to get creative. There are many creative ways to hold, fasten and transport a sign. 

For the Lark Rise sign we couldn't transport it upright. It was too tall. But we didn't want to lay it down on the trailer. So I welded up three steel cradles and bolted them to the trailer bed. The sign was laid down on the cradles keeping  the painted surfaces thre inches off the trailer. The metal bits are easily and quickly painted on site after the sign is in it's permanent home.

All straps to fasten the sign into the trailer will be tied to the metal bits as well. The sign should arrive in perfect condition.

-grampa dan

Thinking place

We all have certain places where we get no interruptions, places where we can solve tricky problems and think things out. Two particular places work especially well for me.

I like long, hot steamy showers and I find there I can't hear the phone ring and I have no distractions. Solutions for particualrly vexing problems often pop into my head while I am geting wet. It works every time. This is my thinking place.

Since I work from a home based studio/shop my schedule is at my bidding on most days. If the day is warm and the sun is shining I love to hop onto our garden tractor and mow the lawn. I have purposely designed and shaped the grounds to make it interesting. No straight lines in sight (save for the front property line) and the ground is now gently rolling with large hills. I find it fun and a wonderful place to dream up future projects. As I go around the many trees and curves I let my mind wander, thinking of new, creative projects. It is my happy place. While I hear so many dreading the task of mowing the lawn I look forward to it with great anticipation and do it more frequently than most I suppose. Each time is a wonderful occasion to dream.

With a shiney new and much quieter mower this year I look forward to it even more than usual.

If you drive by and see me on the mower I'll most likely wave hello, but if you wave and I don't wave back, don't take it personally. I am most likely deep in thought and my mind is often in some far off place or solving some complex creative problem.

-grampa dan

Timber!

Our new house, like every large project requires a lot of work to set things up before the real work of building can start. We've been busy. The building plans are almost done, the engineers are working on the building specs for the footings, concrete walls, structural steel, roof trusses, heating system, ventilation system, septic system and all the other things engineers need to do. We've dug the test holes for soil tests and the perk tests. Yesterday we took down the old fence that separated the front yard from the back yard and then rebuilt it fifty feet to the rear. That will make room for the massive pile of soil we will dig out for the foundation.

Today's job was to remove two trees that were where the new house would be located. Both were large and well beyond their prime. The largest was hollow and soft through the center. We'll plant some new ones to replace them after the new house is built. Trees grow pretty fast in these parts!

My good friend and neighbor Gord came to help me with the falling. I manned the tractor which was tied to the tree to make sure they fell in the right direction - away from the old house! We need it just a little longer. The biggest branch was the mst worrysome. We tied a rope as high as I cared to venture and then pulled as hard as my little tractor couldmanage. Gord handled the chainsaw and it came down with a couple of feet to spare on both sides.

Then it was time for the biggest section of the tree. We sized up every option and considered a number of plans before deciding to drop the tree between the fence and the old house. Gord fired up my trusty old chainsaw and went for broke. What could possibly go wrong?

The ancient walnut tree came down perfectly, this shot capturing the scene just before it hit the ground. It missed the fence and the old house in the process.

The last obstacle for the new house is now gone. From here on in we build new instead of dismantling old.

-grampa dan