Prairie Settle Sectional #4: Milling Begins!

Looking good, you just can’t beat the sound of a well tuned plane!

-- ...it's rennovation time!!!

I’ll second that the folks at Lakeshore are very good, and have a broad selection. They also ship, so don’t be put off by distance.

Jim, looks like a very nice project you’ve got going, looking forward to seeing the progress.

ps. howdy neighbor!

-- Ned - 2B1ASK1 http://nedswoodshop.blogspot.com

I can’t wait to see this!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Milling is becoming a new joy for me…. Thanks for the pics. Looking forward to seeing the end result.

Hey Jim, I don’t know if you still visit this site, but you sort of left things hanging with your fourth blog on the sectional. Did you ever finish it? I know you had mentioned in one of the earlier blogs about delays because “life happens” but it’s been awhile now. I’m interested for a couple reasons. First, because it looks like you had a good project going and it seemed odd to just quit posting in the middle of the project and leave everyone hanging, and second because I’m in your area and plan on buying from the same lumber supplier you used. Since you are in Oswego, maybe you got buried in the 10 feet + snow a couple winters ago? Looking forward to hearing from you.

-- Dale Manning, Carthage, NY

Hi everyone. It has indeed been a while since I posted any updates, and I’d like to extend my apologies to Dale and anyone else who has been following this project. I made some progress last fall building legs and dimensioning other parts (rails, slats, etc.). However, I ran into some trouble locating QSWO stock that could be milled to 7 1/2” for the arms. These are very prominent in the design, so I decided to wait until I could find what I needed, rather than edge-gluing narrower stock.

Once school began, it was very difficult for me to make any progress. My fellow teachers can tell you that there is always something to grade, a lesson to prepare, or student to counsel. I’m not complaining, mind you; it’s a great life.

So, as you can imagine, I was pleased to see Summer arrive with the promise of revitalizing this project. Then, as soon as the semester ended, I was approached by a friend who asked me to help him build a bed for his wife. It’s their 1st anniversary—how could I say no? That project is coming along well (he chose ash) , and I may post some photos of it when complete (perhaps this weekend). One nice side effect of this project is that we returned to Lakeshore Hardwoods, and I found some wide QSWO for my project! It’s sitting in my garage, waiting for me.

Next week, I’m traveling to a conference in Indiana. Then, the following week I’m traveling to Council Bluffs IA for the beginning of the RAGBRAI bike tour. I would love to meet other lumberjocks who are riding or hosting us in their towns! Details of the ride can be found here.

I’ll be back in Oswego in early August and intend to return to this project in earnest. I want to thank everyone for their kind words and interest, and I’ll do a better job of keeping everyone updated.

-- -- Jim E., Oswego, NY. Create, have fun, and work safely!