Wednesday Woodworking – the Cart and Pick Axe

Posted on 09/02/2015 by Andrew Reynolds

I wasn’t in the shop much in August so it’s been awhile since I done one of these posts.  Mostly it’s been too hot or too busy to get much shop time.  I did make progress on my new shop cart built from recycled wood.  As of today it has wheels, sides and a frame to hold it all together.  Next step is putting the top on, some drawers and doors.  At the rate I am progressing I figure to have it ready by November.  November 2016.

cart from the side. Ignore the axe, it's just there for fine adjustments.

cart from the side. Ignore the axe, it’s just there for fine adjustments.

My shop isn’t very big so taking pictures can be a challenge at times.  If I was planning ahead, I would have taken a picture of this during the day out on the driveway.

Here’s a picture from the other side.  This cart has a number of functions: house my air compressor, nailers, supplies and the top is the same height as my table saw so it can double as an out feed table or assembly table.  Most likely though it will end up holding a lot of junk.

Here's where the air compressor goes. Hopefully being inside the cart will reduce the noise when it turns on.

Here’s where the air compressor goes. Hopefully being inside the cart will reduce the noise when it turns on.

Another thing that’s kept me busy is the garden.  It’s needed a lot of work.  We had one of our shrubs out front die and I got tasked with cutting it down and digging out the root.  Easy.  I’ve done that a million times with my trusty pick axe.  I love being able to grab the pick axe, head out into the garden and take manly swings at dead plants.

However, I had a problem this weekend.  Here’s a picture of my old, soon to be disposed of pick axe, next to its replacement:

New one on the left. Old one on the right.

New one on the left. Old one on the right.

Yes friends, during one of my manly swings at the roots of the shrub, I bent the blade of my pick axe.  I didn’t think that was possible.  In a way it’s a bit sad as I’ve had that pick axe for about 20 years and it’s cut through countless root systems.

I’ve come up with three possible reasons why the blade bent:

  1.  I am stronger that I realize
  2. The axe was defective
  3. The shrub is actually composed of some kind of living concrete that is strong than iron.

And for the record, the stump is still in the ground and I am afraid to hit it with my shiny new pick axe.

If you need me – I’ll be out front with the shrubbery,

Andrew

About Andrew Reynolds

Born in California Did the school thing studying electronics, computers, release engineering and literary criticism. I worked in the high tech world doing software release engineering and am now retired. Then I got prostate cancer. Now I am a blogger and work in my wood shop doing scroll saw work and marquetry.
This entry was posted in woodworking and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

15 Responses to Wednesday Woodworking – the Cart and Pick Axe

  1. Allan G. Smorra says:
    09/08/2015 at 10:23 am

    I have a compressor just like this one and have been thinking about how to make it more mobile-friendly. This cabinet is a great idea. Are you working from a plan or making your own creation?

    Thanks, Andrew,
    Ω

    Like

    • Andrew Reynolds says:
      09/08/2015 at 10:27 am

      This is my own creation. I have a bunch of shop scrapes of plywood and 1x2s so the material is dictating the design. I did a simple drawing in Skecthup to get started, but in the shop it’s a bit improvised. I’ll post a pdf of the drawing I have. It’s really just a simple box on wheels.

      Like

  2. kim says:
    09/06/2015 at 12:29 am

    I’d go for number 3. It would have to be a tough old root to bend a hardy tool like that! They don’t make ’em like they used to. Good luck with the stump 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. ParentingIsFunny says:
    09/05/2015 at 8:48 pm

    LOL. You are so neat. And so funny.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Jacqui Murray says:
    09/03/2015 at 7:54 am

    I’m with you–who would have thought pickaxes bent. BTW, maybe a little video of you working in the shop? Then I can really feel involved, ready to take a break afterwards.

    Like

    • Andrew Reynolds says:
      09/03/2015 at 9:52 am

      I’ve bent and mangled my share of garden tools, but this is the first time I’ve bent a pickaxe blade. Oh, I’ve broken the wooden handle a time or two.

      As to a video, well I’ve only done one: https://andrewsviewoftheweek.com/2015/02/18/wednesday-woodworking-church-mice-the-movie/

      I’ve been thinking about doing more, but at the moment all I have is my iPhone for a camera and with the tight space in my shop, setting up a good camera angle is challenging and sound is horrible with the built in mic. Still, it’s on my long term plan to do a few more. The next one might be on how to straighten a pick axe blade…

      Like

  5. jfwknifton says:
    09/03/2015 at 6:59 am

    My guess is that your ” shiny new pick axe” won’t be as strong as the old one. I thought you Americans in the films were supposed to have easy access to dynamite?

    Like

    • Andrew Reynolds says:
      09/03/2015 at 9:41 am

      While it might be possible for me to obtain some dynamite, it would also attract unwanted attention from a number of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Also, given my general clumsy nature, I’d like light the wrong fuse and blow myself up instead of the stump.

      Like

  6. Annika Perry says:
    09/03/2015 at 1:22 am

    Obviously it’s reason 1! The new pick axe just doesn’t have the character of the old one I feel…

    Like

  7. YAPCaB says:
    09/02/2015 at 10:13 pm

    Throw money at it. Have someone else do it.

    Like

Comments are closed.