I’ve been busy this week, but not a lot to show for it. What I have done is:
I’ve been spending an hour or so a day working in the shop shed cutting the birds out. I have two ready to paint and am cutting the third. A couple of things I’ve discovered about my new workspace is that I’ll need some kind of shutters or blinds and I’ll need to work on the ergonomics of my scroll saw. In the late afternoon, the sun cuts across the scroll saw table and casts shadows that make it hard to see the pattern lines so I’ll need some kind of window shade to fix that. I’ve also noticed that my current chair for the scroll saw has me at the wrong height so I’ll need to make an adjustment. The little light and magnifier I current have is a bit small for these old eyes so I might be on the lookout for something bigger and brighter.
In the big workshop I had to make a platform for my new cabinets:
The garage floor isn’t flat and it slopes. This platform is about 3 inches high and lets me adjust for the irregularities of the floor and as a bonus makes the center section a little higher which will be nice for workshop. Next step is to start connecting the four units together and make a countertop for it.
That’s about it from here this week – if you need me, I’ll be in the garage.
Andrew's View of the Week 
The birds look wonderful! Hopefully you’ll be able to get a shade for your window that will still allow light through, just not direct sunlight.
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Before I can get a shade, I need to finish trimming out the window casing so I have something to attach it too. For now a piece of paper towel taped with blue tape is taking care of the worst of it.
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Maybe you should have a cage of real birds in the workshop – little chatty creatures to keep you company. You can catch them as they land on the “blank”.
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My cats would love that. 😉
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Hey, you’re making progress! The bird project is beautiful!
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The thing I like about this is that each time I go to the saw, I can see some progress, slow but steady.
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Beautiful work and so intricate, Andrew.
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I like these – lots of detail.
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It is all looking great! I have the same issue in my shop – more so in the winter months when the sun is lower. My window faces south(ish) and the lower sun in the afternoon until sunset tends to go directly into my eyes when cutting, as the saw in on the workbench which is right under the window.
I am not one to like ‘curtains’ or anything like pegboard in my shop. I keep the walls and areas clean from anything so I can vacuum every surface when I am done with my session. I always do that to keep it neat and come back to a clean and organized workspace the next time I am there. So for the window, I have a roller shade that I pull down about 6″ or so (or whatever is required) as that setting sun goes down to keep it from my eyes. It is easy to vacuum the shade when I am done and all is good.
I am not a believer in “a clean shop is an unproductive shop”. I think I just had my best and most productive week to date – with working in the shop Monday and Tuesday – both days over 10 hours of cutting/routing/sanding. But if I took a photo of it when I left on Tuesday night, it was clean and ready to go next Monday. If ever there was a call for “minimalism” – a working shop would be it. 😉
The cabinet looks beautiful. That will be another great place for you – in the big shop. And (of course!) I can’t wait to see your birds all painted.
Thanks for the update. 😀 It is fun to see your progress and you finally working in it. 🙂
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I am loving cutting out these birds. There are trees just outside my shop so in the summer the sun isn’t an issue. Putting up blinds our curtains doesn’t sound good as they just collect dust and need to be cleaned. I’m thinking of maybe an awning or shutter that will help – a roller blind is a possibility. Either that or I’ll have to move the scroll saw.
I have an air cleaner in the shop so that’s keeping the dust down, but I’m not so good at daily cleaning – more like a weekly or in-between project thing. I likely don’t spend as much time cutting as you do so it doesn’t need to be done as often.
The big shop needs a lot more step up to be functional and the cabinets are the first step. Right now I don’t have anywhere to store tools and supplies so I end up having to move things around to get any work done out there. I need this shop going so I can build the stuff I need for the shed shop. I’m loving the process.
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The birds are so intricate and really special. You have so much talent, Andrew.
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I don’t know about talent – you just follow the lines. 😉
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Hope you have a chickadee in there someplace.
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There is. Might get to that one next week.
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Those birds are really beautiful, but they are not the sort of thing that you can do quickly. To paraphrase an old adage from,I would presume, the days of the British Empire “Softly, softly, catchee birdee”.
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These do take awhile to cut. I’m taking an hour or two for each one.
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I like those birds very much, Andrew.
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I like this project.
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You made these? Why don’t you take a little run down to Mexico? I’m in need of a new kitchen…
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Sure, I’ll be right over. 😉
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Looks like beautiful work.
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It’s certainly detailed work.
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My grandfather on mom’s side did a lot of work with a jigsaw.
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I like this kind of work.
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I loved seeing the bird project in steps…eager to see them painted.
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I will post pictures of the when they are done.
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