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Gulf Island Building.

1M views 8K replies 149 participants last post by  Katie Cabana 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all:
Since the summer of 1997, I have been building a cabin and house on our 1/2 acre lot here. Before I dive into that part, I am going to show a few photos to set the stage a bit. We are remote here. No services of any kind, except that which we provide for ourselves. So don't expect to see any paved roads with big trucks delivering any materials.
We live at the head of a small bay, which is both a blessing and a curse.
When the tide goes out, we have to clamber over hundreds of yards of rocks to get to our boat. When it is in, I can float logs right up to my little railway to move them onto the log deck. Well, not any more, but more about that later.
This is the bay in front of us.
 

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#3,598 ·
GOOOoooOOOoooood morning, Keith, that post with the curve in two directions would be interesting to make but you could do that with ease. Everything comes to you so easy, where I have to do a lot of head scratching, among other scratching, to figure something out. I know for a fact though, which ever way you decide it will look great.

You have made a believer out of me on the finish you use, if it can hold up to salt air and the elements up your way it has to be some good stuff.

Buddy, I have several of the diamonds also and use them a lot, I have come to depend on them where most other things won't work. Some of mine are the width of yours and some are rather narrow but they are all good.
 
#3,599 ·
I guess that since I'm making the end hand rail - at long last - I should make the last corner post up at the same time. I suppose it is actually easier to get them both done at once, then I will only need to mix one batch of glue.

I'll do the math, then make up the mould to glue them in.
 
#3,601 ·
Well, these custom things always seem to take longer than we plan...but it all went well.

I couldn't find a piece of Douglas fir that was good enough to make the mould from, so I ended up wasting a perfectly good piece of yellow cedar. I know I should be hung for that, but whattareyagonnado?

Here I had it planed to thickness, and it has just come off the table saw after being ripped.
 

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#3,603 ·
It's quite straight forward as to how this is calculated...just draw the line from the original first.

Then I marked off lines at every 3". Drew a straight line in front of the curve.

Then measured the distance between the two lines at each of the cross lines - every 3". Added 40% to that on the outside of the curve. Then put some small nails on the intersecting lines.
 

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#3,604 ·
Using that thin batten in the above photo, I pushed the batten against the nails and drew the line to follow the new curve. It should show easily here.
 

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#3,607 ·
Now both the end hand rail and the post are glued up, and will stay clamped until tomorrow.

One thing to remember when clamping up something with many layers of wood - once you have it clamped tightly...wait about 5 minutes and re-check the clamps. There's a good chance that some of them will tighten a little more.
 

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#3,627 ·
It's also good to remove excess glue to avoid chips in planer blades etc after hardening. Also good to not wipe glue off with wet rag as this can smear glue into wood fibers and cause problems with stain not absorbing correctly in these areas. just a thought. timothy
 
#3,610 ·
Thanks...I sure hope it is!

Incidentally, on those diamond hones...all mine came away from the backing when they were cold.

I haven't actually re-fixed them yet, but perhaps a few dots of silicone around the outside would hold them.

You mentioned rubber with yours...Is there a rubber backing? I don't have that on mine.
 
#3,615 · (Edited)
Maybe you should burn a bale of that green stuff to keep those diamond hones together... :lol:

Yup, cold weather did it here, too. They were so cheap I didn't worry about fixing it.
Silicone *might* work, but I've spilled 3-in-1 oil over mine, so it might not work for me.
 
#3,617 ·
Green stuff.....green stuff.....what green stuff are we talking about this time...:whistling2:

I might have got mine from Lee Valley ages ago, or maybe Midland over in Nanaimo. Either way, they fell apart the first time I used them.

Now if I use them, I put them on a workbench and run the tool over the top.
 
#3,620 ·
Almost done. There are a couple of narrow trims I need to make up to finish, but the appearance won't change much. Better in daylight for that.

The photo is without flash, which let the colour on the ceiling show from the light on the other side of the window.
 

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#3,621 ·
This one is much more awkward to get at. Most of the bottom wood is on, none of the top.

It needs backing and a few fancy cuts, another daylight job.
 

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#3,623 ·
Merci beaucoup...it's starting to come together now.

The missus wanted to PAINT some of the walls in the guest room...:censored:

...and without me saying a word, she has magically changed her mind. This is one of those times I'm only too happy that she has!

It seems that I can no longer find any excuse not to do the floor in there now. :(
 
#3,630 ·
It's on wheels, so I think we can get away with putting the floor down on one side of the room and then shifting the bed over.

And I can't use the winter excuse, as that seems to be upon us today. We had big winds and loads of rain last night. The rain has quit, but the wind is showing us no mercy at all. :huh:
 
#3,631 ·
The clamps are removed from the post and railing. Everything looks not too bad.

I just ran them both through the planer and trimmed the ends of the post. The hand rail won't get trimmed until I decide exactly how it will be attached. With this weather, it sure won't be today!
 

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#3,632 ·
Have you ever seen wood that you just wanted to hug becuse it was so pretty, well that is just that beautiful. (kinda kinky isn't it:eek:) LOL sorry, I couldn't help myself. I am serious about the beautiful of your creation though, the color is really going to pop when you put the finish on.
 
#3,634 ·
Another small but time consuming job completed.

The cedar is now finished around the window at the top of the stairs in the tower.

Morning sunlight comes through this one into the master bedroom. Looks pretty nice when it does that.
 

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#3,635 ·
I can see why that would take a good while, each strip had to be cut dead on, there is no room for slack at all, then climbing up and down the ladder. I bet you are tired about now. It sure does look good Keith, I would be mighty proud of that.

Does your post wrap the corner?
 
#3,638 ·
I don't want anyone to think I'm keeping some deep dark secrets from you...not so.

What it is...it's a mess there right now. When I get it all tidied up you'll get to see how the whole lot ends up looking. :)
 
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