Gulf Island Building.

cocobolo

It's around noon Saturday...yep, we got the rain last night!

I glued up the final deck post this morning. Can't remember if I discussed this glue before, but it's an industrial replacement for those of us who have become sensitized to epoxy. But unlike epoxy, which cooks very quickly when it is in a batch and slowly after it is spread, this acts exactly opposite.

A mixed batch is good for at least 8 hours. Once it is spread onto the wood, you have not much more than 5-10 minutes to get things buttoned up. Depends on the temperature.

It is highly water resistant as long as it isn't actually put right underwater. It can be rained on all day long and it's fine. Here's the cool thing...it cleans up with water as long as you catch it quickly enough. Once it's set though, that's it.

The white glue is very thick before it is mixed up. It needs an acid catalyst which is mixed at a 20 to 1 ratio, the 20 is the glue.

I think I have had this stuff for a dozen years or more, so I can vouch for the shelf life being practically indefinite.

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cocobolo

The best way I have found to get the proportions correct (20-1) is by weight. I use a gram scale for the purpose. You can zero the setting with the container in place.

Then in goes the glue - I use 80 grams for most small glue-ups, more if I have a lot to do. That's almost the same as a standard 3 oz. epoxy mix.

Then add the 4 grams of acid. I have no idea what kind of acid this is.

Mix for at least two minutes, then use a brush to apply. It's clean and fairly quick this way. And no smell! Which means no V.O.C's.

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cocobolo

At long last the screen is done as far as the door.

I'm going to try to make the door look as though it is just another part of the screen. Or at least make it so that it isn't obviously a door from a distance.

The shape will follow the existing serpentine curves. Today I cut out all the cross pieces. When I have the lower couple of sections of the wraparound stair wall covered, then I can mount something to hang the door from.

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waterman1971

Thanks for making my day at work! How did you arrive at your username?

cocobolo

You're welcome! Only too glad to have been of service!

Many years ago I was looking for some kind of exotic hardwood to use as a trim on this large bar counter that I was building.

Purely by chance, I just happened to see an ad in our local buy and sell for some cocobolo and bocote. It turned out that the fellow who was importing these woods into Canada from Mexico had the only legal export licence to do so, at the time.

He pointed out to me that almost all the "shorts" that were for sale in north America were most likely smuggled out of Mexico in the trunks of cars.

Cocobolo grows in several central American countries, and these days it is grown for the specific purpose of being harvested. I believe it grows in Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and perhaps Brazil.

I ended up buying several 7' long boards from this fellow, and I still have just one piece - maybe 4' long - remaining. I've had it for nearly 30 years!

I haven't been on the web very long, just over 2 years, and I thought that the name of my favourite wood might suffice as a username. So, that's how it came about.

waterman1971

The wood is widely used in the manufacture of duck calls. If I were to have ventured a guess, I would have thought you to be a duck hunter.

cocobolo

I didn't know that...interesting. But then, I have never hunted a duck in my whole life!

waterman1971

Every day spent hunting duck is not subtracted from one's alloted number of days on earth. Sorry about the hijack.

cocobolo

...that's lovely...I wonder if there are other things that qualify as well..

cocobolo

We had our predicted rain overnight, along with lots of wind. I see there are big chunks of Arbutus blossom stems all over the ground. That's one of the things the humming birds like here.

It looks like the tub is holding water. This is the rain we got last night.

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cocobolo

We had a short sunny spell this morning. I started installing the blocking for the stairs to the top deck.

This is as far as I got before we got HAIL!

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cocobolo

Better weather than expected today, just a couple of showers. But I managed to put a decent end cap on the screen...tried to make it look like it was just another board.

Then I made the door. The cross pieces were all cut at the same time as the screen pieces were, that way the curve is the same.

Here is the door frame all screwed (please take note Shu...screwed) together and hung off the stair wall.

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cocobolo

After some digging around and making up a few new ones, I came up with just enough boards to finish the door.

Even my wife thinks it looks pretty close to being just a part of the screen.

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cocobolo

Now I have about 300 lbs of woodstove to move up the stairs out back. Not the sort of thing I relish doing by myself. The Fisher has much thicker steel than the others we have here, by almost double.

I'll try to remember to get a pic or two when that gets done. I am advised by the war department that we are going to town tomorrow, so it will be the next day.

waterman1971

Looking great as always!
If i may ask you a question, how much time is spent just visualizing the plans for the next day?
I like to complete the days work, and just sit around looking and thinking about what i can do next.
Lots of times i change plans in midstream. Do you ever do the same?
Sorry for pestering you, I would be interested to look into the thought process of someone with such genius.