What did you make today?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Griff, I should think all the sets for Thrones and Vikings would yield some spiffy hardware, when they move on to the next big thing.

[footfootfoot]

Or re-purpose some cool agricultural equipment.

[Griff]

There is a sulky cultivator in the woods, maybe a steam punk door opening system?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

Just got back from a pal's house where we concentrated 4 gallons of corn/barley beer into a more portable and longer keeping form. It's now about 1½ Qts. Tastes pretty yummy. I may make a small oak barrel to store it in. There's another 5 gallons that has to be reduced as well...

I am VERY interested in your oak barrel construction. I looked into it and it looks like a big hassle. I opted instead for storage in glass with a mesh bag of toasted oak chips in the carboy for oaking.

[ZenGum]

... combination burglar decapitator ...

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by BigV

I am VERY interested in your oak barrel construction. I looked into it and it looks like a big hassle. I opted instead for storage in glass with a mesh bag of toasted oak chips in the carboy for oaking.

There is a great video http://www.history.org/media/videos.cfm
put out by Colonial Williamsburg on coopering, from selecting a tree to the finished barrel. The link goes to short clips of the full length video. I highly recommend watching it as an entirely humbling experience.

[BigV]

he measures the curve and taper by rack of eye using a broadax.

Yeah. Not helpful.

eta: harsh. I should say that it wholly reinforced my previous conclusion that I'm no cooper.

[glatt]

I went to Colonial Williamsburg a couple years ago and asked the cooper how the hell they get all the angles correct on the staves to get a water tight barrel, and the woman said that you just do it. It's muscle memory and done by eye. It's astounding to me because they had to make these barrels to very precise tolerances because they were legal measurements in commerce. Being off by 5% in volume when making the thing meant that either a buyer or seller was getting screwed during a transaction. I'm still not satisfied with her answer.

[BigV]

On a different note, today I am making trouble for myself. I've decided to improve my very small bathroom by installing a larger medicine cabinet.

Here's where the trouble starts. I have wall mounted lighting that was alongside the previous surface mounted cabinet. The new cabinet will be large enough to cover these lights completely. I don't mind losing them, I've never been really happy with the light they provide. However, rerouting the electrical is going to be a challenge for me as I have very limited experience in this area and a strong allergic reaction to electrocution.

Next trouble, I am exploring the idea of flushmounting the new cabinet. The old one was a surface mount (I installed it twenty years ago) because I wanted a cabinet wider than the space between two wall studs. So I put a plywood patch on the hole left by the previous flush mounted cabinet, surface mounted the bigger cabinet and moved on. Now, that surface mounted cabinet is removed and I'm looking at the guts of my wall, thinking about how I'm gonna safely make a bigger hole in it.

My old house has walls made of lath and plaster, it's pretty unforgiving. I'll have to remove sections of at least two studs. I looked in the hole and I see the pipe for the vent for the sink drain very close to where I want to put the cabinet. I'M NOT MOVING ANY PLUMBING. So, if I choose to make this hole bigger, the bottom edge of the hole is going to be no lower than the top of that vent pipe plus the thickness of a 2x4. Enlarging the hole will also give me more room to move the electrical, so, side benefit there.

More trouble/complexity. I want to install an exhaust fan in the ceiling. The bathroom is very close to a vent in the attic that I can route the exhaust through. But, more electrical, yikes. Also... well, how can I say this. My house was built before electrical grounding was invented. Is it a giant deal to run a whole circuit from the bathroom through the walls/ceiling/floor/basement to the electrical panel in the basement? I have excellent access to the basement and the modern 200 amp electrical panel. Should I run two circuits? I expect to have to power in the bathroom one electrical outlet (GFCI, right?), one light circuit (maybe two fixtures, perhaps a third if the fan I get has a heatlamp in it), and one ceiling mounted exhaust fan. That doesn't seem like a very heavy load. I have lots of room in my electrical panel for another breaker for just the bathroom.

Then there's the carpentry needed to demo and create the opening for the cabinet. I won't be able to fully flushmount the cabinet, my walls are not as deep as the cabinet is and I don't really want to be hammering against the plaster keys on the other side of the wall. But a bit of flushmount would help, since my bathroom is really tiny. I've even contemplated getting a very narrow/shallow (measured from the wall to the edge of the sink) sink to facilitate ingress/egress. But I digress.

Demolition, enlarging wall openings, moving electrical circuits, installing new fixtures, lath and plaster renovation and preservation. All in the sole bathroom. No biggie, right? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?


...



Actually, that is my question (perhaps a new thread is in order...) What *could* possibly go wrong and how should I avoid it?

[glatt]

A heat lamp will be a big load. If you are adding outlets on the same circuit (I didn't really follow all of what you were saying) imagine a curling iron plugged in to get warm and a hair dryer being used while the heat lamp is on.

Any outlets must be GFCI, I'm pretty sure the fan must also be GFCI, and I bet if you get a fan with a heat lamp, it will need a dedicated circuit it draws so much.

If you're fishing wires through the wall, fishing two is just as easy as fishing one. Put in two circuits. One for the heat lamp and one for the GFCI outlet(s) and lights. I'd do a 20 amp circuit for the outlet(s) so it can handle a hairdrier and curling iron simultaneously.

FYI, Panasonic makes the best fans. It's worth ordering one online to get one. Use a calculator chart to find the CFM rating you need for your specific room volume and then maybe even go up one size. Their fans actually move air and are pretty quiet.

[glatt]

Oh yeah, and if you are adding two circuits to the panel, keep in mind that you should try to balance the load to the two legs in the panel. So you probably don't want to add both circuits to the same leg.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by glatt

I went to Colonial Williamsburg a couple years ago and asked the cooper how the hell they get all the angles correct on the staves to get a water tight barrel, and the woman said that you just do it. It's muscle memory and done by eye. It's astounding to me because they had to make these barrels to very precise tolerances because they were legal measurements in commerce. Being off by 5% in volume when making the thing meant that either a buyer or seller was getting screwed during a transaction. I'm still not satisfied with her answer.

Good card mechanics (or printers for that matter) can tell you exactly how many cards or sheets of paper they have between their fingers.

Think about riding a bike, once you learn how, it's easy. If you have ever done any long distance bike touring (a month or more in the saddle) you get very comfortable. I could pick up a quarter from the ground without stopping. I'd probably fall over if i tried that now and certainly if I'd tried that when I first learned to ride.

And, I'm sure the cooper's first hundred barrels were for inconsequential things that were sold by weight, like nails.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by BigV

he measures the curve and taper by rack of eye using a broadax.

Yeah. Not helpful.

eta: harsh. I should say that it wholly reinforced my previous conclusion that I'm no cooper.

Here ya go:
http://www.thebarrelsource.com/

[Lamplighter]

First, talk with your city's planning dept to see what the current standards are for your proposed work.

In Oregon...
Grounding is required on all circuits, and in bathrooms specifically...

A separate line (circuit) is required for the (required) GFI receptacle,
and that line miust be dedicated. i.e., it can not have anything else on it.
All receptacles have to be the new type that prevent kids from
poking paper clips, fingernail files, etc into the openings for the plug.

The light(s) and fan can be on the same circuit.
Separate switches for the light and fan were optional.
The fan vent-duct required "metal tape", not the usual duct tape.
Our ventilation fan required a "timer switch", instead of the usual off/on kind.

At the circuit panel, I think for what you have described, you just need 2 circuits (no heater).
You already have 1... the original, for lights and fan.
So maybe you only need 1 more... for the GFI, and
that will probably have to be 12 gauge wire (20 amp) to accommodate hair dryers, etc.

But you also need advise on what they will allow for the needed ground wire(s).
And it's "illegal" to wall off a circuit that simply terminates.
You must use a junction box at every branch or termination.

FWIW, if you install the fan and vent, a licensed electrician might
do the GFI circuit and wire up the fan for about $200,
and so the permit and safety would be on his shoulders.

[BigV]

Why I quit early today:

http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/b...acking-plaster

that little voice that says... are you sure this is a good idea?

Answer: I'm pretty sure it's NOT a good idea.

So, more research.