Coquille Lighthouse

Here are some pictures from the finish of the Coquille Lighthouse project.  

Due to some unique challenges I decided to make the sash by hand myself.  I had a lot of fun doing it and am looking forward to my next sash building project.  I would like to thank my friends at Creative Woodworking for providing me with some excellent Alaskan Yellow Cedar.

Making the glass rabbet with the moving fillester.

The tenon for the bottom rail.

Intersection of the muntin bar and bottom rail.

Exterior finished.

Interior finished.

Shavings, shavings and more shavings

I thought this made for a neat picture.  These shavings were made with a dado plane.  I was preparing some material for the Coquille Lighthouse project discussed in the previous post.

I originally started out using my power router to make these dados, but I couldn't stand the racket and dust it made.  I guess I have completely converted to a non-power tool business.

No, this isn't Forks, WA.

Somewhere out there is one of my projects. When they forecast drizzle for the coast they really mean drenching shower with tiny droplets.

Here is the project on a sunny day.

This is the Coquille River Lighthouse located at the beautiful Bullards Beach State Park.

I am currently installing a replica window on the other side of the lighthouse.  There is no original fabric left from the windows.  The Army Corp of Engineers installed large wooden frames and glass in the openings in 1976.  Before this time the building was abandoned and left to the elements which led to the loss of the original windows.  I am working from an architect's drawings which were taken from the original architect's work.  Also there are quite a few old photos documenting the history of the lighthouse.

Here is the D-8 cutting the sill to fit.  It turned out to be a pretty complicated sill due to the addition of some concrete by the Corp in the 1970s.  The sill material is Alaskan Yellow Cedar.  It took me a little time to get used to the smell of it.


You can see all the complicated angles from this scrap.  The sill is purposefully left off the stucco in front, backer rod and a flexible sealant will be used to finish it off at the end.  And the flashing has yet to be installed either.  

This sill was expertly milled by Creative Woodworking.  These guys are awesome.  They always come up with a solution no matter what weird thing I bring to them.

This was the amazing moon set I saw on my last morning there.  

The project is about finished so more photos will be posted when it is complete.

How Did I Ever Live Without This?

I won this moving fillester on ebay recently and have wondered how I ever did my work without it.  It makes the most perfect glazing rabbet.   Besides the replaced knicker the tool is immaculate and works like a dream.  I would definitely buy from this seller again.  The photos and description were spot on.

"Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenter"

The historian and my neighbor Richard Engeman sent this gem of a motto to me after he looked at this blog.  I am now quite fond of it.  It reminds me of my Great Grandfather, Mr Lehr (in the center of photo below).  He was a carpenter in Indiana at the beginning of the 20th c.  I can picture him raising up the roofbeams on the buildings he constructed.  He made violins in his spare time.  I believe that 16 of them survive, scattered around the family.  I am the keeper of one of his last ones.

The second photo is of my Great Grandma Daisy (other side of the family).  She raised three kids in Kansas during the Dust Bowl, and then divorced her husband in the late 30's and came West.  I will never forget her spirit, determination, and her fortitude.  

When Does Bathroom Graffiti Become Historic?

In this case it is the 1940s.  A couple of weeks back I was working on two complete (sash and frame) windows from a CCC log restroom for the Emigrant Springs Heritage Area.  The restroom has been converted into a storage unit for the park.

During the restoration process I discovered some signatures on one of the bottom rails.  After some discussions with the state historic preservation office we decided that it would be best not to paint over it.  A clear coat was put over it instead.

I never think that all those scratches and scribbles you see in public restrooms could someday be considered historic.

Finished interior

Finished exterior 

Adventures of the D-8 Rip Saw

About a month ago I finally found the rip saw of my dreams, a D-8 pistol grip Disston rip saw. The beauty was on display at Rejuvenation Hardware in the salvage department.  The "salvage guys" and myself crowded around the object like buzzards to a carcass.  After I mulled it over for awhile I decided I would not find a better rip saw and purchased it for a more than a fair price.  One of the Rejuvenation employees was especially saddened to see the saw go.  He had had his eye on it since its arrival.

Since then I have been keeping my salvage friends up to date with the adventures of this saw.   One of the first projects that I used it on was the church in Golden.  Here is a shot of the saw ripping a new sill to width.

Cutting in Golden's graveyard.

A picture of the installed sill can be found at this previous post.

The next project that showcased the saw was for Shore Acres State Park.  This park is one of the most beautiful places in all of Oregon.  I have been working on the Gardener's House windows since last year.  The house is missing two small closet sash.  I had two identical sash to use as examples.

Here is a photo showing the cutting of the 2 bottom rails.  

And the finished sash along side one of the originals.

I will be posting more saw adventures with the D-8 in the future.