It sure was cold this morning. The temperature at 8:00AM was 15, but the wind chill had it at -2. The good news is, tomorrow morning will much colder. The forecast calls for a windchill of negative 30. We will see! But for today, preparations, preparations.
I got the firewood in, and we have extra in place within reach of the woodstove, in a barrel on the front porch. If it is too cold tonight, especially upstairs, the we may all sleep downstairs and keep the stove burning. There is space for everyone.
I had a look at the plane iron I was messing with the other day, and I have to say, I can see the dull bits on the blade. I do need to establish a good secondary bevel on it. I suspect that when I do, it will sure cut a lot better. But I was out in the shop in my heavy winter overalls and coat. It is no time to be messing about with things like that out there.
Things on the way for the shop at the moment: A bandsaw, two chair making books, several mats for keeping my back from hurting so much, a scorp, and an adze. In theory, I still may need a couple of spoke shaves, a V-gouge, and a travisher. I’ll also need some milk paint, and some cheap brushes, and a surface finish. At that point, I think I’ll have nearly everything I need to try my hand at making a Windsor Chair. I want to get started as soon as it is warm enough, and I can find some wood to do it with.
I have been watching some videos on YouTube on how to do it. There is a lot of work in one chair. But I think it could be better than fun, and reasonable to do. I also would very much like to make some for the house. After that, I think selling others would be just fine. The tools and the knowledge are on the way!
The evening is setting in. It is 20 minutes till 6:00PM. The temperature is currently 8 degrees, with the wind blowing at 13 miles an hour, gusting to 19. That leaves it feeling like -6F. The temperature is meant to drop all night long till it bottoms out around 7AM, Weather Underground says it should be about -10 by then, with the wind chill at -20. All we can do at this point is hope the best for the animals.