Edit: I've added several new photos in the gallery at the end of this post that show the detail of how we tackled the changing orientation of the flooring. It's been a while since I've posted an update on the blog. I've been working with a wonderful group of folks installing hardwood flooring in our church, Precious Blood Catholic Church. There is pink (rose?) carpeting in most of the church that has been there as long as anyone can recall. The church was built in 1983, s

If you're at all interested in woodworking, military aviation or coffee (both woodworking and military aviation are fueled by coffee, by the way, so they are intrinsically linked), you probably want to read this blog entry. There's nothing more in this entry about coffee, but I did drink some yummy Colombian today that I roasted last night on my Behmor 1600. That little coffee roaster is a true workhorse. I estimate that since I purchased it in 2009, I've roasted at least

I'm working on a project for an old friend. He's a career C-130 Navigator who just took over a position leading an ROTC detachment. One of his main duties as the Detachment Commander is to motivate the cadets and help them choose the career field that best suits them. To that end, he wants to be able to display his flight helmet from his navigating days so that the cadets can check it out and begin a conversation about a career in flying. I had a nice chunk of poplar lying

I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend! We sure are at my house. I finished the flag! By my count, this is my eighth flag. I think I'm getting better at making them, but every one has been a little bit different. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is the first flag that I've made where I retained the sawmill marks (and recreated some of them). I think it makes the flag more interesting and I plan on doing this a lot in the future. Today was basically ju

I've been working on the flag for a couple of days and I realize when I'm working on the blog that I need to take more photos. You may think that there are plenty. Chip away at that star field! Carving out the stars takes a lot of chiseling and time. Above is what the entire union looks like after outlining the stars and going back through to remove material around the outlines. This is what it looks like after going through again to remove more material and make the stars