Response To Light

Over two years ago I decided to upgrade from my Ryobi 10″ Bandsaw. I wanted to create my own veneer and I there was no way I was going to be able to do that on my Ryobi. Thankfully there was a Woodworking Show going on and Black Forest Wood was having a phenomenal sale on tools. I picked up a King 14″ 1HP bandsaw with a 6″ riser, a resaw fence and some Viking blades. It took about a week but I eventually put everything together and started to put it to use. I can’t say that the first year was a success. I ruined lots of expensive wood trying to create veneers. A year later at the Calgary Woodworking Show, I asked Mike (who I buy most of my Viking Bandsaw blades from) what the problem was. He said I should tighten the tension on the blade. It seems simplistic but that largely did the trick.

So what else have I done?

I changed the default belt out to a linked one.

I have added a Cobra Coil Tensioning Spring

I have already mention that I added a riser so I resaw

I also added resaw fence.

Lastly, I added a Blade Quick Release. House of Tools was selling them for $40 on clearance. As they normally sell for $100-$150, it seemed like a good deal.

Here’s something I put together for Lynne’s 40th Birthday.

Enjoy

2009!
First, I hope that everyone had a great Holiday Season! There’s been so much that has been going on. First if you want to see some of the stuff I have been working on go to Lumberjocks to see some of my work regarding my woodworking. The last six months has been focused on woodturning but I think I’m getting back to making boxes and furniture. The great thing about woodworking is if you start to get bored there’s always something else to learn or do.

Upgrades

Over Christmas I decided to upgrade my networking infrastructure. Previously I had a wired 100 Mb backbone with 802.11g wireless capability. Most of the computers in the house use the wireless to access the Internet or the file server and I was starting to move large files around. Gigabit is now the norm and 802.11n is becoming the norm.

While I went out on Boxing Day to get a 1st Gen Apple iTouch, I also saw some phenomenal deals on networking gear. With an idea toward setting up a Media Server I got a Wireless N router with Gigabit switching capaabilities. I also upgraded my primary server with a Gigabit NIC. I already had a Gigabit NAS so I was in business!

The Xbox which is connect via a wired 100Mb connection works flawlessly as long as the movie uses the correct codec. The PS3 which only has wireless capability stutters except when it uses a very specific codec. Hopefully Sony will release an update to fix the stuttering (it worked previously before a firmware upgrade). I also need something that with recode my DVDs fasters. Right now it takes forever and requires a lot of manual adjustments. We are close however!

Media Server
As I mentioned, I’ve been working on building a Media Server for my PS3 and xbox360. I am currently using TVERSITY which works reasonably well. Right now I have about 500 DVDs and I would like to recode them and sell them off. Wouldn’t be awesome if you could just say I want to watch 300, go to your library and press play? Not that putting in a DVD is hard but it is a pain to go downstairs and pick one out. I think I have the right infrastructure in place. I just need to find the right combination to get everything in sync.

Dan and Marlene Get Married

Dan invite Lynne and me to a New Year’s Eve party. At this party he mention he had proposed to Marlene and she accepted! Lynne immediately said they should get married in Vegas. Turns out they were going to Vegas the next weekend and we were all off to the races Here’s a quick pick of us just before the ceremony

Lynne and Tim in Vegas 2009

I will post some pictures of the trip in Gallery soon.

Well that’s it for now. Sorry this is so disjointed. (Note to self: Stay away from Rum and Coke when at the computer.)