A day to relax.

A day to relax, wow, I don’t think it will hurt. The family and I have really been staying at it working on our new house. We have really come a long way in the past couple of weeks. We now have really nice grass and have figured out our sprinkler system. I don’t think I’ll take time right now to make the needed repairs. I would rather take the time to work on items that will complete the cleanup on the inside and get moved in. Then we can work on the little things.

The upstairs is all but complete now. All three rooms have fresh paint on the ceiling and the walls. The upstairs bath is ready with the exception of hanging the tissue, towel rack and Mirror. Oh, I do need to put the sealer and enhancer on the stone walls. The bathroom really turned out nice. It was a rewarding feeling to complete it and stand back to see the end result.

I am ready to do the floors but had to stop myself short. I want to finish painting the ceiling and stairwell walls before I do the floors. That way when I’m finished it will all be done. The wife is running a little sand paper over the stair rails getting them ready for paint too. Once we get the upstairs complete we have decided to go ahead and completely paint the downstairs. That way it will be fresh and new. It is easy to tell the house has not been painted since it was built. Might be tacky to say but I do believe it is true. We still have three floors downstairs to do but that should not be too hard. We are going to put floating wood in two and a tile floor in the formal dining room. I personally don’t understand why anyone would want carpet in the formal dining room. I know eventually I’ll probably spill something there and sure don’t want to clean the carpet afterwards. We as a family just think other floors besides carpet are a little more sanitary.

My boy really stood out today being father’s day. He challenged his mom and got me a recliner for the new house. Wow, it fits perfectly. I never could understand why she would not let me have one and it was revealed today. A new place to fall asleep and snore she said! I never heard myself snore at all. I do remember though we was camping with other families a long time ago and when we woke up for breakfast they were gone. I never understood, I know I slept well. Oh well they missed a good breakfast.

I posted a few photos of the bathroom for ya to see. The bathroom is small so good photos are hard to get. Just can’t get the distance to show the whole thing.

Plenty busy for now.

Hi.

It has been a while. I’ve been kind of busy since we got the new house. We decided to fix a couple of things to suite our needs. The Wife and the boy have been tending to a lot of things around the outside. I believe they have transformed the front yard completely. We happen to have the corner lot and it has the neighborhood corner entrance in our back yard. My Misses has one super green thumb and took to that really proudly. Of course my boy was the leader by taking care of all the overgrowth. He’s been cutting big tree limbs down. He’s straightened up all the bushes around the house. They had needed attention for a while now. They were grown up against the house and windows and all.

Then they tackled some left over brick that had been used to make a flower bed. Well those things had been there so long that they were full of roots. Some roots had gone though the holes and surrounded the brick. I’d say they had been there a day or two.

Those two have been following me around with a paint brush and roller too. We have completed painting all the ceilings and walls. I understand now why people say closets are hard. I agree. The closets were not too much fun. I worked on them with one of them Robie sprayers. We got along pretty good until one day I won sprayer lost. I had been on a constant cleaning vigilance with the spray nozzle. I tried everything I knew to keep that thing working. I tried adding lubricant, straining through one of those store-bought strainers, adding a little water. It just always seemed to stop up. And then the bad day happened. I was insisting on using this thing and of course at this time I’m doing ceilings. Here I am up on top of an 8” ladder and just filled up the gun. Well lo and behold the thing came off. I was sorda lucky you know. It did not get all over the walls. Nope, it hit flat on the bottom and shot straight up like a volcano. Just as I was looking down!! Yep, my glasses went white and I just bit my tong, went and got a roller and almost did not clean up the Robie!!! Haven’t used it sence. The wife and boy kicked in and did not say a word. They even commented on calm I was. Then we got through painting even quicker!

I got started on Weldon’s bathroom recently by striping it down to the 2x4’s. I ordered a new oversized pan and dropped it in. In doing so I had to fur out the backside 6 ½ inches. That turned out really nice. I dropped in a couple of extra 2x8’s and a seat seemed to pop out with a small shelf. Mom thinks there needs to be a sunken shelf for nice little things. Well since it is custom why not dream a little. So I asked Weldon if he might want anything special to go with it. He thought a Texas Flag would be cool. I said why not!! I’ll let everyone wait and see how I do it. I think it will turn out nice. I dropped a couple of photos along the way of us going through the house. Hope you enjoyed them.

I been hearing about Mule deer down south so I might need to check my sights.

New project with much to do.

Well have not been around the old house lately and don’t have internet at the new house yet. All we have there is something to do. Not been lagging on that for sure.

I finished the CBB and need to tune it up. At the same time it was completed we got our new house and all the family has been working on our new house. I’ll slow down and get the photo updates here pretty soon. I need to take time just for a photo shoot and update. I have it here mocked up with Weed Eater strings.  They sounded pretty good too.

We have made good progress on the house too. Mom almost has the kitchen completed. I scrubbed the cabinets down with comet and give them 2 coats of shellac. They shine like new money. Really nice, especially now the wife has scrubbed down all the appliances and counter tops.

Over the weekend I stripped all the carpet and pulled the padding. Whoever laid the carpet pad must have gotten a new staple gun. I bet I pulled thousands of staples from that floor. Each day I try and complete a new project and at this point I’m ready for paint in the 3 upstairs bedrooms. I did get to thinking about it and decided to strip the upstairs bathroom and begin a new design for my son. Good thing I did, because at sometime there was a bad water leak around the tub and all the sheetrock was really rotted. I pulled out the tub tonight and begin thinking on a new design. 

I believe I should complete the bathroom rough in and Tile before I begin painting the other rooms. A wood floor will be last for the upstairs.  Then new floors in two rooms downstairs and paint.  I believe I'll be busy for a while.

Oh, if all that is not enough, what little time I have here at the old house, I’m restoring our Grandfather clock. I’ve removed all the timing mechanisms and took them to a professional to clean and prepare for the new house. I am rubbing the cabinet down with steel wool and so far I’ve put two coats of shellac on the back side of the clock and about ready to turn over and freshen up the front side. The old leveling adjustments have wallered out so I will repair that too.  I'll put some photos of that on here to share as well.

So for now I’ll try and do a photo shoot here real soon. The hardest part is over. Now the fun part of putting it together begins. You know when I finish this project I will truly enjoy the phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” It will be my blood, sweat and tears that will go into this project.

Wow, forgot to mention my boy has done a beautifull job of taking over the yard work while I work inside.  He has really taken control of the yardwork by cutting the grass, edjing the walkways and trimming trees and bushes.  I'll have to get a photo of the bushes he cut.  They sure make a difference when trimmed up nice. 

 
We are all so proud of our new house.  We took the night off on Saturday night and watched a movie in the family room.  I can't wait until we slow down and figure out how to use the movie room upstairs.  This is such a cool house.

Update and Great Accomplishment

Well it is time for an update. I put several coats of Tung Oil on the CBB. It really gives it a nice wet look. In order to begin deciding on what to do with the Bridge & Nut I decided to place some Weed Eater strings on. This will allow me to some degree determine my string action. I just hope when I go to real strings the string diameter won’t be too different and give me too low of an action. I sandwiched the peso in some roofing light wood I had laying around. I did not use a pot as I have spoken before. I could not stand wandering what the anticipated sound would be so I had to plug-er in to check out the sound. Feedback was not bad; I think if the amp was not facing the guitar it would be better. We will find out how good it really sounds when someone who knows how to play a bass starts playing with it. I can’t add photos tonight because the battery died on the camera so I’ll have to put them inn in a couple of days. Maybe that will bring you back.


Saturday turned out to be a big day around my house. My son was offered to ride and be sponsored by a fellow coworker to ride in a special event. The event was the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride. Here is a brief description of its purpose.

“The Soldier Ride, at its core, is a rehabilitative cycling event designed to challenge our wounded warriors to get back in the saddle, both literally and figuratively. It also is a tool to help both the physical and mental wounds of war. These rides also raise awareness for the WWP mission and our many important programs designed to serve our injured and their families, and in turn raise money through sponsorships, pledges and donations.”

The man on the right was to us an angel.  He stayed with my boy all the way and at times he was pushing my boy up hills and pushing his bike at the same time.  He kept incourigement up as well as a companion along the way..  God Bless Johnnie.

My Boy did it he rode the complete 40 mile ride on his hand trike. It was a great turning point for him in his life. You see, 2 years ago he was hit by a SUV on his motorcycle. He lost his lower right leg and suffered internal injuries as well as TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). He awoke after 27 days as an infant. It was a grueling 2 more months until he could talk and learn who his mom and I were. The Dr’s said that it was a miracle he even came around. In our books it was God’s work. He not only came around he is now going to school and learning a new trade which he can adapt to with his new leg.

Above is where 2 soldiers interviewed him for the Armed Forces Network. They ask if they could use him and what he says to inspire soldiers to continue on with their challenges. They need to understand that life is not over due to difficulties life challenges you with.

As my boy came down the home stretch all the Veterans and other riders was clapping and cheering my boy as he alone came down the home stretch with full police escort.  He is in  the middle of the photo in front of the Trike.

I have to gloat as a proud dad but it was a great feeling to be with him on this new accomplishment of getting things done. Can’t help to want to tell the world of how proud I am.

Just a little more done.

 

Well things are moving right along here. I took a little time to work on my Son’s CBB. We had a record breaking snow here in our town. It was too cold to go outside.  So I just sat around the table with the misses and son and glued in my frets to the fret board.

It is nothing special, no store bought fret wire, just RC steering linkage. Stuff is really a hardened steel rod. I had already cut the fret slots. I used the miter box saw with a hack saw blade clamped to the side of it. Of course the hack saw blade is turned over and I use the smooth side as a stop gauge. This controls my depth and leaves me with a level cut.

I took the cut fret board to the Hobby shop and picked up a wire that just set in the saddle. I then took a tooth pick and carefully filled up each cut for the fret with Elmer’s wood glue and then set the rod (pre cut and filed smooth on each end) on top of the grove. I’m hoping, the glued trough and the rod will marry up and stay. I’ve had good luck with my 4 string so far and used the same method. They say that stuff called Title Bond is good stuff. But I already have the Elmer’s and the last bottle of that I had turned to putty due to lack of use. So I’ll use this up then buy better.

 

Every time I try and photo this thing it is a nightmare and one heck of a challenge to get it all in the photo. I could not stand it no more I had to measure this rascal. It is longer than I thought it is 40 ½ long. This is from the outside edge of the box to the tip end of the neck. The box is 12” x 9”. It should make a good bass guitar. I think I will amplify it with a Peso and no pot. My boy said he controlled his volume at the amp so a simple setup should leave it with a super clean look. I did a little gluing and noticed during my bracing I must have put a little too much pressure on the inside and forced out the dovetail of one of the corners. I’ll probably just ease a little glue in the gaps and leave it alone. Sometimes leaving something alone can be a good thing. I’ve learned that the hard way too.

I thought I would throw in a shot of my CBG's together.  I wanted to see how much longer the Bass will be. Won't be long until it is ready for strings. I think I'll give it a good rub down with Toung Oil. That should help the dry wood a lot. The smaller cigar box seemed to have a finish.  Don't know what I'll do next.

I have to say, looks like our possible new house thing is moving along well. We did have a setback with the Home Inspection today. There seems to be something wrong with the gas at the meter. This should be taken care of over the next couple of days. It’s good there is an inspection required. Sometimes think I know a lot about things. It is better to leave this with someone that does it for a living. Knowing too much has been known to get me in trouble. I am to meet with him once his inspection is complete. Due to the gas he was not able to complete the inspection.

I stumbled across this at a pawn shop. I know with the upcoming new house, I won't have time to make my 6 string. I could not resist this for practicing around the house.  I have learned that a strummer is a strummer and a classical is on a different level. I have a nice classical my wife give me and it has a beautiful tone but cords just don't measure up on our church music It is a simple Epiphone and does have a preamp built in. It has a pretty good sound. I don’t know how old the strings are and I debating on changing them out if only to know myself exactly how old they are. What ya think?

1st day of spring

Just could not help myself. Nowhere but Texas will you get snow on the first day of spring. I, just like all other Texans when hearing about a snow fall, did not expect much. But we live in Texas and look at what we got. The photos probably exaggerate a bit due to the drifting, but the news is reporting 3 to 6 inches around the area. So those of you looking, here are shots of my current back yard. Awesome uh!


Looks like I need to get my Son’s CBB finished soon. We have been blessed with the capability to purchase a new home. Once we close the deal I’ll have more to do than I can shake a stick at. We want to give some of our furnishings uplift. You know kind of sand or buff down and give a fresh coat of Tung Oil or Shellac which ever applies. I will need to revise my son’s bath to meet his needs, a new yard to dress up.

If all the new house attention is not enough we will need to dress up this house and prepare it for future renters. So the only CBG building will be a while off. I will continue to show progress on the furniture upgrades and photos of the Bathroom rebuild. This is still exciting stuff to me. I love doing something!

Oh the little fella on the bottom, he's just really courious.

TIGGER!!

Waldo's CBB update

Well tinkered with my son’s CBB that I’m making. Took the time to place the fret board with some C clamps and fitted it to the neck. After I got a good match, I had to give the edges a new coat of Walnut stain. It will probably need one more before I place it on for good.


The last CBG I did, I placed a round rod in the neck and attached a smaller piece of oak over it. I decided to do the steel tubing this time. Even a different place.  Up under the Fret board. That should make a small neck and easy to hit those stretched frets. Cool notes should come out of this box. They say each box has it’s own music hid inside. Seems like I read on the web the old Taylor guitars use to be made with a steel tube so is should hold up pretty good. Of course I’m gonna imbed it with fiberglass Rawson like I did the last CBG.  It should hold up to bass acoustic strings ok. Might even hold up to some electric strings as well.

For the fret markers I used some of those plan set post again. They seem to stand out well inside that Walnut stain.

I’m going to put a Pezos inside just to see what it sounds like. I really got a hankerin to put a true base pickup. Just don’t want to take away from a true CBG though. Oh well ain’t no rules in CBG building.

Found a nice Kitchen knife a while back and it doesn’t have a handle. I have some remains of this oak left so why not fix the knife. I’ve cut out the handle so guess I better ad this to the list of what I want to get done.

Record snow and more on the CBB

Well kind of a slow day today. We had a record breaking snow around here. It is slowly melting and about 41 degrees. I don’t think it will get much warmer today. I’ve placed a couple of photos so all can see.

The dogs seem to be making the best of it. Little White pup just don’t know what to think with the snow up past his feet. First few hours he looked like a Greyhound making laps around the fence. He’s calmed down now and just tracking the floor up! Oh well, he’s just a pup. The Brown pup is old enough to now care and you have to make her go outside to take care of business.

I spent the morning working on my son’s CBB (Cigar Box Bass). I feel I made good headway. I believe the tuners will work. You can see at the top of the neck I have the holes drilled for the string to come through. I need to drill small holes through the things I have for the string stops. We use those gizmos to hold plan sets together. They worked really well on my 4 string. The strings will be tied around the wing nuts for adjusting to tune on the other end. The Deer Horn seems to give me just enough elevation to make a good break point for a bridge. I laid a piece of 1/4 x 1 ½ oak down for a fret board and the old ½ in wrench up against it. I placed a straight edge from the deer horn to the wrench (turned on end). That looked to me like it was going to give me a pretty good action. I’m just wandering how much tension those base strings put on a neck? They are big but they don’t seem to need a lot of tension to make the correct tone. I’ll look around and see what I can find out. This looked like a good place to stop for the weekend.

Although as I sit and look at it. I just might need to string it up with some weed eater string and fishing line just to see what it sounds like. A test run might be in order. We will just have to see what time brings.

One of my favorite builds.

Well guess I better drop something in here.  Seems like a pal of mine is checking in on me. I think I got another project under way. Now it seems like my boy wants a CBG-Bass. And I should say--why not, not got anything else going on now.   I did finish a CBA (Cigar Box Amplifier) I’ll see about posting photo of it too. Think I’m going to sneak my misses’ camera and take photos of the progress. Just don’t know yet, got to charge the batteries first.

In the mean time I am posting photos of my Scooter I built. Old neighbor and I use to sit drank beer and told lies while engineering this thing. He was building a Trike out of an 18 hp Briggs and Stratton engine. Yep, street legal. He and my son and I use to hit the local gathering spots on the week nights. That trike always caught folk’s eye. I’ll stick a photo on here if I can find it. Well this should be enough to keep things interesting and learn how to do this blog thing.  Almost did not know how to put the photo on.  Technologie, somethin ain't it!


Ok I got the camera going now and lets see if I can post a photo of my CBG & CBA.

Dog gon if I did'nt due it.  This is some pretty good stuff.

Let me know what ya think.

Completed the Electrical hookup on CBA

Well today I finished the Electrical hookups on my CBA (Cigar Box Amplifier). I took some blue gasket sylicone and place a couple of leather tabs for the motherboard and also used it to stick some wire in a corner to hold it down. Took some Duct Tape (Handyman's secret weapon) and taped in the batteries so they won't come out. Everything needs a little duct tape on it to complete the project you know. Tomorrow I'll give it a full blown test run. I'm excited to hear how it sounds completed. I have given it a test run but not with all components in and the lid closed solid. I put a speaker in that has a larger magnet than on the original cassette player. I need to find a 6v power supply. I through a bunch away no more than a week ago, knowing I'd probably need one. Common thing when you purge. No sooner than you do it you find out you needed it after all.




I can’t decide if I want to Tung oil it or just leave it unprotected. Probably use the Tung Oil. On my CBG I have left it alone. I’m just going to let it wear. I sure have a hankering to build a 6 string CBG just because I want a smaller framed guitar to play while watching TV. Also it won’t resonate so well and be loud. Until I plug it in to an amplifier. With a good pickup and pot WOW what next?

Well I have some very good friends doing this Blog thing and to comment to them it appears you have a spot to do it too.  So why not?  I always need praticing spelling so this will give me a chance to wordsmith and allow my friends to keep up with my progress of events my life places before me. 

I just finished working on a CBG (Cigar Box Gutiar) and was totaly compelled to build a battrie operaited amplifiere to accompany it.  After several weeks of review CBA's (Cigar Box Amplifier) online and spotting an old casset player my wife had.  I have almost completed my compulsion.  As soon as photos are avalable I'll put them on here for the world to see.