Springtime March 30, 2008

Compare the two photos above taken from the Apgar Lookout webcam....The photo in the top of my blog was captured on January 14, 2008....The one I just posted was taken today March 30, 2008 .....Just a little bit of snow depth difference huh? Hmmmmm it doesn't look quite as bright and sunny looking into Glacier National Park today as it does here, only two miles outside of the front entrance to the park. The mountains create their own weather systems frequently.......The road crews are scheduled to begin their annual spring pilgrimage of opening the Going to the Sun Road this week...Looks like they are in for a treat...I will post additional updates about the road opening as I receive them....

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This first photo shows my backyard looking toward my shop...the back roof is roughly 8 feet off the ground....unless we get a warm wet spring this will most likely still be there in July....


Well we heard from family and friends in the Pacific Northwest that they were sending us a wonderful spring storm......Well..... we really love our families and friends and we know they love us....... So we really hoped it would be one of those early April rainstorms that they were sending to start us back to the land of green and plenty........hmmmmmm...... Well that would have been the wrong guess......Yesterday morning we awoke to an additional 8-12 inches of new snow depending on where you stood....... It seems to me that it all fell in my driveway! I have just now finished hopefully for the last time this season the moving of this wonderful white stuff around. Don't get me wrong I love to recreate in the winter wonderland we live in...however this winter we have had more than our share....and I am ready for spring.....






This photo is looking out into my front yard from the deck...It is a wonderful sunny day with a few high clouds.......but a fair amount of that famous Montana blue sky....OK OK I agree...... at this point any blue sky and sunshine is a plus.....and I am ready for lots more..

Once I catch my breath...... I am back into the shop to continue working on pending orders......which were coming along quite nicely before this brief wonderful interruption...

May your day be sunny and bright where ever you might be....ENJOY LIFE....Have a great day!!

Deschutes Brewery Cribbage boards...continued

Here is the prototype that I have been working on with the two person track drilled on it. I have a few adjustments to make but overall am really pleased with how it is turning out.
The finished product will not have the knot on it and will most likely turn up a bit darker when I apply the finish.

Deschutes Brewery Cribbage boards

Recently I have been working on a project for the Deschutes Brewery in Bend Oregon. They wanted a cribbage board which would promote their business and the game of cribbage. I am honored they chose Splinters Woodworks to work on this project with them. Look for this completed board soon. It can only be obtained by contacting the Deschutes Brewery, but I will have completed photos here and on my website.

This is the beginning prototype in the shape of their beer bottle using the company logo. There will be a two person cribbage track drilled around the edges of the bottle.

The logo was Laser engraved by Blue Dragon LLC in Columbia Falls, Montana.
This board can be adjusted to any type of wood, any size board, and 2, 3, or 4 person track.
Any copywrited logo used must have written permission from the owner to use the logo.

HAPPY EASTER FROM Apgar Campground

The crews have began work on the annual spring removal of snow in Glacier National Park. Typically they begin the process on the Going to the Sun Road around the first week of April each spring. Prior to that they work on lower elevation areas like Apgar campground. This year it appears there will still be snow when it opens around the first week of May. They have plowed one lane all the way through the campground to assist in the meltout. This last week we continued the tradition of walking the loops in the campground before it is overrun with visitors. These are a few of the pictures we took on the last visit.

Spring in Northwest Montana (well sort of)

WELCOME TO SPRING 2008!!!

For a while now I have been hearing a voice coming from under the snow. Each day I have been shoveling a little bit more and a little bit more and today there was loud voices and excitement as I broke through that last little bit of snow.



This is my front yard and the snow is about 5 feet deep.






a little bit farther





one more step and there he was..what a guy…and so happy!




and finally broke through to the waterfall basin which was ice free and most likely where he had been drinking and bathing all winter




The little guy was very happy to see open fresh aire….Gee isn’t it amazing what it takes to entertain us…
The smell of mint greeted me as I dug into the snow and around the water basin..not fresh mint but the promise of things to come. I think there are some spring type flowers around there somewhere..perhaps I will have to take time and try to find them…..What better way to celebrate the first day of spring…..
Golly am I ready or what?

Each day the snow melts a little bit farther down and soon I will be able to walk the future site for Splinters Woodworks...I am excited.....now if I could find the cash to finance it....life would be better...
I suppose I should get back into the shop and create some sawdust and slivers.....so as to assist in creating that $$....Have a great day. Tomorrow I will attempt to layout some of the current projects I am working on. until then.....

Future Shop...Continued

Weather has begun the slow melt off of the winters deposits very s...l...o...w...l...y... At the rate we are going we may see ground by the fourth of July.
Planning and thought process continues on the new shop building. It is hard not to get excited...however I know this will be a slow process...in the mean time I keep on plugging away in the current shop working on fairly steady inquiries.
I was reminded of a xmas project last week(which I had not forgotten...but I know they thought I had) which is to turn a pepper grinder on the lathe. Gosh she only asked for it four years ago...and I did get the insides for it and the plans and all that. I thought I was doing pretty good....however she didn't see it that way... Unforunately the headstock of my Shopsmith is not cooperating... making it impossible to use the lathe. I have slowly brought the power stands for all the other accessories that I have (bandsaw, jointer, planer)...but there is no such thing for the lathe. Shopsmith wanted me to ship them my headstock and an open ended credit card before they would look at it. Not even able to give me a estimate..For some odd reason I haven't felt comfortable doing that. What probably will happen is I will sell the shopsmith for scrap and buy a nice new lathe...or I could give it a float test in one of our lakes....However so far I haven't been able to find the extra grand$ for a new lathe. I asked for one for my birthday..however was told I had already asked for a new shop...make my mind which one do I want....sheesh

The land we just obtained is heavily forested and needs to be thined for fire suppresion... so it might be possible to sell some of the timber and use the proceeds to pay for the new shop...Again we have to wait for the snow to depart before we can go in and inventory the trees..

Well back to the shop...until next time......Have a great day!

Future Shop continued...

Today brings bright partial sunshine and hope that spring is just around the corner. Of course that is an annual trick of weather here in Montana. At least I can hope that the snow begins to melt here in my corner of the world and I can get started on laying out the plans for the new shop.

Checking on the costs for the in floor radiant heat system and the concrete for the slab it appears I am looking at around 4K$. of course then I have to add in the cost of the rebar and other connected costs. I will continue to check other companies and see what I can find.

Inquiries for custom creations continue to come in each day from my website and the local community. It is very encouraging to me that folks still appreciate and want custom wood products. Time permitting I plan on adding to the types of items I offered at farmers markets and shows last season.

Well......must head back to the shop and the work that awaits me. Have a great day!