swt61

That dude is insane.

Happy Birthday Peter! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday! Unfortunately I don't know who's Birthday it is until we get that fixed.

Clearly the answer is more guns on the streets, especially assault weapons.

As I see no large craniumed man of Mexican heritage anywhere near those baked delights, I think they look fantastic and the world is safe for another day.

The legs are splayed a bit, but it still seems to me that most of the weight is placed in a downward force on the legs themselves. Not the joints. As for the screws, they are holding the weight horizontaly, not vertically. So there's no danger of the screws pulling out. It's all about the shear strength of the screw, not the holding power of the threads. It seems like a pretty sound design to me. A piece connecting the front and back legs, down low would add a lot of strength, but probably take away from the overall esthetic.

That wonky scone does not look like it was made by the Scone Mason, but I whole heartedly approve of the table beneath it.

The Total Boat will work just fine. At some point it will start flaking and need to be refinished. No way of knowing how many years down the road that will be. Total Boat is a quality finish though! It's looking gorgeous Jeff!

Doug is right. If it's actually Sapele, the Le Toninois or any other marine varnish should be a great match. If it doesn't penetrate, then it's something other than Sapele. Having seen pics of the wood, I'm sure it's a Mahogany derivative of some sort, and therefore should take the top coat well. I had forgotten about the Le Tonkinois. It is a beautiful, durable and more natural finish. It has held up beautifully on Al's garage door in the city. And that door is somewhat near the ocean, so it's not an easy environment.

There is no maintenance free finish. Every outdoor finish will need work over time. The only maintenance free finish is no finish. But if you don't want a silver/grey oxidation, then I think a spar varnish or boat finish is probably your best option.

Well, I'm certainly not Norm-al.

Beautiful!

When do you attend the next rally?

I was gonna say how straight guys are obsessed with breasts, but yeah, bakery got back!

Oh shit! R.I.P. Loretta. She made some incredible music. But didn't take herself too seriously either.

I learned much of what I know from watching Norm. I truly feel like I know the man. I did have the pleasure of having lunch with him and Steve Thomas. The company I worked for in Alaska set it up for me. They knew what a huge fan I was. And they got me on the panel at the Home Show, and the luncheon with Norm. I set across from Norm and next to Steve Thomas. After 10 minutes or so I got up the nerve to throw out a zinger about what a premadonna Bob Vila was. That got both of them laughing and we spent the rest of the lunch making fun of him. Great fun, and a day I'll never forget. He is getting old, and it makes me sad. It's hard to believe he's at the end of his career, and I'm not far behind. Time goes by so fast!

I'm actually getting a little choked up, watching Norm get choked up. I can't believe he's retiring. I remember watching TOH, from the very first episode, back in '79. Norm was never supposed to be on camera, but in episode 2 they needed him to explain a few things, and he was in front of the camera every since. Truth be told, Norm is more responsible for my career choice than anyone other than my high school woodshop teacher.

At least that's something that you'll never see.

Will there be any Charlie Chaplin/Edward G. Robinson Jrs. there?

Not a bad idea. I used to frequent cabinet shops, where they would give me remnants and sink cut outs for free. Once Ebay came along, they realized they could sell these. But the smaller remnants ate generally inexpensive.

I would make that into a turntable stand for Colossus, big time!