Saturday 4 November 2017

Yes… more on that bed!

The project is starting to get slightly more intricate with the need to attempt precise timber joint.  I made a jig (frame) from scrap pine on the assembly table to ensure the bed end panels were exactly square.  The stiles and rails had already been routered to fit.  They had to be clamped to the table surface as some of them had slight bows.

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The corner joints looked a reasonable fit and I’m hoping some of the minor burring will sand out.

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The centre panel does not get glued into the 60mm frame.  It has to “float” to allow for expansion and contraction during the seasons.  Actually only the four corners of the frame get glued.

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I did three test fits with the panel before gluing and clamping the components.  Two hours later I countersunk the holes for the screws and gave it a final sand with 240 grit before applying a first coat of satin varnish.

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The second panel was then completed and varnished

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There was just enough time to fit the first panel to the end of the bed and plug all the screw holes with those plugs I’d made using the bit purchased from Aldi.

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Tomorrow I’ll fit the second panel, cut the plugs back flush with the surface of the timber and apply a second coat of varnish.  There might even be time to apply the 3rd coat of varnish before the light disappears.

It has been quite hot today and we decided to run the evaporative air conditioning unit for the first time since moving into the house.  I wanted to know the electrical consumption of the air-con and wrote down the, before and after, recording on the Efergy electrical monitor I fitted to the house back in June.  The electrical consumption jumped from 0.33kWh to 0.73kWh, an increase of 0.4kWh.  The cost of electricity is $0.2647kWh which means the air-con costs approximately 10.5 cents per hour to run.

2 comments :

Carol said...

Hi Tom, it's good to read what you're both getting up to now that you're home again. Please can you ask Jan for some information for me?

I remember reading on one of your posts about Jan using the bread machine to rise the dough but then takes it out to cook it, I think if I remember correctly that it was because she didn't like the hole left in the baked loaf.

What I'd like to know is how she gets the raised dough out and put into a bread tin without it flattening again. It sounds difficult and a bit messy. Also what temperature does the bread need in the oven and for how long please.

Best wishes to you both.

Catherine H said...

That's quite cheap to run an air con unit. Was it the whole house or one area?
Do you think the evaporative type cool as well as the reverse cycle/heat pump type?