[Woodworkers] About a week ago...

Sun Sep 6 07:24:15 PDT 2015

Are you going to at least paint it so the birds don't think they're getting HBO?

Bird1:  "Come here often?"
Bird2: "No.  Just when everything else is closed.  Game of Thrones is never on"

Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2015 06:45:30 -0600
To: woodworkers at sawdusters.org; mcfaust at ronan.net; pca1227 at yahoo.com
Subject: [Woodworkers] About a week ago...
From: woodworkers at lists.sawdusters.org

...Jim saunters into the shop.  He popped in to ask if I wanted any of the items he was fixin' to take to my favorite shopping mall.
"Whadaya got?"  I snarled,  "I'm right picky, ya know, I don't take just anything."
"Well, I got a wheelbarrow...one of the handles is broken off it and a sate..."
"Ok, I'll take 'em, but just this once!"
He giggled.  It was one of them giggles slightly louder than a snicker.
"How...ummm...why would you...ahhh...what possible use could you get outta this satellite antenna?"
"I dunno,"  I said, holding it aloft and turning it around, "It might make a nice a bird feeder."
He guffawed.  It was one of them guffaws slightly louder than a belly laugh.
So I threw it on the ground next to the other stuff I just don't take anything of and walked back into the shop.
Now, fast forward a week.  We're repairing a double bookcase - a bookcase where, when all the parts are assembled, is 74' wide and 91" high.  It's also important to note that it was made in 1904 by the Mollalger Mfg. Co., whose workers belonged to the Amalgamated Woodworkers of America Union.  I know that because it's stamped on one of the drawers.
Jeff is in the finish room touching up some bald spots on the bookcase doors (1904?  You can imagine the amount of dings and bald spots) and I needed something from the blue shop.  I go fetch it and on the way back I laid eyes on the dish I deposited there a week earlier and without missing a step I bent over, scooped it up and went back into the shop and laid it on one of the workbenches.
Ok, for the past...ohh...four years or so now, Jeff has made it his crusade to browbeat me into repurposing stuff.  A typical conversation goes something like this...
"Hey Joe, take a look at this broken rake handle do you have any idea where I can stick this?"
"Boy, do I!"

"Nooo, I mean, where can I put it to use later?"
"Yep, the same place I had in mind a second ago."
It's a shame there isn't a superhero costume factory because if there was, I'd order up one for him that had a yellow Robin Hood type of hat with sky blue feathers on it, crimson red tights, a navy blue shirt with a big yellow heart on the front containing RPB in red letters and, to complete the ensemble,  a gossamer cape.
So, with the antenna now lying on the workbench I turned to the finish room and said, "Hey, Re-Purpose Boy, c'mere a sec."    
He comes over and I show him the antenna and pitch my idea to him.  "What if we did this and then do that and we can use this to..."
I looked at him and he had tears welling up in his eyes.  "Joe!  You've been saved!  It's a miracle!"
The wire is 3/16" bare copper - I call the "fence" the Decision Area...ya know, where the birds can perch on there, look down and take their time to decide on their meal?

"I think I'll have 5 maybe 6 of the sunflower seeds, a smattering of cracked corn and to top off my gizzard, I'll savor some of them roundy-type seeds." 
The post works out great for mounting it to a tree or some other vertical object and we drilled holes in the bottom of the dish to allow water to drain out.   A roof may be added later.
I gotta hand it to Jeff, It is a lot of fun taking something and using your noodle to turn it into something else so I may be ordering two of them costumes.

-- 
Joe,
The Twisted Knot Woodshop, "There's never been a classier joint"Visit the Twisted Knot Woodshop - http://www.twistedknotwoodshop.com

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