CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
These projects are not directly related to electronics but may be of some interest to viewers of this site. The house for the riding lawnmower was done in the summer months of 2003. The Teddybear Cottage and Woodshop were begun in 2007. At this writing, October 20, 2009, the Teddybear Cottage and woodworking shop are complete. Now I have begun working IN the shop instead of working on the shop. Those projects are described on pages which are linked from the bottom of the Max's Shop page.Lawnmower House.
In 2003 we, Sue and I, decided that the aging process was catching up with us and we no longer could use the push mower to cut our large lot. We bought a riding mower and a building to store it in. The building came in what was loosely referred to as a kit. It was not in the tradition of a Heathkit. Basically it was an instruction booklet and a pile of lumber. Only a few pieces were precut.To see pictures and read more go to Building the Barn.
The Teddybear Cottage.
At the end of 2006 I was beginning to get interested in woodworking. I bought some Burch plywood and started construction on a desk for my ham radio equipment. I temporarily moved the two mowers, one riding and the other a push, for trimming, out of the Barn and worked there. It is only a 10 by 10 foot building and things that are stored around the edges reduced it to an effective 8 by 7. I needed a bigger building to work in.Sue encouraged me to buy a pre constructed building from Home Depot. They had on display a number of wooden buildings with floor but not finished on the inside. These are built by a group of Mennonites in western Kentucky. I picked out a 10 by 16 with double doors and large window. It was delivered on January 31, 2007, on a trailer by one man who used a device called a Mule to take it off the trailer and place it where I wanted it.
The building had only been in place for a day when Sue started talking about how she wanted one of her own. Building envy? I finished the radio desk in there using hand tools. I soon realized that a table saw would take up a lot of space and a work bench would make it too cramped to work in. It occurred to both of us at the same time. I could go and buy a 12 by 30 foot building, the largest one they made, and Sue would buy the 10 by 16 one from me.
One of her hobbies is collecting and making teddybears. We must have four or five hundred of them. They range in size from half an inch to 30 inches tall. She decided to call her building the Teddybear Cottage. My shop is known as Max's Shop. That's right, we have 3 buildings in our back yard. We live outside the city, in a libertarian state so zoning laws are not an issue.
More Storage Space.
With the shop finished I can now build that electronics workbench I have always wanted and improve my electronic parts storage closet. Both of these are in the house. Problem, I need to store some of my equipment somewhere else to make redesigning the electronics shop possible. Also I have an attic full of pieces of old electronics that I would like to store somewhere else to allow improving the insulation and saving money. At least that's what I told Sue.I have constructed yet another storage shed. It will appear to the neighbors as if it is an add on to the shop rather than another building. The link below will take you to the story of its construction.
Delivery and finishing the Teddybear Cottage.
This page last updated May 20, 2010.