This doesn’t have much to do with the making of studio furniture, but without boots, I can’t do to much in the studio.

Earlier in my life I had the pleasure of being in the US Army. This was the culmination of my upbringing so to speak. My father was a pretty strict guy and I guess I owe it to him that my experience in the Army and basic training(BT) in particular wasn’t very traumatic. That and the fact that it was well, peace time. My time in the Army was actually kind of fun. The time I spent there was kind of like a spinning wheel; like spinning raw wool, it kind of brought all the things I had learned up to that point, which were kind of just flying about uncontrolled, into one tight directed fiber. I did learn a lot of things in BT that I still use today. One of those things is breaking in boots.

Sergeant Ball was a reserve Drill Sergeant. I sometimes think he did things the easy way instead of the normal Army way. He taught us how to clean an M-16 receiver with boiling hot water. He also taught us how to break in boots by soaking them. The whole platoon was marched through  buckets of water.

My wife figured that for 35 bucks, I could use a new pair of boots. She saw these Doc Martens on sale and scooped them up. I’ve never liked Doc Martens because they really aren’t work boots. The soles are some kind of soft jelly rubber. I work with hot stuff so I know these things won’t last. Also, inside there’s like almost no padding. I wear my boots all the time. They are part of my “Uniform.” But now I have a pair of these things and they too will get the proper breaking in treatment

These had to be the stiffest boots I’ve ever put my feet into. Most boots I get, including my Army issue boots could have been worn straight away. Not these things. The stiff leather cut into the tops of my feet and they didn’t bend at all. Now even though all my boots before had fit properly, I wanted them to mold to my feet. So, ALL my boots have gotten the water treatment, even a pair of $200.00 Herman Survivors that I wore throughout my military career. These Doc Martens would be no different.

Lacing up the lightweight Frankenstein boots.

Using the garden hose to fill the boots. They sure didn’t hold the water in like some boots I’ve done this to. Water even squirted out between the sole and the upper shank!

Now one thing I’ve learned from experience is; make sure you’re going to be doing something outside for a while in order to give the boots a chance to be at least a little drier before going inside. Remember you’re going to be wearing them the whole day. They will slosh around for a little while and your feet might be cold in the beginning, but soon enough you can get on to other things.

My wife has a different way of breaking in her boots, but it’s not quite as successful as the old water trick.

Thanks for stopping in. Maybe you learned something you can use.

Cheers

5 May 09……………………. Thought I’d update this thing since not to many people believed it was so! So………… today my new Thorogood Boots arrived. These are REAL boots too, not 35 dollar Doc Martens!!

And yes, they did get the “Water Treatment.” I’m sitting here at the computer with soggy boots on.

I’ll let you know if there are any ill effects.

Cheers,

Paul

 I’ve gotten several questions about the Thorogood boots.

This is them as of today the 5th of July. They even have the same laces. I know the boots look like hell, but I really did mink oil them about a month ago and did polish them once or twice I think. Oiling them is the most important thing in my book. Dry leather falls part pretty quick. I mentioned the lace thing because having the same laces means that the eyelets and hooks are a very good quality and aren’t wearing out the lace. I weld, so I’m really surprised I haven’t burned up the laces.

Well these ones are about to get a break and get put on part time duty as I’m considering getting a new pair. Those ought to last twice as long as these things.

 Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

Paul

Today the Bee Bar was finished:

So that’s it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers 

Well yesterday was the do or die day.

The set up was ready and I had to get the stump bored out. I spent most of yesterday finishing the drill bit. I used Ti coated carbide inserts for the bit and I should have used no coated or at least removed more of the coating before brazing. Next time! The set up was pretty simple and I was ready to go.

I used a Milwaukee 1/2 Drill to turn the bit. I secured the stump on the bed of my mill. The vacuum was connected to the rotary port on the bit.

The stump had a curve in it and I was really worried about drilling out of the side of the stump. 

The drilling took about 30 minutes. The center plug will be used for something else in the future.

Thanks for checking in.

Cheers 

I’ve started working on a new project along side the Bee Bar. It’s going to be a boom lamp. The base is kind of dictating the direction as it’s a Mahogany stump from North Key Largo. I have wanted to use this piece for a while and have finally figured out how I’m going to bore the center.

Getting ready to level the bottom with a router. 

Routing the bottom of the Boom Lamp base. 

The center needs to be removed for several reasons. One is weight. Two other reasons are that I need a place to run the electrical and I need a place for the boom counter balance. This wood has made me realize the finite supply that I have, so the idea of turning the core that I will be removing into sawdust is kind of repulsive.  I’m going to core drill this thing.

I’ve started fabricating this core drill. It’s 3-1/2 inches OD and 3-1/4 ID. The stump is about 39 inches long. I’ll be adding carbide teeth to the drill in the next couple of days. I hope to start drilling this weekend. 

Cheers till the next post.