Happy belated birthday! Glad to hear you're doing well. We are as well. So good to hear from you 

8 hours ago, MeltedSocks said:

Sort of like raccoon donkey?

Yes, that is the term. 

First time i ever heard the term i was visiting my parents in Baton Rouge. My dad was still in the Army and stationed with a reserve unit there. His captain was from deep south Louisiana and and my dad, at the time a SSGT. called him that. Me i had just got my stripes, about hit the floor when he did.  I said something along the lines of glad i aint in your shoes, and his Cpt. said why? I am one. 

I got the tool box he was in from my dad when they moved back up here after he retired. So the little guy was a resident of Denham Springs, LA. 

My stepdad, Ed,  was an insurance adjuster.  One summer, he packed us all up and we went on "storm duty" with him to southern Louisiana for a few weeks.  We were befriended by a big family out in the boonies. It was almost 50 years ago, but I remember the zydeco music, the dancing in a pole barn, the dirty rice, blood puddin', and sausage.  I was a great experience.

Ed was gifted a red trucker's hat with--not raccoon donkey--but the proper moniker in big letters on the front.  It was his favorite hat.  He wore it all the time.  I could probably dig through a box full of pictures and find one of him wearing it. 

One thing I hate about our modern society is that people get offended on behalf of other people, even when the other people are not offended.  It is so pervasive that we can't even write the real word on public forums, even though we know it is not a pejorative. 

This relates to a job I finished up some months ago, but the customer just posted the following on their Facebook page:

The cattail’s maker is flattered. 

It's, the cat's meow, John. 

Good publicity is good publicity. How do you feel about going into production on tap handles?

Frosty The Lucky.

 

What  is a "bae"? 

"bae" = significant other. "Before Anyone Else"

Ah, ok thanks.

Must be some of that new fangled language the kids are using now a days. 

It's meaning is pretty contextual like most Textlish. Some meanings are more common but being a pub it could've meant, Beer Always Eh? Before Anything Else is pretty common too. 

Here's one I experienced this morning after dropping Deb off at the airport. Bacon And Eggs. 

Enjoy but use it wisely and Do NOT text and drive!

Okay, I gotta stop now, I hate texting and I'm close to starting a pun thread on my ConText U'all attitude.

You're welcome, later.

Frosty The Lucky.

Lots of small work.

Beautiful as always Alex. I've liked your shelving units from the first and the water tap would make any garden beautiful. I assume it's easy to drain for winter, we have to drain all outdoor spigots back to the house or below about 2m depth. 

What are the screw plates and toppers? Railing or stair banister ends?

Frosty The Lucky.

I love that water tap, Alexandr!

Here's a pic of the finished mouse sculpture. Brought the ears out a bit, deepened the eyes a bit, and chopped off some of the snout. I like how the brass brushing sets the mouse apart from the spike. The rust on the spike was not intentional but I decided I like it so I left it. I had heated it up to red, brushed it, then paste wax. Apparently not all the rust came off. 

I've also been working on a pair of scissors for the trade item at this Saturday's meeting. Started on them yesterday. Tomorrow I will adjust the handles, profile/sharpen the blades, and add a rivet. Fingers crossed I don't hit any snags!

I think the mouse looks much mousier with the shorter muzzle and leaving the spike as it is now was a good call, it looks aged but not scaly dirty. I like it.

The shears look pretty good too, are the blades curves towards each other slightly? If not they won't cut well, material will jam between them. Maybe leave the handles longer with less loop? I don't know about that last not being able to hold them. Remember to work them while the rivet is still hot so it'll free up and the shears will work and still be tight.

You're getting pretty good at this, I bet you'll have fun at the meeting.

Frosty The Lucky.

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

What are the screw plates and toppers? Railing or stair banister ends?

Thank you! Jer, these are blanks for a chandelier. This is the first time I've made one.

Alexandr, what does the sign in the second pic say? 

1 hour ago, BillyBones said:

Alexandr, what does the sign in the second pic say? 

Sign at the entrance to the house. Porkuzi hall. Porkuzi is a village. ПОРКУЗИ 

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

are the blades curves towards each other slightly

One of them ended up not quite in-line after I bent the handle over - and I left it that way knowing I'd need to play with blade curve anyway in the final adjustments. I made some Viking style shears last week and learned all about the blade positions. Had them cutting paper but I just wasn't happy with it overall so I decided to try the standard style of scissors. 

These are kind of fun. I want to make another tiny pair to keep in my felting bag for trimming fuzz. Maybe another tiny pair if those work well to give to Ashley for her knitting bag. And if I'm still having fun making them, then start offering them for sale.

Nice scissors. What is the material and are you going to heat treat?

Looks like a fun project. 

I turned an old swap meet find square hammer / set tool into a monkey tool for 1/2” tenons. 

4 hours ago, Rojo Pedro said:

What is the material and are you going to heat treat?

I started with 6-7" of coil spring. Yes, I plan to heat treat unless something doesn't go as expected. They are for a trade item so if all that remains is heat treating then I'll just tell the person who receives it that they need it still.

 

And oh my gosh - using a square hammer to create a monkey tool?! Brilliant.

That little square "hammer" is actually a bottom tool, you can tell by how the far end is mushroomed slightly. It's called a Set and used to flatten precise areas on forgings where a flatter wont fit.

Making your scissor blades flat and smooth is what flatters were made for. You can improvise a flatter with a piece of thick flat steel say 1/2" or thicker plate maybe 2-3" square. Just lay it on the hot blade contact side down and smack the plate with a hammer, repeat on the other blade and viola! A little draw filing and block sanding and it's "OOH SHINY!".

Frosty The Lucky.

On 8/14/2025 at 11:32 AM, BillyBones said:

Must be some of that new fangled language the kids are using

It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I more or less keep up with Gen Z and Gen Alpha just so I can irritate my youngest. Every once in awhile he'll get on my nerves with one too many "bro"s or something similar and I'll return the favor by using his dialect. It's especially irritating if you mess it up slightly on purpose or use obsolete slang.

For example, "Boy, stop being an NPC and go glow up the kitchen. It's cheugy, gross and got me salty, no cap - ain't got no rizz. Stop with the negative aura points from the skibiddi brainrot and go yeet the dishes in the washer until it ain't giving any more high key ick. Need it mad lit and hitting different. Bet?"

I'm 48 and it drives him absolutely nuts to hear old folks using it.

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

Making your scissor blades flat and smooth is what flatters were made for.

I have a flatter and I used it on the scissor blades. I also have a hardy plate which I use when I need a flat surface since my anvil isn't flat. Makes a huge difference. They only needed a brief kiss with the belt sander to get nice and shiny on the flats.

Tonight, I got the profiles prettied up and the cutting edges sharpened. When connected with the bolt, they were cutting paper, a cotton bedsheet, and some thread from the fraying edges of the bedsheet. After I set the rivet though, they only cut paper. 

I gave one of the blades a few sturdy taps, trying to get the bend back that I assumed was lost. But that loosened the rivet. Set the rivet again and they still only cut paper. I don't wanna make them any worse so I just stopped and gave them a good cleanup with a wire wheel and coated with blo.

Flamingo assembled. 

Still needs the spikes that stick into the ground and a lot of cleanup and paint. 

 

Nice!