Re: Chinese drywall again.

Posted by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Se=F1ior_Popcor on November 1, 2009, 5:20 pm

> Going foward, the archy will need to specify the drywall quality...
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chinese_drywall
> Fair enough, I spec the work frame quality, vapor barrier, insulation,
> but things like electrical I've pushed off to the installer, so where
> does
> drywall fit in? One more thing for the archy?
> Ken

This on the heels of my natural building educational venture. (Hey, I
came across mention of that 'Shelter' book.)
I'll be an "archy" yet, if not "legally". ;) Maybe we should ALL be.
Like in the old world. (Oh! My new education is showing. ;)

Posted by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Se=F1ior_Popcor on November 2, 2009, 6:17 pm

> > > Going foward, the archy will need to specify the drywall quality...
> > >http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chinese_drywall
> > > Fair enough, I spec the work frame quality, vapor barrier, insulation=

> > > but things like electrical I've pushed off to the installer, so where
> > > does
> > > drywall fit in? One more thing for the archy?
> > > Ken

> > This on the heels of my natural building educational venture. (Hey, I
> > came across mention of that 'Shelter' book.)
> > I'll be an "archy" yet, if not "legally". ;) Maybe we should ALL be.
> > Like in the old world. (Oh! My new education is showing. ;)

> This is where I started, (Jensen's Engineering Drawing and Design)http://=

www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/2054373/used/Engineering%20...

> Get math to Vector Analysis, but I think understanding the "Arch"
> in architecture needs integral calculus for bridges and stuff.
> Ken

Looks like a good book... I'm curious to know what my e-library
download offers. It might have stuff like that. I'm at 70% downloaded
with my fingers crossed. I've been very lucky so far with all my bit
torrent downloads.
There seem to be some hands-on natural-building apprenticeships
advertised online that I'm thinking about. Straw bales can be load-
bearing and cob looks surprisingly viable. They've done some kind of
cob snack/popcorn stand in Stanley park in Vancouver, incidentally,
and cob has successfully withstood rigorous earthquake tests at UBC.
The word 'cob' still makes me think of those little mini corn-cobs
(the kind that get marinated) throughout a mud-mix decorating a
house's walls. You can also add manure as a binder.
"Man, your walls look like shit... Hey, WTF are those little cobs
doing in there?"
Personally, I like the idea of mix-and-match, using timber-frame with
some aesthetic elements of cob, straw-bale, cordwood, stone and glass,
depending on region and local availability.
Some of the homes I'm seeing online are just gorgeous and seem to put
developer stuff beneath shame.
Did you know that straw bales are also very good at insulating? Not
really surprised, but still... and the thickness of the walls lend the
inside of the homes to sumptuousness, conducive to co-mingling 'n' fun
Ken-like stuff.

I give the one-finger salute to Chinese drywall.

Posted by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Se=F1ior_Popcor on November 3, 2009, 6:42 pm

> > > > > Going foward, the archy will need to specify the drywall quality.=

> > > > >http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chinese_drywall
> > > > > Fair enough, I spec the work frame quality, vapor barrier, insula=

tion,

> > > > > but things like electrical I've pushed off to the installer, so w=

here

> > > > > does
> > > > > drywall fit in? One more thing for the archy?
> > > > > Ken
> > > > This on the heels of my natural building educational venture. (Hey,=

> > > > came across mention of that 'Shelter' book.)
> > > > I'll be an "archy" yet, if not "legally". ;) Maybe we should ALL be=

> > > > Like in the old world. (Oh! My new education is showing. ;)
> > > This is where I started, (Jensen's Engineering Drawing and Design)htt=

p://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/2054373/used/Engineering%20...

> > > Get math to Vector Analysis, but I think understanding the "Arch"
> > > in architecture needs integral calculus for bridges and stuff.
> > > Ken

> > Looks like a good book... I'm curious to know what my e-library
> > download offers. It might have stuff like that. I'm at 70% downloaded
> > with my fingers crossed. I've been very lucky so far with all my bit
> > torrent downloads.
> > There seem to be some hands-on natural-building apprenticeships
> > advertised online that I'm thinking about. Straw bales can be load-
> > bearing and cob looks surprisingly viable. They've done some kind of
> > cob snack/popcorn stand in Stanley park in Vancouver, incidentally,
> > and cob has successfully withstood rigorous earthquake tests at UBC.
> > The word 'cob' still makes me think of those little mini corn-cobs
> > (the kind that get marinated) throughout a mud-mix decorating a
> > house's walls. You can also add manure as a binder.
> > "Man, your walls look like shit... Hey, WTF are those little cobs
> > doing in there?"
> > Personally, I like the idea of mix-and-match, using timber-frame with
> > some aesthetic elements of cob, straw-bale, cordwood, stone and glass,
> > depending on region and local availability.
> > Some of the homes I'm seeing online are just gorgeous and seem to put
> > developer stuff beneath shame.
> > Did you know that straw bales are also very good at insulating? Not
> > really surprised, but still... and the thickness of the walls lend the
> > inside of the homes to sumptuousness, conducive to co-mingling 'n' fun
> > Ken-like stuff.

> I'd have a very hard time using the 'eclectic' building materials

So I hear. I wonder how effective "mingling" with a female code
inspector might be in this regard.

Joke aside, post-and-beam-timberframe plus strawbale for insulation
may prove of little worry code-wise and what little siding there might
be among the glazing could be done in rough-cut wood (the sweet-
looking wavy bark-left-on type). Also, progress is being made on the
codefront in many natural building regards, thanks to "pioneers", and
from what I can glean, Vancouver seems more up on code-flexing where
sustainability's concerned.

I've read a little about portable saw mills, by the way, where one can
mill their own wood... presumably outside of a tight subdivision.

> you refer to 1st because of zoning, we're R1 so the building
> code is strictly applied. You might find a zoning that permits
> a sort of 'anything building materials' otherwise the plans would
> need to be certified by an engineer, so watch the code applicable
> to the lot you want to build on.
> What code would apply to the 'eclectic' sturucture?

<shrug>

Posted by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Se=F1ior_Popcor on November 8, 2009, 9:36 pm

wrote:

> > I meant the bark is on both or one of the ends. Unsure though.

> Thats one of the things I'm experimenting with - how to keep the bark
> on the wood.

Maybe it's supposed to fall off. I think the wavy stuff seen may have
been without the bark. Hard to tell with some pics.

Perhaps you can use the bark, itself, for siding though. Good luck
trying to keep it on in any case.

> Two years ago I chainsawed a 2" thick slice of walnut from a felled
> tree and stashed it in the workshop to air dry.
> I also found a unique branch from the same tree, 3" dia and a triple
> fork, 3 branches coming out at the same place, but not qute 60 degrees
> apart.
> Stashed it too.
> Last fall I brought them out, mortised the branch into the center of
> the slice with a healthy dose of 2 part epoxy and created a 1 legged
> table.

Good job. Like the link about the house I previously sent, I got to
thinking that nature pretty much does all the work for us.
The tables and houses that appear closest to nature, seem to
practically design and build themselves.

> Then I cut a stencil out of acetate and airbrushed some maple leaves
> on the top surface, then gave the whole thing a heavy dousing of
> boiled linseed oil and set it on the deck. June, down the road, saw itt
> and told everyone about it and people came for miles to see it.

We caught wind of it even up here in Ottawa. So *you're* the guy.
Fantasic... Wait 'till our local mayor finds out. I think he'll want
to pay you and your table a personal visit just to see what all the
fuss is about.
;)

> About 2 months later the bark around the rim started falling off. Its all
> off now.

Ok, everything's off. Cancel the reception.

> I know bark can be made to stay on because I've seen it, but I have to
> figure out how to do it.
> I'm thinking a vacuum bag may be central to the solution.

Just do like that priest in Pierre's recent joke, but with some
context-specific changes.

> > I seem to recall a recent YouTube video of a guy, all on his own,
> > moving a whole, if small, house over a limited distance, using
> > something like only a car jack and some pieces/planks of wood.

> Part of my engineer training in the army was building very large
> structures, like for example class 60 bridges that can support
> multiple M60 tanks, using nothing but hand tools and a raw forest and
> massive human exertion. First, you have to build the BIG tools
> necessary (think: gin poles) in order to build the BIG project.

Makes sense.

> > > Indeed.
> > > Go rural and tell the power freex to pound sand.

> > Good suggestion, but what do you mean by 'power freex to pound sand'?

> People that think they get to mandate themselves into other peoples
> lives can shove it straight up their collective asses sideway.
> Plain enuff? =A0;-)

I suspected as much, but was curious if 'power freex' was a trade name
or something or if you meant something additional by it.

> Do a google search on "red+cobra+pen blanks" and see what comes up.
> For my sons 30th birthday I made him a pen and pencil set and the top
> of each was red cobra skin, sealed inside clear acrylic, and the
> bottom was steel pulverized to the molecular level then combined with
> a resin and then laid in a damascus steel pattern, and all of it was
> topped of with 22kt solid gold hardware and then packed in a custom
> birdseye maple coffin. He almost dropped dead on the spot when he saw
> them. Admittedly they were stunning. Sometimes I outdo myself.....
> LOL

I was unaware what a pen blank was until today. It's the body or part
of a pen that you screw or snap into the rest of it? You sealed the
skin inside the acrylic too?
While I appreciate the gesture, do you think you might be able to do a
pair of custom knitting needles? :) As you might recall, I knit, but
am using pens less and less.
Some of the custom knitting needles out there-- in various materials--
are very nice and, for example, I've even seen ones that are lathed(?)
(or however they make them) from different colored plywood glued
together for a funky stepped rainbow wooden look. Have you ever or
can you lathe bamboo? I have a pair of bamboo ones already-- they're
the one's I'm using right now for my first sweater ever-- but still...
and I'm also just curious.
If you're motivated, go to Google Images and enter keywords, 'custom
knitting needles' or something. You can put different shapes on their
ends, either as part of the material of the needle, or as a completely
different add-on.

Posted by creative1985@gmail.com on November 11, 2009, 3:51 pm

> wrote:

> > > I meant the bark is on both or one of the ends. Unsure though.

> > Thats one of the things I'm experimenting with - how to keep the bark
> > on the wood.

> Maybe it's supposed to fall off. I think the wavy stuff seen may have
> been without the bark. Hard to tell with some pics.
> Perhaps you can use the bark, itself, for siding though. Good luck
> trying to keep it on in any case.

> > Two years ago I chainsawed a 2" thick slice of walnut from a felled
> > tree and stashed it in the workshop to air dry.
> > I also found a unique branch from the same tree, 3" dia and a triple
> > fork, 3 branches coming out at the same place, but not qute 60 degrees
> > apart.
> > Stashed it too.
> > Last fall I brought them out, mortised the branch into the center of
> > the slice with a healthy dose of 2 part epoxy and created a 1 legged
> > table.

> Good job. Like the link about the house I previously sent, I got to
> thinking that nature pretty much does all the work for us.
> The tables and houses that appear closest to nature, seem to
> practically design and build themselves.

> > Then I cut a stencil out of acetate and airbrushed some maple leaves
> > on the top surface, then gave the whole thing a heavy dousing of
> > boiled linseed oil and set it on the deck. June, down the road, saw itt
> > and told everyone about it and people came for miles to see it.

> We caught wind of it even up here in Ottawa. So *you're* the guy.
> Fantasic... Wait 'till our local mayor finds out. I think he'll want
> to pay you and your table a personal visit just to see what all the
> fuss is about.
> ;)

> > About 2 months later the bark around the rim started falling off. Its a=

> > off now.

> Ok, everything's off. Cancel the reception.

> > I know bark can be made to stay on because I've seen it, but I have to
> > figure out how to do it.
> > I'm thinking a vacuum bag may be central to the solution.

> Just do like that priest in Pierre's recent joke, but with some
> context-specific changes.

> > > I seem to recall a recent YouTube video of a guy, all on his own,
> > > moving a whole, if small, house over a limited distance, using
> > > something like only a car jack and some pieces/planks of wood.

> > Part of my engineer training in the army was building very large
> > structures, like for example class 60 bridges that can support
> > multiple M60 tanks, using nothing but hand tools and a raw forest and
> > massive human exertion. First, you have to build the BIG tools
> > necessary (think: gin poles) in order to build the BIG project.

> Makes sense.

> > > > Indeed.
> > > > Go rural and tell the power freex to pound sand.
> > > Good suggestion, but what do you mean by 'power freex to pound sand'?

> > People that think they get to mandate themselves into other peoples
> > lives can shove it straight up their collective asses sideway.
> > Plain enuff? =A0;-)

> I suspected as much, but was curious if 'power freex' was a trade name
> or something or if you meant something additional by it.

> > Do a google search on "red+cobra+pen blanks" and see what comes up.
> > For my sons 30th birthday I made him a pen and pencil set and the top
> > of each was red cobra skin, sealed inside clear acrylic, and the
> > bottom was steel pulverized to the molecular level then combined with
> > a resin and then laid in a damascus steel pattern, and all of it was
> > topped of with 22kt solid gold hardware and then packed in a custom
> > birdseye maple coffin. He almost dropped dead on the spot when he saw
> > them. Admittedly they were stunning. Sometimes I outdo myself.....
> > LOL

> I was unaware what a pen blank was until today. It's the body or part
> of a pen that you screw or snap into the rest of it? You sealed the
> skin inside the acrylic too?
> While I appreciate the gesture, do you think you might be able to do a
> pair of custom knitting needles? :) As you might recall, I knit, but
> am using pens less and less.
> Some of the custom knitting needles out there-- in various materials--
> are very nice and, for example, I've even seen ones that are lathed(?)
> (or however they make them) from different colored plywood glued
> together for a funky stepped rainbow wooden look. =A0Have you ever or
> can you lathe bamboo? I have a pair of bamboo ones already-- they're
> the one's I'm using right now for my first sweater ever-- but still...
> and I'm also just curious.
> If you're motivated, go to Google Images and enter keywords, 'custom
> knitting needles' or something. You can put different shapes on their
> ends, either as part of the material of the needle, or as a completely
> different add-on.

I'll check it out.
I've been very taken with this lathe stuff for most of this year.
Just yesterday I saw mention on the web something about knitting
needles but didn't pursue it.
But now I will.
Yes, you can turn bamboo on a lathe or any other material, as long as
you understand the limitations.
The rainbow wood you mentioned is called Dymondwood but also goes
under other names.
There is a universe of stuff out there now and more being developed
all the time.
Its possible to make your own pen blanks with kits they make.
You use a pen tube, about 7mm dia x 2" long, wrap a meterial around
it, say a piece of an old pair of jeans for example, or maybe a $100
bill (a color copy of course) then place it in a mold and pout in the
acrylic resin. The end result will be a solid clear plastic square
5/8"x5/8"x2" and after it is turned and drilled it can become a pen.
Thats how the cobra skin pen was done for my son.

I have a new little project I am working on that I have never seen
before.
I just glued it up and clamped it yesterday and about 5pm today I'm
gonna yank the clamps and throw it on the lathe.
Send me an email and I'll send you a pik that I took of it yesterday
right after I glued it. Then I'll send you another after I turn it.
It consists of Aspen and Walnut wood.
Aspen =3D white, Walnut =3D dark brown, a nice contrast.
I'm hoping for ellipses. ;-)
Here's what the red cobra pen blanks look like:
http://www.glimmerznmore.com/shop/imageview.asp?file=3Dslimline%20cobra%20r=
ed.jpg
Here's what the damascus steel pen blanks look like:
http://www.metalpenblanks.com/images/damascus.jpg

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