Home made wood kiln and working from home.

side view of the wood kiln before installing the sides

home made wood kiln debugging old barn wood

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When I got home from work this afternoon, I fired up the new wood kiln .

I’m building custom made harvest tables on the side out of old barn wood.

My long term goal is to quit my day job 

and create custom made furniture from home.  I would still be looking for construction projects but more on my terms.

Here’s a picture from inside the shop…nothing fancy, just peace and quiet :

view from inside the shop

I had not noticed any bugs in the wood from this particular barn, but decided after doing some additional research to “debugging” anything I just/ just in case.

After digesting a mountain of information,  I came across this article   with this nugget of wisdom:

From Professor Gene Wengert, Sawing and Drying Forum technical adviser:
I would question whether you can fumigate white oak without using special procedures that would be very expensive. The property that keeps water (wine or whiskey) in a white oak barrel will also keep the fumigation gas out. Therefore, use heat. You only need to get the wood up to 130 throughout for 30 minutes to do the trick. The 160 F quote you have is likely for softwoods for setting the pitch.

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Here are a few of my latest projects:

6 ft table and matching bench

coffee table

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We recently returned from a family reunion near Hastings Nebraska.  My wife’s first cousin was telling us over breakfast  the dramatic change in her husband  He is a family doctor,  been working for a  large health care groups and finally said the heck with it.  He would be allotted 7 minutes per patient.  From the moment you walked in the doors of the clinic your cost started at over $300 per visit. This money didn’t go to the Doctor.

Nada. You were paying for the fancy fountains, the ornate buildings,  the bloated bureaucracy, and the profit margin for the investors.  After a visit, the patient would be mailed a  form to rate their office call.  If her husband received too many negative marks  his pay would be docked.

quoting now…”This was not why he went into the medical field”

They decided to open up a private practice where patients would pay on a cash basis, a fraction of the cost.

“He is not the same man he used to be”

I told my wife later that day, that was the highlight of the reunion for me.  I finally met another husband who  chose doing  what he loved to do over  money and stress of a rat race job.  His wife told us, she would much rather live on less income and have him happy again.  “When he leaves for work in the morning now, he’s whistling..”

Yes!

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I realize I’m rambling just a little tonight.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to pick apples.  We have   to 50 apple trees to pick.  The Cortlands look like they are ready, as well as the Gala’s and Honey Crisp.  Everything is 3 to 4 weeks ahead of normal.

Here are some shots from the orchard:

Cortland apples

Gala’s

Ginger gold’s

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If you’re in the area tomorrow,  stop by !

I’ll put you to work and pay you in apples.

How does that sound?

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