The rules state that to participate you have to live in the US. Now I haven't got a Reddit account and I don't live in the US (though I would like to), but that shouldn't stop me from participating a bit on the side.
I considered enlisting in the build and offering any eventual prize to someone in USA, but I figured that it might add a lot of unnecessary clutter for the organizers, so I'll just build the school box for the fun of it.
If you happen to be eligible to participate in the build I strongly urge you to do so. It is only through participation that the organiser(s) will be able to attract support from sponsors.
It might also be the only sort of recognition he or she will get, signalling that all their efforts in organising an event is appreciated.
True to my tradition of North Sea builds, the materials are limited to whatever I can find on board i.e. pallet sides or regular pallet wood.
I have got some regular butt hinges in my small stock of materials, so I'll have to make the box without the original type strap hinges. Unless I make some myself.
Whenever I am out here, I normally bring a couple of books with me. One or two novels, and one or two books on woodworking. This time I have brought with me "The joiner and cabinetmaker", so I ought to be able to pull off a school box build.
As a side note, I have decided that I should try to read something written by Thomas Mann, so I have brought Buddenbrook and Felix Krüll with me. I have to confess that it takes a while to get used to his style of writing.
I have found a set of pallet sides that will do for stock. It is a new style that I haven't seen before, instead of one wide board of 7.5", it consists of two boards half the breadth. This means a bit more gluing, but the boards look straight and without any major knots in them.
First I removed the hinges and separated the boards. They have been held together using some large clamps similar to those used for making large cardboard boxes.
Due to my limited shop size, I can't do too long a glue up. So I made two pieces the length of one side and one end of the school box plus one glue up the length of the lid and the bottom.
Stock preparation might not be the most fun part of the build, but I feel fine that I have finally started building something out here again.
This might turn into a school box
Glued up panels.
Are those boards tongue and groove? Did they come that way?
ReplyDeleteThey came as tongue and groove, but I planed those off, since they were very coarse and part of the tongue didn't fill the entire groove.
DeleteIt was some sort of asymmetrical tongue and groove, but not furniture quality, but on the other hand, neither are the boards.
What is the space you are making that in? I've never seen such a clean area on a commercial vessel before.
ReplyDeleteHi Ralph.
DeleteThank you for the very kind words on the cleanliness of our engine room.
The second picture is from the 1st deck of the engine room. At the left (which is actually aft) you can see the exhaust pipes from main engine No 3 and 4 emerging from the deck below where the motors and the generators are placed. My glue up is placed on top of a couple of transformers. They have a nice temperature, so drying the glue is fast and efficient.
A bit mor to the back of the picture (midships), are the chilled water compressors. Those are used for sending cold water through all the various space coolers in the ship such as the main A/C plant and also the A/C plants of the switchboard room, to keep all the electronics cool.
The tool just behind the transformers is our hydraulic press.
We try to keep everything nice and clean, as it help identifying any leaks plus it also help ensuring that people treat the areas with care.
Due to traditions on offshore vessels (at least in Norway), the entire ship is washed down prior to changing the crew, which happens every 5 weeks, so generally those ships are very well maintained.
Brgds
Jonas
I was going to comment on the cleanliness as well, very impressive! Good luck with the box build, I'll look into doing the same. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Pete
DeleteThank you for the nice comment.
I'll pass on the kudos for the cleanliness to our engineer apprentice, as it is part of his duty to wash the floor in that area.
Good luck in joining the build off.
I don't know if you have to have a Reddit account, but I think that getting one is just a matter of signing up.
Brgds
Jonas
I am doubly impressed that is the engine room space.
ReplyDeleteHi Ralph.
DeleteI just told the apprentice that his cleaning had been noticed on the Internet. He was really proud that someone took the time to comment on that.
Guess you and Pete just made his day a whole lot better :-)
Thanks
Jonas
Always enjoy seeing your seafaring adventures.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteI am sure that I have used the same setting numerous times. But I have to admit that a set of transformers is a great place to park a glue up.
But we are pretty busy on the job at the moment, so I can't promise as much progress as I would like to.
Cheers
Jonas