Pen Turning

Here is the pen on the lathe. It sanded and ready for the finish.

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Finished Pen

Here is the pen once it has been put together. This one is made out Signature that was brought in from Hawaii. The wood reminds me of hickory in how hard it is and how it looks.

Xikar

Look at what I got for my birthday. This is is a really nice lighter from Xikar. Lisa got it for me. This is a butane torch that produces a flame like burn vs. the normal type burn. This is going to be a welcomed tool for enjoying smokes. Thank you Lisa!

Bolivar

Our newest addition: Bolivar

Ramone Allones

Enjoyed this Cuban cigar on the deck during the cruise. We picked these up at the smoke shop in St. Martin. This smoke ranks in the top 10 on my list of smokes. It was creamy and medium in flavor. The quality was in the roll. It was a fine cigar and recommend it when you have the chance.

Beautiful Sint. Maarten

Here is a picture overlooking the Great Bay at Philipsburg in Dutch Sint. Maarten. This is where the ship docked and we were able to go explore and find a nice smoke shop that had some great Cuban cigars.

Here is the smoke shop we stopped by...more to come! My next posts will be about the smokes we picked up there.

The Smokes were Mighty Fine!

Just got back from a 7 night cruise in the Caribbean. Had a great time with my buddy Rob! Here we are with a '26 Padron and a Fuente Short Story. The smokes tasted better in the Caribbean---it might have been the salt in the air! How many smokes did we enjoy on the trip? I think the equation looked like:

(7 days X 50 cigars)/2 Xikar Cutters = [A Hell'ava Good Time]

Here is the pack of "Rum Runners" on the French side of St. Martin. Rob, Dianna, Lisa and Dan. It was an awesome trip and we had a great time seeing some beautiful islands. There will be more to come in the next couple days.

Happy Anniversary to my Lisa!

Lisa, Happy 6th anniversary. We were married 6 years ago and they have been the greatest years of my life. I have enjoyed many travels with you and am the luckiest man because I have found you. You are a great friend and am glad that you have enjoyed many, I mean countless smokes with me. We enjoyed a great smoke tonight on our anniversary, the Rocky Patel Old World Reserve along with a great steak and great wine.... You are the greatest and I celebrate our wonderful wedding this day!

Long Ashes To My Buddy Rob!

A huge "Congratulations" goes out to my best bud Rob! He got a huge promotion at his job and deserves a cigar celebration! Awesome job Rob and keep up the great work! You made it Man!

Thinking of Key West

The weather is rainy and cold and instead of thinking about it, I caught myself daydreaming about Key West. We went down in December and it is a great place to visit. Had a lot of fun and even some sun! Something we aren't seeing a lot of lately!

A Wonderful Thing

A Padron Principe being enjoyed. Almost looks like it could be a plug for Diebel's Sportsmans Gallery.

End Tables

Here is a picture of the table completed. There is a pair, one for each side of the bed. I used a water based dye to get that golden color. There are 4 coats of clear and a hand rubbed finish. You can see the curls in the table top.

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They turned out very nice and there is enough room for a small lamp.

Plane Crazy

I have been busy purchasing hand planes. I have purchased some old Stanley Planes from Ebay. I have a 4, a couple 5's and a 6. The one pictured above is a 4 type 18. The plan is to get them all tuned up and start making some shavings.

Tables in the glue!

This is what I spent my day off working on. They are a pair of end tables for Lisa. Made of Curly Maple and Cherry. I spent all day chopping mortises and cutting tenons! The one on the left just got glued up. There is still a ton of sanding that needs to go into these and the tops have not been attached, the one the right is just sitting on top to show what the table will look like.

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I think that the Cherry will look great against the Maple! You can see a couple of the curls on the maple and there isn't any finish on it yet! The curls are all over the maple! The tables are about 25" tall and will take up about a 11"x14" spot of carpet.

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I have put a couple of projects on this blog and haven't shared in any of the in progress pieces. Anyway, you'll see when it is completed sometime this month!

Weather Station

This weather station displays the Barometer, Humidity and Temperature. It is made from curly maple that is 1 1/2" thick. It is pretty hefty and joined together without a nail or screw. You can see the joint I cut from the angle.

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I dyed the maple with a light brown stain to give it that old world look. I think Dad will be able to tell the weather with this!