Tricks that old racers get up to after retirement

[jackiewilson]

It was slow roasted shoulder of Lamb with Parsnips, potatoes and string beans, an outstanding dinner last night prepared by my lovely and talented wife Jill!

[jackiewilson]

Finally figured out how to do multiple pickies on the site----bit of a frig, but if I perciivere (don't you just hate this bloody predicted text) I may come across a short cut that doesn't send the whole shebang into deep poo-poo land
1st foggie is of a piece of yew which came down in the great storm .
2nd pic is a piece of English ash.
3rd is the same chunk after a bit of mutilation by me----it now stands 5' tall on a twisted piece of 2" stainless tube, will take a snap of it later, it's chucking it down right now and I can't be arsed to brave the elements and go into the workshop.

[jackiewilson]

Ok so I got pudgy fingers, but I'm learning, I know you only hit the upload button once.

This is something that just evolved---looked like a dolphin---then an auk, ---then an eagle,then the more you look at it the stranger it becomes. Didn't all come together 'till I mounted it on a 2" stainless pole dug into a tree trunk, now it' a bit awesome and needs a nice garden to put it in (mine's full).
Her indoors (the one who shall be obeyed) has banned it anyway.

[mbd29]

I've said it many times before, Jackie, you never cease to amaze me.

[jackiewilson]

I've said it many times before, Jackie, you never cease to amaze me.

You know what amazed me this year Mike,------those wonderful kids who went to Sotchi---were given the most treacherous conditions to perform in and they ALL showed the world that the teenager of today can equal or better anything that has gone before. Well done every one of you, you all made me very proud and humble------you were the epitome of the Olympics, you are what the games are all about.

i just had to go into the shop, rummage through the stainless box and cobble something together,
base not right yet but it soon will be.

[stokernick]

It was slow roasted shoulder of Lamb with Parsnips, potatoes and string beans, an outstanding dinner last night prepared by my lovely and talented wife Jill!

gotta love a woman who'll spoil you with roasted lamb!! You are blessed!!

[Rotary John]

Jackie: Where do you get the wood?

[jackiewilson]

Jackie: Where do you get the wood?

Trust you to ask that question Johnno, sit down make a sandwich and pour yourself a beer and I will tell you the tale of my ridiculously expensive stack of wood.
Bill Mouland as well as being one of the top handful of wood turners in the world is also 90+ and a very old friend of mine? When we first met, I asked him if he would turn 250 spindles for a staircase I was building in a huge mill house I had just bought. His reply was " you got a great lathe there , why don't you turn-'em yourself"------I explained I didn't know how to turn a spindle, -----his reply was, don't worry, when you have turned 250 of them, you will be able to turn.
We became instant friends. That was 40 years ago and I got to meet one of his friends, Bill Payne, a local joiner and carpenter.
To cut to the chase, 25years ago, Bill retired and moved down to the New Forest, sold his business and most of his kit.
He kept his stache of exotic woods and took it down to his retirement home.
One day, I get a phone call from Bill Mouland who says, you want to buy a plank or two of, walnut, cherry ,oak ,elm and yew, ???? So I enquire further and he tells me his old mate has thrown in the towel and taken to doing crosswords. Has decided to get rid of all his stockpile, would I be interested in any of it??
Sooooo- I jump on my bike ( it's a Lexus RX 300 really) and whizz off to parley avec le said gentleman. Turns out he's a real hard nosed miserable old git who is only interested in parting me from my wedge (sorry-----money), took six cups of tea and two glasses of home made lemonade before he relieved me of a small fortune and I became the proud owner of every piece of timber that old gangster had.
In 1986 we had a great storm in England, thousands of old trees were uprooted, some of them up to 1500 years old------many of the churchyard yews came down.
Bill Payne collected enough to last him a lifetime------I now have enough to last me a lifetime.
BUT I AM STONEY------SKINT-----penniless, but you should see the stack of timber I own, BOXWOOD,WALNUT,ASH,ELM,OAK,BEECH AND CHERRY, I WILL NEVER EVER HAVE TO BUY A PIECE OF WOOD.

[jackiewilson]

The last two pickies were of the very first piece of wood I uncovered, was told it was a slice off a yew tree reputed to be 1500 years old.
when I finally got down to the surface and it's real beauty was uncovered and a final coat of polish administered to same, the result was breathtaking, you could spend hours gazing deep into the depths, mountains, rivers, deserts, wasteland, forests, planets, the galaxy, all could be seen with the naked eye.
Mrs Woman indoors demanded the first piece for a cheeseboard, which stands proudly in the middle of her dining room table and is always much admired when she serves up a selection of camembert, Stilton, cheddar and the like.
My daughters demanded one each and seeing as how there were only ever seven pieces to begin with there are still three left, but these will be very expensive cheese boards.
A couple more shots-----hope I got enough resolution so you can blow 'em up and see for yourself what I'm on about.

[jackie wilson]

Stopped raining so this is the last posting for a while, i'm off out into the workshop to create some more nonsense.
Did this piece for a friend who built the american air force museum at Duxford, that's the blackbird coming through the middle

[Rotary John]

Jackie: The wood is beautiful. I enjoy the warmth and beauty of it. he is a web site for gun stocks that may give you an idea of what that wood is worth here.
John
http://www.scattergunstocks.com/4sale.html

[donmac]

Jackie, I'd love to have an ash guitar body crafted by you!that wood be something I'd treasure!

[jackiewilson]

Jackie, I'd love to have an ash guitar body crafted by you!that wood be something I'd treasure!

Hey Don, I know my limitations and instrument making far exceeds them.
Dont have a band saw that cuts a quarter inch or a throat depth of twenty inches.
i would want to do a Stradivarius quality type body, and I believe he did his fiddles in one piece.
I'll look into it.
Johnno, will answer your thread when I come in tonight, just came in for a cup of tea and a beta-blocker. J.

[Speedfab]

Jackie, I'd like to see what you can cobble together with some Obeche ply, a little Sitka spruce, screws, glue, an old F1 car V8, and an outdrive.

[jackiewilson]

Jackie: The wood is beautiful. I enjoy the warmth and beauty of it. he is a web site for gun stocks that may give you an idea of what that wood is worth here.
John
http://www.scattergunstocks.com/4sale.html

hey Johnno, you ain't never gonna believe this, but the guy I bought the timber from offered me fifty Walnut rifle stock blanks, beautiful configuration, he was being fanciful on the asking price at $75 a pop----I suggested his rectum was the best place to store them.