Refinishing a Parquet Floor

In 1985, we converted our screened-in porch to a dining room and installed a parquet floor.  In the following 29 years, the pad under the area rug rubbed just enough to scratch the heck out of the finish on the parquet.  Yesterday, when E and I moved all of the furniture, the area rug, and the pad out of the dining room, the floor looked like this.  That isn't dust or dirt in the center of the room.  It's the dull finish where the rug was.  Yikes!

We vacuumed the floor and scrubbed the parquet squares with a damp sponge.  Then, we applied a coat of satin finish polyurethane to the floor, one square at a time.  It took two hours to do the job and here's what it looked like when it was still wet.

This morning, it was dry enough to walk on and it looked like this.  Yay!

It should be completely dry in a week and then we can move things back into the dining room.

Refinished Sewing Machine Cabinet

A few months ago, I picked up a Singer 401.  It came in a photograin cabinet with one of those pop out bars which was supposed to support the open top of the machine but which actually allowed the top to droop at an alarming angle.  No matter what I did to the cabinet (cleaned it, stained the legs, etc.) it still looked cheap and flimsy.  Plus, it had a little wedge-shaped drawer which wouldn't hold much of anything and which wouldn't stay completely closed.  The 401 deserved a better cabinet.

After keeping an eye on craigslist for a while, I found a Singer 636 in a Copenhagen style cabinet.  I didn't want the 636, but I definitely wanted the cabinet.  A few days later, the 401 was at home inside its beautiful new cabinet and the 636 was shoved off to one side in my sewing room.

I didn't intend to keep the 636, but I took a look at the owner's manual and learned the machine would chain stitch.  Hmmm.  I didn't have a machine which would chain stitch.  The next thing I knew, I was cleaning and oiling the 636 and putting it through its paces and it ran great.  I put it back in the sewing room and decided to noodle around with it later when I could think of a project which would let me use the chain stitch.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  I was in a local thrift shop and saw a cabinet for $12.  I think the prior owner used the cabinet as a plant stand in a sunny window because there were lots of water rings on the top of the cabinet as well as huge water stains on the underside of the top.  Also, the hinges were rusted in place, and what was left of the finish was dull and faded.  It came with a knee bar and a foot controller which I knew I could use as a spare, and that's how I justified spending the twelve bucks.  I brought it home and after using a ridiculous amount of sandpaper and a small can of polyurethane, here's the new home of the 636.

Please ignore the dangling cords

It's shiny enough to reflect the painting
on the wall above it

Parquet front

One drawer

Tongue and groove closure

A wing on each side

I was kind of surprised when the cabinet ended up looking as nice as it did because it was such a mess when I started working on it.  Bringing it back to life was time-consuming, but not difficult.  I started with a stripper to take off what was left of the old finish.  Then I sanded everything down to bare wood.  Put on a coat of polyurethane and let it dry for 24 hours.  Sanded it.  Put on another coat of polyurethane and let it dry for 24 hours.  Sanded it a little more lightly than the previous time.  I repeated the process, sanding more and more lightly each time, until I was happy with it.  

I'm still looking for an excuse to use the chain stitch.  If you have a suggestion, please share. 

Feed Dogs on a Lady Kenmore 89

A few weeks ago, I found a Lady Kenmore 89 (516.891) at a thrift store. The machine was in a beautiful cabinet, came with the proper little hollow bench, and had the owner's manual and all the original attachments plus all the available (at the time the machine was made) optional attachments and the manual for those attachments. After making sure the machine itself was in decent shape, I decided to “think about it.” The minute I got home, I realized there was nothing to think about. It's a Lady Kenmore 89, for cryin' out loud! The next day, I was at the thrift store the minute it opened and bought the machine as soon as the cash register was up and running.

When I was cleaning the machine, I discovered the feed dogs wouldn't lower, which affected the machine's ability to make decorative stitches. There's a knob on the front of the machine which the owner's manual says is used to raise and lower the feed dogs. You push in the knob to lower the dogs and then you turn it to lock them in place. I could push and turn the knob, but the dogs didn't move. By peeking into the slot which contains the stitch length regulator, I could see the knob is connected to a small cable inside a housing. The cable runs from the knob, past the motor, and along the rear edge of the machine. The cable is connected to a bell crank which actuates a piston. The other end of the piston is connected to a cam follower which raises and lowers the feed dogs.

Once we saw where the cable ran, we could see what ought to be moving between the cable and the feed dogs. Even though I'd already oiled the machine, we oiled everything between the cable and the feed dogs again, making sure not to miss anything, and we let it sit for a day. No joy. We thought perhaps the cable was stuck inside the plastic housing, so we drizzled some oil on the top and bottom ends of the cable, pushed the knob in and out a few times, and let the machine sit for a couple of days, exercising the knob a few dozen times during those days. Still no joy. Nothing was moving.

We decided it was time to bring out the Kroil. If you haven't ever used Kroil, you might want to do a little internet research and see what you find. (We bought ours directly from Kano Labs because they were having a two for one deal online.) We put a few drops of Kroil on the top and the bottom ends of the cable and a drop of Kroil on the mechanical pieces between the cable and the feed dogs. The next day, the cable was moving inside the housing and the bell crank was moving, too. The piston, though, was still stuck.

E took a couple of wrenches and very slightly loosened the nuts on each end of the piston housing and the piston started to move, so he put a drop of Kroil on the piston either side of each nut, tightened the nuts again, and . . . . . Ta Da!!

The feed dogs now raise and lower with no problem. The machine sews beautifully – including all twenty decorative stitches.  Happy sewing, everyone!

We Have Mushrooms!

Three inches of rain in 24 hours gave us hundreds of mushrooms. These are a few of the gill-less varieties we've found in our yard in the past few years.  (Please don't eat mushrooms unless you are absolutely sure they aren't poisonous.)  

See the slug?

   

How To Fly For Pilots 'n Paws

E made his first flight for Pilots n Paws in 2009, and since then he's made dozens of flights and carried nearly 600 dogs. Other pilots ask him a lot of questions about PnP, so he put together a list of some of the FAQs.  These are E's thoughts, and not those of PnP.  Other pilots might have other ideas.  If you have a question which isn't answered below, please let us know.  

What kind of airplane do I need to have to fly for PnP? Any plane will work. I've teamed with people who've flown two-seaters, a Citation, and everything in between. Most PnP pilots fly four-seaters. I have a 1965 Cherokee 140.

What pilot qualifications are required? You need to be legal to fly as a private (or above) pilot or a sport pilot.

Do I need to be instrument rated? No. Many pilots I've flown with are VFR only. If you are thinking of getting your instrument rating, these flights are a great way to build up your cross-country time. If you volunteer for a flight and it looks like there will be IFR conditions along your route, you can always ask an instrument rated pilot to go along or you might be able to find a CFII to go with you so you can log the instrument time. If you can't find someone IRF-rated to fly with you, postpone the flight!

Who pays for the fuel? You do. You are donating your time, your airplane, your fuel, etc. PnP is a 501(c)(3) organization as are many of the sending and receiving rescue groups. Check with your tax advisor to find out to what extent your costs are tax deductible.

What distance is a typical flight? Usually, I fly about 200 nm each way. These flights are almost always relays, involving two or more pilots. The length of each leg depends upon each pilot's plane, comfort level, and budget. It's nice if each leg is about the same length, however this isn't always possible due to where the pilots are based.

How often do you fly?  I fly, on average, about twice each month.  The number of flights you make is completely up to you.  Because of the overwhelming need along the Eastern seaboard, I could fly every day and never run out of dogs waiting to be transported.  

Do you ever fly anything other than dogs? I've flown seven cats. Other people have flown birds and other animals. Usually, though, my passengers have been dogs.

Where do the dogs come from and where do they go? Nearly all of the dogs I've flown have come from high-kill shelters. Most of them have been pulled from the shelters by rescue organizations who find foster homes for them until they can be transported to receiving rescue groups who will find permanent homes for them.

How are the dogs restrained in the plane? Dogs can be carried in crates or they can be tethered or both.

Where do I get crates? I buy crates at rummage sales and garage sales. I have crates in various shapes and sizes, and I can combine them to maximize my dog-carrying capacity. Remember, you're going to be disinfecting the crates in between uses, so pay attention to how your crates come apart. Some crates have lots of fiddly little parts and require lots of time to take apart and put together. I put a couple of old bath towels in the bottom of my crates to make things a little more comfortable for the dogs and to absorb any messes the dogs might make in the crates.

Do tethered dogs ever make a mess in the plane? Once in a while. In my experience, it's nothing major if you're prepared for it. I bought a small tarp and a mover's blanket at Harbor Freight for less than $10, and I spread these out in the plane (the blanket on top of the tarp) when I'm carrying tethered dogs. I also carry a supply of old towels and a roll of paper towels. Plus, I remind the sending rescue groups not to feed the dogs breakfast on the morning of a flight. I've never had a tethered dog pee in the plane. I've had a few dogs toss their cookies. I've had one dog poop, but he was polite about it and unrolled the roll of paper towels and pooped on a towel. No, I am not kidding. This actually happened.  Blanco, you know who you are (and now, so does everyone else).  

How many dogs can I carry at one time? I've carried one dog (who weighed 130 pounds) and I've carried a mom plus her 12 puppies (the noise-canceling headphones came in handy). It depends upon the space you have available. In my plane, it's legal to remove the two rear seats, which gives me quite a bit of room in the rear.

How do I find out about flights? The best way is to go to the PnP website (www.pilotsnpaws.org) and click on Sign Up For the Forum. When the next page comes up, click on Login. Then you can Register. When you fill out your profile, you will be asked the distance you are willing to fly one way. If you say you're willing to fly 100 miles one way, you will receive an email alerting you whenever there is a flight request which will likely come within 100 miles of where you are based. When you get these emails, you can use them to take you to the request where you can post an offer to help.

What do you like about these flights? PnP flights give me a good reason to fly. Also, my flight skills have improved because I'm not flying into the same few airports over and over again. I've met a lot of very nice pilots and rescue volunteers. Some airports offer discounts on fuel to pilots making rescue flights, which I appreciate. Finally, there are the “warm fuzzies” I get from knowing I've helped a few animals avoid euthanasia.

Surprise Peppers From Seed

In early March, we planted pepper seeds in small pots and put them in a sunny spot in the dining room.  We put three seeds in each pot, thinking maybe one seed per pot would germinate which would give us plenty of plants.

The seeds we planted were from peppers we grew and harvested last year.  It's always interesting to grow peppers from non-commercial seeds because, with one exception, we've found we can never be sure what kind of pepper the seed is going to produce.   Seeds saved from a red pepper in Year 1 might yield a pepper with green and purple camouflage in Year 2.  Seeds saved from a mild banana pepper in Year 1 might produce a mild banana pepper in Year 2, while seeds from the Year 2 mild banana pepper might produce a hot banana pepper in Year 3.  The one exception to this is the small round peppers which we grow from seeds given to us by one of my aunts many years ago.  They always breed true and they are as hot as molten lava.

Nearly all of the seeds we planted in early March germinated and we ended up with dozens of pepper plants.  Dozens and dozens and dozens of pepper plants.  Somewhat insanely, we planted all of them and we ended up with a wide variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and heat.  We enjoyed them all summer, plus we de-seeded, sliced and froze bag after bag of them, and we canned several dozen pints of pepper relish and salsa.  It's early October and the garden is starting to fade.  We've saved our seeds so we can start the cycle again in early March.  We can hardly wait.

Lunar Eclipse

Got up early this morning to watch the lunar eclipse which ended with a blood moon.  We hope you got to see it live, because (as you can see) we don't have any good photos to share.  The iPhone's camera leaves something to be desired when you're taking photos in the dark and focusing on an object that's 238,900 miles away.

A Day of Airplanes and Sewing Machines

Yesterday, E went to the airport for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Homecoming Fly-In.  There were lots and lots of airplanes (no surprise there), a stunt pilot who gave a spectacular performance, and dozens of vendor booths.  E worked the Pilots n Paws booth for a couple of hours.

B-17

Stearman Speedmail

Cessna 185

While E was at the airport, I met with someone who told me she wanted to begin sewing, but didn't want to spend a lot on a sewing machine.  Hmmm.  A few months ago, I rescued a Singer Fashion Mate 237 from the thrift store.  After a lot of cleaning and oiling and lubricating and adjusting, it began to sew quite well.  It's a very simple machine (straight stitch and zig zag only) and I never intended to add it to my herd of machines, so I was happy to send it home with her.  I hope she will enjoy sewing as much as I do.

PnP Flight from Greenville SC

Friday afternoon, E flew to Greenville SC, to participate in an event hosted by Pilots 'n Paws.  (If you aren't familiar with Pilots 'n Paws, take a look at www.pilotsnpaws.org.)  Saturday morning, animal rescue group volunteers brought their dogs to the airport where the planes were ready to go.



E was assigned to carry Marcelle, a basset hound who wanted to tug him all over the airport, and Betty Grable, a beagle who was happy to follow Marcelle.

 

Marcelle and Betty Grable were excellent passengers who slept for nearly all of the three-hour flight to Warrenton VA, where they were delivered to an animal rescue group which will find good homes for them.  This event rescued 490 dogs and set their paws on paths to loving homes.