As I stepped out of the shop, I noticed the temperature gauge in the shade, on the wall of the wooden shed:

The thermometer caught my eye.

I had to look. Confirmed! I might be able to get away with spraying some lacquer today. The temperature was just above 40°F:

The first time over 40°F in weeks!

In the shop, on the outer wall to the finishing room, the thermometer has held between 66°F and 68°F for the last several weeks:

Master thermo-hygrometer, on finishing room wall.

The remote unit, near the West wall, and on the lumber rack, showed a slightly lower temperature, but still acceptable to spray the finish:

Remote thermo-hygro, at lumber rack.

In the finishing room, with all the equipment set up and ready to go, I started adjustments on the spray pattern, and air and liquid flow – I like to use craft paper as the target to make the adjustments:

Adjusting air and liquid flow, for optimum spray pattern.

During the Winter months I use a small ceramic heater in the finishing room; I use it to keep the temperature at 73°-74°F. It is powerful enough to keep the temperature in the room at 73°F with the 2,200 CFM exhaust fan running. In Winter I am typically limited to about 12-15 minutes of spray time before the temperature in the open part of the shop drops several degrees as the make up air comes in through a window. I should have waited until tomorrow, or the day after, to spray, as the outdoor temperatures will be in the high 40s; but why not today? Aw, heck, just get it done!

Following a short session spraying the lacquer, I moved on to preparing the pins I will use in drawboring the joints. I found a huge amount of oak dowels at the local home center, and proceeded to select those with the straightest grain (I don’t own a plate, to make my own pins). To minimize measurement errors, I decided to use one piece of dowel, pre cut to 2-3/4 inches, to measure all the others:

Measuring drawbore pins.

I have been readying the band saw for a presentation on resawing lumber to our Guild next week; as a result, the guides and blade are off the 17-inch machine. Why not use the Kenyon replica dovetail saw (made by Mike Wenzloff) to cut the pins to size? Of course! That made sense:

Cutting pins, using dovetail saw.

Some people prefer to cut with the dowel vertical to the workbench:

Another way to cut the pins.

I had a great day in the shop. The outside temperatures and the sunshine have been a welcome addition to the time spent in the shop. Have you:

• Been able to do much work in your shop, or is it too cold?
• Applied any finishes during the cold Winter months, or are some projects waiting for warmer weather?

Drop me a note to let me know about your time in the shop during the last several cold weeks.

— Al Navas

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