Axodys

I had another productive weekend in the basement and my workshop area is really starting to come together. I have a couple more rearrangment ideas I want to implement though before I’ll be completely satisfied, but I think anyone that hasn’t seen it for a couple weeks will be reasonably impressed. The two kennels now have doors that open in the correct direction (towards the stairs) so that will be a big improvement. I also cleaned up the tops of the cupboards and workbenches and started figuring out where all the random tools will be stored, but that’s still very much a work in progress. I really need to get some of those hooks you put in pegboard to hang your tools on because I already have two places with unused pegboard that could be put to use.

I also finally tried out the sawhorse/table combination that Mary’s dad gave me for Christmas and I really like it. It was the perfect size to hold a 2′x4′ sheet of HDPE(High Density Polyethylene) down into individual cross sections for my kayak project. I was also really pleased with the new blade that I bought for my jigsaw, it left a much smoother cut in the plastic than the blade the saw came with when I got it from my mom (it used to be my dad’s). I contemplated beginning the next step of the project and actually drilling some holes, but decided to hold off so that I can finish setting up a few things with the drill and do the whole thing right.

The other related big news of the weekend is that on Saturday I finally went down to Lowe’s and bought the “drill press”:http://www.gmcompany.com/index.cfm?ppage=products&pparentcategory_uuid that I’d been eyeing for going on a month now. It was $10 cheaper than a comparable Delta model Lowe’s was selling, has a more powerful motor (1/3 HP vs 1/4 HP), 12 speeds, feels solidly built and has a built in laser crosshair that works pretty well. I still need to mount a slightly larger (15in.x12in.) piece of plywood onto the table though because the built-in table’s drill hole doesn’t provide enough clearance for the 3/4″ Forstner bit I’ll be using for the HDPE(High Density Polyethylene) cross sections. I also want to set the drill press up at a different location, but I’m going to need to do some further furniture rearranging first. Overall I’m really happy with the drill press though and excited to start using it.

Speaking of benchtop power tools at one point I was also contemplating getting a small band saw, but I was not impressed with the quality of the small 10″ GMC and Delta models that Lowe’s carried at all. They were relatively inexpensive, but also felt cheaply constructed, especially the GMC model. After doing further research I feel saving up and spending a little more money on a 12″ band saw down the road would be a much wiser choice. Plus, my only pressing reason for buying a band saw at the moment is cutting out greenland paddle blanks so I can certainly get by for now.

Yesterday was pretty productive on the basement clean up and reorganization front. I actually started the project last week when I dissambled a set of large crummy shelves behind Lexi’s kennel that the previous owners left behind (with paint and other building supplies) when they moved out, but the big task of moving and reconfiguring kennels remained. My plan was to dissasemble Gitte’s oversized kennel, swap its position with Lexi’s smaller kennel and then push it into the corner and against where the shelf I removed used to be. I also had to figure out how to get a large workbench by the two kennels in a fairly narrow space, but it didn’t end up being two difficult, just time consuming.

Unfortunately there was one casualty during the process: the sloppily installed phone line that supplies our DSL modem got caught on Gitte’s kennel and got pulled apart at a splice before I realized what had happened. I was able to fix it with a very cheesey temporary splice after I finished the rearranging process, but it added another twenty minutes to the project.

With the main reorganization project done, I turned my attention to repairing Gitte’s kennel door by canniblizing some chain link from one of the two panels left over when I downsized her kennel. Gitte, when motivated, has been able to bend and break the smaller gauge chainlink fencing material in her kennel and for whatever reason chose the door for most of her chainlink assaults leaving it a patch ridden monstrosity that was all function and zero form. Thankfully, Lexi’s arrival gave us a good three month reprieve and the Mary was home for the summer. Alas, now that Lexi’s getting older they both seem to be getting interested in breaking out. At any rate the integrity of Gitte’s newly repaired door is now slightly better and I was able to remove al the horrendous wood patches I used to shore things up. I will probably get some half inch square grid chicken wire to line the inside of the door in the near future. That should hopefully prevent Gitte from being able to get her mouth around the chainlink and creating new escape holes.

All in all I’m quite happy with the new reconfiguration. The new workshop space is plenty big enough to support the “kayak building projects”:http://yostwerks.com that I’ve put on the back burner for the last four months and I’m really looking forward to getting started on them again.

“Ferris claims GSL crown with win over Rogers”:http://spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=54293
“Shadle win in 5 OT’s”:http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=54289 ^1^

Gonzaga Prep 63, Cheney 50
East Valley 72, Mead 62
*Ferris 73, Rogers 64*
Shadle Park 65, Mt. Spokane 63 (5OT)
Central Valley 79, North Central 74
University 64, Lewis and Clark 54
West Valley 82, Clarkston 80 (2OT)

Well, so much for last week’s predictions. Central Valley and Shadle Park both won their games, while Mead lost to East Valley so the Panthers are currently in a tie for sixth will north side rival Mt. Spokane and will play in a loser out game on Friday. G-Prep and University also won out so they will also playoff Friday to see who gets the highly coveted 2nd seed into Districts and who will have to play in the loser out 3-6 game. If University and Mead win Friday, the Panthers will get a loser out rematch with G-Prep who they managed to upset in their first. That matchup strikes me as having the most potential for a high seed upset, but Mt. Spokane could certainly prove dangerous if they can survive their game with Mead.

1. This must have overloaded the Spokesman’s stats software because last night they only showed 3 OT’ on their website.

“Mead gets in gear, tops Mt. Spokane”:http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=53747

Mead 50, Mt. Spokane 34
*Ferris 66, Shadle Park 63*
West Valley 60, CV 46
Gonzaga Prep 60, Clarkston 47
North Central 73, LC 52
Cheney 62, Rogers 47
University 68, East Valley 53 (Feb 10)

Ferris is now alone in first place at 10-2 with one game to go, with G-Prep and University both a game back and tied for second. If all three teams win out the Bullpups and Titans will have a one game playoff to decide second place seeding going into the district tournament. Central Valley, Shadle Park, Mead and Mt. Spokane are all tied for fourth place with 6-6 records. Shadle Park plays Mt. Spokane on Tuesday in a game that could easily eliminate the loser from playoff consideration unless C.V. or Mead loses their game as well. The Bears play at North Central, while the Panthers play at East Valley so my prediction is that there will be a district play-in game between Mt. Spokane and Central Valley for the sixth and final seed. This has been a crazy league all year though so we’ll see if I end up being totally off the mark next Tuesday.

“Eagles trip Bullpups”:http://spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=52998

West Valley 62, Gonzaga Prep 59 (OT)
*Ferris 72, Mead 57*
University 59, Shadle Park 51 (OT)
Mt. Spokane 45, CV 42
Cheney 72, East Valley 58
North Central 71, Rogers 39
Clarkston 55, Lewis and Clark 54

West Valley’s win leaves Ferris in sole possession of first place with two games left against Shadle Park and Rogers. University and G-Prep are now tied for second, but the Titans finish out with East Valley and L.C., while the Bullpups finish with tough road games at Clarkston and Cheney. 4A-wise there is currently a 3 way tie for fourth place between Central Valley, Shadle Park, and Mt. Spokane. Mead is also in the picture a game back in 7th place and I expect them to pick up at least one of their last two games against. I think the odds are good that at least one of the three fourth place teams will finish with two straight losses as well so a tie for sixth place is looking very realistic. I predict CV will be one of those two sixth place teams, but their opponent is too tough to call at this point.

“Ferris holds off U-Hi in back-and-forth struggle”:http://spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=52132

*Ferris 48, University 46*
G-Prep 67, Mt. Spokane 59
Shadle Park 67, North Central 55
Central Valley 58, LC 43
West Valley 77, Rogers 68
East Valley 65, Clarkston 48
Cheney 59, Mead 55

Last night’s game was a pretty fun one to watch, but this is no time to get complacent. Tuesday will be another tough day for Ferris and G-Prep as both team try to hang on to first place. The Bullpups play West Valley in what should be their toughest remaining game while the Saxons go up against Mead, a team that needs wins to stay in contention for the 6th and final playoff spot after losing 3 straight. Considering Mead beat G-Prep and only lost to Ferris by 4 in the preseason, I expect them to be a very dangerous opponent the rest of the way out.

“Muddied waters - G-Prep, U-Hi, Ferris share GSL lead”:http://spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=51683

Central Valley 48, Gonzaga Prep 47
Shadle Park 51, Cheney 47
Clarkston 77, Rogers 49
North Central 80, East Valley 62
*Ferris 56, Mt. Spokane 44*
University 56, Mead 40
West Valley 50, Lewis and Clark 47

CV beat G-Prep the first time around as well, so an upset win last night seemed like a possibility, but with CV struggling of late I thought the chances were still pretty slim. Hats off to the Bears for finding a way to get it done. Ferris gets a chance to make up for their preseason loss to University tomorrow when the two teams square off, but it won’t be easy; the Titans have had the Saxons number the last three times the two teams have met.

Behind the times once again… here are the GSL results from last Friday:

Central Valley 77, Rogers 50
*Ferris 56, Cheney 38*
Gonzaga Prep 60, Lewis and Clark 58
North Central 62, Mead 49
Clarkston 48, Shadle Park 41
West Valley 53, East Valley 42

The most surprising game of the bunch had to be G-Prep vs. LC, but the ‘pups pulled it out and that’s all that matters at this point in the season. There are some games ahead that I could still see them potentially losing, but the same goes for University and Ferris, the two teams currently a game behind in second place. As well as G-Prep has managed to play in league to date I’d be surprised if they dropped more than one game out of their last five. One way or another it’s going to be an exciting couple weeks of basketball.