Never imagined!

 

These last 5 years have been a roller coaster  and surely many of you feel the same way. Life is significantly different for me, with the loss of  Master Phil Lowe and the loss of my mother. I can say the death of these two  have truly effected me and changed my life. 

As I reflect back these 5 years I am reminded of  the last phone conversation I had with Master Lowe. The conversation went as so; Fred, sorry for your loss. I love you so much. Life has a way to throw you a curveball. Listen, don’t work as much as I did. Don’t think legacy is all that matters. Family matters more. I’m proud of you. I love you. We talk again soon. 

End of conversation. 

This of course brought back memories of the last conversation I had face to face with my mother. My mother TERESA gave me a great hug/kiss and said, be safe we don’t know what Covid is yet and I am so scared. She cried in my arms and of course I cried. We said I love you and I was off. 

 I lost my mother a month or so later to Covid. Covid took her from us in just 3 days at the hospital. We couldn’t see her or feel her. The vision of our last video call with her is an image I can’t forget.

As I write this the tears are flowing. The anger and sadness is still there and this feels like this event just happened. 

Now don’t get me wrong I screwed up plenty before and after the loss of my heroes. I tried to drown myself with work to keep my mind busy. I failed miserably. But no one seemed to truly care. All they cared about was where is my stuff. And this is understandable now as I reflect back, but during this time period I was depressed, angry, and lost. While my pain isn’t an excuse, it’s the truth.

Fast forward to Mother’s Day 2022. My amazing wife and mother in law sat me down for what basically feels like an intervention. They both shared their love for me as a partner and a son. They saw me fading away and being a shell of myself.  And what can I say but agree.

After this conversation I lead myself down roads of reflection, stubbornness, sadness, and exploration. This in turn lead me to the biggest decision of my career. 

It was time to visit the doctor, to close down shop for the public and take a job. More on this decision and my process at a later date. But for now I can tell you I never dreamed to be where I am today. 

The Contracting Handbook Podcast

 Hello all!

It’s been a while! It’s amazing how life has changed in so many ways. My work flow has changed and my business has changed as well. But more about that later as I try to get back to writing again and sharing my business decisions. I hope to share in the near future how and why everything changed, my failures in running a business, my regrets, and how the passing of ones in life has effected me. 

But today I wanted to share an episode recording I participated in for the Contractor Handbook. Here is a link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-contracting-handbook-builder-trades-construction/id1565698306?i=1000608157932

In this episode you start to learn how life has changed and how I have changed. I hope you can listen and enjoy the episode. 

My passion for the craft is back, which is something I had lost these past few years. I’m very excited again for the future and my craft.

Until next time.

Cheers! 

Remembrance for Master Lowe

 

My last semester at the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts (FIM) was in 2006. Unfortunately, I reached a place where I realized I was not able to pay for my last semester of school, despite working full time while also going to school. I was faced with making what felt like an impossible decision: pack up and return home, meaning I would not graduate; or, become homeless, so I could use my rent money towards FIM. I approached Phil, hoping we could come up with a payment plan so I could remain his student. I believe that Phil saw the stress in my eyes and my passion for remaining at FIM. Shortly thereafter, he called me into his office and he told me that he wanted me to finish. He made me an offer I could never refuse, and for which I will always be grateful. Phil asked me to work for him, generously putting 50% of every job on which I worked towards my balance for the semester. Phil made a personal sacrifice in not having my tuition up front, in order to continue fostering my love for woodworking. Phil Lowe was a master of his craft, an outstanding teacher, and above all, a truly generous man. 

 

Weatherizing an entry door.

Last few years many clients have been inquiring if there is anything that can be done to help seal the gaps around their entry doors. The reason for this request is due to the lost of heat and cold coming in and escaping from the home. Unfortunately there isn't many great options out there in the market but that changed once I noticed an article in Fine Homebuilding and an episode on This Old House. 

Let me introduce to you the corning tool that fits in a corner and cuts a groove for plastic membranes of a variety diameters to fill almost all gaps around the door. All the information regarding tooling and membranes can be found at conservation technologies and the company is located in Connecticut. Below you will find a few images of the recent install I did for a client. The process takes about 15-20 mins to do but the investment is well over $500 dollars for all the membrane sizes and tooling.  In the end its worth knowing that you can seal your entry door properly and save money. 

Cleaning Wood Work

A common question asked is what would I recommend to clean woodwork? My response for years is start with Dawn soap and warm water, wipe the item with a cotton t-shirt type material. If you need to scrub the item, then I would use a series of scotch-brite starting at grey and work your way to red and then green for extra coarse.

Another product I recommend for areas really dirty that is going to get stripped is Dirtex. Just follow the directions on the box and use scotch-brite. Its amazing how well Dirtex works.  Once down scrubbing wipe everything down, let the area dry for a day, and then continue with the refinishing process.

I hope this helps.


Cheers!

Door Restoration

Often a picture is worth a thousand words. 

In my career I am always trying to stay ahead of the "game" or find a niche that others don't have interest in or is in high demand. Well restoring entry doors is a niche and is in high demand. While I love furniture and have a shop full of it numbers are a telling tale. My numbers have informed my restoring doors, stairs, windows, and architectural details is where I should be. So this is where my business is heading and I couldn't be happier. 

Above you can see how the doors came in to the shop on the left and how the doors are looking on the right. These doors needed preserving and I am happy for the opportunity. 

Cheers!

Industrial Storage Racks

Well I never thought I would need a storage rack of this magnitude. But here I am. This racking system is rated for 2300 pounds per shelf, measures 42 inches in depth, 12 feet in height, and 16 feet +/- in length. This is rack number 3 for shop storage. But its the first metal version in the racking system. I wish I could say this would be the last of them, but realistically I need another wall full. Except that wall will be 30 inches in depth and will run at least 16 feet in length as well. 

 This is the trailer that was used to haul the load from NH. I am very grateful beyond words for the kindness of my friend Brian. A relationship developed from my wood lathe purchase. This is Brian's trailer and it worked like a dream. Thank you Brian!

 Strapped and loading. Happy to say the racks didn't weigh much. I think 5 toddlers can move the racks without supervision. We didn't have any toddlers to help but if we did we didn't have the space or booster seats. So that meant Brian and I had to move them. It took about 15 mins to load! It was amazing.

This is Brian! As always prepared and ready to help! Again thank you Brian. Lets hope I convince him to help in the next load.

Cheers!