# Back into the workshop



## cobalt

back into the workshop at long last with several projects to get on with

Rain most of the day today temp back down to where it should be for the time of year.so nothing to do for a change

a few of the projects to get on with , the elephant changed the pencil and ink drawings daughter asked me to change the trunk shape, a griffin and a couple of mallards and a peregrine falcon to get on with. also a dodo to do for myself just thought it would be a bit of fun.

I still have to get deer antler for the elephant tusks


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## CV3

Wow. You have have quite a group ready to go cobalt. looks like fun!!


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## Lol999

I admire your ability to envisage the finished article from a block of wood. What brand chisels are they you have in the background?


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## cobalt

Anyone can visualize the drawings i just like doing them . but theres load of images you can down load and use them for templates.

To carve a duck its so easy once you have a image .

The chisels are faithful ones but generally I use axminster tools .Most of the faithful ones are to big . I only use about 4 of them I bought a smaller set of axminster .The best set I got of ebay for a few pounds .

I use the chisels' for getting in the round and shaping and use the flexi tool for texturing and finishing.


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## Lol999

How do you find they hold an edge compared to the "top of the line" stuff?


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## cobalt

I am not keen on the faithful chisels axminster seems okay to me but i do have a few cheap chisels as well most of them are fine I havnt a problem with them its just a case of sharpening them when they need it

I did buy a set of marples for 9£ its just a case of sharpening them when they need it which are good detail chisels. I don't need anymore they will do.

the cheap ones have had so much use I need to replace the handles which will cost me more than the chisels worth .

But most of its in the mind its a case of a bad workman blames his tools

I couldn't do however without the flexi tool and only purchased four of them for just over 20£ from aldi when they had them reduced it handy for detail and sanding it does fuzz the lime wood so I try to do as little sanding as possible


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## cobalt

I enjoy carving waterfowl its probably the easist thing to carve there is. Its possible to carve a mallard in a couple of hours which is how I taught myself to carve .which made carving any bird life easier but still a long way to go


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## cobalt

Just had about 3/4 hour in the workshop trying to get the mallard in the round . most of the work done with a axminster 3/4 inch gouge, saw and shinto saw plane. should have had it complete but other things get in the way eating up spare time

just thought would post what little I got done


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## Gloops

Enough there to keep you busy for a while Cobalt, keep posting the progress,


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## cobalt

have plenty to go at dont seem to get the time i want .Seems like there's a conspiracy going on every time I get into the workshop something crops up when I just get started.

so not much done again but getting the basics there. To keep the duck as near as possible to realism I use the calliper's to measure proportions like length of beak the width of the head overall length distance of the eyes .It makes more work but helps to keep proportion

so to date here I am


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## CV3

Looking good cobalt. I use callipers my on almost every thing I carver. Wonderful tool for keeping things inline and in proportion.


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## cobalt

tried a slightly different approach using the saw more to cut the shape of the top of the ducks head ,seems to work okay saves some time with the chisels. think it helps to get the balance of the head right

It came from a wild life carving on face book

attaching buffalo horn collars to the threaded bar


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## CV3

Good looking shape to the duck head. I used a cooping saw to shape and remove bulk waste before I got a band saw. I still use the copping saw for small projects.


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## cobalt

basics completed on the brace of mallards need to get the shanks sorted to get the transition from topper to shank sorted ,then add texturing and and get the finish sorted. considering trying the stain finish when near complete

started to get the griifin in the round long way to go hoping to to give the face a ukibori finish to texture the face


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## cobalt

The griffin is taking shape but still a way to go


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## Gloops

Good amount of progress there Cobalt all coming along nicely, are they commissioned sticks ?


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## cobalt

There for christmas pressys . Except the dodo I thought I would do a new topper for my self as I found some more reference for them from some artist.

and there different from the run of the mill stuff


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## cobalt

tad more done in the workshop

picked out a nice shank for my own dodo messed about with a fleur de le panted it in gold enamel

just finished a mute swan


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## cobalt

Marrying the topper to the shank., need to sort out the transition as near as possible before I start adding detail , so then I can attach the topper to the shank

Attached threaded bar with a buffalo horn collar and straightened the sticks . shaping both the topper and the collar to fit as very few shanks are perfectly round

had to get the shanks straightened using the heat gun








final shaping of topper underway trying to get the heads to flow into the collar and shank still a bit of work to do


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## CV3

I like the straightening Jig.Cobalt. simple and effective. Look forward to seeing the finished sticks.


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## cobalt

I find it very effective , its just a case of heating up the stick and bending it there's no need to leave the stick in a jig and let it cool.so its pretty quick to straighten them . straightened 3 sticks in about a hour maybe less

Stickies video on straightening is pretty good , what I use works on the same principle .I don't like to see bent sticks just seems sloppy workmanship but that's just my take on the subject .After all you don't see a stick manufacture selling bent sticks. .I am not trying to provoke cultural preferences its just my view of it.

Just taking my time to do the projects although I wanting to get on with the dodo


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## Gloops

good progress, don't know how you find the time, her indoors seems to always have other ideas on how I should spend my time.


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## cobalt

textured and burnt the mallards time consuming may need doing again need good daylight to see getting dark when finished


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## Gloops

Looking forward to seeing the finished sticks Cobalt, will they be coloured or stained?


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## cobalt

Planning to get a translucent effect if i can on the mallard by using a thin mix of oil paints and white spirit just to colour the wood son the grain can be seen . One of the heads has a knot in it which clearly shows the grain and hope I can enhance the toper using this method. If it doesn't work then I will just strip it back and use acrylics .I assume can get a oil based pearlescent paint to mix in to the colour


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## CV3

Have you ever used translucent air brush paints? They are thinner than your standard acrylics work well as a stain but can be hard to controls the spread!


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## cobalt

i have never used a air brush. lots of people do .but I understand you do need to get a good . I have loads of different paints and try to use what I have .so reluctant to start using other materials . storing the things is bad enough workshops full.


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## MJC4

I like the mallards, but the griffin's you make are my faves. What are dimensions on the block you cut it from Cobalt? As I now am a proud owner of a band saw ( finally ) I would like to cut out a few patterns and the griffin is one I'd like to give a try making.


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## cobalt

The griffin was cut out of a plank of wood 3inchs thick..the finished width is just over 2inches.

I always buy rougth sawn wood in 8 ft planks . most of the toppers are cut from 2 inch rougth sawn.rougth sawn wood is about 2 1/4 inchs thick and cant see the point in buying planned wood as its more expensive . A8ft plank can keep my in toppers for a year , but always select my own planks from the timber mill.

If you want a copy of a pattern let me know.


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## Gloops

cobalt said:


> The griffin was cut out of a plank of wood 3inchs thick..the finished width is just over 2inches.
> 
> I always buy rougth sawn wood in 8 ft planks . most of the toppers are cut from 2 inch rougth sawn.rougth sawn wood is about 2 1/4 inchs thick and cant see the point in buying planned wood as its more expensive . A8ft plank can keep my in toppers for a year , but always select my own planks from the timber mill.
> 
> If you want a copy of a pattern let me know.


Where do you get your RS planks from?


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## cobalt

j N mills & son Saw Mill, Honey Pot Lane, Colsterworth, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG33 5LZ

the saw mill is just of the A1 they sell all types of fruit woods rough cut and some exotic wood. cut out the textured neck needs cleaning up cut holes for the eyes trying some different coloured eyes



















[


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## Jesse James

Those are looking good Cobalt. Tough choice on the eyes I can not decide which one i would pick.


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## Gloops

cobalt said:


> j N mills & son Saw Mill, Honey Pot Lane, Colsterworth, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG33 5LZ
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Thanks for the info, will have to check it out, got a map on web.


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## Gloops

Hi Cobalt, I use glasseyes.com (Wales) for my eyes and if unsure I do a printout of the ones I fancy from their catalogue cut them out and lay/stick (Blutac) them on before i cut the eye socket, gives a more visual idea.


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## cobalt

Trying to get all the project basics done so can clean the workshop before I paint, dust is a pain

Cut the dodo out on the band saw roughed out with the chisels /knifes and the Shinto rasp. The Shinto rasp is a great tool for shaping one rough cut side and a smooth cut on the other


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## Gloops

Looking forward to it materialising from the wood, keep posting.


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## cobalt

testing some bolts and hex keys for suitability for the griffins crop using ukibori

trying different size bolts and hex keys didn't want a uniform circle just a couple of sharp taps with a hammer to make a deep impression n the wood









Sanded the wood down to the depth of the impression the used a paint brush to apply boiling water to lift the grain of the impression








dried wood effect








whilst the wood was drying began giving the dodo its final shape and marked out some features


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## Gloops

Coming along nicely, the ukibori technique looks interesting, wonder what effect using texturing punches would produce or would they be too dense a pattern.

With reference to CV3's post on airbrush paints , the set of video's that finally pushed me into having a go were the series - Air Brushing Wildfowl Carvings by Billy Carr this is a series of 7 videos here is the link to the first one if anyone is interested in having a look - very interesting and informative.


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## cobalt

still looking in the dump boxes for objects to use for ukibori the ones have are to uniform will have to use some bolts and shape them with a file

getting to grips with the dodo still need work on the bill and a general tidy up ,then marry to a stick for final shaping .


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## cobalt

found some better reference material for the dodo so a bit of remodelling on it today and got a shank ready to fix to the topper.

needs a bit of cleaning up and the eyes to fix.

Bit of redoing the mallards wasn't happy with the necks and back of head.

Griffin take a back seat as a lady rambler wanted a mute swan I had done had intended to repaint the beak as colour I thought to flat needed different tones adding, but she said it was alright didn't agree with her , but never ague with a lady bound to lose.

Haven't even started the peregrine falcon yet one of my favourite birds

the shanks all locally grown with some variation on colour should be okay as the heat gun will fetch the dried lichen of when I straighten them from different wood 2 miles away .

Haven't got 1st class shanks but all sound and of a good working shanks, but no rubbing on them but have a few knuckles where the side shoot is showing but they can be trimmed without making a eyesore and will make satisfactory items when straightened


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## RATTY

that top one looks like cherry , should look damn nice when mounted , are the others hazel or ash , cant quite tell .

I really like the griffin head , thats looks awsome.


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## CV3

Well done cobalt, they all look good. Look forward to seeing them on their sticks.


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## cobalt

All the shanks are hazel there just grown in differnt woods locally , the will look very different when straightend and the papery dried

lichen has gone .They will have a subtle sheen on them when coated with Danish oil. The area where there growing has different types of soil which I suppose gives the hazel a different colour. Some area are a heavy soil with clay mixed, some of the soil is like silt in other area . Its due to the area we live in which is typical fenland.

All the toppers are carved from lime wood.

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## Gloops

Great looking Dodo cobalt, nice detail looking forward to finished stick.


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## Rodney

I love how the dodo is looking. The hazel here tends to have a dark reddish brown bark when it's dry. It looks mostly grey when I harvest it.

Rodney


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## cobalt

playtime in the workshop today well for a bit

fixed the eyes in the dodo decided on the same yellow as a heron

centred the shank trimed the buffal horn collar nearly to fit will give the final shaping and polishing .Will final fit when its attached to the shank after painting

tried out a few ideas on how to texture burn the texture on the bird


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## cobalt

keep doing a bit more . just burning and texturing the dodo time consuming but hope its worth it


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## CV3

You have done a good jod with the pattern of you texturing cobalt. It will make for a fine looking finished project.


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## Batakali

Looking great! By the way, I swear by the Shinto saw rasp myself.


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## Gloops

Burning looking good, patience is a virtue.


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## cobalt

given the dodo a thin coat of shellac to prevent it from getting fuzz whilst working on it. so after a light sanding will paint it with a thin coat of oil paint and white spirit .


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## MJC4

Dodo looks great Cobalt!


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## cobalt

It probably represents me, past its sell my date old and in my case nearly extinct


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## cobalt

getting base coats on the items dodo nearly finished painting , marry to a shank clean the collar ,oil and buff the shank

nearly ready to tackle the griffin. But have a order for a couple of walking sticks with cardigan handles which have to take priority there wanted in a couple of weeks. Normally only do things in my time hate deadlines and would have refused to do it if it wasn't for the fact its a relation


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## Rodney

The new Dodo looks great-as do the others you're working on.

I understand about family but how long have they known you make sticks?

Rodney


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## CV3

Your Dodo looks really good cobalt. I agree about deadlines, But this time of year I always seem to end up under the gun trying to finish some thing for some one for the holidays. Like you it often family.


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## Gloops

Good progress, coming along nicely, was the blending on the duck bills done wet into wet or dry brush.


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## cobalt

Rodney said:


> The new Dodo looks great-as do the others you're working on.
> 
> I understand about family but how long have they known you make sticks?
> 
> Rodney


I don't know when they found out maybe a couple of years

I did a lot of puppets mostly punch and judy made several sets of them fun to make and the wife made the costumes each set consisted of about 15 figures sold a few but it was very time consuming and now I am pushed for time to make hiking poles . I wish I had kept a visual record of them but didn't photograph then at the time photo graphed just afew

I ended up making sets for my daughters


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## cobalt

hopefully a new project when I get the ones I am working on finished a Eider duck its not fully painted but impressed with the guys work









bit of work looking up variations of the common eider for reference taken of the computer The common eider the spectacled eider and king eider



























View attachment 11090








received some cow horn and buffalo horn collars for future projects not yet had any experience using cow horn but they look good


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## Gloops

Good subject, looking forward to see your transposition of it into a topper.


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## CV3

I am not familiar Eider. Beautiful bird. It will make a nice looking stick.


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## Rodney

If I remember right Eider ducks are the ones they get the really expensive down from.

Pretty birds. The carving looks real.

Rodney


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## cobalt

they say its the best material you can get for pillows and you would pay top price for them.think they only use the feathers from the chest of the bird its incredabley light and warm


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## cobalt

well a couple of hours done could do with a full day in the workshop

started the ukibori technique on the griffin so a few photos , just like blue peter before and after .just used the end of a chuck key handle for knocking indents into the head then sanded the indents to the bottom level of the indents . used a paint brush dipped in boiling water to lift the wood above the level sanded back.

varnished the dodo and gave the mallards there base colour coat


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## Rodney

The ukibori process looks like a fun one to try. Nice results on that.

Your painting is looking really good. Nice shading on the birds' beaks. It really brings out the details.

Rodney


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## Gloops

Good looking Dodo, paintwork on the ducks looking good and a good method of raising bumps and warts on the Griffin. Well done Cobalt


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## JGB

:thumbsu: real nice looking


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## cobalt

have seen sculptures use the method foe raising grain on the wood to give the effects of veins on the hands when done well is very effective but still a way to go to get it right difficult to get a even depth of indent on a long line


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## MJC4

All your work is looking good Cobalt. I am especially fond of your mallards.

I got the patterns U sent for griffin & dragon, Thank you. Probably after the holidays before I can take a crack at either.

Christmas ornaments and an eagle topper stick commission keeping me busy for the near future. Fella gave me the stick he would like topper done on, piece of driftwood that was chewed off by a beaver. No idea what the wood is.


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## cobalt

well keep posting mark always interested..

post a pic of the driftwood its a challenging material to work with


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## cobalt

did a bit of pyrography on the griffin to highlight areas but probably wont paint it maybe just tint the beak then scratch marks into the beak to give it the worn look as no beak would be clean or a single colour. Would have got better photo in natural light


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## Rodney

I wouldn't paint it either, just a nice oil finish buffed out a bit but not too glossy. The wood looks good as it is.

Rodney


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## cobalt

day of today so into the workshop well for a couple of hours

varnish the griffin and ducks fixed the eyes into the griffin .tad more polishing to do on the buffalo horn collars then finish. Oiling the shanks fitting ferule when cut to size


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## MJC4

Slick looking pieces Dennis. Are you going to change your avatar to the new Dodo?


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## Gloops

Nearly there Dennis - looking good


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## cobalt

I will change the avatar later but not sure what to do with my old dodo it looks like it will become extinct


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## cobalt

had three good offers on the dodo which I had intended for myself but seems to be popular so it looks like I will have to do another , wanted for Christmas pressies . don't know if I can get another done in time for people


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## Rodney

The Griffin looks good and congrats or condolences on selling the Dodo depending on how you feel about letting it go.

That's the problem with making nice things. You want to keep them.

Rodney


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## cobalt

Looks like i will have to make another dodo for some reason it seems very popular? what makes people like it?

It is a bit of a odd ball item but have had three offers on it and a lot of interest from people?

But its something I am determined to do for myself. Maybe its the fact that once the islands where found by sailors they became extinct very quickly do to the sailors eating them for fresh food/ believe they became extinct after 70 years of the islands where discovered.

I suppose its the fact that they are odd that makes them interesting to people or odd people interested in them?


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## Rodney

I think they were a neat looking bird. But then, I'm one of the odd ones so that probably doesn't help.

I would say that three offers in a relatively short time kind of beats the odds of just odd people liking them.

Rodney


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## cobalt

have to may projects on the go people are asking for different items ,but i have the luxery of working at my own pace and dont give deadlines or make promises i may not be able ro keep.Things get done when there done. will not do any more for peoples christmas pressies as may be going away for Christmas hopefully to the Caribbean for 3 weeks on a cruise if I can convince the wife to change her arrangements

Problem is she has made arrangements to go up to Scotland its a lovely place but dam cold this time of year


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## CV3

I agree with your working at your own pace. I do the same. I have gotten behind on Christmas projects do to all the medical issues we have had. But as a rule I do not give a completion date either.

Good luck on changing the wife's plans! It does not work and my house!!


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