http://www.davedaniel.net/ This site contains Dave's verbose ramblings and thoughts - but you knew that! DaveDaniel.net, companion site to DaveDaniel.com and IndyBMW.com Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) Seen in the list of closings due to snow: Boone County Head Start - 2 hour delay http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=317 2004-01-26 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) A 'feature' of most browsers allow the true address of a site to be obscured from the user by using a carefully crafted URL string. If you click on this link you will note that CNN is now carrying my photo gallery. We all know that they don't have my latest posts on their site, so what's going on? I was curious how spam email is somehow sending me to what appears to be a legit website (such as the spam emails asking you to reenter credit card info). This started when I was getting emails from PayPal asking me to click on the link to reenter my profile info, including my password. When I clicked on the link, it indeed looked like I was on PayPal's site. Being the suspicious one that I am, and knowing that legit businesses don't ask for confidential info via emails, I closed the browser and checked with PayPal. According to them, the email was bogus. Research led me to a little known browser standard and how they treat URL's containing special escape characters. When put into a URL string, they do special things, such as ignore any characters that follow - which is how the masquerade works. So, instead of being on a legit site, the true URL (hidden to me) was www.paypal.com[escapecharacters]bogus-site.com - in other words I was at a page on bogus-site.com that simply displayed that it was the PayPal site. (Feeling a little nervous now?) I won't be any more specific here, but be warned that clicking on an email link to what looks like a legit site might not send you where you think you should be. You have been warned. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Web&ID=316 2003-12-16 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) Not me - I'm talking about BJ. During our shopping run yesterday, we bought BJ a nice dog bed that he's finally decided to use. I'm really surprised that he's at all interested in it, since this is the dog that has his own pillow on our bed. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Family&ID=315 2003-12-08 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) Always wanting to try new things, I decided to tackle a double-turned vase. I'm going to write a complete how-to for my upcoming new website, but in summary, 4 billets are arranged in a square just like a normal spindle turning. But then, they are reversed or arranged inside-out, so what will become the inside of the piece can be turned. This block is taped up at the ends to hold it all together and mounted on the lathe. The inside profile is turned, being careful not to let the cut profile totally round the blank. After completing that step, the tape is removed, and the are returned to their inside-in arrangment and glued up. After remounting the new blank on the lathe, the outside profile is carefully cut, slowly revealing the turned inside profile. When complete, the piece is a vase with a carved inside hollow that leaves everyone wondering, how did he do this? http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=314 2003-12-05 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) New chainsaw for christmas? http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=312 2003-12-01 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) In my never-ending quest to make something fun continually difficult (or challenging), I turned this bowl in a board of maple. Ok, so you made a carved out impression in the wood, so what you say? Well, take a look at the side view, and you can see the bottom of the bowl underneath the wide board surface. I should note that the completed piece measures roughly 7" x 6", and has no finish other than the polished wood and a very light wax for protection. The challenge behind this type of turning is in the spinning rectangle, where a significant part of the piece's rotation on the lathe is nothing but air, leaving no support for the cutting tool. Needless to say it requires a delicate touch, otherwise the tool would slam back into the wood once it rotates back under the cutting edge. Yesterday, I turned an interestingly-grained maple platter It has evidence of a branch extension running through the face that resembles a wave in the ocean, or a volcano erupting, depending on how you turn the piece. (stand on your head, turn your monitor upside down, or stop by to see the real thing) My goal for this piece was to turn a very thin shallow platter. As the wood is turned thinner and thinner, it starts to sing, going higher in pitch - giving immediate measurement on the thickness as the cut proceeds to the center of the face. I'm pleased with the results. Again, no finish - just polished wood. It measures 9.5" in diameter. You might also take note that a number of my pieces are done in a very nice maple. About 15 years ago I was riding my bike while we lived in Michigan, and decided to take a rest under a tree alongside the road. A farmer approached and we got talking about things. The discussion led to this marvelous maple tree that he was going to remove in a day or two. Well, there's an opportunity for some lumber in that tree. I helped him cut down the tree into lumber-sized logs, arranged for a local mill to pickup the find, and cut it into slabwood for me. A week in the kiln, and a run through a planer, and I ended up with over 400 board feet of Rock Maple, most of it slightly spalted. This wood has moved with me from Michigan, to Chicago, back to Michigan, and to each of our homes in Indiana. Over the years it has provided material for a number of projects, many that I sold or gave away as gifts. These art pieces continue to remind me of that wonderful shade tree destined to be burned for farm acreage - objects of creativity that will continue to provide a refreshing place to pause for many years to come. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=311 2003-11-30 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) Lessons learned - when finished carving the thanksgiving turkey, the hot-mitt used to hold the bird should be out of reach of the dog. Now we know why BJ hasn't been interested in his play toys this weekend, AND, why he's been spending so much time in the laundry room. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Family&ID=313 2003-11-27 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) Woohoo! Sold my first eBay auction bowl, the smooth butternut bowl. It sold at the opening bid price, which more than covers my costs and minimum margin. I'm thrilled that it sold, and plan on posting more in the coming weeks. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=310 2003-11-25 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) Seen today was a surveyor in the middle of a busy intersection taking his readings (probably for one of the new subidvisions in our area), and oddly enough, he was wearing camoflauge. Go figure. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=309 2003-11-25 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com) One of the burls I had aquired and started working with has been a real pain. From the very start when I attempted to attach the faceplate and broke 4 screws driving them in, the only easy part has been the final polishing of the finished bowl. I had to drill out alongside the screws to remove them prior to using my expensive lathe gouges on the wood. That being done, the whole turning process was almost impossible. Normally, a burl, with its convoluted grain patterns are so random that it is relatively easy to shape the hard wood. But this sucker had larger sections of alternating grain that proved extremely worrisome, if not almost impossible with hand tools. Add to it the fact that numerous radial cracks were exposed as wood was removed, leading to a large gash that would catch the tooling, this burl was the most challenging piece I've attempted. Normally I don't use any sandpaper on my turnings, but I finally had to abandon my turning tools and resort to abrasives. About a dozen sanding disks later, I was able to move into my polishing buffs and obtain a fantastic finish. Happy to finish this one, I think it's time to go back to some predictable blanks. http://www.davedaniel.net/content/content1.asp?Pointer=Weblog&ID=307 2003-11-23 Articles Dave Daniel (mailto:ddaniel@splintershop.com)