!! In the quiet hours of the bootcamp grind, I found myself: Esteban's Bootcamp Experience

B.E.L. Post # 137

Today had a nice rhythm to it—one of those days where a little bit of everything finds its place.

After the morning blitz, I said farewell to the wwoofer as he set off on his next adventure. Always a bittersweet moment, but sometimes that’s the nature of this place—folks come, share some sweat and stories, and move on down the road. May the force of the sunchoke be with him 🌻

Not long after, I got to enjoy some seriously delicious meatloaf that Samantha made—hit the spot just right and gave me the fuel for the rest of the day.

Melissa and I then made a run up to the Abbey to move more of her things up there. Bit by bit, it’s all coming together. There’s something satisfying about helping shift life uphill, one load at a time.

Back at it later, I put more time into the shelving project I’ve been working on. Started shaping the brackets using some roughly 3" diameter dry wood. Cut three pieces down to about 8" lengths (keeping it aligned with the three shelves), then ran them through the bandsaw to split them in half. After that, I trimmed the rounded sides flat to create a better contact surface for the additional pieces I’ll be fitting in later. It’s starting to take shape in a way that feels both sturdy and a little bit artful—just how I like it.

Wrapped up the day on a slower note—journaling, writing a few letters, and just kicking back with my dog. A good balance of building, moving, creating, and being still.

All in all, a solid day.

Mike Haasl wrote:Those are some nice finished boards!  Another option for next time is to peel the bark off (yes it might not be the barky aesthetic...) and then you can run the rounded board thru the planer to work your way down to the desired thickness.  That's probably a bit safer than running them thru the table saw.

Another bark-on option is to use the table saw to get a decent ways through them from both sides and then finish the cut on the band saw with the flat side against the saw's fence.  Or do the whole job on the band saw.

Mike, I really appreciate you taking the time to share that—seriously, thank you.

That planer approach makes a lot of sense, especially from a safety standpoint. I hadn’t thought about going that route with peeled rounds, but I can see how that would give a lot more control over thickness without wrestling things on the table saw.

And I like your bark-on suggestions too—cutting in from both sides first and then finishing on the bandsaw sounds like a much more forgiving way to handle it. That, or just committing to the bandsaw entirely. Definitely gives me some better options to work with moving forward.

Always grateful for the insight—learning from folks who’ve been at it longer helps me avoid doing things the hard way (or the sketchy way 😄). Much appreciated.