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A friend of mine bought a 21' tunnel hull fishing boat 3 months ago. This boat needed much work including new controls, a new motor and a wrap to the outside. Right before Christmas he dropped it off at the shop to have me build a cushion to fit the top of an Rtic cooler.

I cut a piece of plywood to fit the top of the cooler and added SS t-nuts. I primed the plywood twice then one coat of Oil based paint hoping this would help preserve it from the elements. I then added 3" foam and covered with a nice piece of thick vinyl. I screwed it to the top of the cooler with SS bolts and washers. When he asked how much he owed we told him to donate $100 to mission work he does. 

This 65 qt Rtic cooler is impact resistance and durable for long lasting ice retention. They run about $250. It was also loaded with boat gear so weighed about 60 to 70 pounds. It took both of us to lift it up into the boat. That thing aint going anywhere, right?

He headed to his condo at Panama City Beach. A 260 mile drive. Half way there his wife e-mails me and says a fellow in a truck flagged them down and told them the cooler blew out of the back of the boat. Damn! They pulled over and could see about a mile back, under an overpass the white cooler and a car pulled over next to it.

Now what to do. He couldn't back the boat that far and didn't want to walk. I think I would have sat there and waited to see if the guy in the car would bring it to them. He decided to drive to the next exit and flip flop to the overpass where the cooler was laying on the shoulder. You can guess what happened. When he got there both the cooler and the car were gone. 

This is really weird. Rose posted a Merry Christmas on our Facebook business page. Some dude with an Islamic name and from Great Britton was offended. He stated that our beliefs on a public page should be kept private. It doesn't take much to offend people these days. Rose deleted and blocked him. We have no idea who he is or why he was on our page.

On a much lighter note we are just back from 6 day of rest and relaxation. Good fishing at the cabin in St Augustine.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NzYzmZyYog6JyYM78
https://photos.app.goo.gl/76aGEwyEx5ufdqfh8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qq1EVYPiPP7zK2uU7

Tomorrow Rose and I and the two dogs head to Tallahassee to bring in the new year with mom.

Happy New Year Y'all.

Friday a customer brought in a wing chair. When I saw this pitiful thing all I could do was sigh. It was a wreck and every joint was loose. The customer knew it was a cheap chair and she also knew she was spending more money than it was worth but it was her mothers and she wanted It done.

So I stripped it down. The first thing I noticed was the front Queen Ann style legs were screw in. As I started stripping fabric off I noticed the joints were held together with staples. As I went along I noticed they did not use glue on any of the joints. After I took all the fabric and padding off I started prying those joints apart. I was surprised to see there were no dowels used to hold the joints together. The only thing holding this chair together was the staples!

So, big decision here. There is only so much I could do considering the price we quoted and the customer didn't expect miracles. I certainly couldn't add dowels to all those joints so I did the next best thing. I took the major joints apart. This entailed prying those long ass staples out. I put it back together using plenty of glue and screws. I glued and screwed the corner blocks and add more blocks in strategic locations and clamped the whole thing together. This alone took 4 hours of valuable time. This morning I removed the clamps and it feels solid.

Rose cut and sewed it yesterday. Thank god its a solid fabric. We made some upgrades on the recovery work also. I started upholstering today and its looking pretty good. I'll post some pics later.

I expect a big ole hug when she comes to pick it up. :)   

Our favorite furniture store informed us Broyhill has gone out of business. This is a hardship for them because they cannot order parts for repairs. Foam is their main concern and they asked us if we could handle replacement when needed. This makes a bit of a dilemma for Rose and I. Our experience has been most foam failures are caused by folks with big backsides sitting on foam with low density. The old feels great in the showroom but 6 months later syndrome. If we replace the foam with the same density and the same firmness does this now put the burden forever on us. We could replace it with a better foam, higher density and more firm but then Miss booty butt will complain its no longer comphy. We could say no guarantees but that usually goes in one ear and out the other. We are inclined to turn these jobs down.

Did y'all know Broyhill was out of business? 

Tuesday we bought this Duncan Phyfe sofa from a customer. It needs no work. The upholstery is like new, 8-way springs are tight, frame is tight and finish is good. The last upholsterer did a really nice job. I'm guessing its 1930's/40's. She wanted $500 we offered her $250 she said okay if we throw in 4 toss pillows (her forms). We loaded it into the van.

Thursday a customer came by the shop needing 4 chair pads. She said she was looking for a sofa so we showed her the Duncan Phyfe. The minute she saw it she said she wanted it, how much? $550.

The cool thing is we haven't even paid the first customer yet.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pg91Q6cqf5rNWsby6

We also picked up this vintage secretary. We are keeping this one.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AriH6JpHRtnezAVb9

A prayer for those who lost loved ones and those who lost their homes. Dear lord stand by those who are in despair and give them strength to carry on.

Haven't heard from our good friend 65Buick lately. Hope all is well.

She has a few dents and scratches but still runs like a champ.

We have had a pretty cool summer for Florida. For the most part the highs have been in the low 90's. Not a single day above 100*. That is until 2 weeks ago the highs crept up to 97* and 98*. We're heading to St Augustine this weekend. Its amazing how much cooler the coast is. Saturday it will be 95* in High Springs and 87* in St Augustine. I'm ready for some Red Drum fishing weather.

Add it to my bucket list.

https://www.facebook.com/TRNDVideos/videos/2172448133033155/

What do you think guys? I see a lot of the same skills we use in restoring this historic painting of Mother Mary.

https://www.facebook.com/TRNDVideos/videos/242968389725189/

Moving my compressor around today got me thinking. Should these things be checked for the possibility of explosion.

I know with propane tanks, you have 12 years from the manufacture date before the tank must be re-certified with a new date stamped on it.

My air compressor is about 25 years old. It runs like a champ and I drain it about 3 times a year. But I wonder what would happen if it went bad. Would it explode?

Our shop in Mt Pleasant SC was next door to a very old and dilapidated house with 5' tall tanks abandoned in the back yard. Propane I guess. One day when I was working in my back deck I heard a loud pop and swissssh. No explosion but more like a rupture or leak.

Last year I learned a childhood friend was killed in a dive shop accident when a tank exploded. That thought sticks with me.

So now I wonder should these things be checked occasionally. How often and by who? And what do they look for.

This is a topic we touch upon every once in a while but not enough to know how everyone really feels about it. I know, politics and religion not to be discussed on here. But I think everyone may enjoy this

I'm not a church goer but I am a Christion. I thank the lord everyday, I am grateful for all he has given me.

When we moved to High Springs a neighbor invited us to a local church and we went a few times. We enjoyed it but its just not our thing.

Five weeks ago he invited me to Tuesday night bible study. A men's club type of thing. We are reading a book titled 12 Ordinary Men referring to the 12 apostle's. Every week we read a chapter (one for each apostle) and discuss it at the meeting. Of course the subject often strays and there is no telling where these discussions may lead. The group gets bigger every week and there are an interesting assortment of people from all walks of life.  In a way you could say I'm the new guy, the least read when it comes to the bible and the only one not a member of their church. I ask a lot of questions and I think they enjoy answering them.

As usual when stepping outside the box I was real apprehensive about joining this group but now am glad I did.

What Insurance Do You Need for a Home-Based Business?

I worry mostly about liability and if something should happen to the shop. I guess fire is my biggest concern. How many times have you gotten up in the middle of the night to make sure you unplugged the glue gun? Stolen or damaged tools are on my dime.

https://www.manta.com/resources/small-business-trends/insurance-for-a-home-based-business/?

If anyone is interested with sign on bonus

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CenturyFurniture/jobs/2015892818732399/?source=renew_post

One of my biggest phobias is making cold telephone calls. This includes following up on leads. I've been that way my whole life. I don't mind sending an email and I can walk up to a perspective client at a party or event and start a conversation but the thought of making a phone call makes me nervous. Fortunately for me Rose can call and start a conversation with just about anybody. 

On this subject is another good read from Manta,

https://www.manta.com/resources/small-business-experts/how-much-is-call-reluctance-costing-you/?

Two weeks ago I received a notice in my email from Photobucket stating they are under new management. They promised to cut a lot of the advertising and be more user friendly.


So today I messed around with it. It took me a while to figure out what I was doing because I hadn't used it in a long time. The ads still pop up but not near as bad as it once was. And I figured out my uploading issue. I revamped my barber chair post and think I have it figured out.


Lets hope Photobucket finally has their act together. They seem to be the only photo storing site that has the thumbnail option. At least the only one that doesn't have ads for sexy ladies from foreign countries looking for a husband. And how come no sexy guys looking for a wife? I digress.

Need some help on this one. Went to an old customers house today. They want this vintage barber chair recovered.



For the life of me I cannot figure out how to get the back and footrest off.

This is the back. It looks like it should just pop out but it will not budge. The only thing I can figure is maybe the screws that hold the arm to the back also hold the back in place. There are no other screws on the back.  We were only there for an estimate so I didn't want to start taking it apart without knowing what I'm doing.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/EwD1TWQGHUGVgczc2


https://photos.app.goo.gl/gLMUx0CJ30tvrNj52


https://photos.app.goo.gl/1Su2FLxiBZQxBpuo1


Same thing with this foot rest. No screws to hold it in place. I did pry on it a little to see if it would pop out but it would not budge.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/4GMBvRC8CJbwcj4g1


I spent an hour watching YouTube videos showing the restoration process of these chairs but they all skip the part where they disassemble the upholstery from the metal frame. Frustrating for sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


PS, Photobucket no longer lets me upload pictures.
 

I thought this Video of Disney's career was interesting. https://www.prageru.com/videos/walt-disney-american-dreamer

Started this (Eastlake?) chair yesterday.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hx5NlLYckRXtfeHq2

It always erks me when a so called upholsterer gets sloppy with the finished wood. On this arm they completely covered the finished wood for apparently no reason.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dRQp91HQ547CCVE72

I'll upholster it with the wood exposed. This shows the third layer of fabric on this arm.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pL5GrgT59aQrXtHx1

The outside back was also completely covered from top to bottom and side to side. When I got the cover off I found the remnant of the original back. Even the gimp was still in place and much more wood was exposed. When I saw all those holes I thought, what the heck???
https://photos.app.goo.gl/68dQalDlEb8GCBuw1

Here is the cool thing and I have never seen this type of tufting before. After taking off two layers of fabric from the inside back I found this original cover.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3zvL0KRCoZMz1EMy2

Another cool thing, the outside buttons were made of solid brass. the inside buttons were covered in the purple fabric. The sad thing is the customer is pinching pennies. So I will be covering over the tufting. Hopefully someday someone will recover it the right way. I'll post the finished pics tomorrow.

This is one of those chairs that I wished I knew what I was getting into before I started.

The thing was a disgusting mess when the customer brought it to us. Normally you would take a chair like this to the dump but it was her mothers and she wanted it reupholstered.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/47zPDmWJmHydUOvy2

Its one of those chairs that as your taking it apart you are finding unidentified gooey stains. Even the construction is very odd. They constructed this elaborate joinery to hold the back legs in place. Notice the big knot hole in the side rail, jeez couldn't they find a better piece of wood.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VKHmRPX261Nk4aSu2

Unfortunately they failed to add corner blocks and the back rail, the one the springs are attached to failed. The fabric was holding it in place and I didn't notice it was broken when I gave the estimate. Rose called and told her it would be a little more.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/plml9CgaU3gqeTG52

In order to fix it I had to remove the springs. I replaced one dowel and added corner blocks. And used plenty of glue.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7KKHGmOSEzDexvfp2

I'll post a picture of the finished chair tomorrow. Wait until you see the fabric.