Living in a house with hard water necessitates an annual regime of shower head decalcification. Normally, I submerge the shower head in a cup of mild acid (CLR) suspended from the shower neck and let it soak for several hours. Before leaving for tennis this morning, Jeanine, in the name of maintaining household organization, decided to put the new bottle of CLR that I purchased for this purpose into a place I would never think to look for it. Anxious to complete the task, I decided to remove the shower head and use the small amount of CLR remaining from last year in a smaller cup than needed for suspension at an angle. This proved to be a costly decision. As I began to remove the head, the shower arm to which it connects broke off at the drop ear elbow behind the marble tile leaving the threads inside the elbow. All attempts to remove those threads proved futile and the thought of replacing an unmatchable marble tile or cutting an access panel in the wall papered drywall from the other side started to enter my mind. Since either of these options would be extremely expensive I decided to perform plumbing surgery from the marble side. I used a diamond saw to make an opening just big enough to operate through but small enough to later cover with a standard faceplate. I tried to unsolder the elbow but eventually decided I would be more likely to set the house on fire than remove it. A recently acquired oscillating saw proved the perfect tool to cut the elbow off. At the hardware store I discovered a Shark Bite drop ear elbow which proved the perfect repalcement solution allowing me to press it onto the pipe rather than soldering. This was not how I had planned to spend my morning but I was relieved that a simple maintenance task did not turn into a major remodeling project.

I am a huge proponent of a working hard towards concrete objectives and celebrating as a team when they are met. My team recently achieved a very important production milestone addressing the top concern of management when I joined MarkForged less than 5 months ago. This afternoon the entire company left the office early for a celebration at the Lanes & Games bowling alley. Bowling is a ton of fun and great for team building. Few people are very good at it and almost all can eventually knock some pins over. The event was a huge success and I managed some nice photos despite the really challenging lighting.

My 12″ Makita miter saw was one of the top rated units on the market when I purchased it some 18 years ago. It is my most used power tool and I have easily made more than 10,000 cuts with it. It is a great tool in every regard but one. Dust collection is abysmal. Having just replaced the shop vac I use with my miter saw (the rest of my shop tools are serviced by a 3hp cyclonic dust collector), I decided to replace my Makita with a Festool Kapex compound sliding miter saw. Dust collection on this unit is unbelievable. Laser guides on both sides of the blade are incredibly convenient, especially for someone with poor vision. This miter saw is simply in an entirely different class than any other I have used or seen. My Makita will either go up on Craig’s List or be fitted with a new blade and relegated to cutting metal.

For 15 years my Fein shop vac has provided unsurpassed performance and reliability. Unfortunately, I managed to destroy the motor last weekend while operating it for an extended period of time while full beyond capacity with sawdust. My first instinct was to repair the motor but after disassembling the unit it became apparent that this would not be possible. I decided to replace it with an identical model but the company has long since “upgraded” it to a newer design. My research on the internet indicated that the new version was every bit as good, maybe slightly better, as a vacuum but that one feature which I rely on took a step backward. The unit features an auto on/off capability. You plug a tool, a miter saw in my case, into an outlet on the vacuum and it turns on when it detects that the tool is in use. Very handy. The newer model, however, will only support tools drawing 6 amps or less compared to 15 amps (what my miter saw requires) for the older one. Knowing this in advance, I salvaged the old auto switching electronics and packaged them in a standard electrical outlet box which I wired into my shop. I simply plug my miter saw and vacuum into the respectively labeled outlets and everything works perfectly. I also plan to recycle the main body of the deceased Fein as a pre-separator to eliminate the need for bag replacement on my new one.

It is a short walk from my office to Harvard University where I discovered a Farmer’s Market setup when I arrived at noon.
I was tempted to pick up my lunch here but forged on to Felipe’s for the best burritos you will ever find. I am trying to do a little more walking since the demands of my new job offer much less time for exercise.

I received this image taken by my good friend and long-time collaborator Bill Warner. He works around the block in the Greentown Labs complex. I joined him for lunch today. He introduced me to some of the folks there who are using our printer and we discussed photography, a shared passion. It is very nice to occasionally wind up on the other side of the lens, in this case, his brand-new 50mm f/1.2.

Followers of this blog will know that my soccer team has had a rather difficult fall season after winning the spring season championship. This morning (at 8am after a 1 hour drive to Mansfield) we played FUFC Gray which has already secured a first place finish for the season. My team finally played up to our potential and we were leading 2-0 with minutes to go in the first half when one of our best players was red-carded leaving us a man short for the entire second half. It was all we could do to hang on for a 2-2 tie. If we retain the poise and passion we showed today during our final match next weekend we stand a good chance of avoiding relegation to Division 2.

I treated Maya to a 3D showing of The Martian after returning to Concord. I knew she would love the movie and really wanted to be the one to take her to it. With strong female characters and a focus on science, I am hoping she drew as much inspiration from it as I did. No time for a photo today so I am posting an additional one from my outing yesterday.

Jeanine is visiting her sister in Burlington for the weekend leaving me to be chauffeured by Maya to her various activities. Her driving permit requires that an adult be in the car while she is operating it reducing my role to that of baggage. While she attended an SAT prep class near Nagoog Pond, I regained control of the Audi and did a little photography in the area of Nagoog Hill Farm.

Roughly twenty year’s ago I fashioned a quick release magnetic feather board as a safety accessory for my table saw. A feather board is used to press the wood you are cutting tightly against the fence and also helps to prevent kickback. I am fairly certain it was the first of its kind, employing large magnets that could be switched on and off with the turn of a knob. I shared a description and photos on my favorite woodworking community board and today I see that several companies are offering such a device including one which offers an improved much more compact switchable magnet. I ordered a few sets of magnets and designed an updated feather board to accept them. I could not be happier with this project which also earned me a second place finish for Part of the Week.

Maya’s CCHS soccer team wrapped up their season in fine form this afternoon with a 6-0 rout of Chelmsford. Maya had a lovely assist and made some nice runs on goal. I have been very fortunate to make so many of her games this season and love that my new job offers me this flexibility. Over the course of the season, I have amassed several thousand photos of the team and need to start trimming that number so that I can share them at the end of the season banquet.

Today’s post is  devoted entirely to an article Jeanine wrote for publication in the Concord Journal tomorrow.  The words paint such a wonderful picture that no photo is needed.

I like to think of Open Table as Brigadoon, the mythical Scottish town that appears out of nowhere, attracting visitors who fall in love and can’t bear to leave.  But while Brigadoon appeared only every century, Open Table magically conjures up, every week, a feast for 100.  Beautiful centerpieces and scrumptious dishes are prepared by a team of caring cooks.  Bags of nutritious foods fill the pantry and are carried home by guests.  And this magic has recurred, week after week, for 26 years!

Of course, it’s not magic.  It takes many volunteers and community groups to deliver this free community service.  A single night at Open Table requires at least 75 volunteers.  They work at so many different shifts during the day that most have no idea that they are a team of so many. 

At 8 AM pantry pickups begin at neighboring bakeries and grocery stores.  At the Everett Street Pantry, six volunteers sort the recent donations from food drives at the Concord Children’s Center and the Concord Rec. Dept.   Once that is accomplished they will begin packing bags to later be transported to the First Parish Church by Fenn School students or the NuPath team of adults with developmental disabilities. During the day, flowers from a local florist and centerpieces assembled by the National Charity League are dropped off.  Home-baked muffins and breads appear by National Charity League too.  

During the afternoon a work team from Minute Man Arc sets up the tables, chairs and the pantry distribution site.  It’s a happy scene of high fives and industrious workers.  Later, food is delivered from many different sources.  For instance, Gaining Ground brings the abundance of the season in a rush of color and fragrance.

Soon the guests arrive and make the tableau complete – friends, neighbors and first timers all find a place at the table.  Everyone is greeted and served.  Conversation hums as pantry numbers are called and people leave their tables to shop.  Social support volunteers stroll the room, helping visitors gain access to community services. One volunteer helps a guest fill out a fuel assistance form and explains how the system works. Another calls out to that it’s “Coat Give-Away Night”, when each guest is invited to shop for a gently used coat and winter clothing.  MetroWest Legal Services comes monthly to provide legal advice. The Domestic Violence Coalition is often present.  Young volunteers from the Walden School help guests out to their cars with their packages and guests begin their slow departure home rom Open Table.

After dessert is served and the last guest leaves, high school students from Middlesex School arrive to dismantle the magical world of Open Table.  Tables and chairs are put away.  Tarps are stored in the basement.  Bags of un-used food are driven back to the Everett Street pantry.  Laughter and clinking dishes are background music while executives and school students swap stories and wash dishes.

One of the oldest regular guests is helped to her car.  Many of the students call out to her. I am awed by her consistent, positive demeanor.  Week after week she calls me “doll” and asks how my family is doing.  Her rich, full life didn’t include a retirement package at the end, but Open Table gives her socialization, simple human contact and healthy food. My mood lightens whenever I see her, and I ask myself “Who is benefitting most – me or her?”.  

I turn and switch off the lights. The church hall is once again quiet and empty.  No traces left of the magical world of Open Table except the lingering lovely aroma of what was served for dinner.

Maya scored a goal off a corner kick today in her match against Newton South. The well driven ball went over the heads of those defending and attacking the near post, bounced off the ground and into the knee of the visually shielded goal keeper and careened into the net.

I spent a good portion of the weekend making improvements to my shop and taking stock of my equipment. I have decided it is time to sell my lathe and turning tools which have seen extremely limited use since we moved to Concord. I will probably wait until next weekend to post on Craig’s List. I find that New England woodworkers tend to return to their shops once the splendor of fall has passed and the days grow short.

Autumn colors peaked in Concord this weekend although the same cannot be said for the sun which was subdued by cloudy skies and rain all day. At least this made for good soccer playing weather and my team secured a 1-1 tie against Medfield. Although a win would have been the fairer outcome based on our domination of play, we were all happy to add a point (3 for a win, 1, for a tie, 0 for a loss) to our standings and a little more distance from possible relegation this season.