Pictured above are the angled ends of two 8-foot-long handrails. the first joint takes the diagonal rail back to horizontal and the second turns 90 degrees to mate with the Newell post. Each rail has 20 recessed holes on the underside angled at 32.5 degrees where the baluster will be situated. Each recess has a smaller and deeper hole drilled in the center where a 3D-printed baluster connector will be fastened with a screw. In total, each rail requires more than 60 machining operations and a dozen glue ups. A single mistake can render the entire rail unusable which makes for very stressful work. Fortunatley, these two rails came out perfectly and today they were treated to two coats of sealer and two of a protective finish. During the 2 hours of drying time between each coat, I installed a new fence on my table saw. I ordered the device back in September and have been patiently anticipating its arrival. All I can say, is that it was worth the wait and every penny I paid for it. I then cut down and fitted the original fence to my bandsaw and scrapping the piece of crap it was supplied with.

With all the work I have been doing on the River House, I have had little time for dedicated photography. The arrival of a small group of migrating common mergansers and a relatively warm day was the only motivation I needed to take a brief pause to spend some time outdoors with my camera.

Jeanine presented me with an odd request today. She wanted me to drill a couple of holes through the edges of a pair of sea shells so she could sew them onto a garment. I am sure there is a way to do this without destroying the shells in the process but I decided it would be far easier to glue a couple of loops to the back through which the thread could be passed. Jeanine was in charge of fabricating a superhero-themed outfit for “Island Woman”, one of her friends who is celebrating her 60th birthday.

Even though it was explained to me, I remain unclear about why Jeanine is dressed as Fanny Wheeler, an important figure in Concord’s history. Something about a secret society.

I was dressed as a stair railing contractor and completed 5 of the 7 railings needed to apply for our occupancy permit. I am using 3D-printed parts to connect the railing to the balusters. These can be seen in the photo below where the railing is turned upside down with the printed parts screwed into the bottom of the railing.

Only another soccer player can fully appreciate the amazing goal that Nico scored during a match against rival New York recently. The degree of difficulty of this shot is off the charts! (a) It is a one-touch strike on a moving ball, (b) it is taken from a great distance, (c) it is placed just inside the post. Nico has scored some truly amazing goals throughout his career but for me, this may be his best. Using the known length of his crutch as a measurement reference, I estimate this shot was taken at a distance from goal of 64 feet. Keep in mind that amputee soccer goals are smaller than standard ones measuring only 7’x16′. Compare Nico’s strike to Stephen Gerrard’s famous equivalent. I think any professional footballer would be envious of Nico’s banger.

I couldn’t resist a second post featuring our first snow of the season. Today, blue skies and sunshine replaced the gray and cloudy skies of yesterday. The forecast is calling for rain tomorrow so this winter wonderland landscape will soon be gone. This photo of the Sudbury River is about a quarter of a mile downstream from our new home and the bridge is one we cross daily to go almost anywhere.

Thus far, this winter has been quite mild. Today, we got our first proper snowfall, a total of about 9 inches which started during the night and fell throughout most of the day. I took these drone photos about one-third of the way through the storm during a lull. Jeanine and I spent the entire day at the River House working on the stair railings. We made reasonable progress despite a few minor setbacks.

With Jeanine assisting me all day, we made excellent progress on setting balusters in place on the stairs from the first to the second floor. Weather permitting, we hope to do the same for the stairs to the basement tomorrow. A snowstorm is currently forecasted to dump half a foot of snow on us throughout the day. The work goes slowly because of the need for accuracy and the high cost of even a small mistake. While the balusters are being installed permanently, all the newell posts and rails are temporary and will need to be replaced when the bamboo needed for their construction finally arrives.

The first of two episodes on the Build Show featuring our River House project dropped today. In it, our architect, Steve Baczek discusses aspects of the design with host Matt Risinger.

Last week, FedEx attempted to deliver two pallets of plywood that I ordered weeks ago. The first pallet was as ordered. The second contained long boxes and not the 4’x8′ sheet goods I was expecting. I accepted the first pallet and rejected the second. Naturally, the missing plywood is what I need to complete the stair railings. The supplier acknowledged the error and is shipping out the correct material but it will probably take several weeks for that to arrive. Since our occupancy permit is gated by the completion of the stair railing, I have opted to proceed using scrap plywood that I will later replace with bamboo. This morning, I built and installed 7 temporary newell posts (three visible in the photo, the remainder are on the floors above and below). I then installed all the balusters for the guard rails on a spacer rail that will hold them in the correct position until I can epoxy them to the lag screw studs in the floor. Once cured, I will replace the spacer rail with a temporary code compliant railing. Next, I will repeat the process for the stair hand rails. On a positive note, I really like the shadow pattern generated by the balusters.

Nico was recently featured in an AdaptX podcast interview. The extensive conversation is centered on the work he is doing with the Bionic Project as well as his crusade to build a world-class amputee soccer program in the US. I am extremely proud of the work he is doing and how eloquently he speaks about it. If you can set aside an hour to listen to the full interview, I promise you will learn some things that will change your perspective regarding people with a disability.

With the holidays in the rearview mirror, it was time to get back to work on the River House. I used an abrasive cutoff disc in my grinder to remove the heads of ~150 half-inch lag screws. It was not a pleasant task. I had to wear a respirator, protective goggles, and hearing protection for my safety and used the galvanized steel jig below to protect the stairs and floors from the spark generated by the grinding process. It took me about a minute to decapitate each screw which translates to about 2 1/2 hours bent over with a heavy grinder. Jeanine was kind enough to give me a back rub that helped alleviate the pain. I also began to erect the temporary scaffolding that will hold the balusters in place while they are glued to the studs on the floor.

Last night, Jeanine and I spent New Year’s Eve with Kyle and his girlfriend Heloisa at the River House. We spent a good deal of time outside before and after dinner gathered around our new fire pit for its inaugural use. Kyle prepared a smoked brisket which we had for dinner and a second time today when the boys came over to watch Premier League Soccer (Liverpool vs Manchester United) on the big screen. Kyle is well on his way to becoming a grill master and we are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of his growing passion for the art.