Getting Better...

Since Monday is a holiday due to Canada Day, I took today off for a 4 day weekend. I slept in because I was up so late tying the last fly. Today I had a go at my third fly. It is still quite bad, but is my best result to date.



I think a fish may even consider eating this one! Maybe I'll go out fishing this afternoon and see if I can catch my first trout. I am still dying to try cedar plank trout on the BBQ.

More Fly Tying

So tonight I bought a book and decided to try tying another fly. It was supposed to be an F Fly. I started out just fine:



Well, long story short I didn't have quite the right materials, so it morphed into a Griffith's Gnat. Unfortunately it doesn't look like either one. So, I guess I invented another new fly! It looks like a cross between a caterpillar and a really bad moustache.

Fly Fishing and LOLcats

I am completely obsessed with fly fishing. I was introduced to the sport by my uncle in Scotland and I had only ever been fly fishing twice in the same pond in Scotland - where I *snagged* a fish. Well, last weekend I went fishing in the Grand River with a friend and I enjoyed it so much I went out and bought some more gear and can't wait until I go again. I never realized just how many good spots there are in the Grand River around Waterloo, Elora, and Fergus!

The same uncle that took me fly fishing for the first time gave me a fly tying kit, which I have been avoiding because I have always been afraid of the results.

My fears were justified.

Tonight, since there was no chance of me actually getting out and going fishing, I figured I would break open the kit and give it a whirl. It was all looking good at the start:



And then all hell broke loose. Anyway, here is the end result:



It reminds me of an LOLcat I saw the other day:



Let's hope the fish think otherwise...

The Major Woodworking Is Done!

Well, I finished routering all of the edges of the prototype cabinet as well as profiling the sound hole in the speaker baffle. Check it out:



So, all that is left is a good sanding, and then start hiding all the flaws with tolex and grill cloth. ;o)

Facebook the Time-Sink

I've been sucked into Facebook. Once I started blogging it was only a matter of time I suppose.

More Amp Pics

One or two years ago I was taking a lot of photos as we built Model II, I just never got around to putting them anywhere.

Now they are up on my Picasa page. Here is a sample:



This is the cabinet *before* I went and ruined the absolutely gorgeous curly maple with stain. I had this vision of a vibrant yellow amp (and blue for the other one) that still had the wood grain glowing through. Unfortunately it didn't turn out that well. I was happier with mine (the yellow one) rather than Justin's (the blue one) - sorry Justin - but it still wasn't what I envisioned. I think I stained, re-sanded down to bare wood, and re-stained each amp three times and eventually gave up. I think the stain I chose (I went with a water-based product) just isn't the right stuff to use.

More Tube Amping

I spent some more time on the cabinet for the next amp prototype tonight. Here's a pic:



It's a good thing this is a prototype, because there is waaaay too much labor involved in these damn cabinets! Even with Robosaw fighting the good fight, it still takes forever. And I would consider my woodworking skills above average. I definitely need to settle on a design and focus on mass-producing (where mass-produce means > 1) these parts instead of crafting one piece at a time. It doesn't help that the design is still morphing in my head as I go.