Soon-to-be new temporary home of Dragonfly Canoe Works

[Dan Miller]

Here are some photos of what I've been up to this fall. Still racing to get the roof on before snow flies. Once I do it will become the temporary home of Dragonfly Canoe Works (builders of fine all-wood canoes). Wanted to post a shot after the second purlin plate was in place but I dropped the bloody camera and it no longer works. (Any recommendations for a good digital camera capable of making publication quality images?).

The frame was entirely hand-raised by myself and my brother, using only brute strength and a gin pole. I'll tell you, after this, a sponson canoe will be like a feather....

Cheers,
Dan, looking forward to doing some canoe work again soon!

 

[mark wismer]

Nice framing; looks like you put alot into making this. Good atmosphere for wood & canvas canoe building. Happy Building!

 

[bob goeckel]

you got alot more ambition than i do. looks great!

 

[Andy Hutyera]

Dan- If you can see your way clear to spend about $1200, the Nikon D70 is probably the best digital camera for the money out there. It behaves just like a real slr. No delays after the shutter is release and it can rapid fire. The quality of the photos is nothing short of amazing. Until this camera came along you had to spend about $5k to get a camera with these features. If you check it out on line you'll fine many glowing reviews.

 

[Wickersham]

Nice!

WOW that's nice work. Wish you were located near me I need that type of work done at my house for a car-port. Lot of work there...

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Great work Dan, if you're going to be dropping the camera alot I'd just get a cheapie. I have a 5 mega pix Kodak Easyshare that is under $300. Works good for me. On a recent trip to Florida to clean up after Ivan I took 80 pics. Don't know how many that little card holds but it's alot. And no, I didn't get all of Ivan aftermath cleaned up. My brother is a photographer and he says my camera is pretty good. So I suppose it's ok. Not waterproof tho.

 

[Fitz]

Don't forget your Roman Numerals..

Hey Dan,

Maybe you can come east and help me shore up the 300 year old timberframe abode??

Yep. Still standing, knock on wood, after all these years. The old timers carved Roman Numerals in the beams during assembly. Very cool. I should probably spend less time hacking boats and more time hacking out a few replacement beams Hmmmmmmmmm........

What kinda dimensions you got there for your shop?

 

[Dan Miller]

Thanks for the comments on the frame and recommendations for cameras, folks!

Sounds like a fun project, Fitz, when do we start? And no, I didn't forget my Roman numerals - starts as I to the south to III on the north, cut with an 1-1/2" chisel on the east and 2" chisel on the west.

What kinda dimensions you got there for your shop?

Actually it is a 2-car garage at 24'x24'. But, I'm taking it over for my shop as I need time to design (and save money for) the real shop building...

Cheers,
Dan

PS for the camera folks, I'm looking at the Pentax digital SLR, since I already have a lot of lenses that will work with it...

 

[mark wismer]

Exposed beams make good inspiration to woodworkers! Hope you are going to 'frame' the shop too!

 

[Dan Miller]

Exposed beams make good inspiration to woodworkers! Hope you are going to 'frame' the shop too!

Oh, you betcha! It's not all that much slower than stick framing either - from pile of rough lumber to most of the rafters in the air (would have finished today, but its snowing ) took the two of us under 20 days.

 

[Rob Stevens]

I stopped in at Dan's on Friday enroute to Vermont to attend the annual Snow Walker's Rendezvous (about traditional winter travel ie. snow shoeing, tobaggan hauling, back country skiiing and dog sledding).

It was awesome to have a fully narrated tour.

Dan fails to mention that he completed another post and beam building earlier, which now serves as an office for Lynn.

Truly impressive work, and, yes Bob, I agree, ambitious!

 

[MikeCav]

Dan - Your camera selection is a good one, just be careful on lens compatability. Double check which lens series will have the appropriate controls to work on the digital. Not all Pentax are created equal. Also remember that the digital has about a 1.6 to 1.8 (depending on chip size) multiplier effect compared to the equivalent 35mm lens. In other words, your existing "normal" 55 mm lens will act like a 90 mm lens. Larger lenses like a 300 telephoto will act like a 480 on the digital - too long to get a steady shot without a very firm tripod.

For a cheaper alternative - At work We have been very happy with the Olympus 750- has 10x optical zoom other neat features. We bought 10 of them for regional and central office use. It is about $250. For another $150 you can bump up to a 4.0 mp camera in the same line. The optical zoom is the best selling feature in that price range. DO NOT be lured by digital zoom - it just makes larger pixels, does not enlarge the image. It is also a bit more point & shoot, but has plenty of manual features.

Time for an ale?