2013 Camp Sitrep

It's been a while folks.  I have been busy with life.  I am one class away from finishing a manufacturing degree.  I started a new job at Artisan's Asylum as the Facilities Manager.  It is pretty much what I was doing at MakeIt Labs just now full time.  I enjoyed working with all of my 3D printing customers but this is something new.  I spend my days trying to solve problems with people and things to help them be safe and make awesome stuff.  Some of the members projects can be seen Here, Here, Here and Here.  I have not had a chance to make anything for me yet, but soon hopefully.

On to the show.  Libby and I have been busy bees with both of our new jobs.  The Wazoo rally team who I crew for also got an unexpected shot of great news.  A partnership with Motostar Performance Tires has us going to four national events this year and the full season next year.  That means a bunch of testing and learning for the rally team and lots of driving (8,000 miles).  I can't wait to see Tim and Marc out on stage putting down some consistent times.  This spring, Libby and I went to Motorama, and made some trophies.

Plasma Cut Trophies

At work, we held a competition with Mathworks for self aware robots.

Angrybot was awesome!

More trophies, this time by a member at artisan's Fractal art.

Coolest robot award for sure.

The Iron Lady was pretty darn awesome as well.

Sergio from Mathworks diligently codes to make the computer vision system recognize color blobs.  

Show time.

Some days dozens of maple glazed bacon donuts show up at work.  

Libby and I went to a concert. Dropkick Murphies, worth it every time 

Eventually we make it to last weekend.  A friend of ours graduated and had a BBQ  some great art on the fence and this is what they came up with.


My parents are going to be in town and my father wanted to come up for a day to work on the cabin. I knew we would need to survey prior to that trip in order to make sure we have a game plan for finishing the roof over memorial day weekend.  We made the decision to go camping around 1.   We put the chainsaw into the car and grabbed snacks and a few gallons of water.  We headed to camp around 8 and got to camp around 11:30 PM.  Libby and I rocked out to Girl Talk when we got to the road.  Tree number one down.  this was about an 8 inch diameter pine.  I felt bad starting the chainsaw late at night, but we had no other way to get down the road.  We cleaned it up and headed down the road to find the second down tree in front of the parking lot.  I love my Husqvarna 445 Chain Saw it always starts right up.  I left my tools and flashlights at Artisan's so Libby and I had a single flashlight to share.  We first went up to Donna and Gordon's cabin it is a little more leaning and the door is a little harder to close.  The heater worked great, and the lights ran fine.  We went down to main camp to have a look.  We spooked a bird from it's nest in the kitchen for which we all felt guilty.  I was very scared when the bird flew at me in the dark and I had no flashlight.  Eventually we got the girls to bed and started the fire.  We means everyone but me.  I checked out our cabin and found zero damage from the winter and that the tarp stayed intact.  Hooray!  When I saw the lean to in the moonlight, something looked "off".  When we got the fire going, I realized "collapsed under snow weight" was more so the case.  I was very confident in the assembly even damaged in the unloaded state.  Libby and I had much debate over it's ability to fight gravity.  My position was if it hasn't come all the way down yet, I don't expect it to this weekend.  We finished drinking some apple cider and headed to bed eventually.

Different failures.  This side broke apart from the vertical support column

The failure happened right on the joint of the rear composite beam.  The two laminated 2x8's were just not enough to handle the snow load distributed.  The front beam did not fail, I think due to the additional 2x10 that was added the length of the beam.  The rear beam will be getting a doubled up 2x10 on the front and rear to repair this.  The gusset supports also failed on this side.  I plan to replace them with 2x4's and Lag bolts.  With any luck, we will have this guy back up and sturdy in no time next weekend.  I recommend that during winter months, we make temporary lolly columns to put in place while no one is around during the winter.  Dropping from a 16 foot span to an 8 foot span will improve the chance of not being crushed by snow much higher.

The roof is still broken in this picture.  You can see from the broken wood.

This is another view of the broken wood.

We surveyed the cabins and aside from some brush, this is the only disruptive down tree.  As tradition would require, it is blocking access to Jim's cabin.  We did not get a chance to cut it up for fear of disturbing the baby birds at the nest.

This tree fell and is likely still in the way of the path.  

we took a ride into town to try and not disturb the bird to much.  Joe and I played frisbee and both realized how old we have become.

One last important note.  The Milan Lunchenete has a new chef or something.  The potatoes were seasoned great, the eggs were not greasy and they served home made toast.

With any luck my dad and I will get the roof buttoned up next weekend and our cabin can be stay-able before summer.

My awesome new vanity plates.  

A CNC plasma cutter at work the guys made.

Dr who for my birthday.

Scrap guy at work rolls in a Unimog.

Parts from Dave Mirra's car.  He leaves them everywhere.  

Columbus day Cabin Construction

It's been a while since my last post.  I am almost half way through the semester and needed to reward myself for doing psets.  So I get to write a blog post every time I finish.  This is the photo journal of our Columbus day weekend trip.  

Friday evening Libby was not feeling well and I was tired so we decided to hold off on traveling up north till Saturday morning.  i went to pick up Libby and she rallied to head up north.  We put on some Nerdist Podcasts and headed north.  As we pulled into camp, it started to rain.  We unloaded the tools and brought everything up to the cabin.  The tarp blew off and we had some minor flooding in the corner of the cabin.  We first put the tarp back up and started to organize tools.  Joe, and Roserin  put in the two windows while I put in the door.  Libby and I now had a place to set up our tent and be protected from the elements for the night.  It was still damp in the cabin and cold. I got a load of wood so we could have a fire for the night.  Libby finally got to tell the story of getting sick from last fall to all of the campers around the camp fire.  We headed to bed not to late and tried to keep warm.  

Sunday morning we got up and headed down to the Milan Luncheonette   The best cup of coffee in Milan‽  Libby and I swung down to Berlin to pick up some screws and headed back up to camp.  I cut up some logs and loaded stacked some wood with the other campers to get us some wood for the winter.  As the sun started to set, I finally got into the mood to work on the cabin.  I headed up and got some help from the girls.  Libby and Mary hauled plywood on the roof since they are awesome.  As we were putting it up, I secured the panel with a rope so it would not fall on Libby and Mary.  I used a tree as a brake to keep the rope from flying out of my grip.  As I put tension on it, I ripped the tree out of the ground.  I flashed fear as I was worried it would drop the panel on the ladies.  We eventually got it up and Joe went up on the ladder to screw things in.  He was the star in this system.  He worked hard as we lost the sun to put up the First and last panel of the roof for the weekend.  We then finished up and pulled the tarp back over the roof.  I set our tent back up inside and got everything ready for bed.  We made dinner and enjoyed the campers until about 8:30 when Libby said she might want to go home tonight.  For those that don't know her, you need to physically drag her away from the woods and a campfire when great people are around.  So I knew "might want to go home" was code for we are leaving early, but I need you to make the decision for me.  So we packed everything up and I asked Joe and Jim to tie down the tarp in the morning.  We drove home and just in time as we got to the bottom of the hill, freezing rain started coming down.  I knew we had made the right decision to head home and we got home at around 1 AM.  

We had a great if brief trip.  We need to head up in the next few weeks to finish getting the roof buttoned up for the winter.  If anyone wants to come up for a high density trip, we could use a hand.  

Moylan's enjoy gluten free cake cooked in a home made oven.  

Fire is awesome.

Pulling up panels to the roof.  

H kid checks out the door.  She approves.  

Joe gets conned into helping put up some roof panels   

Suspenders.  I can't tell you how much I like these suspenders.  

Libby sporting her Team Masek Shirt.  

Joe and I watch as Libby and Mary do all the hard work.  

We have a door!

Joe screws down some roof.  iI looks so cool as it starts to take the shape of the rafters..  

Building Construction Inspection Department.  The proper bribes were paid.

A note on suspenders.  Masek men have tragically been plagued with what the Medical Profession call "Lackitus Buttickus"  Also known as no butt.  For years I have battled gravity and my pants.  I decided I am not going to take it anymore.  I bought Craftsman Padded Suspenders and It has not only improved my work, but also made me easier to work with.  Prior to this, I had four things that would aggravate me while working on projects.

1.  Too hot out and I am pouring perspiration (it was 50 degrees out so this was temporarily fixed for me.   

2.  I made a mistake via poor planning or lack of materials.

3.  Someone has misplaced or broken one of my tools.

4.  My pants are falling down which limits my leg mobility and frustrates me.  It also makes me uneasy when I am on a ladder because my leg mobility is limited.  Suspenders = pants at a reasonable Height   

Now, I am down two two with one additional seasonal aggravation   

More Fire   

A picture is worth a thousand words (SEO fail)

It has been a while since my last update.  Libby and I have been doing work every now and again.  We have hit a few mile stones.  I finished both of my summer courses with a b and b+.  My knee is starting to get some strength back and I am getting confidence back.  I have been getting to the gym and was able to get the 95 pound Atlas stone up.  I am still struggling with eating well, but Libby has made it her mission for us to eat healthy.  Enough of me, on to the construction.

Libby and I laid out a bunch of the larger rafters.  After a few false starts, we added a MakeIt Labs approved self pretension device (bungee cord).  We got some 4 tooth blades and this system worked pretty good.  The saw has a limited duty cycle so it we couldn't hammer through it.  A little tension and a lot of breaks made it work.  It was plenty hot and humid so the breaks worked out of me.  I am not very pleasant in 90 degree, 89% humidity.  

More boards, you can see in the back ground some rafters made up of two planks.  This was done so we could reduce our impact on the environment.  Or I didn't want to spend money on more wood.  

Libby kicked some but and made two more stairs for the entry.  The stairs may have been a bit ridiculous, but we had all the material so it was essentially free.  We continued the stairs with the same design as the previous two.  Libby took the dimensions and angles and cut up all of the suport beams.

She laid out the boards on the ground and traced out what the pattern should be.  

Everything gets cut up and loaded into the trailer.  

Walls!  Well, some of them, we started putting up the sheathing.  From this experiment, star drive (torx) is better than square drive (Robertson).  We spent the day screwing everything together and making sure all the walls are solid.  Libby was amazed by how much sturdier the structure became when we added the sheathings.  I expected it, but still it is such a gratifying feeling when you push on a structure and can feel the stout lumber push back without yield.

The only wall without a window.  Fireplace goes here.  You can see the header structure of either 4x6, or laminated 2x6's with a plywood filler in between.   

The walls went up on the previous day.  Sunday, Libby and I put up some roof parts.  We started by building each peak section.  I pre-cut the Plywood in Nashua at MakeIt Labs and Libby assembled them up at the camp.  

I put them all up.  Not because Libby didn't want to help, but she is to short.  The two smaller ones were able to be lifted and hoisted into place.  

Screwed down from the top these parts were solid.  

It was hot that day so Libby and I took less pictures than we should have but we did manage to get a photo of me flipping up the large peak wall section.  Libby assembled it (she is pretty much the best)  We tried to put it up in the lifted position.  Failure.  We went with the lever screwed onto the board again to get it into place.  

Maine wall peak section up!  it is waiting for the main beam.

Way to hot.

Still to hot.  Since we did not have the availability of a crane, we made some dead-men that were cut to the exact length of how high the beam needed to be.  This process was far tougher than I figured it would have been.  We finally got it up but the composite of a 4x6 and 4x4 ten foot long 14 feet in the air was "challenging."   

I have some spare wood for Joe's cabin I borrowed to build scaffolding.  I screwed a 2x4 into the 2x10 to make a strong platform.  This made work up in the air far safer.   

Representing Crossfit Tuff with the shirt, not my dough like physique.  Always Hydrate either way.

Libby being cute.

That's a lot of rafters.  To bad heights make me uncomfortable.

Piles and Piles of tools.  Batteries are the limiting factor up at camp.

Every hour or so, I stop working and have to clean up the entire work site and organize tools.  Before each stage of construction I like to lay out my tools and find all of the materials needed to complete the next task.

Once I put in the windows, I lose my workbench.

5 and 6 inch deck screws are great.  However, they don't have threading throughout the entire fastener so they can unscrew from the second chunk of material, but still be stuck in the first.  It just sucks.  

I found some sucker, Joe volunteered to help put up rafters.  I am moving down the scaffolding   

Some photos just show a transition.  I spent more time prepping and cleaning up than actually working.  Libby was a star putting up with me and my limited mental capacity in the heat.  

SHe was smart and found a place to rest that was cool.

Sucker.  Volunteer.  Without Joe, I would still be up screwing in rafters.

Just removing the dead men when we got the center beam secured.  One of these days I may even figure out what they are called.  

Joe without a shirt dominating the Rafters.  

The energon is almost charged.

It almost looks like the model.  With any luck, this will be stupid sturdy.  

Monday we put up the secondary beams as we fought time and an oncoming rain storm.  

Libby looking so hot she fogs the camera.  

the two side beams up and installed thanks to Joe.  We beat the rain.

Libby hauls up little laminated rafters.  

H kid with her little caterpillar friend.  She is pretty much awesome.

Joe kicking but as we put up the two smaller main beams.  

Onto the other side.  The carriage bolts I put in to hold the beams together had to be adjusted. They were in the way of the junction at the end of the cabin.

Screwing down the rafters on the smaller section.

Libby helps clean up.  A clean work area is a safe work area.

It is starting to take shape.  You can start to see why I made the center beam laminated and jog up so I have an open span.

Look at you rafters.  You look strong.

Libby's upgraded stairs.  It is far easier to use them now.  With any luck, it will make snow covered entry easier in the winter.  

From the future sleeping position.  

From one side of the cabin,

What the center section looks like.

I am proud of this connection.  Everything fit for the most part.  

Down on the stairs.

Either a wood stove, or a propane heater will go here.  

What it looks like from a two year old's perspective.

Bob Masek helping put on some plywood.

Heidi hauls up windows.

Carol and Heidi with some team work.

The wood has curved.

This might actually work.

Now for side two.  Heidi and bob have a go at it.

Window one in.  Looks good to me.  

My dad and I talking about discussing things.  This may sound more like arguing.  

My dad proud of my work.  That is something that really helped make this project worthwhile. Both of my grandfathers built things out of scrap pallets like I tried to for most of this cabin.  Without him, I would not have my job, Libby, or any of my skills in making things.  Thanks Dad, and I love you!  

JB and Betty in the first photo from my 365 Robot photo project.  101101101 days a year.