As the World Turns - Woodturning in Costa Rica

Our Botanical Garden in Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica

sarah — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 20:22:24 +0000

Biesanz Woodworks Botanical Garden and Pond, Escazú, Costa Rica

Lately the pond and waterlilies next to the showroom and workshop have been looking especially nice. We’ve got botanical labels on a lot of things now too. There are some lovely things to see; some interesting medicinal plants, rare wood trees, some very unusual things to taste, and my favorite, lovely things to smell. There’s a nursery of wildlife forage and rare wood trees. We have stevia (the incredibly sweet herb), miracle fruit, dragonfruit, as well as the more common things like chocolate, vanilla, pepper, coffee, and bananas. Here’s the full list (about 72 plants):

List of Plants at the Biesanz Woodworks Botanical Garden, Escazu, Costa Rica

Green frog stuck to the kitchen window this morning (Escazu, Costa Rica)

sarah — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 00:46:29 +0000

This green frog has been on the kitchen window all day – hasn’t moved an inch. We can’t find him in the Costa Rica herpetology books – anyone know what he is?

From the other side of the glass you can see his belly – any even his toes. How did he get up above head height?

Monkeys in Quepos, Costa Rica

sarah — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:50:44 +0000

white faced monkeys in Quepos, Costa Rica

Barry says, “Down in quepos i thought the Capuchin monkey lying on the branch looked cute…and it looks like i’m wasn’t the only one!”

Sarah says, “The reaction photo is much funnier tho…”

Sean took this on Quepos Point, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.

Ooh, these vulture chicks smell bad. Cute tho…

barry — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:17:24 +0000

These guys hiss and stink. That and projectile foul vomiting are their defenses. Eggs laid right on the ground!

I saw this one hiking in Manuel Antonio, Quepos, Costa Rica.

Rainbow over San José, Costa Rica

sarah — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:02:41 +0000

Taken from our roof. See what we have to put up with here?

I think there was an inversion over San Jose.

Corcovado Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

sarah — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:12:00 +0000

]]>

Boas in Escazú

barry — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:45:11 +0000

Seen a 3 foot female boa by our house in Escazu twice now, and a 6 footer was seen today… they’re everywhere! and sooo cute! Nope, not venomous. I think they are living on the field mice.

Biesanz Woodworks in the news

sarah — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:18:59 +0000

Barry turned for the television crews, and he and Minor Loaiza did interviews for the cameras. It was for the Costa Rican Channel 6 morning magazine program “Giros.”

Very determined beetles…

Barry Biesanz — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:57:21 +0000

Scyllaridae beetle holes in cocobolo rosewood sapwood, and some in the heartwood too. They can even work lignum vitae, but it takes longer! These woods are so dense that they sink in water, so you can imagine how hard the beetles have to work.

On Sanding

barry — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:22:55 +0000

When I was just starting out I met a professor of woodwork from San Diego who was hanging out in CR for a while. He told me that he taught his students that one way of looking at woodworking was that each operation removes the signs of the previous operation. The planer smooths out the waves from the sawmill bandsaw, the hand plane further refines the surface, and then each grade of sandpaper removes the scratches left by the earlier grits, until you can no longer see scratches. On flat surfaces you can use a scraper and skip the sandpaper entirely.

Start sanding with the finest grit that will do the job – if it takes too long, it was too fine. Once the signs of the previous operation are gone, further sanding does nothing to improve things. Brush off the dust and loose grit before changing grits. Only skip one grade at a time. With coarse woods 180 might be the last grade, with dense, fine-grained woods, 400 grit might not be too much.

The finer grits clog up fast. To clean the sandpaper you can slap it, use compressed air, or wet sand with water or some kinds of finishes, like oil or oil/poly. That makes the paper last a long time.

A beveled edge foam sanding disc in a drill or drill press at 1800-2200 rpm is a big timesaver. I’ve heard of people making a finishing belt on stationary belt sanders by taking a worn out belt and jamming the edge of a two by four to further wear it down, and then using it as a polishing belt.

Flap finishing wheels are another time saver, use before the finish coat, and then to polish the dried finish. I use the finest grade I can find, 3M or Norton make them.