Welcome to Breakfast in America

My photo journal is an eclectic mix of things; there’s no guiding theme or topic. It is whatever happens to catch my attention, what I’ve been thinking, doing, and whatever my current obsessions are. At the moment, they are clearing some of the backlog on my ‘honey-do’ list, backpacking and hammock camping.

Recent posts

  • Hitachi C10FR Table Saw — My next project

    Hitachi C10FR Table Saw — My next project. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    It’s a very well-used worksite jobbing saw I’ve had for a few years. I’ve spent time setting it up, so it is accurate enough for my purposes. However, it is time to make some improvements.

    I’m going to replace the base with a wheeled cart with adjustable height to match my workbench. The saw sprays sawdust around when it is running, so, most importantly, I’ll be adding dust collection.

    Hitachi C10FR Table Saw — My next project. Bonus color version. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Hibiscus — Hollywood

    Hibiscus — Hollywood. Our hibiscuses have generally been a bit ‘Meh’ this year, so this one stood out. The blue tinge is due to reflected skylight, not coloring. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Doorstop

    Doorstop — another test shot to get a feel of the workflow with the new storage and table. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Knife

    Knife. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    A quick test of the new photography table. Jim gave me the knife a few months ago, I’m not sure where he got it from. It’s more for decoration than anything else. It’s very heavy and made, I’m told, from surgical steel. I suspect it’s from India (the maker’s mark has been removed).

    The piece of driftwood was sent to us by a friend of Ginger’s in Sweden. It was washed up on the Baltic coast and is amazingly lightweight.

  • Set up for a quick test

    Set up for a quick test — I used a small hand-held fill in light for the test pictures. It has finely adjustable color temperature and brightness. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Sparkle Zone Storage Center, Stage Two

    Sparkle Zone Storage Center, Stage Two, almost complete — Some final adjustments to the bottom doors to be made. There is still some minor work and finishing touches to be completed. Apart from that, all done. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Now with added ‘Small Product phototable.’ For small quick shoots it can be pulled out with a small surface, just over a foot deep. For larger items it can extend up to 36-inches. The whole unit can be moved around to make the best use of the light or to put it where it is needed. Now to find out if it improves our photography workflow.

  • A costly mistake…

    A costly mistake… Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    At $70 per door, and I ruined two doors before I realized my error. I forgot to allow for the Inset panel (at 3/16-inch) when selecting screws to mount the doors on cross braces. That brings my ‘Cock-up Account’ up to $200 in a couple of months (don’t ask).

  • Sparkle Zone Storage Center, Stage One, almost complete

    Sparkle Zone Storage Center, Stage One, almost complete. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Sparkle Zone Storage Center, Stage One, almost complete. Now for the fiddly bit of the end panel and the ‘fill-in’ panels. That big gap — that’s a special space, and will be Stage Two!

  • It fits

    It fits. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Carcasses fitted to the wall, this, and fitting the doors is the easy bit.

  • Will it work?

    Will it work? Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Dry fit. Just eyeballing it to make sure we like the use of space, and checking I hadn’t messed up my size calculations.

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