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Skhilled

2024-03-24, 09:52:09
It may be released as early as today...if we all agree on it. ;)
 

Skhilled

2024-03-24, 09:37:46
Thank you, sir!  :)
 

Ken

2024-03-24, 09:28:38
I like it. Dark themes are not my first choice, but I like the crisp, clean lines.  :thumbup:
 

Skhilled

2024-03-24, 08:56:28
The original theme is here:

https://www.jpr62.com/demos/index.php
 

Skhilled

2024-03-24, 08:53:17
You can always see the latest previews here but registration is disabled:

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Ken

2024-03-24, 08:50:36
Any previews yet?
 

Skhilled

2024-03-24, 08:46:18
We almost have another theme completed.  :laugh:
 

Skhilled

2024-03-24, 08:45:18
What's up, bro?  :drinking:
 

Ken

2024-03-24, 08:42:45
Hi Steve.  :)
 

Skhilled

2024-02-21, 21:11:25
I missed that one. LOL

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Author Topic: Gifts for my Doctors!  (Read 11161 times)

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Offline Ken (OP)

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Gifts for my Doctors!
« on: April 24, 2019, 12:11:05 PM »
Gifts for my Doctors!

Started working on the replicas of vintage Stethoscopes that I'm making for two of my Doctors, Vanessa who is my GP and Heather who is my Oncologist.

The image below is similar to what I'll be making, but my version will be made from a wood know by the name 'Purpleheart' and it gets the name because the color is very much a deep purple color.
BTW... a board that is 2"x4"x4' cost me $25+$35 shipping! when I ordered the board I did not realize that the clerk set me up with overnight on UPS!  shocked003

 

"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: Gifts for my Doctors!
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2019, 07:11:03 PM »
Not wanting to start strait away cutting on that expensive chunk of purpleheart, so my first practice work will be on some cheap pine from the BORG!  :wink:
As you can see, the turning process has just been started so the piece looks really rough at this point, but my plan is to complete this turning all the way to a nice shiny finish as a test of all the steps needed to turn out a good looking product. So, you should be seeing this pine prototype again and if need be maybe even a second one if this first one turns out to be a little short of the desired result.


Here's what a purpleheart 2x4 looks like:


BTW... the color looks good now, but when turned to the finial shape and a nice finish is applied it will look way better and a lot more 'purple'.
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Skhilled

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Re: Gifts for my Doctors!
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2019, 09:16:50 AM »
Very nice!!! :)

Offline Ken (OP)

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A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2019, 07:59:05 PM »
NOTE:... for my Family and Friends; most of you already know the details of my cancer adventures, but I'm including a summary of them here for any of my woodturning friends who might read this post.

A Gift for my Doctor(s)
My cancer adventures and battles began back in 2013 and it all started out with a bang! I'm not going to lay out every last little detail here, but the basics go like this.

Late in that year, (2013) my doctor set me up for a CT scan for a completely unrelated issue and that's when we discovered a rather large mass growing on one of my kidneys and not long after that the mass and the kidney were removed. That's when my two blessings kicked in, the first blessing was the discovery of cancer before it spread to anywhere else in my body and the second being when my treatment plan didn't require any chemo or radiation of any kind after the kidney and the cancer were removed, and so then life moved along quite calmly until late in 2017.

That's when my two SuperHeroines came out to play!  :thumbup:
First came my Family PA, Vanessa Kearney, actually she has been taking care of my wife, Kay, and me for many years and she has always kept me headed in the right direction, making sure that I got all my tests and scans in a timely manner and it was one those scans that found my cancer in the very early stages as it came back in my kidney bed and lungs late in 2017. That's when my Oncologist, Dr. Heather Shearer, came onboard and it's her diagnosis and treatment plan that has kept me above ground and breathing all this time since then. There is a third SuperHeroine on my team of course and that's my wife, Kay, because as a retired Nurse she knows a thing or two about medical care so her guidance and advice have kept me safe through the years.
Side Note: Like many, or most of you know, drug prices are crazy high and some are astronomical! The cancer drug that I'm on costs so much (about $7000 per Mo) and the co-pay so high ($895 per Mo) that I simply would not be able to afford it except for the fact that Dr. Shearer's staff was able to find a grant for me that covered the co-pay.
Whoops! I just received a notice (10/8/19) that the funding for my grant has been used up, so now we have to start working on a new source.

So, enough of the back story... let us get on to the woodturning.
It has always seemed more than obvious to me that these two ladies deserve any display of gratitude that I can muster and my wood turnings seemed the best way for me to show them how much they mean to me and also to my family. So, I wanted the gifts to be based on something vintage, or historical that was also related to something that they would be using in their everyday medical practice and during my research, I came upon the perfect medical tool... the stethoscope!

Back in 1816 a French doctor, René Laennec, tried using a rolled-up paper because he didn't feel comfortable placing his head on a woman's chest to listen to her heart and the rolled-up paper worked OK, so he then designed the first stethoscope as a hollow wooden tube. At first, I was going to base my turning on that first wooden tube, but during further research, I found a design with a bit more personality and style.

Before moving on to the finished turning I made a couple of prototypes to test my design ideas and to build up my skills which were sorely out of practice. This one is made from a piece of SYP from the BORG and while it's a bit rough and unfinished it helped me get ready for the real thing.


And the finished Stethoscope.
Purpleheart, 2"x7", finished with 40-50 coats of thin CA.




And the Big Payoff!
Vanessa received her gift back in May 0r June and sorry to say my phone died and took any pictures of her with it.
It has taken me this long to work up the energy to finish the gift for Heather and in these two pictures she shows that she likes her new stethoscope.  :thumbup:
BTW... she tried it and it works.




Thanks for looking... Ken.
 
« Last Edit: October 24, 2019, 02:58:46 PM by Ken »
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Skhilled

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2019, 08:31:00 AM »
Very cool! Great job!

Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2019, 08:44:15 AM »
Yes, and I'm just glad that I was able to finish the one pictured in time for this last appointment with Dr. Shearer because these last couple of months have been really rough as my medicine conflicts have made it very difficult for me to function. The first one that I did for Vanessa was finished and given some months ago before all the bad reactions to some of my drugs.

Like I always say, "Better living through chemistry!"  shocked003
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2019, 05:04:02 PM »
Side Note: Like many, or most of you know, drug prices are crazy high and some are astronomical! The cancer drug that I'm on costs so much (about $7000 per Mo) and the co-pay so high ($895 per Mo) that I simply would not be able to afford it except for the fact that Dr. Shearer's staff was able to find a grant for me that covered the co-pay.

Whoops!
I just received a notice (10/8/19) that the funding for my grant has been used up, so now we have to start working on a new source.
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Skhilled

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2019, 07:46:48 AM »
Good luck!

Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2019, 04:53:06 PM »
BTW... still working on a grant for the upcoming year, and... just found out that the co-pay is now $1918.82!!!  shocked003
If my grant falls through then hopefully Dr. Shearer can find something that I can afford... or I could just go ahead and die.  :disturbed:
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Skhilled

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Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2019, 01:02:12 PM »
Thanks for that link, Steve.  :thumbup:
I'm reasonably sure that my current grant will be renewed because my information on income, etc is more or less the same and that's what the grant is based on, but it's always good to have a backup plan.
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Skhilled

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2019, 11:26:30 AM »
Sadly, it seems to be a "trend" to help vets rather than the way it should be. But...it works, for now...so use it to your advantage. ;)

Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: A Gift for my Doctor(s)
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2019, 03:11:28 PM »
Today our Family PA, Vanessa and I were finally able to get together and take a photo of her with her stethoscope, it took us a long time and it was worth the wait!  :thumbup:

"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.

Offline Skhilled

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Re: Gifts for my Doctors!
« Reply #13 on: November 12, 2019, 10:25:17 AM »
Look like you're ready to take her out to dinner. ;) LOL

Offline Ken (OP)

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Re: Gifts for my Doctors!
« Reply #14 on: November 19, 2019, 04:09:29 PM »
CoPay Funding Status from https://www.cancercare.org/ 

  :banana: :banana: :banana:
"Not all who wander are lost."-Tolkien
Yesterday When I was Young.