Shoestring Tele

Only because almost nobody slides down poles rather than use stairs  :laughing7:
 
Actually it's because there's only one person on the pole at a time and it's a lot harder to trip when you're in a hurry. If you want to go faster on a pole, you just do less of what you're already doing.
 
Rain let up just enough for a few hours tonight for me to find out that my kitty litter buckets storing tools aren't nearly as waterproof as I thought.  Got the trap doors up. Soon as I figure out what to do with the remaining open wall, and I get the rope ladder installed, I can open the 2nd floor. (The 1st floor is kind of lumber storage for the moment. Trap doors will have a gate style deadbolt on the bottom so I can lock them. Fire pole door is permanently fixed until I get a pole to install, to reduce temptation.

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Been anticipating this week for months - kiddo is at grandad's for the week - so I was hoping to get a lot done on the treehouse. Only it's been raining buckets every day this week, all week.  Yesterday I got a reprieve, got some more bracing up for the 3rd floor. The goal is get have the 2nd floor open before Kindergarten starts in a few weeks - and all I need for that now is to install the rope ladder and clear off the lumber storage on the bottom platform. Right now it's looking like we can get 3rd floor complete by then too. Got a lock on the trap door too now (good thing because we're headed to the beach soon, and when we're away is probably the only time it'll be locked.)

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Oh... my neighbor is flying larger than casual hobby style drones. I found plans for a wooden M2-HB machine gun, thinking about building it for "anti-aircraft defense"

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That one is actually not wooden, but I have a 36" sheet metal brake too. If I were to build it - while It'd be non-firing of course - I'd love it if you could cycle the bolt.
 
Haha, that should do the trick.  I think a quick search on google for home-made flak might produce interesting results, if not a free pass to the no-fly list.
 
You're doing a first-class job on that. The M2 will be the tops for him.
 
Creek side braces going up - This side is getting chopped short about 12" to allow room for that teenaged poplar to sway. I have about an hour worth of work to open the 2nd floor - but I'm not going to do so until I can clear off the lumber storage on the first floor (or just to call it done before Kindergarten starts).  These went a lot faster than the first side. If the weather and work cooperate this week, I have a real good shot at getting the 3rd floor floor system up soon.

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Ordered! 1-5/8" nut, SS6230 frets, 7.25" radius, boatneck. I was sore tempted by some of the macassar ebony boards I saw, and the roast flame maple, but then I realized - hey dummy - they're supposed to match! So I grabbed an unroasted maple neck with a rosewood board (and saved a bundle on options too).

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I can't work on the tree house next week, and after that I have one more week to get it done before school starts. So it's time to clean up the bottom floor and get the rope ladder up I'm afraid. I hope to get the last remaining brace up this evening, but I doubt I'll get any more of the floor system up on the 3rd floor before school starts.
 
Last of the knees - and my brother returned my pump jacks - which I'd forgotten I owned and hadn't really considered for working on the tree house. I'm still not sure that I can pump them if I'm resting one end on the platform, but one post plus the walk board resting on the platform should make things easier for the next level.

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No pics, but I was cleaning up the cutoff lumber around the job site today, kiddo was busy doing something or other nearby. Hear screaming. Kiddo has attempted to chop his big toe off with a mattock. Actually, he attempted to chop down a tree with it. First ER visit. Lots of blood and flailing, so it was hard to do a proper assessment before we decided to take him in. By the time we got there, he was beginning to calm down. Toe is fine. Just a bad bash, a fair bit of bleeding, going to lose the nail and be real bad sore for a while, but nothing broken and no actual laceration. It was hard to tell, but initially it appeared to be a bad, potentially deep,  gash across the nail bed. By the time we left the ER, he was plotting his escape (waiting on discharge papers) and flirting with the nurse (trying to squirt her with saline - her ploy to get him to let her actually wash it up.)

 
Sorry to hear that. Glad he's gonna be alright.

On the plus side, regardless of what the bleeding hearts and pop psychologists say, few things teach as fast as pain. I doubt he'll be having any trouble with mattocks in the future.
 
Yeah. The irony hit me once I realized it wasnt more serious. We've trying unsuccessfully for a few years to get him walking flat footed instead of on his tiptoes. It hasnt been a big deal until now but he's reaching the age where if he doesn't appear to be growing out of it and if he keeps it up, it can require surgery to lengthen the achilles tendon. Well... I don't suppose he's going to be doing much toe walking in the next few weeks.
 
Glad to hear he's going to be OK. That's a really scary situation for all concerned. Could have been much worse.
 
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