Fusion carpentry

These doors are oak, tongue and groove and clamped not glued.
But the hinges are soft-closing and the clamps are screwed with hexagonal drive screws.
A nice mix of at least three centuries.

Rain check

With the new roof extension, roofrack and front porch fitted it was time for a quick shower to test the waterproofing.
Mother nature obliged and we are happy to report all was dry on the inside.

A wall of oak

What started as a heap of parts and empty boxes is now coming together and we're beginning to see how the finished piece is going to look.
A lot of the small choices can only be made as you come across them during construction.
Like playing chess, this does require thinking a number of moves ahead.

Small grey box

To stop people calling anything a camper van, and inly having to pay a quarter of the road tax, the Dutch Tax people insist on there being a square metre of floor space with headroom of 1 metre 70. (for small Dutch people?)
Though the Mercedes is large and heavy, inside we were 12cm. short of the required height.
Solution; a square metre box on the roof. Good place to put a hatch for air and light, and it'll be hidden behind the roof rack anyway.

Mast beer, not yet

Bouke and the 'Mark' are alongside 'Op Hoop van Zegen to get our winch working, and working safely. We now have a brake and ratchets on both drums.
Next job is to fit the pulleys into the foot of the mast so that we can winch the mast upright.
It is a Dutch tradition that the first time the mast stands is celebrated with 'Mast beer'. Should think so too as our mast has been horizontal for almost eighteen years. We're not there yet, though.

Surprisingly large

Putting the cupboard bodies together for the office furniture in Beilen, we were surprised by the size of them.
Not that we should have been as the wall at the end of the office is almost three by three metres.
Conclusion; houses are bigger and squarer than barges.

Boiler

According to German carpenter friend Houke, this is how to pronounce the name of our newly aquired thickness planer, built in Germany by Bäuerle in 1978.
One heavy piece of German engineering being pulled by another from the same era.