What a miserable week we've had. Cold, damp and dreary. Needless to say was not the kind of weather that moves you to do anything but huddle up with a good book or a movie.

I still managed to get some work done on the pattern for the tray supports though. No pictures to show since the work was monotonous and there's really not many changes to show. It involved carefully filling in all the fillets and smoothing out the joints. This meant apply some filler, let it dry over night and then sand it down. Now repeat the process at least 4 times to build up some of the areas and then ensure you still have the slope required by the foundry to cast the metal. I hope to be finished this process tomorrow with the last of the sanding and smoothing. Once that's done I will install the locating pins to ensure the two halves align properly and then we'll start shellacing the pattern. I expect this to also take the better part of a week as I place one coat on per night. Then when dry 24hrs later, a light sanding before the next coat is applied.

My hope is to have all this done, such that I can bring it to the foundry by last week in May. This will match up with when I go to my parents before we all drive out to Kalamazoo MI to visit my Grandmother who this years turns 101years old. We'll visit about 5 days and then return. Once I come back I will bring back the overhead drive I bought from California and had shipped to my cousins in Kalamazoo. As to whether the foundry will be finished not sure. Last time they took three weeks from when the pattern was dropped of to when the parts were ready.

Well all the best with all of you and enjoy the week ahead.

Harold