4/2-4/14 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Wednesday through Friday.

The weather was sunny and beautiful all the way over. I stopped and visited with Uncle Charles on the way and arrived at Camp Serendipity at 12:40. Ernie stopped by for hugs and biscuits shortly after I parked.

After moving my gear in, hoisting the flag, and starting a fire in the stove, I had my lunch and my nap. When I got up, I fixed a loose screw in a kitchen cabinet and I did a test of two types of glue. I had written up instructions for how to open and close the display case for my bronze model of Mt. Rainier and I wanted to glue an envelope to the back of the case to hold the instructions. I glued on a strip of paper using Avery Glue Stic and another one using Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue.

I had been surprised at how complicated those instructions turned out to be. I am used to the process of reconfiguring that display case but I realize that someone unfamiliar with it might have trouble. I'll feel better having detailed instructions right with the case.

Next I took the measurements I had made last week for the OSB for the roof patch and transferred them to a sheet of cardboard. Then I cut the cardboard into a template which I took up to the roof to try out. It fit nicely in place so I brought it back down.

Next I rummaged around the stash of OSB pieces under the front porch and found one that was just exactly the right size. I had to use a crowbar and a C-clamp to pull it out of the stack, but with a little work, I got it up on the sawhorses on the porch deck. Then I used the cardboard template to mark it for cutting. It was getting late and I didn't want to make a big sawdust mess before I went in for the night so I left the cutting for the next day.

Before I went in, I shot some scenes for the next video on roof repair. Inside, I tried following the instructions for opening and then closing the Mt. Rainier display case. Good thing I did. I discovered that the 42 instructions that I had written were not enough. I forgot four which brings the new total to 46. Looking at the instructions, it seems more complicated than I had thought.

On Thursday morning Robert Ferrel called just to check on the condition of the snow and mud at Camp Serendipity. We concluded that it would be best to wait about a month until it dried out more. He has other work he needs to do during that time, and so do I, so waiting won't be a problem for either of us.

I checked my glue experiment and was surprised to see how well the Glue Stic worked. The paper was glued so tightly that the paper came apart rather than the glue joint when I pulled it off. The Elmer's didn't stick nearly as well. I used the Glue Stic to glue the envelop to the back of the model case.

After breakfast I used the Skilsaw to cut the sheet of OSB into the proper shape and then hauled it up onto the roof. I used a long rope tied to a C-clamp that was clamped on one end of the sheet. Then, standing on the top scaffold deck, I hauled on the rope and pulled the OSB up and rested it on the lower deck. Then I moved the clamp and rope to a different edge and snubbed the rope to a rafter for safety. And finally, I wrestled the sheet up between the rafters and laid it down on top of the rafters into the position it needed to go.

It didn't fit quite right because something wasn't quite square, so I went down and got my vibrating saw and used that to trim a little off the inside edge so that it fit better. I was happy with the fit and proceeded to screw the sheet to the rafters. I could reach about 2/3 of the sheet while standing on the top platform and leaning over and that used up all the screws I had with me. I'll leave the remaining third of the sheet and screw it down when I get more screws and while I am up there working on the last sheet.

On closer inspection I found that the sheet still wasn't quite right. It was too wide at the bottom of the outside edge. The OSB was sticking out and pushing out on the rake metal. The rake needs to be right up against the fascia board so this was unacceptable. The problem was that there wasn't a very convenient way to saw a strip off the edge of the OSB now that the sheet was screwed down.

The only way that made sense was to use a hand saw from underneath with the saw upside down and sawing uphill. The saw needed to go between the vertical flange of the rake and the fascia board and the rake over the top prevented any longer stroke of the saw than a couple inches.

With the prospect of that formidable job ahead of me, I took a break for lunch and a nap. When I got up, I got the chainsaw out and bucked up a couple small logs that were in the way of my wood pile. The saw was hard to start and the trigger started sticking again, so when I finished bucking the logs, I took the saw down and loaded it in the back of the truck for a trip to the saw shop.

Then I went back up on the scaffold with my hand saw and proceeded to saw the strip off the edge of the OSB. It took about an hour and I made many hundreds of short strokes with the saw. I got into a rhythm of counting the strokes. I would make a hundred strokes and then lower my arms and the saw to rest for a while. Then back up to do another hundred strokes and repeat the process. I was getting about an inch of progress with each hundred strokes and the strip ended up being 24 inches long so I guess the job took me somewhere around 2400 strokes with the saw. The important thing, though, is that I got the job done and the rake metal nicely hugged the fascia board when I had finished.

On Friday morning, I went up on the scaffolds again and measured for the second and last piece of OSB. Then I replaced the tarp for the week and came down to scout for roofing material. My plan was to buy the new roofing materials this weekend and I wasn't sure exactly how much I had on hand. I knew there was one piece in the crawlspace so I measured it and found that it would work for one of the four pieces I needed.

Then I went out to the woodshed to see what was there and lo and behold there were quite a few big pieces stored there. They were the salvaged pieces that had slid off the roof in 2008. I had almost forgotten about them. I did some measurements of the lengths and found that there was plenty of roof panel material to do the job. I also found enough rake metal to make the repair except that it will have to be done in two pieces. I need 60 inches of rake and I found two 36 inch pieces. That will work. There is still a question of whether the salvaged panels are straight enough to work. I'll have to get them out, inspect them, and try to straighten any bends or deformations before I will really know if they are usable. I'll tackle that next week.

Next, I went to my stash of OSB and pulled out another piece just the right size for the last piece I need for the patch and hauled it up to the front porch. I used the measurements I had made to mark the piece for cutting. I decided to leave the cutting for next week since it was time to leave. I left for home at 12:45 pretty happy with my progress for the week.