Defeat
OK, I give up. I spent about a month of every spare minute working on this darn checkerboard, and I finally had to toss it. On Christmas Eve. With no time left to make anything else for my daughter.
Oh, I made a strong attempt today to finish everything. I ran to Home Depot this morning to get spray paint for the checkers, but by the time I finished the other errands I had to run, I was rushed. I stopped to sew two pillows for the other daughter and printed a quick photo for my husband's mouse pad present. (I never had time to even buy the wood for his tie rack.) Next, I quickly sanded and began to paint one side of the checkers, in between runs upstairs to help both daughters with their presents for Dad. Then I unclamped the board--it was a disappointment but not a total loss at this point. Despite my utmost care (and about 50 pounds of weight on top to keep it firmly pressed down), there was one row of checks that had raised up a fraction of an inch. Combined with the ragged edges of some pieces (as a result of the mishap with the table saw the other day), it wasn't pretty. But I figured I could touch it up. So I pulled out the miter saw (wrenching my back in the process) and cut the frame. When I realized that two sides of the frame were too SHORT, I was horrified. Apparently, MY checkerboard didn't turn out exactly square like the one in the plan. Mine was about 1/2 inch longer on one side, so the frame pieces didn't fit.
I knew there was no time to go back to Home Depot, get more wood, stain it, and cut it to fit. I had about 1 1/2 hours left before we were supposed to leave for Christmas Eve services at our old church--a 40 minute drive. And I hadn't showered all day. I also had to go to the grocery, because I had yet to get tomorrow's ham or anything else we needed.
So I did some quick measurements and decided I could trim off about 1/4 inch on the two long sides. I marked it carefully, then got out the circular saw. I clamped a straight edge, held my breath, and began to saw. The stupid thing got stuck about 1 inch into the checkerboard. I was so frustrated, that I just threw the whole thing down, cleaned up the garage, and left for the grocery.
There's no way to salvage the board now, even if there was a slight chance before. I finally decided to finish painting the checkers (which I just did, now that we're back from church) so that I could give Amelia something tomorrow. I have a nice, velvet drawstring bag to put them in. And I'll just tell her I'll make her a checkerboard this week. This time, I'm just going to cut a square piece of MDF and STAMP the black and red checks on it.
This has been a frustrating and depressing experience. I really wanted to make something that my daughter could keep forever, kind of a family heirloom. If I can't make something this simple--with straight line cuts and glue--I'm worse off than I thought. All the power tools in the world can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Oink, oink.
Oh, I made a strong attempt today to finish everything. I ran to Home Depot this morning to get spray paint for the checkers, but by the time I finished the other errands I had to run, I was rushed. I stopped to sew two pillows for the other daughter and printed a quick photo for my husband's mouse pad present. (I never had time to even buy the wood for his tie rack.) Next, I quickly sanded and began to paint one side of the checkers, in between runs upstairs to help both daughters with their presents for Dad. Then I unclamped the board--it was a disappointment but not a total loss at this point. Despite my utmost care (and about 50 pounds of weight on top to keep it firmly pressed down), there was one row of checks that had raised up a fraction of an inch. Combined with the ragged edges of some pieces (as a result of the mishap with the table saw the other day), it wasn't pretty. But I figured I could touch it up. So I pulled out the miter saw (wrenching my back in the process) and cut the frame. When I realized that two sides of the frame were too SHORT, I was horrified. Apparently, MY checkerboard didn't turn out exactly square like the one in the plan. Mine was about 1/2 inch longer on one side, so the frame pieces didn't fit.
I knew there was no time to go back to Home Depot, get more wood, stain it, and cut it to fit. I had about 1 1/2 hours left before we were supposed to leave for Christmas Eve services at our old church--a 40 minute drive. And I hadn't showered all day. I also had to go to the grocery, because I had yet to get tomorrow's ham or anything else we needed.
So I did some quick measurements and decided I could trim off about 1/4 inch on the two long sides. I marked it carefully, then got out the circular saw. I clamped a straight edge, held my breath, and began to saw. The stupid thing got stuck about 1 inch into the checkerboard. I was so frustrated, that I just threw the whole thing down, cleaned up the garage, and left for the grocery.
There's no way to salvage the board now, even if there was a slight chance before. I finally decided to finish painting the checkers (which I just did, now that we're back from church) so that I could give Amelia something tomorrow. I have a nice, velvet drawstring bag to put them in. And I'll just tell her I'll make her a checkerboard this week. This time, I'm just going to cut a square piece of MDF and STAMP the black and red checks on it.
This has been a frustrating and depressing experience. I really wanted to make something that my daughter could keep forever, kind of a family heirloom. If I can't make something this simple--with straight line cuts and glue--I'm worse off than I thought. All the power tools in the world can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Oink, oink.
posted by Tif at 7:46 PM
1 Comments:
I'm impressed with your blog! Don't give up on your wood working. It took me years to feel competent playing the harmonica, but It's worth it when you get it right
Wes
Post a Comment
<< Home