Totally Unrelated

This has nothing to do with my handymama projects, but I just found out that the local film festival guest list for this spring includes Jon Provost, who played "Timmy" on Lassie when I was growing up, and the lady who played "ZuZu" in It's a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart--one of my favorite movies. I'd love to meet them both. My first grade "satchel" (no backpacks then!) was a Lassie one. And I was in love with Timmy.

On a recent walk in our town park, I stopped to talk with a lady and her dog. (Well, the dog didn't talk to me, but I talked to her.) When I asked the lady what her dog's name was, she said, "It's kind of unusual. It's ZuZu." I immediately replied, "ZuZu's petals!" She was taken aback. "You're the first person who's ever known that! I usually have to explain it to people."

"Bert, my mouth's bleeding!"
"Hot dog!"
"Hee-haw!"
"To my big brother, George--the richest man in town!"

They just don't make 'em like they used to. Sigh.

Backwards

I've always been a backwards learner. In other words, I seem to do better if I try something out hands-on rather than reading the directions/manual first. This isn't the safest thing to do, I realize, but those manuals seem so boring and long. I'd rather just jump right in and try something.

My e-newsletter for Woodworkers Journal magazine came today along with a list of upcoming online chats with experts. The one next week is on using your table saw. Now that I have had my saw for more than a year, I have used it enough to have some decent questions. If I had tried to participate in a chat before becoming somewhat familiar with the machine, I would've asked some rather stupid questions.

Now I can ask things like:

1. Is there a cheap table extension that I can buy or make?
2. What about a fence extension?
3. How can I add wheels to the stand when the feet are hollow?
4. How can I hook up a dust vacuum to the exhaust pipe without endangering my life?
5. Do you need to change the blade for different types of wood/projects?

It may be backwards, but it works for me. And so far, I haven't cut off my hands.

Consequences

My back is aching, my legs are sore, my hands are raw and peeling, and I feel as if I could fall asleep standing up. Yes, it's the result of working all weekend on the desk project! (Well, almost all weekend. I stayed up til 2 a.m. Saturday morning helping my 9th-grader finish a Latin project that she had to take to a county-wide assembly on Saturday at 8:15 a.m. Did you know that Walmart is open 24-hours???? Did you further know that Walmart has been known to run out of white and black beads????????)

All those aches and pains paid off, though, in visible results. The desktop now has a nice, neat access "hole" in the back, all three hutches are resting on top, and each hutch is screwed to the studs--at least at the bottom. I have to get another piece of wood to secure the top. And they're level, to boot!

In the process of doing all this, I learned some new skills. First, I finally learned how to handle the jigsaw. I've never been able to do it without the wood splintering and leaving a jagged edge. For some reason, this time, I was able to get the hang of it, and my cut line was smooth as silk.

Also, I realized that I haven't been countersinking my screw holes as deeply as I should have. Unfortunately, I realized that you can also go too far when I broke off yet another drill bit in the screw hole. It was so embedded that I couldn't even extricate it! Oh well, I'll fill in that bugger with some putty and paint :-)

Once the final screws are in, it'll be on to cutting the adjustable shelves. I've already primed and painted the long boards, so once I cut to length, all I have to do is prime and paint the ends. Then I'll move on to trim, caulking, and touch-ups.

There's light at the end of the tunnel! Let's hope these old bones can keep moving.

D-Day Eve

Tomorrow is Kate's 15th birthday, and I am still not finished with this two-year building project for her room. I had promised to get it done by her birthday this year, but despite my best efforts, I failed.

I haven't given up, though. If all goes well (HA!), perhaps it will be finished by next weekend. I made major progress this week with no huge mistakes . . . at least, none that you can see very well :-)

My husband helped me cut the backs to the left and right hutches tonight. I still have to paint one side of the left back, but otherwise, it's time to nail them on. That will be quick.

It's the center hutch that always takes the most time, because it's the one with permanent shelves, a cut-out at the bottom for the electrical cords, and the weirdest angles at the top. We cut the shelves tonight, using some leftover plywood from a previous project. They've already been primed and are ready for paint.

Yesterday, I discovered I had to widen slightly the dadoes I had routed in the middle hutch sides. THey were a hair too narrow to accommodate the 3/4" width shelves, even when I pounded them with the rubber mallett. That adjustment took a while, but I finally got it done. I think they're ok and level, but I'll have to wait til I put it together next weekend to be sure.

OK, so what I have left it to paint one backside piece; cut the support pieces and assemble the center hutch; and nail the backs on all three units. Oops--also I have to scribe the desktop to the left wall and cut out the electrical access hole in it, plus cut the hole in the cabinet side for the cords to go through. All that, plus trim. Wow! It's more than I realized.

Plus I have the window seat cushion cover!!!!!

If I ever finish this . . . WHEN I finish this project, I'll be so amazed I won't know what to do. That is, until I start on the next one.

Day 6 and Counting

Today is the sixth day of spring break, and while I have not accomplished as much as I would have liked, I have made some progress.

After our three-day "vacation" at the state park, I jumped into the hutch project early Tuesday morning by running to Lowe's to get the rest of the wood and assorted other supplies. I've worked on the hutch a reasonable amount of time each day since--steady progress while still leaving time for some "fun" on my break.

The vertical sides and support wood have all been routed, primed, sanded, and painted now, except for the back of one piece. The sides have also been cut pretty much to length, but I still need to miter the top of a couple of pieces. Tomorrow, I'll cut the horizontal 1x2 supports and install the vertical metal shelf standards. Hopefully, I'll also get the sections tacked together to square and level them.

Of course, I haven't gotten much else done on the "project" list this week. I've managed to squeeze in a few small tasks, like weeding the flower beds a bit (not on my list but should have been!). But I've also slept in on more than one morning, enjoyed dinner out and some games with the family, and visited with the next door neighbors and my mother. All in all, not a bad week.

A final humorous note.
While I was painting in the garage today, one of the neighbor boys who is about six-years-old rode up on his bicycle to see what I was doing. Then he said, "I thought only dads painted stuff." I smiled at him and replied, "Well, moms can paint and do lots more things, too!"

Chix Can Fix

I saw an article in today's newspaper promoting a new book, Chix Can Fix, which is apparently written by a woman who hosts a TV do-it-yourselfer show. I can't say that I've seen it, but I went to her web page to check it out. I can't see that either, it turns out, because I have to download some other interactive software. If she can't fix her website so that most people can view it without filling up their computers with a ton of junk, then I probably don't want the book.

However, the article went on to mention that 25% of power tool purchases are now being made by women. I wonder how accurate that is. On the one hand, I know there are more women using tools, but I also suspect that a significant portion of tools bought by women is still attributable to gifts they buy for their spouses, fathers, etc. Yet, I wonder how many men are buying tools for their wives? Almost all my tools have been gifts from my husband. Oh well, I suppose it all evens out in the wash, as Mother used to say.

At any rate, I should be getting some use out of my power tools over the next week or so. We'll be on vacation while the kids are on spring break. We're only taking three days to "vacation" at a state park. Then we'll be back home, where I've got plenty on my list. Number one, of course, is to finish the hutch. March 20 is coming fast! I also feel the need to get that grouting done in my bathroom. I've had the materials for several months but never the time to do it. The grout is deteriorating more quickly now, and I need to get it fixed before I have other problems, like water downstairs--again. Then there's the "drum room," which needs the rest of the wallpaper border removed, nail holes filled, priming, and painting.

How much will I actually get done? I'm sure not nearly as much as I expect. But I'd rather work my tail off at home than in the office :-)

Briefly

It's been well over a week since my last post, and my sister is nagging me to get back to my blog. She said she figured if I hadn't blogged about my woodworking, I must not have been doing any of it.

In part, she's right. I haven't done much, anyway. It's just that I'm exhausted from the daily rigors of being a full-time working mother. And frankly, blogging hasn't been at the top of my list lately.

This weekend, I did make some progress, albeit small, on the final hutch. The pieces are now routed for the shelf supports, and they are finally cut to length. The latter was a challenge--the type that I seem to face continually. It took me an hour on Sunday afternoon to set up my equipment and another hour to break it down and clean up. Somewhere in between, I spent about an hour working. And it wasn't the working that tired me--it was the set up and break down! You have to move the vehicles out of the garage, pull out the heavy table saw, set up very heavy metal sawhorses, etc. The router is extremely heavy, too, and since I don't have a router table, it requires special handling.

I only needed to cut about 6 cuts Sunday, but I was able to do only a couple on the table saw before my needs were too big for its fence. Then I had to get out the new circular saw (which works like a dream, by the way). Of course, it takes time to measure and set up a straight edge for that, and I quickly found out that the new circular saw was so heavy that I couldn't even handle it. So I held the piece still while he cut it. (Yes, we also clamped it, but it never hurts to add extra stability. I was well out of the way.)

I realize now that I probably should try to cut all my pieces for all three hutch sections on the same day, to save time and effort in set up and break down. But I have only bought the wood for one hutch, so I guess next week I'll be tackling the other cuts. Fortunately, we'll be on spring break, so I should have a bit of extra time. Good thing, since I'm supposed to be finished with this by March 20. Two years from my start date! Poor daughter . . .