Update

It's now August, 2007 and I have finally decided to post again because I finally got the crown molding up. I only had to buy about 15 pieces, but at least I know how to do it now. I also hung the curtain rod, which was an even in itself because of the too-tall shutters and the crown on the sides. All that's left now is to fill the nail holes, paint the trim, and hang the curtains. No doubt when that occurs--which could be any day now or in a year--the entire world will hear my screams of delight and my daughter's screams of disbelief.

Addendum

It's been so long since that December posting that I forgot to mention the neat things my hubby got me for Christmas! I now have a rolling base for my table saw--YAY! And I have two stands that can be used to support long pieces of wood for cutting. If I can ever get this crown molding problem resolved, I'll be able to move on to better (not necessarily bigger) things!

Back from the dead--or maybe not

I haven't posted anything in more than 2 months because I have been so frustrated with this project. Well, that and the busy Christmas holidays.

It's now been 2 years since I started this thing--or is it 3??! It's been so long I can't remember anymore. One reason it's not finished is my trepidation about the crown molding. I just didn't know where to begin. And I was afraid to waste a fortune on piece after piece.

I finally ordered a jig from Rockler, which positions the crown perfectly for my regular miter saw, since I don't have a compound model. It works great for regular old inside and outside corners, like you'd find in a plain room. But no, I have the most complicated angled cuts possible in MY project. So I've yet to figure it out. I spent all last weekend cutting on a "trial and error" basis, accomplishing nothing in the end except a big mess on the garage floor and a blow-up at my kids.

Last night, I tried again, using information I found online. Still, it doesn't work. This morning, I went to Home Depot to try to find a person who knew something about crown, but it's so hard to find any human there for anything! I saw a book on installing crown, and it had lots of pictures--including photos that looked like my problem! So even though it was $20, I bought it--along with another 3 feet of crown to try out. (I still have my 7 foot piece that I have yet to cut because I don't want to mess it up. It's the longest piece that has to go beneath the shelf.) I also got the toe-kick trim for under the windowseat.

Well, after trying to follow the book's directions--I STILL can't do it! Part of the problem is the section dealing with my kind of angles gives instructions using a compound miter saw. So I'm lost.

I went ahead and cut and dry-fitted the toe-kick trim, just to get something done. And I made regular inside and outside corner crown templates, like the book says to do. But I had to stop when it came to making the vaulted corner templates because of the saw problem.

So once again, I've come to the end of my only "free" day without accomplishing the major task that keeps hanging over my head like an anvil. To make matters worse, we had to spend more than $200 today for new front brake pads, etc. on the car. What a crappy Saturday!

I can't do anything tomorrow because we have church, then we have to drive 2.5 hours each way to get out daughter from a camp retreat. That will finish off the day. The kids have Monday off, but not me. Oh well. I saw a sign in a store today that quoted Einstein, saying "in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." I should remember that.

My 12-year-old is even wiser. When she saw me crying for the umpteenth time trying to figure out the crown, she hugged me and said, "Mama, don't cry." I replied, "This day has just been a waste, and last weekend was a waste because I spent all that time on this and still haven't figured it out." She responded, "It's not a waste. You learn from your mistakes, don't you?" Wise words from a kid who always makes me smile--and laugh. And as she said, "A hug always makes things better." And it did. Too bad it can't make a correct crown molding angle, too.

Love-Hate Relationship

I have a difficult relationship with my garage. When it's stormy or cold weather, nothing beats the wonderful feeling when I pull the car into that safe haven and close the door to the outside. But when I try to build, paint, or repair something in the garage, I hate it. It's a simple fact that a standard 2-car garage isn't made to accommodate all those extra things that we have in there--riding lawnmower, cabinets, bikes, table saw, dirt bike, shovels, rakes, air compressor, kerosene heater, wood, etc. (Not to mention a full-sized car and a pickup truck!) So when I try to add one more thing--like a makeshift worktable--I always end up cussing and throwing things around.

Today, I set up a work area to finish off the above-the-window shelf that's been waiting on a borrowed biscuit jointer. Thanks to my generous co-worker, I finally had a jointer to use. The shelf boards are about 7 feet long, and they needed broad support. Yet, there's almost nothing you can do to make our two sets of sawhorses level with each other. (One set is wooden and non-adjustable; the other is steel and adjustable, to a point.) At any rate, I ended up using two steel sawhorses and one wooden one, the latter topped with about five smaller pieces of scrap wood to try to bring it up to the same level. I was able to cut the biscuit slots relatively easily, but when it came time to glue . . . all you know what broke loose. The glue was dripping, the boards were slipping, and the scrap wood finally went flying across the garage. (Some of that was of its own accord; some was me throwing it in frustration). I eventually joined the boards on the garage floor, then got my husband to come help me lift the single piece back up to the sawhorses to clamp. Since I only had two clamps big enough, that turned out to be yet another frustration.

The shelf is now "setting" before I go back to caulk the joint and sand. I'll have to put another coat of paint on it because it got so banged up during the jointing process.

I wish I had a nice, large worktable always set up, ready to go. Something with lots of electrical outlets would be nice, and rolling stands for all my tools. I'd love a permanent router table so I don't have to cram it back into its case every time I use it. Of course, all that would mean I'd have to have a dedicated workshop, and I know of no way that will happen in the next 10 years. So I guess I'll have to get used to my current way of rigging things and put tape over my mouth the next time I'm doing a project.