Having recently wrapped up a long-running woodworking project to build a linen chest for the kids' room, I was looking for something new to work on that also wouldn't drag out for months the way that project had. One idea that had been kicking around for years is a replacement for the IKEA nightstand that we had been using as a cabinet for our stereo receiver, Roku, and DVD player. We bought it a few years … (Continued)
I took my daughter with me on a quick hardware store run today to pick up a few pieces of lumber. I knew time was burning so I wasn't trying to dawdle. But as she does, she noticed something I didn't and asked the question: "Why did someone draw a smiley face on the pavement?" I glanced over quickly. "Thats not a smiley, someone just spilled paint..." "... Oh. I see what you mean. Looks like after they spilled the paint, they decided to draw a smiley face with it." Who … (Continued)
Working on a carpentry project today {Project log post to come later.} and the saying "measure twice, cut once" came to mind. I've always thought this means to just repeat making each measurement before making a cut, which in most cases will give the same result. But I think the real benefit comes when you find two different ways to make a measurement. One method might be with a ruler or a tape measure, but the other might be with a jig or a fixture. Or you might trace the distance to be cut u … (Continued)
I'm installing a woodworking front vise. {Also known as face vise, distinct from leg vise, shoulder vise, or tail vise; those woodworkers are creative with names.} What I bought was just the metal frame, which you attach to the underside of your existing workbench and craft the jaw that holds the workpiece out of wood. I bought a $25 piece of oak {Overpaying for a board of this size because of the convenience of getting it from Lowe's.} to be my jaw, but before I commit to cutting it up, I wan … (Continued)
Tonight, while getting ready for bed, Evelyn opens the closet in the bedroom to put her dirty clothes in the hamper and starts laughing. I ask what's so funny and she tells me it reminds me of a comic from the Calvin and Hobbes book she is reading. She has always been attracted to the cartoon books on the shelf in my office and a week or two ago prevailed on me to read her some comics from a Calvin and Hobbes collection (that I got when I was not much older than her). She asked if she … (Continued)
Through a series of events, I ended up bidding on a three-item lot from an estate sale, one of which was a Starrett micrometer. I don't have a strict purpose for a tool like this; the woodworking and 3D printing I do these days do not require precision down to the thousandth of an inch. But I admit being intrigued by Adam Savage's descent into precision and "chasing zeros". I'd never used a micrometer like this, and when a good deal popped up on one, I couldn't resist. I& … (Continued)
This was our view from the cabin this morning: the whole valley between us and the other ridgeline filled with clouds, shortly to be burned away by the sun.
This blog, like the chair pictured, has been broken for a while. It's in the process of being renewed. More to come.
This book by Sam Quinones is a sequel to Dreamland in the way that a history of Weimar Germany is a sequel to a history of The Great War. It was not intended, no plot threads were left intentionally dangling. But the perpetual nature of history ("Nothing ever ends," in the words of Dr. Manhattan) means the story continued anyway. However, this time, Quinones clearly has two purposes: to inform as well as to encourage. As he says, during his tour supporting the first book, he received many invit … (Continued)
"We're 4 hours from home, and you want to adopt a cat?" The second half of 2019 was a bit of a blur. In July we'd gone to Washington, D.C. for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. When we got back, Kassie had taken a turn for the worse, and we lost her on August 7th. In October, we helped host the NC state USPSA championship at the range near our house. In early November, we drove to Nationals in Florida, with stops in Huntsville and Chattanooga on the scenic route … (Continued)
The only way to be wholly content and happy doing something is if you have considered your alternatives and decided that doing this thing, right now is the highest possible use of your time. Skipping the consideration spoils it. Harboring resentment spoils it. Feeling forced to do it spoils it. Feeling guilty spoils it. Rushing to just get it over with spoils it. It does not have to be something other people would praise you for; it only matters than you know you made the right choice. It can … (Continued)
Social media encourages a culture of cultivating your identity. Making sure your social media highlight reel tells a consistent story. That every post is like a chapter in a novel, advancing the plot in some way. Sometimes you just need to write because you have something to say. You can't say exactly why, or who needs to hear it. But that's okay. That's not your job. You do your part by phrasing things as you see them. You have to trust that whoever needs to see it, will. In all likelihood, th … (Continued)
It's not very much weight on the bar. But, still. It's weight on the bar. When ego tells you "Just quit. This is beneath you." Don't listen.
It's natural that learning to do something yourself gives you a greater appreciation for those that have already done it. Building your own bookshelf makes you realize all the non-obvious challenges of carpentry and gives you respect for everyone else that has undertaken the same challenge before you. In parallel, one of the surprising things I've learned becoming a father is realizing how very much it is a choice, at least in the modern era. Going through the process of deciding when to start … (Continued)
Problem to be solved The reloading workbench is 24 inches deep, but I have just been using 12" milk crates to store things, and lost track of anything that got pushed behind them. The crates slide surprisingly poorly on the concrete, and don't hold that much stuff. The Solution Use the full depth, width, and height of the space under this shelf, and build two "drawers" that are just platforms on non-swiveling casters. The scrap wood pile had a good piece of 3/4" plywood to form the b … (Continued)
