No more cobwebs

Well it’s been a while since the last entry hasn’t it? According to the days since posted I think it’s been 66 days to be exact. So about 66 days ago I was on the eve of going to pick up a large load of lumber for a number of projects I had planned on building.
The pickup went great, I even documented it on my podcast and rather than worrying about stacking the stock in any particular order, I just threw it up on the rack and called it good.
So the first of my projects that I planned on tackling with the new stock was a flip front desk for my daughter Madison. It’s time to remove her from the kitchen table, spending all that time clearing off the table so we have some place to throw the pizza box down was becoming way to time consuming. I mean seriously, you try to explain to her teacher for the thousandth time that the reason all her assignments smell like a pizzeria is because she had to much homework to clear from the table. Although the art teacher did think the tomato sauce was a good contrast to the….well it’s just time to build it for her.
Just like with Aiden’s dresser I chose to build the desk for Madison out of Cherry. As I’ve talked about in my show before, I chose to use No.1 common cherry vs. select or better. My lumber supplier hasn’t let me down, they were absolutely right that the color has been more consistant from board to board and given the price break I’ld have been a fool to say no.
In the first week after being on the rack I decided it was time to start selecting my boards for the project. I pulled them down. Sorted, selected, resorted and reselected just the right boards for each component. I planned out my course of action to mill, cut and join the components. I figured I was really close to being able to reclaim our kitchen table and then it happened. A coworker came to me with a request. It’s hard to say no considering the coworker was one of the partners who owns the lab. I know, I know, you can always say no. But she was willing to pay whereas my daughter probably would barely acknowledge all the work. Not to mention that her and the other partners think that it’s really great that I have this hobby and are always encouraging me to do more with it. Anyways, the coworker’s request seemed straight forward. Some bookcases to fill out a wall and another set of bookcases and a tv stand for their living room.
The design was straight forward with simple lines and a modern look to it. I ordered the sheets of plywood and had everything I would need for it. But after the first week of stealing a hour here and there each night and the occassional block of time on the weekend I suddenly realized. I may have bitten off more than I could chew. At this point I’m a little behind in finishing the project, but she’s been very understanding. I can’t help but just wish it was done everytime I walk into the shop and see the unassembled components of Madison’s desk and the rack full of lumber. Especially considering also that we’re meeting with Madison’s teacher next week for parent teacher conferences and I know she’s going to ask us where we get our pizzas.

-- Straight grains & sharp blades