What did you want? What did you get?

Just before I got married, I decided I was going to make a very special entertainment center. We are talking early 80’s here so bear with me. It was going to be a sleek shiny black laquered masterpiece. As long as I was going to build one, I might as well knock out 2 of them. I went out and immediately bought 6 sheets of 1/2 ” builders plywood. I took my little table saw out and shredded the components. I threw a ton of glue on the joints. Hammered some nails. Stood it up on end the assemble the next. I looked back at the first one and it was leaning hard to the right. I’m surprised it had not collapsed entirely. Well, I finished my nailing on the second one and leaned it against the first one to keep the first one steady. I left my upholstery shop and came pack the next day to complete my black laquered masterpiece. I felt like a can of rustoleum should do the job. Both “entertainment centers were leaning away from each other. They made a very nice looking V shape.

Now, I’ll tell you I was good at my upholstery skill and I could make a sturdy frame for an upholstered piece. But this special job I did with the plywood was amazing!

I ended up cutting it up and making some much smaller but still monsterously ugly bookcases. For some reason, that black spray paint just didn’t produce the sleek finish I was hoping for. I bought some blue oil paint. Wouldn’t you know it? I just couldn’t get all those knots to look sleek, shiny and smooth no matter how much I painted them. We tolerated the bookcases because we had nothing else.

You are not going to believe this. We still have those same book cases in my son’s room. They have that amazing patina of being painted over countless times. ;) He claims he will never dispose of them.

I may not be a good decent woodworker yet but… Um… I just had to get that off of my chest.

Anything to share about your experiences?

-- Learning is like a door. Open it and there are hundreds more on the other side. Thanks for all the lessons!