Sometimes, going back to the “workplace” is the only way to relax from running all weekend. Friday, the first day of my interrupted weekend, was filled with driving to Tucson, working on the trailer my mom had lived in, helping my sister get it into shape (a little bit – you should see everything she’s done since she started the project!) and driving back in time to join the church family for some bible study.

Saturday was a work day – if, like TMBWitW you can’t bring yourself to call working in a toy store “work” then consider it a day of fun and games away from my family. I really enjoy this career change, and the learning curve, while sharp, is still manageable. I think the biggest challenge is getting my mind wrapped around what is in the store, and what is on the way. In case you don’t know, the start of Christmas stock levels is now. There is lots of freight headed our way, mostly ordered while the boss was at the ASTRA convention this month. She says she found some really neat stuff – I can’t wait to see it!

Sunday was church, and afterglow, and then after visiting with a prospective fill-in babysitter while our regular sitter has her baby, we headed up to some friend’s house for swimming and BBQ. Mmmmm! good stuff.

Oh – and as a side note, I got a new phone when we added a third line on our account. It’s a Nokia 5230, it has a touch screen, and the owner’s manual (found on line, with enough searching) is lacking in a few areas, especially for someone who has never owned a touch screen phone before. For example, no where in the user’s guide, the start up guide, or anywhere else (as of this writing) does it tell you that in order to turn off the alarm you need to swipe your finger across the face of the phone. I struggled with this from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, and was seriously considering returning the phone for it’s lack of documentation. Turns out the phone is fairly new – it was released on June 15 and I happened to get it a week later. I love being a guinea pig. Not.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

I am. It’s true.

I only write when I have time (note the large number of posts here and comments on other blogs during my unemployed time) and I only write when I can think of something that I think will entertain the masses. I’m pretty sure this one will miss both marks, but I didn’t want that title to go to waste – it popped into my head and there it sits…

Work has been moving along nicely – I am learning so much from the retail side of the counter that I kind of had a clue about but was not fully aware of. (did that make sense?) My boss (safe and boring flights, boss!) is headed for the annual toy convention, this year it’s on the east coast and she left the store in the hands of – well, the office manager and the new guy! I think she has confidence in her team. Sure hope we have blockbuster days so she will feel comfortable when she isn’t here.

We have a pretty good team of part-timers there at the store. Most every one of them is knowledgeable, hard working, and eager to make sure the job gets done. Part of my job is to advance their training so I can do more supervisory stuff instead of being in the trenches all the time. (speaking of which, if anyone knows of a software package that is free and will allow one to build planograms, please let me know)

TMBWitW is living through a “surprise” audit at work. Accountants just loooove surprises. MEG is spending her days at her aunt’s apartment – they have a pool! – and really misses the almost constant time she used to spend with daddy. I miss it too, but the full-time job, transitioning to mommy staying at home eventually will be better for MEG in the long run.

The screen door project is kinda stalled right now, but the plan is to get them finished tomorrow morning. Then I can concentrate on the milling project, which should be the last big job. In between I’ve got a small framework to build out of paint grade, which I happen to have hanging around the shop, and I still have a set of grips to replicate in walnut (haven’t forgotten you, bro!).

With a trip to the warehouse this morning, I guess I better get off here and get going! Ya’ll have a safe weekend, if I don’t get a chance to chat before that.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Well, I didn’t get as far along today as I thought I would. I’ll explain why in a minute; suffice it to say that when certain power tools don’t cooperate, certain tasks take a lot longer than normal.

First off, I need to apologize if you got the impression that I had no milling mistakes on Friday.

This is a result of the blind kerf I was cutting for the spline. I had a momentary lapse, the board lifted and came down away from the fence, and the result is as you see here – a short section of “oopsie” that needs to be fixed.

First step – putty. Putty or bondo is a woodworker’s best friend when it comes to paint grade projects. Fill the hole (slight overfill for shrinkage, since it’s acetone-based putty) and let it dry. Sand, and repeat.

End result – nice smooth wood, ready for primer. First, though, a thorough sanding of the rest of the frame, after removing the excess material from the plugs.

This is called a Japanese Flush Cut saw. One of the niftiest little hand saws ever invented, many hundreds of years ago, by the Japanese. The blade is flexible, so you can use the surrounding material as a guide while cutting off the pegs that are sitting above the surface. Works good, too:

Well, most of the time it works good.

So, glue the piece back in, let it dry, and finish sawing it off.

Well, the oak is harder than the poplar, and I am damaging the poplar more than I want to when the oak is being cut off. Time to save time and embrace 20th century technology. I picked this up at a friend’s garage sale a few years back, and it works quite well. Well, until the all the magic smoke leaks out.

And that is the delay factor I hadn’t counted on. When Mr. Belt Sander gave up the ghost, I had to resort to hand sanding the rest of the frames – both sides, and all edges. I got that finished, and now it’s time to run over to the sister-in-law’s house to visit the niece. She’s in town (she lives in Michigan) and she wanted to make this trip before her baby was born.

Friday, I’ll be priming the frames and once they are dry, I’ll be installing hardware and screen material. See you then.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

As we break the 100 degree mark here in Phoenix, I naturally chose today as the day to start on one of the last paying wood jobs I have left. This one is a set of four (one double, two singles) custom wood frame screen doors for a Victorian era bungalow in the historic district for a friend of mine.

The start of the project is always full of promise and trepidation – did I buy enough wood? how about supplies? will the design work? did I measure it right? – but always promises an adventure.

Once I got TMBWitW’s car out of my shop, I was able to start. The scariest part of any project is the milling – once everything is cut to length and any other cutting/hacking/shaping is completed, a big sigh of relief is heard. Since this is a pretty straight forward project, the sigh of relief comes early. Now the fun part – assembling the parts. The door frames are a simple four piece frame (there will be a middle strut installed later) so the best joinery trick is the most straightforward – pocket screws. I use a small Kreg jig that is actually designed for repair-in-place jobs. I have found that it’s versatility in repairs carries over to the bench work in the first place quite nicely.

That shot also shows the channel I cut for the screen spline to be applied later.

Didn’t know you were going to get a Kreg commercial in here, did you?

Next, the frames are assembled with the square-drive pocket screws. A little glue and the screws act as permanent clamps. With the pocket screw angled in, the fit is pretty much forever. With a high-use item such as these screen doors, I wanted to make sure the duty cycle lifetime would be on the higher side.

After the pocket screws are seated, and the frame is complete, I used plugs to fill the holes. Yes, repairs will be tricky, but the overall look is one of solidity.

Next step (probably Sunday afternoon) is to take a belt sander to the frames, ensuring smooth joints front and back and taking the filler plugs down to flush. After that will be a coat of primer and then the hardware. The screen material itself will be last – for the sharpest looking screens, avoid painting them or poking holes in them with tools!

(note to the sharper-eyed readers – yes, the plugs are oak. yes, the frames are paint grade poplar. the doors will be painted, remember? oak is stable enough to use as filler in the poplar frame. and, as a special treat for next time, i’ll show you the one milling mistake i made and how it will be repaired.)

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Had a long day today – Fox channel 10 here in Phoenix did a remote at the store and we were out bright and early to get a representative sampling of the toy tester events set up for “background”. Here’s the video (I don’t know how long the video will stay up, so enjoy it while you can) – see if you can pick out a former Marine being helpful and watchful…

Then, I get home, eat dinner, watch CSI and The Mentalist (taped versions, since we’re about two weeks behind anything live) and I check my e-mail. Opened this one, and about died laughing, only because the Air Force never really had any kind of sense of humor when I dealt with them. Maybe it was just me?

Air Force Chief of Staff: Mr. President, we have perfected an invisibility cloak for Air Force One.
Obama: Really? That’s amazing!
Air Force Chief of Staff: Yes sir, it is. Will you be going on her maiden cloaked flight?
Obama: Wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Air Force Chief of Staff: Have a nice trip, sir.

Now, it’s time for bed. I’m tired! Working all day, laughing all night…

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!