Don’t much feel like posting a whole lot these days. The last week has brought a lot of sad news, not just personally but for a couple of friends, also.
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!
And a good one, at that. Learned lots of new stuff at work, and I continue to look forward to learning more and more every time I set foot in the store. The owner is a real wizard for toys in particular and sales in general; the store kind of surprises you when you walk in with how much there is and the variety of it all. It may be a while before I know even half as much as she does about what’s in the store. Then again, she has a ten year head start on me…
The real force behind the store, however, is the Head Toy Tester. She is a real cutie, about nine years old, and the biggest brown eyes you’ve ever seen. She loves nothing more than greeting her friends when they come in to see what’s new; if you want to send her into spasms of joy just ask somebody if you can give McGuire a treat.
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!
Can’t tell you how great I feel, knowing that I have a full time job. Even though I have found a new position, I know that there are many out there still looking. My prayers, and hopefully those of my readers also, are with those of you who are searching for the elusive j.o.b. Trust me, God has the right job for you at the right time. Do what you need to until His timing is accomplished.
I’m wearing my Lighting Sharp polo today. It is, after all, my favorite. My sister sent me a link this morning, one that I had seen a while ago and lost track of, and I wanted to pass it on to you. This is a way to show your support for our troops without having to spend money, send anything, buy anything. The video takes a couple minutes to watch, explains everything, and allows you to show gratitude to the service member right in front of you where ever you are. The clip is at The Gratitude Campaign. Please, go and watch it, and thank you for showing your support.
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!
Happy Birthday to a few friends: Doug, my cousin Jackie, and John.
I’ll be out cabbin’ it today, and this evening I’ll be trying to finish getting the power booster out of the road rhino so I can put the new one in. Yes, it’s paid off, but dang if you don’t keep having to put money into it.
UPDATE: Just went in to wake TMBWitW up to take me to the cage (with the road rhino down, she would have to drive me there). She said “I had a dream that you said you weren’t going to drive a cab today” I said “I had a dream that I blew through my alarm and you said not to go in today.”
I’m going back to sleep for a little bit, and then resuming work on the road rhino.
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!