Resolutions: A Start

Wow, what a week. If it wasn't work they'd call it something else, right? It turned out to be such an interesting week that, by Wednesday morning, I wanted to take Friday off (thanks, Steve for giving it your stamp of approval!). Naturally, that meant that I had to bust my butt to complete some outstanding issues to make the day off practical as well as possible. I'll probably have a few interesting ones waiting for me upon my return.

...fast forward to Friday...

Friday morning I had breakfast at A Delight of France, which was a nice change of pace from the routine shower-shave-get the E-Man to preschool-show up at work. Nice. Decent coffee, good eggs and garlic potatoes, and an awesome almond croissant. (Item: Lose girth. Status: Fail.)

I called Shopsmith to purchase some safety items for my Mark V. That went mostly okay. In retrospect, I got something that may not fit my 1960 model. Fun. I'll have to fix that tomorrow. (Item: Bookcase. Status: Creeping forward.)

A short while later, I visited a particular antique store on Grand Avenue in search of a few items I saw in mid-December: a garden astrolabe amd a nice set of plates (hey, they looked awesome for the "look" I'm going for in the studio over the garage.* Success? Zero. It seems that the rule of "see it and buy it" applies to antique stores. (Item: None. Status: Fail.)

Now that I was on the road, I took a trip to Escondido Metal Supply to see if they had some items I need for my studio bar project. Some? Yes, but it is tainted by the hassle of dealing with an understaffed team of annoyed people. Eh. So be it. I got an idea of what some things will cost through them (more on that project later), but at what additional cost? (Item: Bookcase practice. Status: time wasted.)

Annoyed, I turned "Kompressor"** back toward home, stopping through Showcase Moulding here in town. Good crew. Awesome selection of moulding and wood. Their prices were a bit higher for what I was quoting out, but the cherry plywood was very clear. It’s worth another $20 a sheet to get knot-free cherry rather than having to compromise and use maple. I think they will be my supplier for the projects in the queue. (Item: Bookcase. Status: Information gathering.)

Arriving at home, I performed the remaining Mark V calibrations and preventative maintenance I could, all in an effort to get the system running as good as possible. I then re-sawed the two smallest salvaged mahogany boards that will be part of the bar… the arm-rest counter to be precise. It is amazing how long that took. The density of the wood only allowed shallow cuts, relative to the 4 x 10 board. Two passes at each depth, and four depth settings later, I still wasn’t through the board, but I was at the maximum height of the saw blade. The remaining 2+ inches in the center of the board had to be hand-cut. I ended up using one of the old handsaws hanging on the wall of the garage. I don’t really know how old the saw is, but it has held its edge far better than the other saws less than half its age hanging alongside it. Once I got the board split, I got a chance to look at it. The wood looks pretty good. So good in fact, that I am questioning the decision to utilize the natural wearing of the wood and make it look like it has been worn by countless arms, hands, and pints. For now, I’ll stick with the plan and incorporate the “aged” look. (Item: Bookcase. Status: Practice makes perfect.)

Last year, I started a breakfast nook bench project. It is made out of birch plywood with a design based off of Andie’s library desk. I didn’t finish. Obvious, huh? Thought so. I brought that unfinished project down to the garage, considered what it would take to finish it up, and realized the benefits to be gained from finishing it up. One less unfinished project laying around. One more thing to practice on before starting in on a new project that is much more unforgiving. Besides, we need a few more seats at the breakfast table. “I’ll work on that this weekend” I told myself. (Item: Bookcase. Status: Planning makes perfect.)

Andie and Ethan came home shortly thereafter, so I was off to do some family things until after dinner. That night, Trent, Kevin, and Gary came over for beer-thirty. I have acquired several beers over time that have been relegated to the “share only” stash. The Lost Abbey beers we had that night will be the subject of another “Tasting Notes” entry. We had a good time and the “dry fit” of the bar worked out well. (Item: Lose girth. Status: Fail.)

Saturday and Sunday came around and spent most of it measuring up the breakfast nook area and working on the benches. (Item: Bookcase. Status: Practice, practice, practice.)

* Some might call the "studio" my "man cave", as much as I find that particular phrase... um... annoying? loathsome? Whatever. I don't think that I reside in a cave. It is currently filled with bookcases, boxes, a roll top desk badly in need of refinishing, and a bunch of stuff destined for Craig’s List, ebay, or one of the local thrift stores.

** Named early on by "the guys", my Mercedes Benz C230 Kompressor gained the name of another Kompressor out there in the world... of music in this case.