Super Sunday!

It was a beautiful day yesterday.  Sunny, warm, and football mania was in the air.  The sweet smell of BBQs and smokers sure did have my mouth watering!

And then, my sweet Camper daughter very thoughtfully told me where she could be reached in case I decided to spend this Super Bowl Sunday the same as I did last year.

Here's a sure sign that as I've gotten older, my memory has become much more selective - I looked at her blankly and said, "Uh, last year??"  She gently reminded me that last year I was unable to reach her or the Docs, and I'd driven myself to the emergency room to take care of a little accident I'd had with my table saw (here).

I'm happy to say that this year I did not need the services of the emergency room staff!  This Super Bowl Sunday I enjoyed some very tasty appetizers with Camper SIL's family.  I walked over listening to a good book, visited, ate, and walked home!  Never really did see any of the game.

I'd started a project on Saturday and spent Sunday late afternoon and evening finishing it up.  With the garage door open I could hear the voices of football fans traveling through the evening air.  Hearing the cheers and revelry made for a very pleasant evening.  And, I don't think anyone was disturbed by the sounds of my saw!

This weekend I tackled my Super pile of scrap lumber.  It turns out I'm a hoarder of bits and pieces of wood.  It all looks useful to me - even those skinny 2" pieces of plywood.  Really, what am I going to do with those??  I've promised myself that I'm going to set much higher standards for the wood that doesn't go into the burn pile - And, from now on, I think I'll be enjoying quite a few fires in the outdoor fireplace!!

I saw a very neat lumber storage system on the Wood Whisperer's web page.  His site is very interesting, by the way - some really cool stuff there!  Anyway this is my take on that.

Do you see it?  Don't feel bad - I wasn't seeing it yet either!

Still not seeing it? 

 What about now?  It's not exactly as I was seeing it in my head, but close enough!  

It has a large section in the back for large pieces of sheet goods (plywood), and smaller compartments in the front to hold short pieces of lumber.
See the casters?  It moves!

 You can't tell from these pictures, but the storage unit is mounted to the wall with hinges.

I added the wall mounted supports to hold long pieces of wood.

I'm still going to just stand my 2x material in the corner - I don't want that heavy stuff
to come crashing down on me!

I'll be able to swivel it out from the wall to slide large sheet goods into the back section of the unit.  

And, now I won't have to move lumber around in order to use my miter saw!  

Much better!

I didn't take a before picture because it was such a mess!  

(And, truth be told, I still have a mess of stuff sitting in the bed of my truck.
Maybe I'll tackle that pile of stuff tonight!)

Hopefully, I'll limit my hoarding to usable scraps, and now I'll have easier access to them.

What a Super, Super Bowl Sunday!

All fingers intact!

It's Warm Again!!

Yes!  It was a 3 day weekend, and the weather was beautiful.  I was finally able to spend some time in the garage with the doors open - it was warm and wonderful!

So, what did I do, you ask?  (Well, I know you probably didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway!)

First, I walked!  Yes, I walked to Starbuck's for coffee.  A mile there, a mile back.  I've missed walking, too!

Then, I cleaned!  I swept, dusted, rearranged, stacked lumber, moved lumber, emptied trash and added to my burn pile.  It's surprising to me the mess I manage to make!  But, I took my time and by mid-day on Saturday I was ready to work.

I'm working on my bedroom.  Awhile back, sometime after Thanksgiving, I bought and cut lumber for a new headboard for my room.  But, the cold and the holidays prevented me from finishing that project.  Well, I thought I'd start with that stack of wood, but I was side-tracked.  While cleaning up I came across a picture of a table that I had fallen in love with.  I found it at Pottery Barn, in their Bench right collection.  I liked the thickness of the planked top, and I loved that the top was round - but, it's $399!  

Pottery Barn Benchright side table

So, I decided to play around and see if I could make something similar - there was no way I was going to spend $400 for a small table to hold my coffee mug!

Here's what I came up with.  It's certainly not identical, but I love it.  It's solid wood, unlike the Pottery Barn table which uses veneer over MDF.  I used fir 2x4's, poplar 1x2's, and stain, all materials that I already had - I didn't spend anything.  But, if I'd had to buy the lumber I might have spent about $9 total.  

I did a fun thing to make this round table top.
First, I glued 15" lengths of 2x4's together.  I clamped it together and it sat overnight to dry.  

Then, after my walk on Sunday (I'm on a roll here!), using my large table saw sled I cut a circle on my table saw!  I'd watched a YouTube video of this and was blown away at how simple it was.
( George Barry the "Wood Guy" - YouTube video)

Basically, you stick your board onto a swivel point (a nail with the head cut off and filed to a sharp point) set at the radius of the size circle you want.  Then with the saw turned on you just swivel the board and cut off the corners, then just keep swiveling and nibbling away until there's nothing left to trim off.  

         

 And, voila!  This is what you end up with!

Then, I cut legs, trimmed those at the base to give them a bit of style ('cause I'm all about style!), added the bottom cross piece for support, and maybe a place to hold a few books.
I sanded and wiped it down in preparation for finishing.

So, from this empty space...

 To this - it fits perfectly into the tiny space.  

And, it looks much better with my pretty yellow mug!

    

And, it looks even better with a book waiting for me! 

 And, better yet with a couple of  new books close at hand!

 

 Slowly, but surely, I will finish my room and it will be just what I want!

(I put together the headboard today, but I think I've changed my mind.
It may go into go into another bedroom, and I might make an upholstered headboard for my bed!)

Hmmm, oh the possibilities!