Thursday, June 12, 2008

Almost forgot



I am almost finished with my woodworking project. My last class was back in March. All that is left to do is sand and paint.












Bean thought her stuffed dog added a nice touch to the office organizer.


















Lessons I learned from this project:

1. Choose your wood carefully. I had help, but the guy was good about getting rid of unsellable wood to this novice woodworker. Instead of staining I am painting to keep the wood together.

2. Don't hammer or force in other wood while other pieces are drying. I actually lied to the teacher and said, "I don't know how that gap got there...hmm". If you look up close you can see some of my gaps, but luckily the biggest one is in back covered by the back piece.

3. Don't put the drawers in without attaching the knobs first. What is funny, I didn't do that, the teacher did! After quite a bit of struggle, a pocket knife did the trick of removing the drawers unharmed.

4. Be well rested before working with those big machines. I actually, took a night off, because I was so tired and afraid I might loose a finger.

5. Make sure you understand the dimensions. This office organizer takes up 1/3 of our desk. I guess I'll have to build a shelf or a side table for it next time.

5 comments:

Momma Val said...

Wow! I'm impressed. Good job. Makes me want to take a woodworking class.

Anonymous said...

That looks pretty neat to me! You really made that? I am impressed. N lil Bean's doggy is tooo cute!

Anonymous said...

Looks nice.

For the record, I agree with Bean, the dog adds a certain flair to it. :)

1. I am curious as to what you determined made the wood "otherwise unsellable." Granted some people do not like knots and the like, but other than warpage (which maybe I just can't see in the picture) the wood looks OK. (or maybe you just did that good a job).

2. This follows the same mentality as "measure twice, cut one" meaning, don't rush, as it will only cost you more time in the long run.

3. Good advise. Since everything I have built has drawer slides this is not an issue, but I can see how it could be troublesome in this sort of set up.

4. Very important and a good lesson for all.

5. See Number 2 about measure twice. Always measure the space and understand the spacial relationship. It doesn't look so big when looking at a 2 dimensional diagram.

Congrats again, and excellent project. They only get easier from here.

Momma Val said...

Hey, it's time to do your monthly post again. This shelf is cool but what's new with Jen?

Milan said...

Whim= Rambling thoughts.