Posts by Chuck Curtis
What we are all doing on this snowy morning.
Ben is heading out to measure the snow. So far 2.5 inches (9 cm).
Will is playing on his computer:
Susanna is working on her homework. My dad and I are putting together his blog. And finally, Peter Pan is being a cat:
I finished the piano bench today. The first project of the year is done. I didn’t actually start it this year, but I think it still counts. The next woodworking project will be bookshelves for the study. I’ll wait to start until I finish the crown molding in the living room and the weather warms up enough I won’t get frostbite in the workshop (it was a chilly 10 degrees F this am).
Over the past three days I stained the bench. It is made from red oak, so to more closely match the piano, I added a dark stain. I put 3 or 4 coats of stain on after the wood was prepared with grain filler. I used a single coat of dewaxed shellac on top of the stain prior to the water-based top coat. The top coat is two coats of Agualente (by ML Campbell) sprayed on. The finish is a pre-catalyzed top coat, so I was able to recoat within 30 minutes (dry to the touch in 15 minutes).
Susanna and I had completed the fabric and batting on the top last night. It was the first time either of us had put fabric on a bench seat, so it isn’t the best job, but it turned out pretty nice. I made 4 tabs to attach the top to the bench out of scrap oak.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the project. The base was constructed with mortise and tenon joints, and the legs tapered. I’ve moved up from pocket-hole screws. I’m not thrilled about the stain – I didn’t do the best job on the finish. However I used a lighter setting on the spray gun, and I think the top coat came out better than on the boys shelves.
Lessons learned from this project: Make sure to count the height of the padding and fabric when figuring out the height of the bench. Take the time to adjust the fence on the router table when cutting the mortises the first time (saves having to mill 4 new legs and re-cut the mortises). If one wants a dark bench, use dark wood.
My personal critique of the project: The mortise and tenon joints are okay – there are a couple of small gaps between the tenon shoulders and the legs. I think tight joinery comes from practice practice practice. There are definitely spots where the stain isn’t even. I should stain the project prior to assembly – the inside corners are difficult to stain evenly. Spend a little more time doing the corners on the fabric top.
Well. I’m almost finished with a couple of projects. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish at least two of them, and keep working towards my goal this year of finishing projects (instead of just starting them and almost finishing them).
The piano bench is in the final finishing stages. I made it out of red oak, and am trying to stain it dark to more closely match the piano. I know, if I wanted dark, I should have started with a darker wood (walnut or cherry). But nothing beats making projects from lumber already in the lumber pile. I do have cherry, but it needs another year or so to dry. Maybe sapele. Of course I could always build another one – but that will need to wait until some other house projects are done.
I’m not too happy with how the staining turned out. The test piece of wood turned out darker. I applied a coat of Aqua Coat grain filler, then the dark stain. The test piece of wood turned out darker. I think I sanded the bench more than the test piece.
I think I’ll add one more coat of stain tonight, then spray the top coats on tomorrow.
I also almost finished the bridge…. One more plank to cut and nail to finish the entire bridge. It was just getting a bit too cold this afternoon to spend more time outside (18F or so). It isn’t the nicest bridge, but it is a way back in the woods, and it is too cold in January to spend a lot of time making a nice looking bridge. It did use up a bunch of the red oak I had sitting around (and some of the white oak).
Just to be fair, I do have more unfinished projects hanging out there. I have the crown molding for the living room sitting in the basement primed. Hmmm… I probably have more – I just can’t think of them right now (ok, there are yard projects, but it is January – so I won’t count them).
The boys are here for the long weekend, so we get to take a slow Saturday morning. Will has been starting to get into his music. His song for today, is Joan Jett’s “I hate myself for loving you.” It is funny to watch him sing along while watching the music video on his computer.
We hit the Hair Cuttery early – there is not line before 9AM. Will came along to show Ben the hair cut (from the hair style card at the store) he got last week so Ben could get the same. Ben wanted hair gel. Will didn’t . We may have to pick up some gel.
Now time to head out and finish the bridge while Susanna does her yoga…
As promised (threatened). Pictures from last night and today. Maybe too many posts for a day – it is because I’m tired/lazy and don’t feel like doing any more work around the house…
The stream isn’t very deep, just muddy. After the bridge is done, we will have to clear a trail looping back to another part of the yard (to meet up with the other bridge).
Not a bad day today. Not as warm as yesterday, but nice enough to work outside. Tucker stayed in the yard for two days in a row – a nice change. Now to head out to meet some friends at the Mews Tavern in Wakefield RI.
A good morning for the cats. Today’s body count: 1 whole mouse in the driveway. 1 in parts. 2 whole mice in the basement and 1 in parts. I’m glad they are doing their chores. Now mine is to go pick up the carnage. If only the dogs could find something as useful to do.
On a positive note, it seems that we don’t have mouse problem anymore. However, the mice might argue that they have a cat problem.
This is Tucker’s idea of helping around the house:
Ok. It is January. And I was outside in a short-sleeve shirt working in the yard. I would say it is quite a welcome change from the bitter winter we had last year, but I’m probably not really thankful for the (probable) cause of the extreme weather we have been having. It was 59 degrees out this afternoon. I guess on the good side (in the whole carbon/global warming picture) is that I’m burning a lot less oil this year to heat the house.
I took Will to get his hair cut this morning while Ben was at his piano lesson with Susanna. For the past year or so it has been a fight to get Will to get any hair cut off. And when he goes to get a hair cut, he wants the smallest trim that I’ll allow him to get away from. I told the hair stylist that I wanted to make sure that she took 1-2 inches of hair off – but make it closer to the two inches. This time I must have let his hair get long enough to really bother him. He had the stylist use clippers. She showed me a picture of what he wanted and asked if it was ok to cut it that short. I said that there was a minimum that I wanted to take off, not a maximum. She could cut it as short as he wanted it.
Of course I didn’t take a picture. I’ll get one later and post it.
This afternoon was dedicate to yard work. We (mostly I – but Will, Ben and Justin did help a little) cut out a couple of big thorn bushes in the back. We were clearing a path to where we plan to build a new bridge over the stream (it is in the woods – just upstream of the old stone wall crossing the seasonal stream). I made a fire in the fire pit – it is always a pleasure to burn the thorn bushes. We cleared a pretty good path, but I think a better approach for the summer may be to try and borrow Mark’s tractor to clear out the other thorn bushes.
We went under the barn and dug out 4 pieces of white oak (8 feet long, 2″ thick and 7-8 inches wide) for the bridge. I bolted them into 14 foot lengths and Susanna helped me place them for the bridge. The next step is to finish the frame and put the planks on top (that should use up a bunch of the scrap red oak).
Again, I failed to take pictures. Maybe tomorrow if the weather supports.
Ben had his best friend, Anthony, over for dinner tonight. Will was a little upset that his friends couldn’t make it over today, so he convinced Susanna to take him to the arcade at Foxwoods casino (that and a nice dinner out). For once, Will stressed that he couldn’t find a nice enough shirt to wear out (he hasn’t tried to wear a button down shirt in a year, so he doesn’t have one that fits). With a little help, he was able to find a presentable outfit for a night out on the town.
Susanna’s sister, Sofia, is taking most of this year to travel around the world with her friend Linda. She has a break in employment and decided to take advantage of it. They are heading east from Sweden, and we hope to have them visit here this fall.
They are blogging about their journey. You can read about it here: http://lindaosofia.blogg.se/. For those of you who read Swedish as well as I do, you can use Google translate to read it in English here.
It was a nice surprise to get home to a newly reorganized library (or rather study – at least until I get bookshelves built for it so we can make it a library).
It was inspiring. So tonight, after dinner, I headed to my own personal craft space (aka the workshop) to see what kind of shape that space was in. Not so inspiring. Maybe needs a little work. What do you think?
So tonight I decide to take a little time and… well, no not organize the workshop.. take some time and come up with excuses on why it is so cluttered. Here is what I have:
1. I am a little bit disorganized.
2. I just finished a project (well almost finished it).
3. It is just too damn cold outside to clean the shop.
4. I think I may be a little disorganized.
I started out the year by catching the cold that Ben has been fighting for the past week. A fine way to start a new year.
What are my goals for the new year?
I want to be better at finishing projects. I left a couple of projects unfinished at the end of 2011 – It is easier to start projects than finish them.
I want to build at least 6 pieces of furniture. Right now I’m planning a bookshelf and desk for the study. I’ll have to see what else pops up on the list as the year goes on.
Some other things I want to do this year (in no particular order): Go camping at least 3 times, take the boys to Six Flags, paint the house (yes big house project), take lots of hikes with Susanna and the dogs, bicycle into work more than I did this year.
I did start the year by finishing one of the projects left over from last year. I painted and installed the storm window in Ben’s room. So finally the scaffolding is down and the last storm window in the dining room installed. I also put primer on crown molding for the living room. I probably would have gotten more finished if I wasn’t fighting a cold.
I’ll post pictures later this week.