so many choices

The decision paralysis that’s snuck up on me on some of these projects has come up before. Even with a small project like the media stand I want to make damn sure I wrap things up by putting the right finish on.

This is getting ridiculous

Through trial and error, I’ve accumulated a decent spectrum of finishes to choose from. Like for the patio table, I had some left over walnut stain but wanted something a bit different for something going outside. Thinking the same thing, the wife talked me into trying a natural stain to go with the red mahogany I had picked up. They were both terrible. I admit I felt a small twinge of validation when the wife admitted they both looked awful on the scrap I test-stained, and she said I was free to pick something else on my own. Although to her credit, I ended up using the natural on the sandbox and it made it look like I’d used much nicer wood than I actually did. A point for using stain in general.

What to do, what to do...

Eventually I found one I liked, and now have a range of stains around to try to use on other projects. Natural went on the sandbox, the darker mahogany on the lounge chairs. Each of those was something new that worked, but that’s the thing about these projects…you can think all you want but you never really know until the rag hits the board. Today for the stand I went back to the reliability of the walnut stain I’ve used on most everything else, paired with painting the legs white to make lighten things up a bit. I think a good seal coat on this will wrap things up.

A good stain can make all the difference, which is why I worry about it so much!

This wasn’t a sponsored post, and it’s a little out of left field considering what I’ve been working on lately. But I’m hoping to get the baseboards and ledge shelf in soon and I’ll be picking a stain again, so I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Every time I head into the shop I see another project or idea I could write about. This one just felt like it could help put the finishing touches on the basement.

Purchase list:

Minwax walnut stain (console, already had it)
Minwax gunstock stain (patio table, bench)
Minwax red mahogany stain (lounge chairs, shelf, possibly)
Minwax natural stain (sandbox)
Minwax Helmsman clear gloss spar urethane (everything)
Glidden semi-gloss pure white (molding)

In praise of the Kreg jig

I’ve mentioned the importance of getting the right tool for the right job before. But as I was bumbling through trying to manifest plans into reality last weekend, using my kreg jig really drove that point home. This thing is the absolute best.

A little tool that does A LOT of work.

The patio table that got me started in the new house was actually not my first attempt at building a table; I put together a cheap writing table to replace a terrible IKEA desk at our old condo. All it is is two scrap boards attached with two longer pieces of scrap and metal legs screwed on. Sanded, stained, and sealed, it’s not fancy but it’s level and survived the move so it must not be too terrible. But my experience putting that together was not inspiring much confidence in being able to build a patio table from scratch. Having a kreg then would have been helpful, and saved me a lot of time.

Since I picked this up to work on the table, I’ve used it on practically everything else as well. The console table, the sandbox, the lounge chairs, all have multiple kreg joints in them. The patio table probably has at least 50 in it by itself, between the table boards, skirt, and legs. All of them as tight and clean as possible thanks to this handy jig. That table would have been an even bigger mess without a kreg.

This is not a sponsored post, I just love my kreg and using this weekend reminded me of that. Best $40 I’ve spent in a while. So if you’re planning on doing some of your own DIY, pick up one of these. You won’t be disappointed.

Just don't stand on the stand

Okay, so tv’s up and we’ve had a steady stream of guests recently. Let’s put something together so the tivo’s not just sitting on a step ladder, even if it’s not completely set up yet. 

Without baseboards up (I know, I know, I should be finding those vs doing this) the couch is off the wall a bit so the space calls for something relatively shallow under the tv. The outlet isn’t too far off the floor, so we’re looking at something maybe 20 inches high. The plan was to pick up a six foot strip of straight 1x12 and make a simple open box on some legs and call it a day. The plan, of course, went out the window.

Everything cut, with 5 1.5 inch sections of 2x4 for legs

The 6-foot lengths were absolute garbage when I stopped at HD over the weekend, but there was an 8-foot board that looked pretty good. So instead of cutting a 6-footer in half, I ended up with 3 30-inch sections, with that extra 6 inches cut into 3-inch sides for a top shelf, and cutting some scrap into 5 inch sections for a bottom shelf. A little more work, and a middle shelf meant picking up some T brackets in addition to the L brackets I just had around but I think it’s a good case of adapting to what’s available vs. sticking to a plan that wouldn’t work.In any case, there's definitely room for a gaming system now...

That is horrible looking from the back, but that's why it's the back.

I was also trying to find some hairpin legs for a decent price but the wife put the kibosh on that, so this project just got that much cheaper. Tons of scrap I could cut legs out of, wife gives it a thumbs up. Win-win.

Test fit without any glue or screws, this looked surprisingly ok.

I think the sander is going to be up for a serious workout in any upcoming spare time I find. I’ve actually learned a few lessons from past projects and didn’t just start putting things together, I tried to see how square everything would be and if there was an obvious way things should fit together. It helped a little but some of these corners were still quite a bit off. Since the kids are going to be around this it’s going to need quite a bit of sanding though so things should look pretty good by the time it’s ready to stain.

The brackets went on last, before that the top was just glued on, hence the weights.

But who knows when that will actually happen. In any event it’s a nice test run at building one for upstairs to replace our old stand. Hopefully comcast (gah, just threw up in my mouth a bit) will manage not to break it when they’re by later this week to activate the basement outlet. My hopes are not high.

Purchase list: 

1 1”x12”x8’ common board
1 4-pack L brackets
1 2-pack T brackets