I admit, it's time

Not cleaning up after two relatively big projects was pure laziness, I will admit. But obviously March kind of got the better of me, between work and classes I couldn't find the energy to clean things up. But I'm hearing the call of re-doing the patio table with a new top, and there's no way I can do that with the shop in its current state.

Add on needing to get the bike ready for a potential bike commute and things needed to get straightened up. Nothing like spring break to kick start a little spring cleaning. Of course, I couldn't help making a bit more mess to clean up too.

First things to go were the scraps from the desk. I'm keeping them for now in case I follow through on my pizza oven idea and need clean scrap to burn, but they'll probably just be firewood eventually.

Next the workbench got swept off, and then re-sawdusted by my chopping the old table top into 2x4's I could use with new sawhorse brackets I picked up. Nothing like cleaning up to get some inspiration for another quick project.

I could at least build something in this

There's still some additional cleaning that needs done; there are new boxes of Christmas lights now and the boy's birthday present bike to put together, but nothing that would really stop me from putting a new table top together. Here's to a productive spring!

I've been framed

I came across an old Empire Strikes Back poster that I'm always too sentimental to throw out the other day, and instead of putting it away again I decided it deserved its own frame. Thankfully I had a ton of scrap around still since I'm too busy to actually clean up the shop right now, and it came together really well.

The poster itself has really weird dimensions, which is why I've never put it in an actual frame. But something like that is a perfect chance to flex my scrap muscles. With the hard board I had left over from the desk, and plenty of 2x4 halves, I could have a pretty substantial frame put together, minus a glass or plastic cover.

I trimmed the hardboard to fit the poster, then trimmed a chunk of the halved 2x4 into quarter inch strips to fit around it.

Those got routered with a channel so they could fit around the hardboard with overlap to put everything together. Freehanding with that router is still a real adventure, but I couldn't figure out the right kind of brace. I'm kind of kicking myself for not picking up a router table yet. Oh well.

I basically freehanded the dimensions to get the channels around the hardboard, and viola, one glued up frame.

What kind of stain goes best with a yellow background? Why was this on a yellow background? Who knows. I went with the darkest stain I had around. After enough sanding and stain I thought this looked pretty good. Added a few coats of the wipe on poly and we're in good shape. Usually I wouldn't go with such a dark stain. It looks a bit rough, but it has a nice 'reclaimed' materials vibe that I like. It's more than enough to be presentable I thought.

I hadn't really taken into account how to put everything together, and for how thin I cut the frame this was a challenge. I ended up just hammering in some wood joiners. It worked, and I don't think I'll be taking this apart anyway. Added a wire across the back and snuck it on the wall.

The fam noticed it eventually, but it's still up a week later. Most b/c I've been too lazy to find a more appropriate spot, and the wife hasn't been upset to the point of taking it down herself so it stays for now. It felt good to get a small project done with classes still going on, and has me think I have a painting that could use the same approach before I take it to the office...

ETA: I just realized I posted this on the first Pulaski day I've worked on in three years. I miss my extra days off, but I also feel good about not realizing this was one of them until the end of the day. I got so much done on those days though, that part is going to be hard to deal with.

Aha, something to build for the office!

I have a pretty great set-up in my new office: two big desks to spread out on, a table big enough to fit 5 people around, even a bookshelf for all my old books with some room to put pictures of the kids. Even better, it's all mine! Mine mine mine. Except when I have a meeting in it, which is quite often b/c I'm very important.

First day: I don't think there's any important detail in here. At least I hope not. 

Here's today's view from the other direction...it's nice and sunny out today.

Anyway, the one thing I wasn't crazy about right off the bat was the PC set up. I have a laptop on a dock that I can work off of a full-sized monitor from, and a wireless keyboard. But it's on a weird swivel tray, and my mouse kept falling off. At first I just moved the laptop to the other desk, which I also liked b/c I'm not crazy about not facing the door. But then I can't print and the battery life isn't great, so three months in and I still haven't quite nailed how I like to work yet. Not something to complain about though.

So I got fed up last week, took the tray off the desk myself and just put everything on the desk. It's flat, so it's a step in the right direction, but I need to raise the monitor a couple of inches. So hooray, scrap project time!

I still have not cleaned up from the last two projects. Yikes.

Ah, my favorite kind of project. Perfect to knock out in an afternoon and scratch the project itch. Between the new job and my classes, I was hoping to find something small to work on, and this definitely fit the bill. I had a few nice looking boards that didn't need much work, so I table sawed a few quick miters and glued them up. Easy.

Stopping point one: let the glue dry and it should be good. 

More wipe-on poly, man that goes on thin.

Maybe I should have tried dovetails on the joints here. Probably. Eventually. For now, miters were helpful for getting this done when I could find the time. .

Oops. Should have made it two boards wide. Oh well.

The perfect scrap project: glue a few cuts, a little sanding, and a coat or two of wipe on poly, some felt buttons on the bottom, and ta da, one easy yet functional monitor stand. It's enough work that I feel recharged, but it didn't take weeks to complete.