Shooting Summer In The Foot

I'm going to spend the next few posts updating on cool thing that have been accomplished and do a little weather vane pointing into the future.

I have finally had time to sit down and reflect back on the past two plus months. They have been busy and productive and exhausting but they have not produced much I feel needs to take up space on this blog or in your reader feed. There has been sawdust, a lot of sawdust, but there has been no furniture nor techniques in the realm of "fine" woodworking,

It started early July with a project that was supposed to eat up maybe two weeks. We have a gazebo structure in our backyard and the previous owner build boardwalks between it and the back door, however the steps out of the back door were narrow, lacking a handrail, and it was torturous watching my Mother-in-Law step out and try and close the door behind herself. We decided building a small deck would be a safer platform for everybody and at the same time I'd complete the fencing around the yard which was 80% done. 

I interrupted my work to help my own parents expand their deck enclosure/dog run and to build a large chicken coop for my sisters new home. She was moving and needed a new place for the birds. The best part of these interruptions is that I got to spend some time working with my dad. 

Of course there are the standard interruptions and hitches that happen with any home improvement project. From removing substandard outdoor wiring to having to replace the entire boardwalk, to having to figure out how to run a 12' stretch of fence, with a gate, across a cement covered area. 

The projects are done now and I can start doing something in the shop again . . . but wait, the shop is trashed, absolutely trashed. When I'm working in my shop I am meticulous, I clean up and put things away in between stages and I keep myself well organized. Apparently that doesn't happen when I'm juggling my own outdoor project and dragging a truck full of tools off to build things elsewhere. Every workbench surface is covered with tools and toolboxes, empty Menards bags and scraps of pressure treated wood, boxes of decking screws and oh I can't go on. It's going to take me two solid days to get the shop workable again.

Along the way I have to find space to keep a few new friends. I purchased a cheap no-name chopsaw to help with all the deck cutting. I gave my old one away years ago and hadn't missed it until I dived unto the construction project world again. There's not a lot of call for it in my furniture work, the cheap ones aren't accurate enough, but I still have to find a place to store it. I've also added a Grizzly 22" scroll saw, to up my marquetry game, I found it for sale used for a very good price but I haven't had time to do more than clean it up and make sure it goes. Changing blades is a trick but with some practice I'll get the hang of it. Still I have to figure out a station or a way/place to store it. 

Still all good problems to have. 

Ratione et Passionis

Oldwolf