And I am happy with the results
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The current "shop project" is a mission style queens sized bed for Carolyn. This bed will go in "Brandi's room" and will replace a full sized bed that was Carolyn's when she was a girl at her parents home.
Carolyn has been on me for several years asking for a mission style bed (headboard and footboard) and that project finally bubbled to the top of the pile.
I went to a small lumber mill in Huntsville, Texas and purchased a little over 120 board feed of rough quarter sawn red oak ... the grain in this wood looked like it could be pretty spectacular ...
After several hours of cutting I had the "pieces parts" roughly cut to length ...
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| From QueenMissionBed |
I could see that the grain was looking pretty good
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| From QueenMissionBed |
After several hours of plaining and cutting to final sizes I was able to dry assemble the beginnings of the foot board ... getting all those square holes to line up with the square pegs was no small trick ...
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| From QueenMissionBed |
Making the legs for this bead was a real challenge ... I used what is called a lock miter joint cut on my router table ... it took 128 passes total to cut the joints for all four legs ...
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| From QueenMissionBed |
These are pics of the headboard and footboard all pieced together and dry fit ... final sanding and finish and glue is next
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| From QueenMissionBed |
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| From QueenMissionBed |
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| From QueenMissionBed |
Hope to be done before Halloween ...
Since we have been frequenting antique auctions I have been on the lookout for a "cheval mirror" to go in Zoey's room ... I finally found one for a pretty cheap price that LOOKED like it had potential ... sadly I can't locate the "before" pictures I am sure I took but basically the mirror frame was stained almost black and it was mounted on a white pine wood very sad looking frame. The good part was the glass is beveled and the price was right (no one wanted to bid on it and I got it for a good price).
The pictures here-in show just a couple of shots of the frame as I started to build it and then the finished product ... the frame wood is from the same stash I used to build Zoey's crib. I removed the old finish from the mirror and discovered this was not a "cheval mirror" to begin with but rather a wall hung mirror someone had cobbled up and stuck in a floor standing frame ... oh well ... I'm pretty pleased with the end result and I hope Zoey enjoys it as she matures into the "fashionista" I am sure she will become.
The beginnings of the frame:
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| From Antiques |
The finished product:
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| From Antiques |
I added some butterfly ornaments
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| From Antiques |
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| From Antiques |
Carolyn and I along with our good friends Woodie and Linda will be departing in less than a month for a three week adventure in Great Britain ... I have started a web log to document that trip and I invite you to tag along ... the web log is at Great Britain Odyssey 2010 ... you should be able to subscribe to the web log like my others by providing your email address in the supplied link on the upper left where it says "Subscribe for email updates" ... I hope you'll enjoy the narrative as we wander along.
Well, the United States celebrates its independence on July 4th ... I officially announced my independence from IBM today July 6th. I contacted my manager and requested that she initiate the necessary steps to make my retirement after 36 years and 1 month effective July 31, 2010.
It's been a good ride for the most part ... I have encountered incredible people, traveled a bit and definitely had the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. I have been present to see the phenomenal explosion of the computer and information technology's impact on the human race from a ring side seat ... I've even been inside the ring in some instances and can say I actually had a hand in some of the impact. I was a very early user of what became the "Internet / World Wide Web" and got to enjoy the sense of wonder people experienced as I provided education and tutorial to new users. I was one of the first 'work at home' employees of IBM and one of the first wave of 'laptop computer' users ... the change has been astounding and I am grateful for the part I have played and the opportunity to participate directly in the change.
Things are definitely not the same nowadays within the company. One of the founding tenets of the IBM company was "Respect for the individual" ... sadly I have also had a ring side seat to watch that belief within the management of the company erode to the point where it is a far distant memory in the few of us that are old enough to remember when it existed. In the past 10 years IBM has fallen from one of the most respected American companies and most desirable places to work to a middle of the pack 'also ran'. It's really too bad because I still believe the majority of the employees in IBM and most certainly the ones I have had the privilege to work alongside for the last 36 years are representative of America's best and brightest. The executive and upper management levels of the company however have taken a serious turn for the worse and I no longer have any respect for the people running this once great company.
So ... farewell to IBM ... I look forward to July 31, 2010 with a sense of expectation for what is to come with the change in my life and the impact it will have on my family. I believe that it is the right time to make this transition and am anxious to see what the next chapter will hold.
Carolyn and I have long had an affinity for antiquing and specifically we like American antiques that are 'golden oak' . Recently we have started going to antique auctions in the area seeking treasures and discovering that we have paid way way too much for some of the things we have purchased over the years in 'antique stores' ... auctions are definitely more fun and CAN BE much better 'price performers' ... and besides ... I LIKE TO BID!!!
Anyway Carolyn had been looking for a "highboy chest of drawers" for Zoey's room for some while now and at a recent auction we bought ... this ...
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| From Bade's web log |
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| From Bade's web log |
stripper and tung oil ... we ended up with ...
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| From Bade's web log |
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| From Bade's web log |
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| From Bade's web log |
We are happy with the way it turned out ... I'm sure when she is about 13 Zoey will wish she had a "new" chest of drawers but hopefully someone will manage to convince her this is better!!
Well we picked up the new Mini on Tuesday (5/25/2010). Our first stop was Discount Tire to have the Run Flats removed and a set of slightly wider, definitely quieter and a little smoother non-Run Flats installed. So now I have a set of new Run Flats for sale on CraigsList
this ad.
