Since the frames are complete, my least favourite step (and my husband’s least favourite) was next. With my new orbital sander, downdraft table and dust collector all running, I got to work sanding the chairs down. A few very dusty hours later they are nice and smooth and ready for stain.
And now we know: I still think the downdraft table is not quite right; maybe even less holes or a tighter seal where the hose comes in? There is less dust but still loses suction as you work.
The chairs are progressing well and are now mostly assembled. It was slow going as I only have 1 corner clamp so I would glue and clamp 2 pieces, wait an hour, add the screws, then repeat with the next 2 pieces. Despite that, all went very smoothly until I started attaching the arm support on the 2nd chair. I’d run out of my standard type of 2 ½” screws and found a box a friend had left at my house. After pre-drilling the holes, I started inserting the 2 screws. At about 2/3 of the way in both of the heads just snapped clean off. Had there not still been a gap between the 2 pieces of wood, it would have been fine to leave them in place but unfortunately I had to remove them somehow.
I tried hammering the wood together, using an extractor bit to remove them and adding more screws to pull the pieces together but nothing worked. Finally after a few days of contemplation and frustration, I borrowed my dad’s reciprocating saw and just cut right through the screws at the point between the 2 pieces of wood. I re-glued the pieces together, added a couple of screws (NOT from my friend’s box) and it looked good as new.
Also complete are the inner frames for the seat and back of both chairs. Webbing will be attached to these, and then they will be screwed in place from the inside so the frame remains without any visible connectors.
And now we know: there are different quality levels of screws and the cheap ones are really terrible
After the suggestion from the sales guy to build a down draft table, Tom wanted me to do so before I sanded again. Using pine 1x6’s I had on hand, I built a 24”x36” frame with a 1x3 lip inside. On top of the lip would sit the sheet of peg board, so it would be removable to clean out the inside.
On one of the long side, I cut out a round hole and inserted a port to attach the dust collector to. I think the purple duct tape adds a little class to the whole project.
On first use, the amount of suction was not as much as expected. I added a band of duct tape to close off some of the holes around the edges which helped a lot. It still needs a bottom added but I need to acquire a larger sheet of plywood to do so.
And now we know: when building a downdraft table there is a balance of size to number of holes to suction. I’m not sure exactly how you determine the ideal ratio and don’t think I’ve achieved it yet.
We went to the store with the intention of purchasing a dust collection machine, which attaches to tools and sucks up large stuff, and an air cleaning machine, to filter the small stuff out of the air. After a long chat with the sales guy, he convinced us only the collector was required and if it wasn’t enough, a canister/filter thing could be purchased for the top at a later date that would help even more with the small stuff. This was great for the budget; the estimated cost of $700 was down to $250!
So the dust collector and 10 feet of hose came home with us. After putting it together (harder than it had to be as the instruction were crappy) we had fun testing it around the workshop. It is on wheels so will be easy to hook up to any of the machines and is surprisingly quiet.
As we have traveled a lot and I like the pictures to be displayed so we can remember the good times, another gallery wall was in order. More black frames were collected, more photos were printed and I finally got around to hanging them. I like how the black balances out all the black on the other side.
Additionally some modifications to my chair prototype were in order, first and foremost some bars on the seat so we could actually sit in it to test it out. Here it is with sample cushions on it. The one for the seat will be the final dimensions (thickness and width) but the one for the back is just temporary, obviously it is too small and thin.
And now we know: the angle of the chair is good but it is too wide and the back needs to be higher. Having wooden bars as the seat and back is not comfortable; there is no give even with the cushion on top. I’m going to look into making a seat using webbing.
Lots of taping and brushing was involved but these stairs are finally looking good. I went with simple white on the risers and trim to really make the wood pop.
Although the stairwell and upstairs hall still need painting, I did get the baseboards painted. Unfortunately this just makes it more evident that the doors, door trim and railings need a paint job!
And now we know: this is a clear example of how projects can cascade, you do one thing and notice another, and another, and another…
The blinds are done and the cat was very helpful in the install process. She not only chased the cords and tried to eat them every time they moved, but she actually stole one out of the blind and took it to another part of the house to play with. It was not fun working with cords wet from Kitteh saliva!
After I installed the piece of wood in each window, I held the blind up and marked the height. I removed the wood and stapled the fabric over the top, then screwed the wood back in place.
The hardest part was finding the little piece of hardware that you tie the cord to when they are raised. I now know that it is called a wall cleat and is located in the blind section of the hardware store.
And now we know: although this time was complicated, I think any future roman shades I make will be much easier.
