Sunday, May 15, 2011

In a week.

Sometimes it feels like you don't get anything done in a week, and other times, it all falls into place and you get a lot done. This week Paul and I finished assembling and sanding all 60 stools and 40 chairs for a new restaurant opening up in Freeport, ME. Our part is done now; all that's left is for them to go to the finish guy to get a few coats of lacquer. Then we deliver the product. What a relief to be done with them. May God be praised for sustaining us through it. We've been hard at it six days-a-week for over two months.

Finished Cathance River Low-Back Barstools waiting for delivery.

I took my first Saturday off in months to get a few things done around the house. I started with coffee, bacon and pancakes. We finally got the last of our stuff out of the attic of our old apartment, and we're finally settling in at our new place. Many thanks to our friend Ivan the Mechanic for getting me a new muffler on the Honda in a about 45 minutes flat.


I guess I need a muffler. My car was starting to sound like the Fast and the Furious.

And right after dinner yesterday, I got the dryer all hooked up and working. We've never had our own washer and dryer, so this is a big deal. (And I got to buy a 4" hole saw out of the deal.)


Not bad for $140 on Craigslist.


An army of Cathance River Side Chairs awaits our command ( or the finish guy )


More good news: KT's job has assured funding through the end of September, so there's now time for the state legislature to make up their minds about whether or not they will fund early-childhood home-visiting programs throughout the state


Sanding the curved backs of the barstools with a 5" random orbit sander and 120 grit.

With a few things around here to wrap up in the next week or two, I'm hoping to make a trip out to the midwest to visit with family and friends who I haven't seen in a while, that I might not see for a while if I don't make the trip soon.


Finish sanding the last side chair with 180 grit paper. The culmination of 8 weeks of work.

I'm also pretty excited about my new drill and driver combo. Paul is always harassing me for using his impact driver, so I had to do something about it. We had a Home Depot gift card and did exactly what they want you to do: spend twice as much money as your gift card. So when I saw this combo for just over $200 I couldn't pass it up.
I needed something to drive that 4" hole saw, as if the other three drills I own weren't going to work...




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got routed here via Walter & Sugar Mountain Farm and had to comment on your impact driver- I have had a 14v DeWalt driver for several years and would be lost with out it. It doesn't strip out screws, it's light, it's indispensable. In fact, we have two because someone is always using one. My only complaint- the rechargeable batteries stop taking a charge after a while, especially on-site using a generator to recharge.
On another point- I love and admire your craftwork. Those chairs are beautiful!
~Sal

Christopher Gerald Wagner said...

Sal,
thanks for stopping by to say hi. If you're on facebook, you can 'like' our page at www.facebook.com/paulbainesfinewoodworking.com

I have used the DeWalt 18v impact drivers with the NiCd batteries quite a bit, but they are really heavy. I have not tried DeWalt's Lithium-Ion drivers.

In my experience, the power coming out of a generator cuts the life of many of my tools because the output voltage range is much wider than what most tools were designed for.

As to the life of the batteries, I find that they work great for about a year and then they start going downhill, especially when they get used a lot in the bitter cold of January/February in Maine.