Happiness is a lumber loaded car:

[raisedpassion]

Ok so I decided to build Adirondack chairs for the wife as a wedding present towards the beginning of summer. She picked out the plans she wanted. I said "OK" and being that I'm a Mendenhall, they had to be made from the best quality wood so that these chairs would last 20 years. I couldn't find what I wanted but after a few "back to the drawing boards", I found the right wood from a local company. The cost was going to be high and I lost hours at work so the chairs would have to wait.

Until now. I've got enough money, and I've got family approval to use a wedding gift towards the wood purchase, which increases the family value of these chairs even further.

My father is coming down this week and I have been working hard to meet my goal of the three of us sitting around a campfire in these chairs. So while Julia works to get the house perfect, I'm working out in the shop.  

[raisedpassion]

Friday after being up near all night and working a double, I went up to Precision Moulding. I expected they would just hand me some boards and off I would go.

They don't work like that. Instead, they mill everything so the old man sat down with me and studied my plans. I got the feel that he was taking ownership in the project and it had become "ours" being that his company was about to create the lumber.

He introduced me to the cutter. I shook his hand. The accountant walked me around the yard and showed me the different things they do there. In the days of Walmart, Burger King, and Moen, I'm not used to a business taking a small guy like me so personal.

Saturday morning my order was ready. They threw in extra boards that didn't cut right but maybe I could still use. Later I was stunned to realize I had two lengths of scrap red oak in the mix. (I love red oak. Simply outstanding that they threw in a piece for me.)

After a worrysome ride across town, everything made it home OK and I've been working almost non-stop throughout the day.

I've been having an incredible amount of fun partially because the project is so important, but also because I'm working such a big project in such a small shop. The shop is 5S organized so it's not a big deal to work everything in. It's fun having the building bursting at the seams for the time being. My hold only held 1/4 of the wood I brought. It was so comical that I had to call out Julia to show her, "I've gotta put THAT into (that)." LoL! She rolled her eyes.

I made more sawdust TODAY than all my previous projects combined. Using the flush bit on the router took me to school. Smoke filled the room as I showed my novice ability with the tool. I kept splitting boards as I learned how to use it. One of them landed out in the yard as pressure for a good part increased. I had a small fire (smoldering embers in sawdust burning), the table router quit on me (which might be a dealbreaker for the second chair), put as many pieces together WRONG as possible. At one point, I took my measurements correct, but after I screwed it together, one side of seat of the chair was 2 inches higher than the other. It just looked miserable, horrible. Here I put the leg on upside down!

At another point, I screwed and glued the boards on backwards. After I realized, here's me tearing it apart as fast as possible trying to clean it, getting glue everywhere!

Believe it or not, it's actually starting to look like a chair. The only reason I stopped was because I have a 1/2hr of sanding in front of me and that's a bit loud for 3:30 in the morning.

And believe me, it's all worth it.



The wood hold overfloweth onto the tablesaw and under the drillpress sad



It's very tight.


After I blew up my router, I needed the drill press so matters got worse.


The lone soldier stands smile


After six hours, it doesn't look like much.



I WANT TO SIT IT IN!!!













YES, I built this!!!  

[raisedpassion]

10 - 15 hours of work and COMPLETE!!!!

Well, the first one at least. The wife is very pleased with her slightly late wedding gift, and it's done in time for father coming down to see us.

The two of us had a cookout to celebrate it's completion. We talked for seemingly hours while we had hot dogs and smores with a baby monitor buzzing in the background. We enjoyed the conversation until the fire had reduced to glowing embers no longer able to radiate warmth into the cold night.



As I built this piece, I made mistakes here and there; slight blemishes, imperfections, for instance, a row of screws might not be perfectly straight. For each little oddity, I steadily fell in love with it.

Why? Because this piece cannot be bought at any Walmart or Lowes as evidenced by it's imperfections. These little blemishes stand as silent testimony to my love for my wife - my excitement to have her in my life. This piece is a quality build, able to last twenty years or more. With luck and proper care, it may outlast both Julia and I.... Like a wedding ring, however, it's something not bought but crafted FOR SPECIFICALLY HER.

Now I'm excited to copy the "fixed non-blemish" dimensions for reproduction. Each reproduction will have a touch of my love for Julia tied to it, but this is the FIRST PIECE, and it's her's. Every one after this is only a reproduction of a chair I built for HER.

I love you xally, my wife.