Measure twice, cut once

Sooner or later, every woodworker who blogs posts their lamentations over some project that went south due to a mistake made while holding a measuring tape.  This is that post for me, although I have to admit that on more than one occasion I have had to re-cut a piece of plywood.  I figure with my tools and a pencil, the best that I can do is 1/64 inch accuracy.  If something is 1/32 inch off, I can usually see it with my eye.  So imagine my surprise when I made shelves that were 1/16 of an inch too wide. 

That doesn’t sound like much, but this bookshelf has to fit inside the 3 by 4 inch legs of the headboard of a loft bed.  The legs are joined with a mortise and tenon joint and it is not going to move 1/16 of an inch.  So I had the joy of removing that much material from the side of my bookshelf.

I decided the punishment for the crime would be to use a hand planer to correct the situation.  That decision has the added bonus of sharpening my planer after running it through the glue used to hold plywood together.  Anyway, by the time I could go rent a power planer and take it back, I could finish the job by hand.  Smoothing, filling, and repainting my small mistake will set me back about three hours, plus an hour to sharpen my planer.

No real need to worry about the moral of the story here.  In the end, I am still making chips and dust and doing something that I enjoy.  Although doing something twice does tarnish the joy a little bit, it still beats spending time at work by a good margin.  I have to admit that sharpening a planer is not much of a punishment either.  Since I need to touch this one up, I might as well sharpen the others while I have my water stones out.

Third Day

Third Day is one of my favorite bands.  They lean a lot towards southern rock and their lead singer sounds like Travis Tritt. I got to see them in concert, along with 10^th Avenue North and Trevor Morgan.  If you get a chance to see them on tour, the tickets are worth it.  The concert was nearly 3 hours and Third Day played for over an hour and a half.  The crowd stayed on its feet for much of the event and I left with sore hands from so much clapping.

Christian music has finally gone main stream, and bands like Third Day and 10th Avenue North are the ones who helped put it there.  Maybe you are lucky enough to live where there are contemporary christian radio stations. Almost a given if you live in the south; another reason for southerners to count your blessings!

Trevor Morgan starts things off right!

10th Avenue North was the next to take the stage.

Third Day rocks the house and never looks back!

You can log onto Third Day's website here and listen to streaming audio of the actual concert.  Just click on the boom box on the right.  It changes periodically.  I'll leave you with a video someone posted on youtube of one of their latest songs: Gone!

Bed Cover

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but I’ll bet that thriftiness can give necessity a run for its money.   Not that I am a cheapskate, but sometimes I have to solve my own problems when there are no other ready-made solutions.

I needed a bed cover for my pickup, but I couldn’t find anything on the market that would work.  I wanted to keep my toolbox, create lockable storage, and be able to stack items on top of the bed cover.  And I thought it would be great if I could keep this project under $100. 

My pickup comes with a cargo system in the bed.  After a little thought, I came up with angle iron brackets held in place with threaded 1 inch blocks. 

I used ¾ inch plywood and painted it black to match the trim on the rest of the truck.  I also designed the brackets to mount the cover below the top of the bed.  I do not like how bed covers go over the bed, even though that is probably the only way to make them water proof.  In general, you cannot tie objects down on top of the fiberglass or plastic bed covers without damaging them.  Using painted plywood, I simply repaint as needed when bicycles and coolers scuff it up. 

 I used eyebolts to attach the plywood, which allows me to tie things down to the bed cover, such as coolers, luggage, or kayaks.  The tailgate locks, so I can lock things out of site in the bed.  I was unable to make it water tight, but a few $10 totes allow me to carry luggage and other items without fear of rain.  I also use the totes without the bed cover in place.

 As long as the load is evenly distributed, it will hold 400 pounds.  I have jumped on it (180 pounds) without breaking the brackets or plywood.  I built this 3 years ago now and it has more than lived up to my expectations.  The only improvement I could make to this design would be to hinge it so that I can lift the end.

I'll leave you with a picture of the pickup in serious "vacation mode." Believe it or not, tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and firewood are stuffed under the bed cover!

Sarah Palin

If you want a litmus test for intelligence and independent thinking in America, look no further than how people react to Sarah Palin. Those with a liberal bent continue to scream her stupidity so loud, that even those who would otherwise be reasonable are starting to echo the same sentiments. But have you really stopped to think about how dopey it is to claim that Sarah Palin is dumb?

The Katie Couric interview is the original source of the claim that Sarah is dumb. Could she have answered the questions better? Maybe, but for all of you convinced that this woman is dumb, stop and think for a moment: can you go on live national television, one on one with someone who hates you and hates what you stand for, and answer questions regarding foreign policy? Before you answer that, think about the current debacle with President Obama and Egypt and how poorly that has been handled by the entire administration. Foreign policy is too much for one person to handle and neither Obama nor Bush did any better in the court of public opinion. Actually, I don’t recall Obama being asked questions that were as difficult as those that Sarah Palin had to face.

Her governorship has also been attacked. The key strategy seems to be to attack the state itself as small and meaningless, and unimportant in context with the rest of the states. Anyone that really believes this, I challenge you: go pick out any state in the union, and YOU become the governor. Let’s see you stand out, run a successful campaign, and actually win the election. Most of you couldn’t win a seat on your homeowners association or the local school board, much less that of governor.

Sarah resigned as governor, and she has taken flak for that as well. Her family was under attack from a hateful media. Her office was being attacked by every sleazy trick that lawyers could think of, costing the office of governor money and time that taxpayers foot the bill for. One reporter actually bought a house nearby so he could photograph and assault the family paparazzi style. In the end, she felt it was better for her family and her state to resign, and we can second guess that decision all we want, but we can’t say she was stupid for her decision. At worst, we could call it wrong.

Lastly, for those of you who still think she is not a smart woman, she commands $50,000 dollars to speak in public venues. Her book “Going Rogue” sold over 2 million copies – in hardback. Nearly 70 percent of the candidates that she campaigned for won in 2010. She has her own television show that promotes lifestyles in her state. She is considered a potential presidential candidate for 2012. Do you have any of these qualifications on your resume? I didn’t think so.

What Governor Palin does do well is stand on moral convictions, something that seems to be getting as rare as gold. You can debate her qualifications for office and disagree with her personal convictions, but simply calling her stupid is childish at best. Those who resort to name calling have either lost the debate or know they cannot win the public sentiment. Those of you intent to jump on the latest political bandwagon would be wise to stop being stupid and think for yourself for a change.

Christian Acroyms

I guess all of us have seen the WWJD bracelets that have been popular over the last few years. Of course, if we knew or really cared about what Jesus would do, the world would be transformed into something that looks nothing like what we see today.

Around the world, and even here in the US, there is a hatred for Christians that I could not imagine 20 years ago. The bible predicted that the earth would come to hate Christians, and I have lived long enough to see that prediction come true. The freedom that is preached in the bible is apparently too much for the dictators and communists around the world.

Anyway, at the risk of inciting fresh hatred for freedom loving and Jesus worshiping Christians around the world, I am listing a few acronyms that are helpful in bringing about the right attitude for getting along with people:

THINK (before you speak, is what you are going to say:)
Truthful? Helpful? Inspirational? Necessary? Kind?
If the answer to one of these is "no", then don't say it.

JOY
Jesus first, Others second, You last

GRACE
God's Riches At Christ's Expense

PUSH
Pray Until Something Happens

BIBLE
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

There are lots more out there; here's a list I found recently. I thought I would post this while it was still legal to do so!