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My sawhorses are finished, and make a very stable base for working. I've just started my next project, which is a room divider for our third bedroom -- we want to make half of it into a playroom for our daughter, the other half into a playroom for the two of us. I will be making the divider in two parts; the first part is a long (6 1/2') bench extending out from the wall, with cubbyholes under it for our daughter's toys.
This morning I started cutting the wood for the bench. My major goal in this project is to make measurements more precise than they were in the bookcase, and seamless joints. I am trimming my cuts with a straight router bit -- the resulting edge is quite a bit neater than the edge I get from my circular saw. I am also planning to use my router to cut dadoes and rabbets for the joints.
Finished building the bench yesterday (though I have yet to sand or finish it); I was successful in making my measurements accurately, but way dropped the ball on the seamless joints. The joints are as bad as in the bookcase, but more visible. Still, the piece is quite functional -- I reinforced the joints with metal brackets so it will be able to handle being climbed on and abused.
We had the apartment painted last week; we asked Jean,
the painter, to paint the bench the same color as the bedroom
walls. The paint makes it look a bit better; and Ellen has
started sewing some really nice cushions for it, from a
chanille bed spread.
