Happy Saturday. It has been a long week, with ups and downs for weather. Last Sunday it was 87°f (31°c). Yesterday morning when I left to run an errand, it was 31°f (-1°c). But David and I don’t care about the weather. We just come here to catch up and, with a little luck, work with Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Linda says:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “at the beginning.” Use it any way you’re inspired to. Enjoy!
SoCS by Linda G. Hill
We’re still inside, and it looks like Curley’s still running the patio.
“It’s good to see you my young friend.”
“Hi, David. Any sign of Curley?”
“Yeah, he had to go downstairs to get a new bottle of John Howell’s Bourbon.”
“Oh, I thought he was serving the patio. I saw a couple people out there when I came in.”
“Probable drinking hot chocolate.”
“This is a bar, David. I made them both Irish coffees.”
“Hello Curley. Dan was just asking about you.”
“Well, I have the bourbon. The seltzer and the ice are right here. Dan, you’ll be happy to know that the Modelo keg was replaced earlier. David, here’s your Ikea special.”
“Ikea? You mean John Howell.”
“I call it Ikea because you have the makings of a a mixed drink, but some assembly is required.”
“Put a wrench in instead of a swizzle stick.”
“Speaking of assembly, Dan, how’s that clock…”
“Curley, ixnay on the uestionsqay.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re expecting him to say something like ‘fine,’ or ‘it’s coming along nicely.’ But this is Dan. He’s going to regale you some march through the weeds.”
“Well, I asked the question, and I’d like to hear the answer. So, Dan, how’s the clock coming?”
“David, do you remember what the plan was at the beginning?”
“Yeah, drill a hole in that ugly piece of wood and stick a clock in it.”
“Essentially correct. I thought I would do that, cut the bottom off of that interesting piece of wood and have a desk clock.”
“I take it that’s not how it went.”
“Curley, please don’t encourage him.”
“Too late, David.”
“Well Dan, I think that’s your cue to continue.”
“Thanks. I decided that I didn’t want to cut the bottom off.”
“That leaves you with a big hunk of wood.”
“I cut the back off.”
“Why?”
“I think I can hang it on a wall.”
“Okay, I can see that, but what about the bottom? That’s a lot of wood just hanging there, unless you make it a grandfather clock.”
“Actually, it’s too small for that. So, I decided to put a few drawers in the bottom.”
“How do you do that?”
“Have you ever seen a bandsaw box?”
“Those boxes where they cut drawers out of a hunk of wood? I’ve seen them, but I have no idea how they work—I take it you do.”
“I do, but I have to say, I’ve never done it before.”
“That’s my friend Dan, Curley. Jump right in with both feet and hope there’s enough water.”
“So how do you do it, Dan?”
“Curley! What the heck? Now we’ll be here all day.”
“Hang on, David, I’ll make this fast.”
“Or you buy the next round?”
“Agreed.”
“Okay. First, I drew the shapes I wanted to use for drawers. Then, I cut the side off the block. Then I cut out the shapes.”
“Okay, I follow, but how do you hollow out the drawers?”
“I cut the back and the front off each piece. Then I cut the inside out. I trimmed some wood off the drawer sides, then, I glued the fronts and the backs and the side back on.”
“How do you sand the drawers, Dan?”
“I wasn’t going to go there, David, so, technically, I’m done.”
“Yeah, yeah, Curley, one more round, on me.”
“I sanded the inside of the drawers before gluing the front and back on.”
“Did you sand the fronts and backs, too?”
“No, I wanted them to fit as close as possible.”
“What about the clock?”
“I drilled the hole for the clock, but that’s all. I only needed to know how much room I had under the long hand.”
“So, you still have a chance to screw this up?”
“Ha! Yes, David, there’s still a chance. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“You know I wish you all the best.”
If you’re interested in the clock project, there’s a slide show of all those steps. If not, there’s a gallery of photos below that. All of the equipment was off when the pictures were taken.
Laying out the clock position 
Laying out the clock position 
Lining up the holes 
Drilling place for clock shaft washer 
Washer will support the nut that secures the clock 
Drilling the hole for the clock shaft 
The clock shaft will pop through there 
Slicing the back off the blank 
Thin enough to hang on a wall 
The lower left looks like fertile ground for three drawers 
First attempt, but I didn’t follow this pattern 
Trying to make the biggest drawers I can 
I cut the left side off in one slice to minimize cut lines 
The blank is too long to spin completely 
Cutting the box free 
One down. Starting on second drawer 
One more drawer to remove 
Ready for three drawers and a side 
How the drawers will look 
Back and front of drawer removed 
Backs and fronts removed from drawer blanks 
Rough plan to hollow out the drawer 
Sanding the inside of the drawers 
Cutting the tops off the drawer so I can access inside 
Three drawers before sanding 
The drawers reassembled 
Drawers inserted into clock blank 
Rough drawers in their homes
Here’s a few words about the beginning from Emerson Lake and Palmer
No Facilities 
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