the facts are these

Worked on the shelf again today. I had trouble spraying the clear varnish at first, and my dad and I were troubleshooting it for like an hour before resorting to a brush, and the minute I started that and my dad went to clean out the sprayer, he realized we just needed to dilute it a little. So an hour of troubleshooting and then fifteen minutes of spraying when it worked. Tomorrow I'm going to add one more coat to it, and then, hopefully, I will be done.

Making furniture is easy but it does require you put some time in. I see people posting about how they finish things in one weekend or one afternoon on Knock Off Wood. What the hell finish are you people using? And then I scroll down, and oh, of course, they painted. Because I only work on the shelves over the weekend, it can take weeks to get a complete finish. Polyurethane requires at least eight hours to try before adding another coat, and you sand it down in between. So if you ever wondered why it takes me so damn long to finish a project, that is why. I can't even tell you how many unexpected things delayed work on the shelf. But that's how it always goes. Theoretically it can be done in two or three weekends, but in reality it takes so much longer than that.

This is why I should be committed for planning to make an entertainment center next.

Refurbishing my bike. It used to be a shiny forest green with some ugly brand labels and a lot of dirt and scuff marks. I bought this bike basket for the front, which I'm going to paint a very subtle off-white. I've got a rear bike rack that I'm going to paint the same color, and next weekend I'm getting fenders and a chain guard so I can quit catching my pant leg.

The frame looks so bare without all the parts on it, but without the wheels this is all that we took off.



Such a sad little pile.

Unfortunately incredibly toxic paint fumes give me headaches. Who would have guessed?