Never a dull moment in the shop!

You know how I often say things are busy at the shop? 

Well.... this past few weeks, they have been especially busy. Seriously busy. Kindacrazybusy. 

Denny and I have repaired some old table legs, made a cool mechanic's tool stand, cut too many replacement shelve to count, repaired and refinished a danish modern table, turned a console TV/stereo cabinet into a wine storage unit, built four prototype tables, repaired some cabinet doors, built a couple of commemorative teak boxes, and... well, that's just a partial list! After a while, they all blend together!

Yes, some of these jobs have been a bit boring, but hey! They pay the bills! The good news is - there have been some really unique pieces coming in the door - here's a cool example of one of them. 

This terrific doghouse came in needing some work to finish it - it was modeled after a Prairie Schooner.

Luckily - the owner brought in some pictures for me to use in designing the new parts. 

I had no idea that the front and rear wheels were different diameters!

 It was a bit of a challenge to make the new axles and have the doghouse sit level.

 Nailed it!

The owner also requested a small cargo box be mounted at the rear, just like an old stagecoach would have. I have a feeling this will be painted to resemble a piece of luggage, with banding straps and cool hardware. 

 I happened to have a small box already made what was a suitable size, so we just mounted it with some magnets to hold it shut. 

And finally - the hardest part, which (in the beginning) seemed like the easiest- building a small set of stairs. The stringers needed to have an S-curve in them, and since the overall rise was only 7 inches, it was tough to lay out the curves on such a short piece. Making these steps took longer than everything else - go figure!

It's hard to get into the rhythm of building when you're not doing the same thing every day, so I'll be happy to get back to building furniture again. I've got some very cool pieces in the pipeline - and as my mom would say - there's never a dull moment in the shop!