The Refresh After 40

My younger than me wife and I like to do things together.

Usually that means we take something that is old and make it new again.

Like when she married me….

But this ain’t about me.

It’s about her over 40 year old dresser and nightstand.

She has had it since childhood….but doesn’t want it to look like it.

So, we went to work by taking it outside, removing the drawers and handles and I showed her how to use the belt sander to take off the finish and get it ready to paint.

Next, it was paint. We headed to the Home Depot and decided one 3 shades of grey.

She took care of the lighter color and I took care of the trim and cut in and also the spray painting of the handles.

After drying, I put everything together.

Then moved it back into the house, where we hope to have it for another 40 years or so.

First time for us refinishing our own furniture.

Further proof that an old dog can learn new tricks.

The Driftwood Bench

Strangely enough, I found myself with some free time last weekend.

And what does good2begone do when he has free time?

CHAINSAW CHAINSAW CHAINSAW

I had a driftwood log that had been sitting around until I figured out what to do with it.

I figured I would just chainsaw it up to see what I had.

What I ended up with was 3 small slab pieces of various sizes.

I decided to make a bench.

Why?…cuz why not.

I wanted to make it so I had one to use for when I practice guitar and play stuff for the grandkids.

I sanded it to get the chainsaw marks out.

Drilled 3 holes through the bottom about an inch into the wood to glue the legs.

Then, crested a frame around the top and bottom for strength and to keep it from wobbling.

Then polyurethane on top.

Here is how it turned out.

It an interesting cut of wood to say the least. It has valleys and caverns and different deformities throughout that nature took care of for me.

The more I looked it I tried to figure out what it resembled….

Then it hit me…

It looks quite similar to the continent of South America

Anyhow, there it is.

I’ve got 2 more small slabs to work with….

I’ll let my imagination get to work on those and we will see what happens 😉

The Hands On

We got to unexpectedly spend time with the grandkids today.

It was so unexpected that we had nothing planned to do.

So what did we do when we had nothing to do?

We found something to do.

That’s what grandparents do.

I found a discarded table by the dumpster this morning. I figured I could make something out of it. A little beat up but whatever.

The boys wanted to paint.

So….

We decided to allow them to paint the table.

However they wanted with any and all colors that we had available.

We stripped them down to underwear….

Because…

Paint…DUH

And went to work-

They are 4 and 2 and not surprising like to get into paint.

Of course I got involved. I couldn’t let them have all the fun.

After we finished with the fifty eleven different colors that went on and all mixed together, we let it dry.

I then put some leg braces about a foot down from the top and painted those.

Then brought out the black to personalize our creation with our handprints.

Three some polyurethane to protect our artwork and brought it in to display in our main room.

Total cost….nothing

But priceless memories and something we can talk about for years to come.

Being a grandparent sure is…..

Grand.

The Stump And The Slab

It’s a weekend without the grandkids.

Which means….

It’s hobby time.

I’ve had a driftwood treestump on my back porch for quite a while.

I didn’t know what to do with it….but I knew I NEEDED IT!

Not long ago, my boss was cleaning out one of his many work areas and came across a

Slab ‘o wood.

He just gave it to me. Said he’d never use it and hoped I would be able to.

The pistons in my brain fired up and I went to work on the stump and the slab.

I figured the only way to go was to build a table.

Who doesn’t like tables?

They are so useful for….stuff and things.

Anyhoo…

I leveled out the top of the stump.

Sanded down the slab.

And connected the two with heavy duty gate hinges. The kind used on ranches to keep cattle in n stuff.

Then, finished it all off with polyurethane, and tried to get a close as I could to

“Showroom shine”

Here’s the results from 3 angles to show the awesomeness of the stump and the patterns on the slab.

I call this my-

Dragon Coil Table.

It’s not just a table.

It’s my attempt at furniture art, that’s not just functional but also a cool conversation piece.

Discaimer- this wasn’t all done this morning. It’s been a work in progress that got finished this morning. This is a blog post….not a you tube start to finish project in 30 minutes type situation. 😬

The Quickening

“I have the power! The quickening that empowers me! I feel everything! I know everything! I am everything!”- Movie quote from Highlander

Had some hobby time this weekend. Which means it was time to get creative.

I started with this-

Pretty good size piece of driftwood off the lake I work on. It’s all hollowed out, so it has lots of caves and turns in it.

I went the home depot and bought some polyurethane. Then headed the the dollar tree….

Which is more like the dollar and a quarter tree now…

Meh…

I picked up a cheap roll of LED lights and a LED puck light.

Got home and let the creative juices flow like lava from a volcano…or something like that.

Here is the finished product…

Which i have dubbed-

“The Quickening”

Looks better in the darkness

“Most people have a full measure of life… and most people just watch it slowly drip away. But if you can summon it all up… at one time… in one place… you can accomplish something… glorious.”- quote from Highlander 2 The Quickening

If I Wood…Would You

I have picked up a few hobbies over the years. The first is guitars.

My lifelong love of all music has led me into the realm of learning how to play it.

To do that. I needed a guitar…..

Which led to 2..

In my defense. I did need an acoustic AND and electric.

Much to my wife’s dismay it has led to 3 acoustics and 3 electrics. 1 acoustic full size Bluetooth speaker. Guitar spatula and tongs. 3 amps.

I can’t help it. I want them all.

Here is my guitar corner at the house….

My goal is to learn enough to have something to do with my grandkids…

My 4 grandkids. Ages 4,3,2 and almost 10 months. They are a post for another time.

My other obsessive hobby is woodworking.

I’ve worked in construction for over 14 years and have taken a liking to creating things out of wood that is discarded.

The proper term is recycled. So I hear.

Anyway.

I wanted to find a way to combine my two hobbies into one…..

My idea was to create a “Blues Box”

If you play guitar. Especially the blues. you know what the blues box is.

The blues is where it’s at.

Here is how it began-

Yes, the garage is hoarders paradise. Please just focus on the materials.

Various sizes and styles of wood planks. A guitar (the classic keith Urban Les paul edition..which was later shattered by my oldest grandson. Kody the Destroyer), and some clamps and wood glue.

Next. Glue and clamps the pieces for the top together as well as the pieces I used to make a cutout of the guitar with. After drying use a sharpie to outline the guitar.

Next step is to cut out the guitar from the second picture and place it on top of the wood from the first picture, mark it in place, then jigsaw out the guitar from the top and save it for the next project.

Next place guitar 1 into the open slot where guitar 2 was. Glue it in place.

Oh yeah, and cut some crazy shapes around it. Just for looks…

I’m getting winded with all this jumping back n forth from the camera roll and reliving this project. I’m gonna jump to the chase….

After that build the bottom, attached the 2 with some rather large gate clamps. Stain and polyurethane finish and…..

WHAALA!

I’m pretty happy with it.

Here it is in its natural environment…

See those in there…nothin but the blues.

Hence…the blues box.

You damn right I got the blues.

From my head down to my shoes.

Please…Don’t DIY

Give Good2begone remodeling, construction and home repair a call
when doing it yourself didn’t end up like you envisioned it.

We will make it like you envisioned it….and you can tell your wife you did it yourself.

555-4663. Just to make it easier…

That’s 555-GONE

Seriously??….

Lights taped to a hanger?

Aye dios mio.

If you have a “honey do” do list.

Don’t make it a “honey don’t EVER do list”

Throwaway Treasure

Out with the old…

No seriously just get rid of it.

I hear this a lot in the remodeling business.

The idea of remodeling is to upgrade.

I get that.

But…

Sending some of the original charm to the landfill just doesn’t sit right with me.

So I take…what is thrown away and make it useable again.

We are currently remodeling a place that was probably originally built in the ’50’s.

When I say remodeling, I really mean gutting the entire place down to the bare studs and starting over.

During the gutting process, I came across this door. It’s only 24 inches wide, solid wood, and is…awesome!

The customer wanted it gone. It’s “good” that she wanted it “2begone“.

I took it from its destination amongst common garbage and gave it new life.

As a display table in our den.

I didn’t “change” anything.

The old doorknob and skeleton key insert are still there. The hinges are still there.

All the scratches, dings, and discoloration that have been there for years are still there.

All I did was clean it with wood cleaner…..

And nailed it to and end table I found at an antique place, which was a whopping $20.

Currently on display on the table are framed photos I have taken and used on this blog.

Yeah…I keep those too.

All I ask, is next time you think you need to get rid of the old…..

Try to think of some way to make it new to you again.

History is for treasuring not for trashing.