A New Hobby

A while back, Laura pointed out that we could use another set of bookshelves to get a bunch of stuff off the floor in my office.

We shopped around a bit.

I was overwhelmed by the price tags.

We could spend anywhere from $100 to $300 at Ikea. That stuff seems to all be made out of particle board with a thin veneer, which offends my sensibilities. And gives Mal something else to destroy.

Or we could spend $600+ on something nice. Which seems a little ridiculous for bookshelves.

I came up with the brilliant idea of making my own.

This is something that both my father and maternal grandfather really loved to do in their spare time. Our family never had much money, but they were skilled enough craftspeople that we had nice wooden stuff. And my mom was good enough with a sewing machine that I always had nice clothes, before she switched from making them to buying them off the rack. (Probably because I was an idiot who didn't appreciate what I had).

Wood working is something with which I've dabbled over the years. But I've only ever really built very rough pieces (like a frame for a trailer that we used to haul a bunch of stuff from Dallas to Boulder).

Somewhere along the line, I've convinced myself that I don't want to use power tools. They're loud and dangerous. And very imprecise.

Laura, ever practical, asked how long this was likely to take.

I recommended that she keep an eye open for shelves on our local "buy nothing" group.

It turns out that I was pretty realistic there. She found the shelves weeks before I was ready to build anything.

At this point, I feel like I have more than enough tools and knowledge to start on a real project. I still need more practice before I risk expensive wood, but not a lot.

I think my biggest impediment now is actually buying that wood. The nearest store to get decent wood is about half an hour away. And they're only open from 8-5 during the week.

Well, that and picking out a starter project.

We're still discussing options there.

I'm leaning toward another bookshelf to replace one of the particle board ones that's served us so well for so long. Laura's angling for a pergola that runs down the walkway from our front porch to the street.