Use it or lose it?


Posted on: September 1st, 2011 by Sandra 25 Comments


As in talents, skills and knowledge.

Or maybe they won’t be LOST per say but they certainly can be MISPLACED!

Talking about me and cabinet building, I can’t say if my skills are lost, misplaced or just – Rrrrrrusty.

Either way, it’s time to get back into practice!!!  Slow and painful as it may be.

I haven’t forgotten everything:  I got all the MDF cut just fine.

(Laura even helped me film a bunch of Circular Saw use and safety tips for ya’ but it needs some “Editing Magic” so I don’t come across as the complete bumbling goofball that I really and truly am!)

I even did OK loading it all into the truck and keeping it there while I drove up my steep driveway!

I remembered how to clean up the room before bringing in all the newly cut wood …

And hauling every- single- lovin’- last board into the closet by myself was a no brainer.  No talent there, just (tiny, tired) muscles –and sweat!  :0P

The fact that it took me about two hours to build this ONE SIMPLE STINKING CABINET is what is the problem.

~I could blame it on the fact that I’ve gotten maybe 6 hours of sleep combined in the last two nights and I’m a 8 hour a night gal.

~Or on the fact that I kept getting interrupted by various people and errands and don’t do well with distractions.  (All necessary distractions I’m sure.)

~My drill batteries are on their last leg and only retain enough power to drive about 5 screws before they die.

~I was fatigued from carrying all that MDF from here to there and back again all day.

***AND MOST IMPORTANTLY :  I didn’t measure and verify the cuts made at Home Depot and despite the fact that the nice lumber man was doing everything he could to make accurate cuts, their saw is not a precision cutting machine and if one side of a cabinet is 3/16″ shorter than the other, IT’S A BIG PROBLEM!

(That was totally MY BAD for not re-checking.)

Honestly, these excuses aren’t an effort to make me feel better about my failure as much as they are intended to help me hope that I’ll get my MOJO back if I build under better circumstances.

The good thing is I think I ran into almost every possible hurdle yesterday and was able to fudge 1 square cabinet anyway.  I’m fairly certain that today will bring better results and I’ll wiggle and squirm and find a way to nestle back into my DIY saddle again very soon.

p.s.  That cabinet looks HUGE!  As soon as I get the back on it I’m going to stand it up and see how it “FEELS” in the room.  It’s been a week of changing my mind at the last instant so who knows, I might decide that all those long “side” pieces need to go back in the truck and down the hill and into the shop to be ripped 6″ narrower.

Good Lord, I hope it “feels” good when it’s standing up in the room!













25 comments on “Use it or lose it?

  1. Colleen on said:

    I am going to attempt a built in unit for our family room so I am watching each step REALLY closely. You are amazing!!

    • Sawdust and Paper Scraps on said:

      Awesome. I’m trying to make a video tutorial that might be helpful…if I can just build one right! :-D I don’t want to title it “How NOT to build a cabinet”.

  2. I’m very impressed! You’re so inspiring. I want to make a cabinet!

  3. I have a cordless DeWalt drill and it is FABULOUS! I’ve had it for about two years now and use it all the time. It came with two batteries so I can always have one charging, but each battery has pretty good life. In fact, the contractor who just finished hanging sheetrock in our basement (a friend) used my drill instead of his b/c his kept running out of batteries :) Just my humble recommendation if you are in the market…
    BTW I love reading your blog. You inspire me to get off my butt and start finishing all the projects that are half done in our mostly-owner-built (us) house!

    • Sawdust and Paper Scraps on said:

      Thanks Lindsay. The drill I have now is actually a DeWalt and I have loved it. 2 speed, drill/driver combo with adjustable clutch! Everything I need. I was trying to remember how long I’ve had it and I can’t recall. I think it might possibly be 8 years! Now if both battery packs have lasted that long, that’s pretty remarkable. However, this might be the second drill in that time frame…I just can’t remember. Still 4 years-8 years, pretty good for battery life. Jaime told me that Rigid has lifetime battery replacement though and you can’t beat that! I’m def checking that out.

  4. antknee on said:

    What kind of screws did you use to join the MDF? Did you use glue as well?
    Thanks

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