Boat Rack

It was a fun long weekend. I finished painting the fish tank canopy. I will add a different post for that. I planted a lime tree I had in a pot in the ground. I painted a pot and a bench we have in the front patio.

The blue shutters are in the list of things to do. A new coat of paint is in their future. I cleaned the patio in the back yard. Put new mulch in some areas. But, at some point, my wife and I had an idea. I should build a rack for the boats. This is how my Sunday began. Right after church, I went to the Home Depot:

$78 dollars later, I had the wood to build it. I was thinking about welding one with metal, but wood is a lot faster. So, started loosely following the instructions in this video (the guy explains a lot of good stuff there). First, I pulled the boats out:

Then, I cleaned up a bit and started digging for the posts (I used 2x4's, as the weight is not too much)

 Then, I attached a cross-bar:

Repeated the process on the other side and the first couple of boats went on the rack. Cross-bars were attached for the third boat:

And the third boat can go on:

At this point, it is smooth sailing (for the rowboat...):

I cut the post only on the right side. Maybe at some point, I will make a roof for the rack. The night fell upon me, but I managed to throw the tarp on top of the rowboat. Next weekend, I may apply some mulch. This would serve the purpose of helping with the looks and preventing mud splashing on the bottom boats during the rain.

It may not be the prettiest, but it is way better than having the boats on saw horses :D

Happy building!

Piano bench

Sing us a song, you're the piano man... My wife had a personal war with the bench we were using for the piano. It was big and clunky (and flowery), so I decided to build her one. I started it a couple of weeks ago, but I had been lazy and I finally finished it this weekend. Here are the details. The measurements of the bench are the following (click on the picture):

I had this piece of plywood from the hardware store. It is good to look at the refuse bin, they sometimes have good wood. 50 cents and a couple of 2x4's and you've got a piano bench. I cut two identical pieces of plywood, 13 x 24 (I made it a little wider, don't tell "she that must not be named"). I assembled two identical frames for the legs and attached them together with a bar cut to 21'' (the width of the 2x4's is actually 1.5 in).

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Screws don't look nice, but they are time efficient :-). Then, I made a frame that will be the drawer box to store the music sheets... too bad I play by ear, most likely that box will always be empty.

 Then, it is just a matter of putting everything together:

 Attaching the hinges (got the thumbs up from the boss):

Sanding and painting:

Upholstering... well, I had pictures of that, but I messed it up big time, then I got frustrated, ripped everything apart, redid it, and did not take pictures due to my frustration. Anyhow, here is the finished product:

I still need a few felts to put on the bottom of the legs so that the bench slides easily. Other than that, the bench is finished.

Happy building!