Base Cabinets Stained

This week, I made the face frames for the base cabinets, and I just finished staining them. I must say, despite Andrew’s warnings that it would not go well, I am impressed with the results. Here they are drying, or setting or whatever stain does: The stain is Old Masters Red Mahogany gel stain. I […]

More Switch Stand Refinements

Andrew and I got together the other day and finished up the switch stands for the north section. This resulted in yet more refinements to the design, as well as some creative problem-solving. The first refinement was Andrew’s suggestion to not tap the hole in the throw rod extension, but rather to use two nuts, […]

Well Now it Just Looks Like a Crappy Paint Job

Can you believe that I was so cocky as to claim that I thought I knew what I was doing when it came to painting a gradient on the sky? Yeah, me neither. Tonight I painted the second coat. It only really needed it because there were some thin areas up near the corners, and […]

Field Trip to Pembroke

Yesterday, I made the trip from Ottawa up to Pembroke to capture some measurements I didn’t get the last time I was there. The whole family (including my sister and her daughters) came for a trip to the Bonnechere Caves, which was a pretty cool cave system, guided by a theatrical and informative local boy, […]

Learning as I go: the Sky

It looks like the sky is going to want two coats, which is good because by the time I got to the bottom, my technique had become much better. My basic blue is “Utah Sky” (2065-40) from Benjamin Moore, but there is very little of the straight colour up there. As others have proposed before […]

South Base Cabinet

Now I’ve finished the second base cabinet carcase. It’s another massive piece of furniture, measuring almost five feet high by two feet by two feet. This cabinet is sized to take handily our 3-in-1 printer, and hopefully our laser printer as well on the upper shelves. Below waist height, it will have three drawers – […]

North Base Cabinet Carcase

Happy Canada Day! I finished assembling the carcase for the north base cabinet. This went so smoothly, I almost thought I knew what I was doing! It’s a pretty big piece of furniture, measuring almost five feet high and five feet wide, by 16 inches deep. Needless to say, it’s got to come apart again […]

Base cabinet

This week, I managed to get the first cabinet out together. This will be one of a pair of cabinets that support the north section of the layout. The bottom of the cabinet will have three drawers, the top drawer has slides that lock open, and my plan is to create a lid for this […]

Smoothing the Sky

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve sanded the backdrop now. There is at least one more time in my future as the velour mini roller, which the manufacturer describes as follows 100% wool velour extreme short nap rollers provide a very smooth finish and are virtually lint-free. Velour has excellent loading and uploading […]

Collapse!

“Aaack!” I cried as the rope suddenly slipped and the layout lurched. After an evening of working on switch targets, Andrew and I were hoisting the north section of Pembroke back to the ceiling so it would be out of the way. I had been thinking that it was likely one of the last times […]