The Plane Truth

So, today has been a busy old day, being one of those rare days where a day off for me was also a day off for Kathryn, we decided to spend it in the traditional manner, going grocery shopping. However, before we could go grocery shopping, there were a few other bits we needed to do. The biggest of these was hiring a thicknesser and running all the boards that are going to make up the bookcases in the library through said thicknesser. Then return said thicknesser.

Easy, eh?

I was a wee bit paranoid, on the basis that I’d not used a thicknesser since I was at school, and since woodshop was still called woodshop and not ‘CDT’. Also, I don’t recall what I made in my woodworking class at school, and unlike the ‘outside bin’ I made in metal work class (brazing a piece of metal, that was) it didn’t make it home, so far as I can tell. So I watched a video on youtube, and then collected the machine this morning.

It’s actually startlingly easy, although I had to stick an old conti-board shelf in there to act as a slide, because the machine’s minimum width was 2.5cm, and our shelves are about 1.8cm once they’re planed down.

The wood, incidentally, is recycled Douglas Fir that we bought from Bristol Wood Recycling. Kathryn cut it to size a while back, but it’s been sat there awaiting a solution to the “being rough sawn timber” problem. Anyhow, just after what would have been lunch time, had it have been lunch time, we finished and then headed off to return said thicknesser.

Appearance is a funny thing.

In the morning, collecting it, I wandered down in over/coveralls and a scabby teeshirt. When they asked about a 110v transformer I was able to cheerfully inform them that no, I didn’t need to rent one as I already have one. This seemed to cement in their heads that I was a sensible knowledgable sort that could be lent a machine without approbation from some other source of my competence.

Coming back I was wearing skinny fit jeans and my five-fingers (‘cos we were intending to go shopping). The bloke who’d not met me in the morning went on at some length about how the blades get damaged on the machines… while his mate (who’d seen me in the morning checked the machine and came back and cheerfully said “they’re fine”).

Skinny fit jeans, incidentally, a mistake. Short cotton skirt? Yes. Very yes. Much of an improvement.

It was seriously warm today.

Anyhow, the end panels and shelves are now all smooth and pretty:

And ready for a light sand before assembly.

Now we just need to source a back panel. We were discussing a veneered ply (like this) which would make it look like the whole thing was solid wood. I’m quite excited to see how it comes out now.

The rest of the day was spent doing food shopping and helping a friend with kids. I also spent a few minutes learning about Olive Pomace Oil, which I’ll probably try getting some of at the weekend. We burn through Olive Oil like there’s no tomorrow, and Bristol Sweet Mart sell giant tins of Olive Pomace Oil which is probably adequate for most cooking purposes.

Yesterday we went to see Girlyman play. It was a gorgeously intimate gig, especially since we had front row seats – meaning the stage (and indeed the group) were a few feet away from us. Girlyman are *awesome* and you should go listen to them, now.

Yesterday was also awesome because I realised I had enough refund money left in my paypal account to buy the new cartridge for the Goldring Lenco deck, and a new cable for my mic, so I may have the distraction of my podcast returning to the airinternetwaves