Ray Bersch
06-20-2005, 3:32 PM
This past winter I worked on a new work bench and wall mounted tool cabinet for my new townhouse garage. I have collected all of the necessary tools, made most of the mobile bases and should be ready to go. The work bench is a general purpose bench at about 40" high - but the best part is the four drawer lateral file saved from my pre-retirement office that I put on a Vaga mobile base and nested beneath the work bench - I just pull it out and have a nice assembly table. I have located some used maple for a top and expected to complete it and then start on cabinets for the laundry room, trim-out and book cases for my wife's office then to the family room for more bookcases and base cabinets.
I completed the workbench wall cabinet right after the Swap Meet but decided to start the other projects after Memorial Day. I went to my home in Maine the week before Memorial Day to work on my boat and get the house ready for summer - but it rained everyday, in fact the lake level rose 2" during the week I was there - so I did little on the boat - On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend I awoke with a bunch of pain in the left shoulder and neck - and it was still raining. We left for home on Tuesday, in the rain - I made a six mile detour to North Hampton Beach in NH to pick up a beautiful used Delta 55-260 planer - just what I needed to finish the maple top for the assembly table. The shoulder pain was terrible all the way back home and a rash began on my left arm. None-the-less, I did not see a doctor until Thursday afternoon - "shingles", he said - and it had taken a good hold on the left shoulder and arm.
Ever since then, I have been heavily medicated and still can't get rid of the pain - so I only get a few pain free hours a day - on some days - and "pain free" is a stretch. My only social contact over the past three weeks has been the SMC forum - great place but................... if you know what I mean.
I felt pretty good last Friday so I went to get a hair cut (I was looking like Howard Hughes) and then to see my daughter and grandkids - "Pop Pop, my bike is broken, the chain keeps coming off." was the greeting I got from Nick, the five year old. Right up my alley. I was an expert bike fixer upper as a kid. So I brought the bike home and on Saturday I took the thing all apart - got all the grease and crud off the chrome, especially the wheel spokes, and polished the painted frame, cleaned the seat, scrubbed the white walls and put Jet Black on the tires - and, oh yes, I added a star washer and tightened the rear wheel so the chain won't come off again.
Saturday was my birthday - 61st, how did I get here? But even with the pain, fixing that bike brought back memories of my childhood when I would get two old bikes and make one good one out of them - I smiled all day - and while working on the bike I was just itching to see the face of my grandchild when he took back possession - what a simple pleasure and good feeling - now I will have memories of my first project on my new workbench.
I have not been able to get out to deliver the bike just yet - hope to do that today, but I have attached pictures of my first project and my work bench and wall cabinet - it is not what I had expected my first project to be, but it was memorable indeed. Too bad you can't see the smile on my face.
I completed the workbench wall cabinet right after the Swap Meet but decided to start the other projects after Memorial Day. I went to my home in Maine the week before Memorial Day to work on my boat and get the house ready for summer - but it rained everyday, in fact the lake level rose 2" during the week I was there - so I did little on the boat - On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend I awoke with a bunch of pain in the left shoulder and neck - and it was still raining. We left for home on Tuesday, in the rain - I made a six mile detour to North Hampton Beach in NH to pick up a beautiful used Delta 55-260 planer - just what I needed to finish the maple top for the assembly table. The shoulder pain was terrible all the way back home and a rash began on my left arm. None-the-less, I did not see a doctor until Thursday afternoon - "shingles", he said - and it had taken a good hold on the left shoulder and arm.
Ever since then, I have been heavily medicated and still can't get rid of the pain - so I only get a few pain free hours a day - on some days - and "pain free" is a stretch. My only social contact over the past three weeks has been the SMC forum - great place but................... if you know what I mean.
I felt pretty good last Friday so I went to get a hair cut (I was looking like Howard Hughes) and then to see my daughter and grandkids - "Pop Pop, my bike is broken, the chain keeps coming off." was the greeting I got from Nick, the five year old. Right up my alley. I was an expert bike fixer upper as a kid. So I brought the bike home and on Saturday I took the thing all apart - got all the grease and crud off the chrome, especially the wheel spokes, and polished the painted frame, cleaned the seat, scrubbed the white walls and put Jet Black on the tires - and, oh yes, I added a star washer and tightened the rear wheel so the chain won't come off again.
Saturday was my birthday - 61st, how did I get here? But even with the pain, fixing that bike brought back memories of my childhood when I would get two old bikes and make one good one out of them - I smiled all day - and while working on the bike I was just itching to see the face of my grandchild when he took back possession - what a simple pleasure and good feeling - now I will have memories of my first project on my new workbench.
I have not been able to get out to deliver the bike just yet - hope to do that today, but I have attached pictures of my first project and my work bench and wall cabinet - it is not what I had expected my first project to be, but it was memorable indeed. Too bad you can't see the smile on my face.