There are some projects I take on because of a particular need. Or, if not a need, then a want. For instance, a couple years ago I upgraded an old Sauder media cabinet with this beauty. It was not the easiest thing to build, and it certainly has lesser capacity than the old cabinet, but it also looks so much better being built out of maple and walnut, and even if there are some flaws to it — my dadoes could be better — I’m still proud of it.


Then, there are those projects we take on simply for the challenge of it. For instance here’s a small angled box I made, just for the thrill to see if it would work. To some extent, this design might make a pretty interesting coffee table. Eventually this design morphed into two other items that, again, I made just for the thrill of making them. But, because these were all unneeded, and somewhat impractical — the red and black one is only 8 inches high — they are basically art pieces. Especially the red and black one, which sits on my desk at work. Of course, the tallest of these art pieces is such a piece of art that it serves as a stand for a fan in our living room.
(By they way, my advice when making things that are wholly impractical, or just for the fun of it, is thinking of it like an art piece. It’s amazing how calling something ‘art’ will justify the existence of pretty much anything).
Then, finally, there are the projects you wind up doing not because you needed it, or wanted something, but because some bozo decided something truly unnecessary needed to be done around the house. In this case, the bozo is my son, and the truly unnecessary thing is new bedroom doors.
Continue reading “This Is A Door” →