Greenleaf Day 32 - sawdust, splinters, and wood chips

I had the day off from work today. I should have done spring cleaning, but I didn't. Sometimes it is nice to have a day off on one's day off! There was quite a storm this afternoon, so it was a good day to be in. I didn't even venture out to get the mail.

I spent most of my day in my room, turning pieces of wood in to sawdust, splinters, and wood chips--at least it seemed that way. What I really did was cut the exterior window and door trims, a threshold for the door, a counter top for the cabinets, and I trimmed off the bottom of the door so that it will fit in the opening after the threshold is in place.



Cutting the pieces did not take long. But this project took most of the day! This is because I made some fancy cuts. I made a rabbet in the bottom of threshold so that it had a neater appearance from both the outside and the inside of the shack. It is thinner on the inside, so there is less wood to step over, and it is thicker on the outside so that it looks more durable. I also cut rabbets in the window trims so that they can fit over the "glass". The kit for the shack came with thin sheets of report-cover type plastic for the windows, but I chose to upgrade my windows by cutting pieces of clear styrene. The stuff I used is by Gallery Glass. I am not sure if it is available at Michaels anymore, since I haven't looked for it for years.

This is what a rabbet looks like. (No, a rabbet does not long ears, a wiggly nose, and a pom-pon tail.)



I also notched the door to allow for hinges. I installed the hinges and gave them a trial fit in the doorway. I sanded the door, and I hope I sanded it enough to allow for paint around the edges.

Today's favorite tool: (So many to choose from today!) I guess it was the 'Balsa stripper' tool. It has never worked well for me for its intended purpose, but it helped me make the rabbets on the window trims.