Shelving On A Budget

Pete Here:

Many have commented on the fun and easy chemistry that Brucey and I share as carpenters and goofballs in our many Bench Dogs videos. It is only when friends achieve a certain amount of comraderie and trust that they are allowed to make fun of each other.

For example: Bruce was upset over his recent car problems and he got a little bit angry at his daughter. I told him he needed to relax a little. Hanging 1-2 doors a month was way too much stress. I encouraged him to watch some television and reminded him that there are still at least 4 TV shows for which he has not watched the entire series on DVD. Make some soup, I said. You'll feel much better.

So while Bruce was home cutting carrots and boiling water, I sneaked away and did some work. Watch now as I make a set of quick and easy shelves for a client while also making a few quick and easy jokes at my dear friend's expense. Enjoy.

Promises, Promises...

Okay, I have to admit it. I have hit a snag in this whole "Big Changes For 2009" campaign. Here's how it goes:

I wanted better sound, and clearer pictures, and a regular schedule of shop-only episodes. What I got was a crowded, out-of date hard drive; an economy that sucks the big one, and a daughter who thinks Grand Theft: Auto is a game to be played on the big screen of life. Yes, in a 24 hour period, she got behind the wheel of our 2 family cars... and destroyed them.

To be completely fair to her, MY car was on its last legs, and I had been driving with little-old-lady-from-Pasadena care and picking my destinations carefully (Will there be lots of traffic? Are there any hills at all? Is it within 5 miles of home?); but since the car was older than her, I thought she might give it a modicum of respect. She didn't. In protest, the old girl threw a rod, and when my daughter got home the car sounded like a diesel front loader with an attitude... for about 15 more seconds, before gasping its last breath.

HER car, seemingly, was designed by gremlins (though it wasn't a Gremlin), and found multiple ways to tell her to GET OUT, the last being to simply drop its oil pan in the road somewhere. My valiant daughter tried to get home without oil. You see where this is going...

Anybody need 2 CARcasses?

I need say nothing about the economy... except I have 2 'condominiums' for sale... each one is a 4-door...

Finally, I should whine and moan about my crowded, out-of-date computer and how difficult it is to edit an episode when I can only type with one hand-- I have to use the other to turn the crank on the side of my Apple-- my computer is so old I use an actual APPLE.

Okay, enough bad jokes.

My most recent episode is being held up by a cranky program... I'm not sure what's going on, but editing is infuriatingly slow. I probably have to dump gigs of information to get back some processing space. I'm the first to admit that I'm out of my field.

You're gonna love this upcoming episode. It's a rescued table which we're turning into a rain-resistant outdoor kitty hangout and storage device. I designed the insert, so it's sure not to work-- so come join me, if for no other reason except to laugh at my failures!

Coming up I'll be designing and building a console for my new car... don't worry, it's not a 'new' car-- it's just new to me. But it has very little storage space, so I wanna make an out-of-place wooden box to fit angularly between the seats so people can stare and laugh. Or maybe I'll just impress the heck outa you with my creative solution. Wait and see.

All this and more, coming up on the next few episodes of Bench Dogs!