Sawrendipity

In order to continue making progress on -and eventually finish- this project, some time ago I made a deal with myself that I would accomplish one task on it every single day. The task could be as large or as small as my time constraints allowed, I reasoned; as long as it was some kind of progress, it would count. This weekend, I had planned to fill my quota by continuing to transfer the lofted outlines of the backbone timbers onto plywood patterns -I've finished one so far, and started on another- however events quickly forced a change in this plan.

My stepmother, who lives in Maryland, is a realtor, and is friends with a couple who recently built their own house in Montgomery county. Having finished with that project, it seems that these individuals recently found themselves with a surplus of woodworking equipment that they no longer needed. Eager to free up some space, I'm told that they offered it "free to a good home", and Brooke, who clearly knows me far too well, claimed it for me without a second thought. What a score; I owe her BIG for this one.

And so it was, that while I was at work on Thursday, my dad drove down from Maryland, up the driveway, and across my back yard in his big diesel pickup, unloading from the bed a large Craftsman radial arm saw and a very neat old bandsaw. On the latter, an engraved metal plate informs me that spare parts can be obtained from any retail location of Sears, Roebuck, and Company – a brand which according to Wikipedia has not existed since the 1970s.

I haven't started the bandsaw up yet, but it looks like it ought to work. If it doesn't, I
hope I'll be able to jury-rig something, as I'm unsure of the response I would get
if I were to haul it down to my local Sears.

Faced with this serendipitous delivery of substantial shop equipment, my original plans to work on patterns this past weekend (with hand tools - HA!) went right out the window. It was imperative that these babies -the radial arm saw in particular- have a proper place to live. As such, the past two days were spent knocking together a half-decent workbench out of whatever materials I had on hand - which turned out to be quite a bit! Those of you who have visited my house may recognize in its shape the ghost of the loft bed that I once believed would make a welcome and space-saving addition to the guest room. Belatedly, I stand corrected. Its destiny clearly lay elsewhere.

So enough preliminary steps! Let's get to work!