Day Five: Awesome progress and pictures!

     Yesterday was a great day! The weather was beautiful and I managed to get started around 9am. For the most part the boys behaved okay which made for great progress! I certainly got more accomplished than I thought I would.

Cutest Little Helper of the Year award candidate!

     First things first, I would like to introduce you to my primary helper with this project. What he lacks in height, strength, carpentry skill, and directability, he certainly makes up for with his enthusiasm and cuteness! Maxie, take a bow!

     He helps with things like picking up my tools and putting them in new, creative spots (like my tape measure under a bucket in the grass, or my pencil stuck through the fence), and with making sure I don't work too fast by forcing me to constantly clean up wood waste, unplug and render safe any power tools when I finish with them for the moment, even if I'm going to use them again in only a few minutes.

Frame with all support braces

     I decided to add side braces to the center support beams to beef it up a little. Initially I was unsure whether or not to add these, but I was leaning towards doing so. My sister reminded me about how rambunctious Maxwell can be was all the encouragement I needed. I had all 8 supports cut and screwed in place by 11am!

Temporary screw

     The next tricky part was going to be putting the frames and the legs together by myself, despite how awesome my little helper(s) might be. To do this I determined where each boards was going to be used according to which side was going to be visible, and laid the head/foot legs for one side on the ground. (I have few scrap 2x2 pieces that I've been using to protect the wood from being damaged by the concrete, so I laid these down and put my legs on top of them.) I placed the bottom frame on its side, and fit the 2x4 protrusions into the notches of the legs. There was enough pressure to hold the frame upright in place, which allowed me to put the top frame on its side and into place, too. I had to use clamps to keep the top frame from falling out until I could screw it (temporarily) in place.

Leg after it's been bolted.

     With the two frames held together by the legs, I lifted the whole thing so it stood right side up. This allowed me to drill the 1/2" holes I needed for the carriage bolts (the secret to the whole thing being able to be broken down!). After the four bottom holes were drilled and the bolts secured tightly, I removed the temporary screws holding the legs, one at a time, and replaced them with carriage bolts as well. All of this was done by 1pm, with an interruption to make lunch for the boys.

Frames & legs. Note: 2x4s inset into the legs = Strength!

This might be good spot to note  that the largest chunk of my time is actually spent in contemplation. Whether it's on what I'm about to do, or visualizing what the finished product will look like if I do this or that. More time than is needed, I'm sure somebody with more experience than me, which is to say ANYbody with ANY experience. My experience level = ultra newbie, but I can read ;)

    One crappy thing that happened today was that I broke a clamp when putting the frames on the legs. I guess I squeezed too hard, and the squeeze handle broke. It still works, but to a much reduced pressure capacity. I bought this clamp in a set of 6 on sale for $15, so for $2.50/clamp, I can't really complain. But on the off chance that somebody from Mastercraft or Canadian Tire is reading this, hook a brother up with a new clamp!

     With the afternoon still ahead of me and both boys still behaving well enough, I felt like I should endeavor  to finish the last half of the top section to complete the "L". This is the part that I was slightly off on my measurements when using Google Sketchup, so it took a little bit of extra time to measure things up properly. Not only that, but I decided to change the design slightly and put a leg directly under the overhanging corner in order to prevent anybody (me) from smashing their head into a low corner. I did manage to get it all done, but it it was close to 7pm before I had everything together and the area cleaned up. I checked the weather to make sure I could leave it assembled and uncovered overnight, and called it quits for the day. I feel a little foolish for admitting this, but I really am proud of what I did today!

Now THAT's a happy camper!