The Monkey And The Plywood Violin

Today I spent 6 hours or so finishing off the loft transformation. I used to sleep in a loft, but the area beneath it was dark and tended to clutter. So now I have a mini-loft (it still needs a stepstool to get into) with much storage space. It would have been shorter, but there was a radiator to deal with.

I am unsure it is completely finished, since there are a few more screws to go in (I used screws and pilot holes, instead of bolts - Carolyn, you were right - they do come out again if I predrill them instead of letting them self drill, and I pick the correct screwdriver. Also, the screws I was using before have a crappy hybrid phillips head that made the driver slip.)

I hurt in a whole lot of places now, but it's probably good for me. Accomplished the whole thing without use of power tools, which pleases me. I hate the noise, and my inexperience and lack of proper clamps and sawhorses makes it take about as long, even if I do have electricity. That much handwork means I now have much stronger wrists, and that tomorrow typing is going to be a pain in the ass. But go, little hand saw, and go...hmm. When I say "hand drill," people always think about these: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/51025844/Cordless_Hand_Drill.jpg but a brace and bit is like this: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/5055305/2/istockphoto_5055305-antique-brace-and-bit.jpg Does anyone know the proper name for this thing? http://www.danmacleod.com/Articles/Tradition%20Images/Hand%20Drill.JPG Mine is very similar, though a little prettier. It sees a lot of use.

Bed is no longer a rope bed, because tightening the ropes at the new height would have been murder. It is now the world's ugliest 2x4 slat bed, but it seems to suffice. Even despite the fact that I misplanned twice over the course of making it and had to come up with exciting solutions/cut pieces shorter. The feel is more springy than the floor (where I slept the past two nights) and less springy than the rope bed, which was like sleeping in a giant hammock. I anticipate a weird sleepless night tonight, due to the fact that the light and temperature get all weird every time I change elevations, and the fact that I tend to end up convinced everything I build is going to collapse under me. This has never happened, though they are certainly ugly.

I'ma go die for a bit now, and maybe I'll feel good enough to work on my dishes and make lunch for tomorrow. Unfortunately, a big chunk of the work had to be done all at once, because once I put the center support in for the slats, I couldn't sleep on floor-mattress anymore. So I did maybe a little more work today than was a good idea. Wheee!

Here's some of what I've been doing with my time. In early April, I built a loft bed in my room out of white pine 2x4s and 2x6s. It's extremely rough, but it holds me up, and seems to be sturdy enough. Guerrilla carpentry at its finest. It's been done for a bit, but I had to clear out the area underneath and remove enough sawdust to take photos. As an interesting note, I've made it a rope bed to avoid having to figure out how to fit slats in a way I could take back apart. So far, it's working well. Room's still a mess and the underneath area will eventually be more hospitable.

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