Leaderboard

I finished a 32" wide by 40" tall cabinet. I was asked to make for an 81 year old former professor at our local university. He keeps detailed records (in some cases for way too many years). The cabinet will be to hold his folders for taxes and expenses. The problem is that with his and his wife's health, I doubt that they will be using the cabinet for many months ( before they will need the services of assisted living) but if he finds satisfaction in his new cabinet at his age-more power to them. I purchased 1/2" AC plywood from local lumber yard to find out it's from South America. Some kind of tropical wood no doubt but that stuff stains awful and isn't smooth surfaced. As I mentioned before, since retirement, I don't charge labor for projects I take on. I tell folks to donate whatever the labor was worth to charities. Dt. Bob has insisted on taking me out for breakfast one morning next week--I'll take him up on that. The material for this small project cost over $160! I do have some scraps left over but I'm sure glad I'm not building a new house. I faced the raw plywood edge with wood I was given by a small sawmill. The sawyer called the wood "Tree of Heaven". It has an oakish/ashish looking grain and seems to work pretty good. Missouri Conservation Department considers the tree invasive. I've been using the water based varnish. I used oil based polyurethane for years which could be a little slow to dry and prone to catch dust and seemed to yellow over the years. The water base dries quickly and easy to work with especially when applied in thin coats. In another posting deck stain was discussed and I liked the old oil based stain. The new "safer" stain just doesn't seem to adhere as well.