This was kind of a lazy day, with not a lot of progress, partly because Trish and I spent a fair bit of time clearing off some space on the workbench.  There were many wondrous discoveries – enough for a whole new blog, perhaps. Identifiable and unidentifiable items, often surprising ones.  The most ironic, now that all the drilling and screwing is done, were these two unopened packages:  Both of these might have been quite useful.

Fresh FindsI knew there had to be countersink bits here someplace. I did not expect them to be in unopened boxes.

22. DONE: Every screw that needs to be screwed is screwed.  I think that counts as a milestone.

23. DONE: The wonky corner issue is solved.

Happenstance.  I removed the stile from the wonky corner, and suddenly everything looked right.  Less work, not more.

Doesn't look rightPlan: Fill in the green gap     Improved versionTook away the post to insert narrow strip. Looks way better. Less is more.

24. DONE:  The sticky-out end problem is solved.

My sister Berta suggested covering the sticky-out ends (where the top rail extends beyond the window and door frames) with a half- round moulding. (I hope they make those. I think it's called a nosing.) This is so much more elegant than simply covering the plywood with a thin piece of oak.  Brilliant.  I hope it works.  There are many advantages to have gone public with this project.

Sticky-outy bitOn the left, extends past window casing.

25. UNDERWAY: Sanding off the pencil marks

The basement clean-up momentum has discovered several sanders of various vintages, both had and electric.  There is also at least a gazillion packages of sandpaper and disks.  Especially 80 grit.

It was a simple matter to sand off all the pencil marks from the top rail and the posts, but the baseboard will require a bit more care so as not to sand the hardwood on the floor. A nice metal ruler, maybe.