This Is Drivel

Category: hobby

  • apollo model

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    My basement workshop filled with the reek of burning plastic as I cut the hatch out of my scale model Apollo command module this afternoon. I want to display it with the hatch open and the model doesn’t come with a removable hatch, dammit. What would be so hard about that? It’s probably better that… Read.

  • promenade

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    When we push all the furniture in the living room to one side, it turns out we have almost enough room to practice our dance steps. Almost, but not quite. It would probably be enough room if we had a little more floor time under our belts, so we knew how to fit the dance… Read.

  • Mad City Model Rail Road Show

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    I spent most of the morning and a big part of the afternoon at the Mad City Model Rail Road Show today because I’m a train nerd and therefor I must. Therefore. Whatever. Train shows are really as geeky as I get. I don’t go to Star Trek conventions. Okay, I did, once, back in… Read.

  • second dance lesson

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    Wow, dancing’s hard. Our instructor keeps impressing on us how easy it is, and I guess I have to agree with him. A Foxtrot two steps forward, on step to the side, bring your feet together, and keep repeating that for as long as the music continues. Really, you’d think anybody should be able to… Read.

  • first dancing lesson

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    Guess what we did last night? We went dancing! We’ve been saying for years that we wanted to take dancing lessons and last week B made a command decision and signed us up for an introductory lesson. We plunked down twenty-five bucks at a studio just north of here for forty-five minutes of private instruction… Read.

  • table saw table

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    The first thing you have to make with your new table saw is a table for your saw. Sounds like one of those No shit, Sherlock, answers, doesn’t it? “So what’s the first thing you made with your new table saw?” “A table, duh.” It doesn’t have to be pretty, as you can plainly see,… Read.

  • caved

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    I finally caved in and got one. I lost track a long time ago of the number of home-improvement projects I wanted to try but was putting off till the day I stuck a crowbar in my wallet and sprung loose a few bucks for a table saw. After looking at dozens of table saws… Read.

  • fiat lux

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    Demolition is complete. Now begins reconstruction. Locked in the grip of this jerry-rigged vise is the base of a lamp we bought at auction some weeks ago. It’s actually carved from two pieces of wood somebody, a long time ago, tried to glue together with a tar-like, probably asbestos-based adhesive and, when that didn’t work,… Read.

  • brasswork

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    Who would look at a nifty brass light fixture like this one and think, “You know, what would really make that look better is an uneven coat of crap-colored spray paint. And I just happen to have a can in the basement!” My Darling B got this for me at the last auction we went… Read.

  • power tools

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    I’ll be using many sharp-edged power tools all afternoon. I started out with all ten fingers. I’m always amazed when I finish with all ten after repeated use of power saws, power drills, routers, and all kinds of whirling dervishes that could snatch away a digit so fast I wouldn’t even see it happen. I… Read.

photo of the author and the author's best friend