Wood and Steel Class and Salvaging

Zaga's table top being prepped for
the biscuit joiner by our instructor
with the TA looking on.

The best part of Monday is not getting my B12 shot--though it is a high point. No, the best part of Monday right now is the meal my spouse has waiting for me after I get home from my wood and steel class at the Art School at Laguna Gloria. Tonight was the most incredible Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich made with ribeye steak and, wait for it, Cheese Whiz. Accompanied by tater tots. And wine. OMG. Dave said if he hadn't trusted the serious foodies so much he would have just used provolone and been done with it (he is not a cheese whiz kind of guy--Velveeta either) but he went it, and it was the best sandwich I have ever had. We didn't even begin to make it through the tater tots so I told Dave to save them with the extra sandwich fillings on top for me for lunch tomorrow. He thought that sounded like a particularly1960's housewife stroganoff recipe and now we have another meal to try!

My table top after biscuit joining,
gluing and clamping.

The second best thing about today was the steel and wood class. Tonight was amazing. Zaga thinks I am too hard on the instructor, but I'm pretty sure tonight went as well as it did because we came prepared with materials and a plan of what we wanted to do. I said to the instructor that we wanted to use the planer, and he showed us how. Then I asked about finishing the edges (jointer vs table saw) and he trimmed the sides of the boards for us (he didn't want us to use the table saw on salvaged wood). Finally, I said we'd like to use the biscuit joiner and glue to put together the pieces of the top. He taught us how and we glued up our table tops. Had we just gone into the class and expected to be, oh, taught something or led to do something to learn something, it never would have happened... But maybe I'm just being bitchy. Whatever. He has great knowledge and he's good at sharing it (I learned three new tools tonight, after all), but putting together a curriculum and teaching something from point A to point B... not so much.

The wood for our projects was the salvaged deck wood from the little deck off the sunroom, and it was grey and rotted and gnarly. After we planed it and trimmed the sides, it was sleek, sensuous, and silky. Sure, it has holes from where the screws were taken out, and knots and splits and some areas that are rotted through. But it's redwood and it is remarkably resilient. And rich. And sumptuous. And beautiful. I am going to love this table! I can see making one for each of us and using them so we can all eat dinner on the sectional while watching tv. Oh hedon, thy name is Brenda!