I have been trying figure out a way to make a vintage style speaker box as a home for an old Altec 412C 'Biflex' driver that has been inhabiting my garage for way too long. I (personally) prefer the look of the old 'Cathedral' style radios, and have wanted to do one for years going on decades now. However, I thought that involving SWMBO in the decision making process would helpful in preserving domestic tranquility. So, I scribbeled some basic simplified retro styles on a paper: the cathedral, the breadbox, and the tombstone. Guess which one she picked... The Cathedral? ...not. After many months of building, and sticking it on the shelf, and building some more, it is finally getting some finish. I'm using Golden Oak stain on Radiata pine (I wanted to experiment on something cheap before doing Baltic Birch) I hid my router screw-ups with black poly stain and decided to hide the end grain the same way even though I personally like the pattern the alternating plys make. It's my first try with oil-based Polyurethane and I can say that I don't like brushing it. I really like water based Polyurethane because it flows well and levels its self just like the (Zar brand) can says. Oil based is another story. Brush marks galore, sand sand sand, then steel wool... put on another layer. Dosen't level it's self for <insert favorite adjective> except when it flows over an edge is wasn't supposed to and makes an unwanted streak down the side prompting more sandpaper and swearing. Stick brush back in baggie with more paint thinner and do it again mon-yanna for almost two weeks. I noticed that the lacquer thinner and paint thinner I was using to preserve the brush was actually helping the 'fast drying' poly stay wet enough to loose most of the brush marks. Now that it's almost Halloween, the finish is nearly done. Oh well, she picked the Tombstone style cabinet. Jes' Appropos?
<rant/on> Went in to Wally world last weekend looking for fabric. The usual fabric store had become a Petsmart and the one that was supposed to be at Union Landing (5 years ago was the last drive-in in the bay area now the worst designed shopping center in history) wasn't. So, I went over the Wal-Mart that my Gujarati (Indian) friend once said "had too many damn Indians" in it. I soldiered on past the professional mendicants, fund raisers, and squalling brats to the fabric area. I found nothing. Nada. Zilch. I asked the Punjabi (or Tamil) employee if she had any herringbone or paisley patterned fabrics. First time I asked I got a blank stare, second time (more slowly...) I asked she pointed to the corner with the Butterick and McCalls books. " No it is not A pattern, it is a
fabric pattern!" About this time, my inner redneck started a soliloquy that would not have been pleasantly received in that 'Harold & Kumar' environment. I left quickly before I started up with something to the effect of "hey! wottinthebloody'ell is going on here? India was a bloody British possession- the jewel in the benighted blighty crown fer-criminy-sake! For three hunnert fifty bleeding years! And this citizen of said possession does not know what a herringbone nor a paisley pattern are? BLIMEY! Mind you I searched all the bolts for anything that remotely resembled a vintage pattern and game up dry. I also noted that EVERY bolt of fabric was from CHINA.
Then I went home and gave SWMBO a blow by blow replay of my adventure... all she said was "there's a Jo-Anne Fabric store (across the freeway) at Pacific Commons." :iamwithstupid:
Topic: Franken-Speaker? (Read 5312 times)