u/russ_dogs

Something I've noticed now after a few projects is that I have a bit of a bad habit relying on sanding to cover up the mistakes or issues that could've been avoided had I spent a few more minutes thinking it through. I know I have a tendency of approximating or eyeballing things when I could be more exact.

Still felt pretty good at the end of it all. Need to regularly remind myself to recheck things and be more thoughtful. I'm going to start practicing more on joints and glue and try to avoid screws where I can for whatever I end up doing next.

first time sharing and first thing i've made that's supposed to stand up on its own.  i've slowly been gathering hand tools and supplies over the past month or two and practicing on random scraps of wood.

tried to time it with mother's day coming up and it hasn't fallen apart yet so that feels good.  it's pine so it may not last too long outdoors but we're also in southern california.  to finish, I ended up going with teak oil figuring I could just keep reapplying if things do start to break down.  I'm thinking about options for the feet that are in contact with the ground.  I may just apply a layer or two of paint.

lots of things learned along the way.  I didn't trust myself to cut in a straight line so I ended up marking everything an extra millimeter or so longer which made for some fun times when piecing it all together.  got mildly frustrated at moments (e.g. laid on way too much oil which got sticky and was a pain getting the excess off).  Overall I truly enjoyed the experience and am looking forward to new projects.

i've picked up a lot from all of you here.  thanks for being such a supportive and welcoming group.