Sunday, June 14, 2009
Windows continued
New window has now got to the assembled stage, the expected blood sweat and tears not having materialised on this occasion. Ordinarily, for some reason, however much preparation there is, the actual glueing up stage, when one is past the point of no return, is usually rather fraught. On this occasion, for some reason not so, although it was harder, oddly, to pull the joints up (with the not very often used sash cramps) with glue in than without. Maybe the glue, despite its white gooey appearance is more contact than you might expect and it bonds at every pause in the pulling up process. In which case, it might not bond very well at the end of the pulling up process. We shall see. Despite worries about squareness, the two diagonals were just under a quarter of an inch out at 52.5 and 52.75 inches respectively. Hopefully this will not prove a challenge when the glass man cuts the glass, nor when I poke the thing in the hole. Did allow a bit of margin for this sort of thing. And the theory that if you cut the tenons square the thing will pull up square has stood up reasonably well.
Along the way, took some time out to replace the inner vice pad on my rather low bench. A bench which used to double as a coffee table in our nuptial bed-sit and which was made out of shuttering timber rescued from the last rebuild but one of Croydon Art College. At the time I built the thing I never bothered to put proper pads on it, but have put up with the improper pads on an improper bench ever since, apart from the short interval in Wood Green when I had a proper bench. This last made out of an odd roof timber, tapering from 12 inches to 6 over its twelve feet, rescued from some demolition site and then chopped in half, joined together and given legs. But, on this occasion, tiring of more serious work, decided to take a time out and fit a proper inner pad, made out of a 12 inch square of 1 inch oak, varnished on one side from somewhere or other. I might remember where at some point. Fitted with the unvarnished side outwards in the interests of grip. Now I am worrying whether a pad made out of oak will not be too hard and bruise the various bits and peices it is intended to enclose - unlike the old pad which was made out of something relatively soft, but neither pine nor beech. Looked, in grain, a bit like something I used to call obechi, although it had become brown rather than white. We shall see how long it takes to get onto the outer pad.
Yesterday finished 'Brooklyn' by one Colm Toibin (can't do the funny accents which authentic paddies seem to require in a name of this sort). An interesting read for various reasons. First, it is the third book this year which has been read by both the BH and myself at roughly the same time. Second, the rather flat prose reminded me a bit of the Joyce of the 'Dubliners', while also seeming too long. Too much of the time one felt one knew what tone picture was going to be painted and, in the event, little value was added by the actual painting. At the same time, CT managed to maintain the suspense. One was wondering all the way to the end how it was going to turn out. Third, it was a ladies book. I felt rather like an intruder reading all this stuff. Rather as if I was reading a ladies' magazine. A feeling that it is proper to maintain separation of the sexes, at least for lay people. Knowing all is for professionals and good luck to them. The subcontinentals did not have it all wrong when they invented castes.
I end tweeting. For some reason, I have been very conscious of starlings this year. A bird which was very common when I was small and has not seemed very common in Epsom. But this year, while they are not much into our garden, there have been plenty about. Have been moved to blog them, as I recall, on two occasions, and have seen them on plenty of others. Maybe it is all to do with global warming.
# posted by Jim @ 1:58 PM 
