Scwu Dwiver

I tend to jump into something without knowing what I'm getting into. (Sound like something else that we're doing?) I'll have a general idea of what I'm doing, and I'll dive in head first. Trial by fire. Flying by the seat of my pants. Yep, that seems to sum up most of my attempts at projects. 

I mean, really, how hard would it be to build a roost for your chickens? 

- 2x2's? Check. 

- Battery operated screw driver in a lovely shade of yellow to make the job easier? Check. 

- Another one to have the hole maker attached? Check again. 

- Screws long enough to go through your wood? Check (after I realized that 1 1/2" screws will not go all the way through 2x2s...). 

- An ensurer of a right angle? Why would I need that? I'm making a roost; not furniture. 

- Pencil? Yep.

- Measuring tape? You betcha! New motto in life is going to be 'Measure twice; cut once'

- Table saw? Umm... Could I use a hand saw instead?

- Assistant? All possible helpers are making dinner. I think I'll let them have their fun.

Wow, these are technical terms. 

Before I go into the rest of the story, you need to understand my relationship with power tools. The most I can handle by myself is probably a staple gun. And even then, that isn't really a 'power' tool, and it doesn't have the 'kick' that the electric tools have. I can also yield at paint brush, but that usually ends up all over the place. I can use some hand tools. I seem to be able to manage those. They behave at least... 

Ahem. Onto the woodworking. 

I found some scrap 2x2's in my dad's collection in the shed, measured out the space, and went to town with the hand saw (proving, once again, that I'm a lefty in a right-handed world... someone needs to redesign those hand grips). First lesson of the day - hand saws do not make a very straight cuts... For a project perfectionist like me, this isn't cool... but I'm still not going to use the table saw yet. Wood cut to the supposedly, approximate length, I packed up the tools that I thought that I'd need. I watch Dad do this sort of stuff all the time; I should be able to do this, right? I got the wood all laid out where I wanted it to go, drilled the holes, picked up a screw, started to put the screw in, and... The screw drivers kept jumping and slipping. The screw head started to strip... Lesson learned - Make sure that you're drill bit is big enough for the screws that you grabbed. Next, make sure that you have the right driver bit. Even after these slight adjustments were made, I still can't get the screws to go in straight. Well, one cannot go about making horrific sounds like that Dewalt without someone coming to see 'how it's going.' Well, help came to the rescue after the 'check up,' and my sister and I finished the roost. 

Being the project perfectionist that I am, I don't think that I could show you pictures - it is quite a pitiful thing. There isn't a single right angle or level spot on that sucker. Maybe it's a good thing that I'm not in carpentry or the construction business. But it serves its purpose - the chickens aren't sleeping on the floor anymore.