Free labor, and worth every cent of it

It was a busy morning: Nate (back from an unavoidable absence) and Mr. B were "blocking" the stairway, putting in nailers for the paneling that Arnold was laser-cutting with the radial-arm saw.

Frank was ripping boards to make boxes around the collar ties in the den and master bedroom, and Kurt was finishing up on window frames, and cutting out sills. Arnold asked whether we might want the top edges of the sills eased a bit -- sanded maybe, or perhaps routed into a small curve. He sanded one a bit, then pulled out the router . . . and I saw a job that might match my limited skills.

After a quick lesson, I was routing away, putting an eighth-inch radius on the proper edges. Arnold supervised for a minute, decided I probably wasn't going to shave my fingers off or ruin too many boards (nothing that a little wood filler won't fix, anyway) and finally asked me for the camera so he could record the moment.

Fifteen sills later, I was done -- well, almost. I reminded Kurt that he'd forgotten the window way up in the stairwell dormer, so I expect we'll finish that one tomorrow.

Reluctant as I am to appear in my own blog, I didn't want to be a bad sport. So here's me checking the finish on an edge, here's the rounded edge (I am kinda proud that it's so shiny smooth, thanks to a trick Arnold taught me) and then some real carpentry: Frank's boxes on the den beams.