April 21 – “Sanding”

I have another project going.  So far all it involves is sanding.  We have accumulated over the years four little kids' size rocking chairs.  One of them actually belongs to our niece Sarah, but she just turned 21 and is in college in Virginia, so I don't think she wants it right now.  Cailyn uses it on a regular basis, because it does have that certain girlie charm to it.    Another one came from my olden day past.  Very olden day.  It was one my brothers and I used to sit in.  Not that I particularly remember actually sitting in it.  It is a tiny red one with a cane seat that has been covered, no doubt by my grandmother, in material that prominently features the name of that incredibly hot movie star and singing sensation, Roy Rogers.  It's about Josiah's size, although he is rapidly outgrowing it.    Speaking of Josiah, he is scheduled for surgery today to put tubes in his ears.  His two big brothers, Jachin and Micah, got the renowned privilege of spending the night with Nana and DadDad last night.  They should be awake soon.  And then the day will truly begin …   I don't remember where the other two chairs came from.  I'm sure Chris does, but she's asleep right now.  Not something worthy of waking her up to ask.  One of them I'm pretty sure we bought along the way.  We painted it a kind of blue-green color.   Cailyn uses that one to sit in and watch when I am working in the garage.  The other one is definitely an antique.  And it has obviously seen some difficult days.  It used to have arms on it, but they are gone in favor of filled in holes and what I think are supposed to be knobs built up from wood putty.  Only one of the knobs still exists, and it is loose.  I'm planning to check out Home Depot to see if I can find something there that I can glue on instead.  That one we chose to stain.  Very dark.  And that one is my current project.  I picked it because I thought it would be the easiest to finish and get out of the way.  Right.   The stain came right off.  In fact I experimented with several different sanding techniques along the way, including the sanding attachment on my drill and my dremel.  They both seemed to dig in too far, leaving pits, so I passed on them in favor of the old-fashioned way – plain old sandpaper.  But whatever the paint is underneath the stain is a pain. Very determined to stick around.  So far the most productive tool has been a sanding block.  I have become determined not to use an electric sander.  After all, it's cool to do stuff by hand.  Until your hand gets raw and bleeding.  Now that brings up a question for the sages (or the ages).  How are you supposed to hold a piece of sandpaper?  Do you fold it over?  Then your hand is directly on the rough surface and it gets sanded right along with wood underneath.  But if you don't fold it, your finger gets really hot from the friction.  Catch 22.  That's why I started using the sanding block as much as I could.  And how do you know when to change the piece of paper?  It still produces sawdust, but is it really doing the job?  And what about the type of paper?  I figured out that the lower the number, the coarser the rub.  And the coarser the rub, the faster the stuff comes off.  But the higher the number, the better the wood looks when you get done.  At some point you're supposed to switch, I guess.  Who knew such a simple task would involve so many decisions?   So right now here's what I do – sand until my thumb is raw and bleeding, put a bandaid on it, then stop for a few days to let it heal.  And while it heals, I can't even type straight.  Not that I ever did, but I do use my thumb as one of the five or six total fingers I use when I type (usually three on each hand).  I can go pretty fast, but I have to look at the keyboard.  Typing.  I guess that's a story for another day.  Meanwhile, the chair has waited this long …   Nahum 1:7 says, "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him"   Father, watch over little Josiah today during his surgery.  Amen.