GETTING OLD So I'm building a 12' long basement shelf unit for LOML to store the enormous number of books she's collected and the plastic tubs they're stored in. It will be 3/4" plywood with 2x4 uprights. 10 prime 2x4s was no issue getting from HD to home with the Sport Rack roof bars. 3 sheets of 23/32" BC plywood required a couple of Homer Helpers to place the 3 67 pound sheets up on the racks because I wasn't up to the task. Getting them down by myself at home was still a challenge, gravity being in my favor. I'm going to need help getting them down the stairs to the basement. Getting old is a booger.
-
Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me. -
I had a recurve bow that was given to me when I was a teen. It was a 60lb bow. I had no problem using it back then and even through my 40's and early 50's when I visited mom and dad's home where I left it. Recently my youngest daughter asked about it. She said she used it a few times for target practice while she was in college (early 2000's.) I found it at the back of a closet and pulled it out; I noticed it needed a new string, searched for one and ordered it. Then it took me 3 days of trying to mount the new string on it. I finally got it on but could not pull it back the full length of a 26" arrow. I tried it a number of times but never could. I gave it to my daughter with 4 sons to play with. 3 are too young but the oldest who just turned 15 is strong enough to pull it back the length of an arrow. I certainly can't.
Last edited by leehljp; 08-09-2023, 06:58 AM.Hank Lee
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!
-
I started strength training a couple of years ago when I started struggling to get sheets of melamine up onto the table saw. It was truly painful for a couple of months, but I've gained back some strength and feel significantly better than I have in years.
I also ran a 5k last thanksgiving and walked like my 100 year old dad for a week or so afterwards which reminded me why I gave up running decades ago. I'll stick to my bicycle.
Chr's
__________
An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
A moral man does it.Comment
-
I'm 75 yr. young and I struggle lifting sheets of plywood, will buy that roller carriage for handling sheet goods. I have a panel saw so don't have to lift it up high and I can cut it up to more manageable sizes. Still moving slower and have to think things through to make the job easier. So, all my projects take forever to finish ha ha. I built all the cabinets in my new home and was fortunate to have my grandson help me. It took me 2 weeks to lay all the flooring in the house, it took a toll on my back and knees. I'm doing the landscaping now but only work 2 days a week on it, that's all my body can take. I was walking an hour a day 3 X a week but caught Covid so everything is on hold for now. Yup getting old is the pits everything takes longer to complete.Comment
-
I may have built myself into a corner, so to speak. I have the shelf unit built. I built it on its back on the basement floor in front of where it's going to be placed. Now I have to raise the top up and shove it back some to finish the back side. The completed unit weighs about 250 pounds, so I will need help. I'm thinking of using some pulleys to get mechanical advantage, but may have to wait until I can get a couple of offspring over to supply the muscle.
Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me.Comment
-
Books, magazines, and records. She also has a sizable collection of vinyl. The shelving is sized to last for many years. She'll be buying and reading books until she can't see anymore. I'm sure she'll find other things to store on it. I'm planning another shelf along the adjoining wall down the road. I have to box in the insulation and paint the wall first.Last edited by Jim Frye; 08-19-2023, 05:43 PM.
-
Jim, your first words in this post were…GETTING OLD, aren’t we suppose to be shedding our collections our “read that” “done that” stuff? Maybe leaving them in tubs so your children can haul them to goodwill?Comment
-
Last edited by cwsmith; 08-19-2023, 07:08 PM.Think it Through Before You Do!Comment
-
The last eight pictures are in the basement, the main library and the cookbook room are on the second floor (first six pictures), the eighth is in the kitchen, and the last two pictures, marked "Attached Files" are duplicates, as I didn't know how to get those back off the posting.
Oh, and I forgot to post the wife's Sports books or her DVD collection!
Before I built the main library and cookbook room I did some reading. With the exceptiong of picture #4, all the bookcases are built along load bearing walls. Picture $4 crosses the kitchen below it, and that has a major beam across the ceiling. But, I built a truss behind the 12-ft length of the bookcase to be sure.
Every horizontal area is level, and the bookcases are anchored to the walls, not just standing on the floor. I inspect the structure a couple of times a year to ensure that nothing has shifted or gone out of level. I completed this about 16 jyears ago, nothings moved.
This house was built in 1887, with the addition (back half of the library, kitchen, and the cookbook room added sometime in the 30's). Typical 2 x 4 measures 2 x 3-3/4 IIRC and the basement walla are poured concrete.
-
Well foolish me. A long time ago, I made a wall hung CD cabinet designed to hold 288 jewel boxes, thinking we'd never accumulate THAT many CDs. That cabinet filled and the CD collection also now fills the 15 drawer apothecary cabinet next to the 60" wide entertainment center which has three shelves stacked two deep with DVDs and VCR tapes.
​
​
Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me.Comment
-
Comment
-
I started furniture making by reading woodworking magazines and furniture making books from the local public library. The "Golden Rectangle" is often referred to as a desired proportion for design. My first bookcase was done using a construction article in "Wood Magazine". I followed the article to the letter and it produced a cabinet that is still in use 30+ years later. Over the years, I have collected some books that deal with furniture and cabinet making and they are valuable reference resources when I create something new.
​
Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me.Comment
-
Well, I got the shelving unit upright today, by myself. I have always done stuff by myself and so many projects require some thought on how to accomplish a task singlehanded. I adopted a housemoving technique. Jack it up, block it, raise the jack, and repeat. Once I had the piece at more than 45 degrees, I was able to finish tipping it up vertically. Now I can finish the backside that was on the floor. Not bad for a 76 year old feeb!Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me.Comment
-
Sounds like something I would do. You guys here know how to figure things out, and that is great. I do too, but I have learned that - generally, if I get someone to help me, (Or if LOML calls someone to help me) most do't have a clue even when it is explained. and cause more problems than if I just figured out how to do it completely myself. CWS - I don't know how you were able to write manuals for people to understand , except maybe you wrote to a generation that knew how to DIY with basic instructions!Last edited by leehljp; 08-25-2023, 05:16 PM. -
Great Jim!
I'm in the same boat, I've never had an 'extra hand' when it comes to moving anything heavy, and at one time, I was a pretty skinny guy (117 lbs at 23 years and today only 174 lbs and not much of that is arm strength. But that just means you use your brain, give it some thought and figure it out!.
A month or so ago I bought a new multi-drawer storage cabinet from HF. Two muscular guys put it in the back of the van, but once home, I'm challenged to take it out, and move it the 15 feet or so, to my work shed. It weighs a little over 200 lbs! Sorry to say, that's well beyond my lifting ability. But I have a ramp I made years ago, so I can slide it out of the van, and while still as an angle, could lift it up onto its end. Then using a 2-wheel hand-truck, wheel it into my shed. There, still sitting on it's end, I unboxed it and mounted the casters. But tipping it back on its wheels was a problem because at some point I wouldn't be able to hold it from dropping. So, I had a couple of packages of those HF rubber floor tiles, which I stacked on the floor, and I could tip the cabinet down and on to them, by first locking the low-end castors so they wouldn't roll (I made sure the lockable casters were on the end resting on the floor). That got the cabinet horizontal again and with a little lifting effort I removed the tiles and then rolled the cabinet into it's final positon.
You should have been here a few years ago when I bought the Ridgid jointer, which weighs, a bit over 300 lbs.) and had to be assembled!
Within reason, I've come to believe that you can pretty much accomplish most things if you take the time to think it through.
Lee,
"I don't know how you were able to write manuals for people to understand , except maybe you wrote to a generation that knew how to DIY with basic instructions!"
How would you feel if I made that a new post? I don't want to hi-jack Jim's subject, but I would like to address the subject, if anyone is interested?
CWSLast edited by cwsmith; 08-25-2023, 06:50 PM.
-
-
Finally finished the shelves. All that's left is to sweep the shelves and the build area. Then there's that just awful mess in the shop behind the white wall. Was really disappointed as the unit ended up an 1/8" too long. I had planned to leave space between the I-beam and the shelf upright for drywall at some future date. Not gonna worry about it till I need to.
Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me.Comment
-
Spent time yesterday loading the shelves with all of the stuff that used to sit on the floor and still have about 25% of the shelf space left over. Love it when a plan comes together. Unfortunately, I over torqued my knee (that's due for replacement) and have spent the time since hobbling around with arthritis rub and a heating pad. Guess that's another sign for me.Jim Frye
The Nut in the Cellar.
I've gone out to look for myself. If I return before I get back, have me wait for me.Comment
-
Jim:You are not organized enough. I can show you how to fill up the whole thing with less!and still have about 25% of the shelf space left over.
Hank Lee
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!Comment
twistsol
LCHIEN
Comment