handy dad

my parents came up to visit the weekend before last.  while they were here, my dad helped us to replace the door that was damaged in the debacle described on this past post.  the two of us spent a chilly afternoon outside working on this new door that we found at the local habitat for humanity re-store for the low, low price of $2.63.  we were excited to find a door that was almost exactly the right size with no doorknob holes or hinge spots (so we could put them exactly where we needed them), but, of course, nothing is ever easy.  that’s why it’s handy to have my dad around.  he knows how to make stuff work–even if it takes a little finnagling (um, i have no idea how to spell this word.  any suggestions?) finaggling (thanks, ruhama!).  our first challenge was cutting hinge notches without a router.  my dad taught me how to make hinge notches using only a utility knife, a chisel and a hammer.  and then, we realized that we should have cut  the door down to size before cutting out the hinges.  i’ll spare you the boring details, but suffice it to say that we made things a little more difficult than they would have had to be, but i did learn some new woodworking skills and enjoyed a wonderful theological discussion with my dad while we worked.  it’s times like these when i wish i lived a little closer to my parents.  i learned to be comfortable working with fabrics from my mom, but apparently my dad thought that power tools and small children was a bad mix and i never developed the same familiarity with wood.  so every time we get together, i try to make up for lost time with a woodworking project or three.  during this project, in addition to the hinge trick, i also learned that scoring the wood across the grain before cutting it with a circular saw prevents it from splintering.  and, like i said before, i also enjoyed talking theology with my dad.  i’m beginning to ramble and i’m very sleepy, so i’ll sign this post off now.  thanks, dad, for all that you’ve taught me so far.  i look forward to many more lessons.