My Barn Wood Table: Step 1

When we moved into our house 3 years ago, I really wanted to get a big dining room table made from recycled barn wood.  So I started shopping and quickly found a problem, I couldn't afford the table that I wanted.  Think upwards of 2 grand.  Maybe I am cheap but I couldn't see spending that kind of cash for a dining room table.  So when a friend of mine asked me if I knew anyone interested in some old barn wood I was really excited.  "Yea ME!" I told him.

This half off I finally got down there and start tearing some wood down.  My Dad came down to join in the fun so my friend, my Dad and I started to take apart some of the barn.  It is a big barn (see picture below), so I was trying to be picky when we were taking it apart.  I took a small roof section that had fallen in, and the front pieces off of one side. I also grabbed some awesome 2 x 6 support pieces for the legs of my table.

As with everything that I jump into head first, there is a learning curve. One day I might learn to do some research before I go tearing things down, but today was not that day, tomorrow probably won't be either.  So below is a list of things that I learned in my first week of working with old barn wood.

Wear a Hard Hat

You would think this one might be obvious, but those guys on TV never do it, so why should I?  Well I have a lovely knot on my forehead to prove that you should.  I was cutting some rotted wood out from around the big 2 x 6 supports and even though it was rotted, it still left a dent when it fell and smacked me in the head.  

Wear a Hat While Sanding and Ripping

My dad got me a new orbital sander and a biscuit joiner for my new project (Yea, he is a pretty fantastic Dad) and I had to play with them as soon as we got home.  So I put some safety glasses on and proceeded to sand away.  After I was done with that, my Dad suggested we use the radial arm saw to rip the uneven sides down so we could play with the biscuit joiner.  Well YEA!  I love new toys, so I grabbed a piece that I had sanded and went to work.  That saw flings little chunks of wood everywhere and by the end of the night I was covered in sawdust and wood shavings.

My Outdoor Work Shop

Don't Wet Your Hair if it is Covered in Wood Shavings

If you decide not to wear a hat while sanding and ripping and you have long hair like I do, don't wet your hair and think it will shampoo out.  Nope, the stuff just sticks to your hair and gets nice and clean.  I probably got some sawdust out, but there were still plenty of shavings left in my hair after I got out of the shower.  My husband wouldn't let me come to bed until my hair dried and I brushed most of the shavings out.  

Take More Than You Think You Need

Poplar Boards

After rough sanding all of the boards that I pulled down I found I had an issue, they are not all made of the same wood.  I decided my table would be made out of the long front boards, I had 7 good ones and 1 that was split. From them, I figured I would need 5, and if I needed to I could use the split board for the trim.  After I rough sanded the boards I discovered that I had 4 poplar boards and 3 oak boards, plus the split poplar.  Not quite enough. So on my way home this half I will be back at the barn tearing down some more boards.  

Oak Boards

All in all I am really excited about this project, I finally get my table and I get to make it.  Stay tuned for the next episode of "As the Table Turns"

Some Assembly Required

"You know like an erector set or a box of Legos"

"So you are telling me you get paid to play with Legos?"

"Yea basically"



Two flood platform pieces and the stairs

This was a portion of a conversation I had with my teenaged son this week trying to explain to him the flood platforms we were putting together.  Now I will try and explain it to you.  A flood platform is just what it sounds like, a platform to keep our crossing house up off the ground in case of flooding.  It sits about 9' in the air and it does not come all in one piece.  You get a kit that pretty much resembles the adult version of an erector set, a box of bolts and washers and a bunch of different pieces for you to fit together.  It also comes with a vague set of directions that if followed will not get you quite where you need to go. 

The discussion

The platform itself comes in 2 pieces, there are uprights, cross supports, foundation screws and so on and it will go together as described in the directions, the rub comes when you try to set the house on the platform and run cable into it.  If you put the house on the platform as intended, you can not open the front door all the way, nor can you run the cable straight up into the house because there are I-beams and cross members in the way. So we had to get a little creative, slide the house back, cut the grating and rig up 4 aluminum pipes so the cables are not swaying in the breeze. 

So yea I pretty much get paid to play with the big kid version of Legos. 

You can't have a week on the railroad without seeing something strange and this week was no exception.  It was goat week this week here at CSX, it's kind of like shark week, only less teeth.  While setting some 707 boards in Lynchburg yard we ran across a family of goats just wandering down the tracks, Mama, Pappa and a few kids takin a stroll through the yard.  Papa was pretty friendly so we fed him some crackers and then shooed them off the tracks.  That same evening we pulled the boom truck into the hotel parking lot just as a girl came out of a room to get into a Jeep Rubicon.  She was carrying a red bundle all swaddled up like a furry baby.  I looked closer trying to figure out what kind of critter it was and of course, it was a goat.   I know goats are cool and all, but swaddling one up and traveling with it seemed a bit odd to me. 

 

What is it Like Working with a Bunch of Guys?

When I tell people that I work for a class one railroad, and that I do it in a construction capacity, I get a lot of different reactions.  Many people want to know “do you work with a bunch of guys?”  Yes I do, as a matter of fact, women represent only about 1% of the signalman for CSX, and that number probably isn’t much different for other class 1’s.  “What is it like to be the only girl?”  This is what everyone wants to know, be it from concern, disdain or just plain curiosity, they want to know what it is really like to hang out with a bunch of guys all day.  So below I have listed some differences and commonalities of being around guys all day.  

The Differences

Get used to poop - For some reason guys are fascinated with feces.  They describe it, discuss how they feel before and after, and sometimes even plan their next one! A strong stomach is sometimes required.

They talk about Girls, a lot - This isn’t like when I was 14, at a slumber party talking about that one particular guy I liked, and we all giggled and gossiped.  Men love women, all of them, all shapes, all sizes and all parts.  Every women we pass gets a once over, and we will probably drive around the block again just to check out the girl jogging without a bra on.  The first time one of the guys said “wow she has a sexy back” I said “Crap! Now I have to worry about what my back looks like?” He said “Nah, we like all parts”

They Spit! - Oh how I wish I could change this one, guys must have extra salivary glands or something because most of them spit, and many of them do it every 5 minutes. If they also chew tobacco then you can add bottles of chew spit left everywhere to the mix.  If you can’t tell this is the one I have the hardest time with.  Look at women, talk about poo but for the love of all things holy, please stop spitting everywhere!  

They tell Dirty Jokes - I don’t think this one is any big surprise, guys tell jokes about sex, it goes with the loving women thing.  If you don’t have a sense of humor, and a pretty dirty one at that, you probably should steer clear of working with a bunch of guys.  

The Commonalities

Guys Gossip - That’s right guys gossip, and many of them are worse then a bunch of old women in hair salon. I guess that’s why they have barbershops, so they can talk about us just like we talk about them.  Some of them are down right drama queens, worried about who is doing what, who is working where, what Jim said to Bob and so on.  

Guys have Feelings - I have no idea who started this myth, but guys do have feelings, and some days I think they are more sensitive than most women.  If you cheat on your guy, he is going to be hurt, if his Mama dies, he is going to be sad.  They may not react like most women, but they feel just as deeply as women.  If he finds out you cheated he may go get drunk or beat the guy up instead of keying your car, but he is still hurt.  You may not see him cry about his Mama, but he will.  

Guys are Afraid of the Dark - Ok not all guys, but some are and some are afraid of snakes, some are afraid of spiders, some are afraid of bugs, I think you get the picture.  Guys love to act all tough and make fun of a girl for squealing at a bug, but I have seen grown men that have served in the military do the same thing.  Don’t let them fool you, guys have phobias to.  

    Really guys are just people, I like some and I don’t like some.  Some of them are good to work with, some of them hide when the shovels come out.  Some of them are smart, some of them not so much.  Everyone has good traits and bad traits, we are all human.

My conductor class from 2008

Back to My Tools

 

     Last month the decision was made that I should go back to my tools, and I am not upset about it at all.  I missed getting dirty, I missed the camaraderie of being on a gang and most of all I missed building things.  I will not get into all the political BS that I know some of you reading this are hoping for. Sorry sunshine but the absolute biggest take away I have from my time in management is to focus on the positive, because the negative can easily consume your life.

     I really feel like I have been given a second chance.  When I was in management it was all life consuming, I worked ALL the time.  I went an entire month without even laying eyes on my horses or cooking my husband a meal.  That is not the life I want to live and I am so happy to have been given the chance to find a better balance.



First fish of the season!

     So the positive, I am back on an 8 on and 6 off schedule, so I have a little more time on my hands.  Of course me being me, I have quickly filled that time.  I have started taking a writing class, I found an old barn that needs to be taken down and I am waiting on permission to start recovering the wood.  I plan on riding more, writing more, cooking more, building more and enjoying the hell out of life more.  There are a lot of fish out there to catch and mountains to climb.

     My first week back was interesting, I had to drive the boom truck for the first time in 2 years and I was definitely a little rusty.  There was a little gear grinding going on and I did have to stop on a hill when I missed my downshift. It is coming back, but I could still use a little practice.

     I am on a crossing gang now and we have plenty of crossings on our schedule and each one requires a specific design so I shouldn't have much of a chance to get bored on this gang.  I am already pinking up the place with my pink tools, pink nails and pink phone charger but I made cupcakes so the guys can't get to upset with me.  In the future look for more posts with me in awkward and interesting positions.  If anyone has any questions they would like to ask, post them in the comments and I will try and answer them in future posts.


My pink phone charger in the work truck