Workbench

Hey everyone.  It's the Mr. here.  Sorry I haven't been here in a while, but I'm back with some tips on how to make a DIY workbench for your garage.  Our garage is not huge, so I needed a space where I could work, and also help to organize our garage space a little better.

Here's a before shot....notice all of the random things accumulating around my tool boxes!

1.  Find a top you want to use.  I found an old counter top from a kitchen, but you can pick up some High Density Particle Board (HDP) from your local hardware store.  Cut it to a size you want and put some 2X4 or 2X6's around the ends for a frame.  Glue the bottom of the boards, clamp them together with the bottom of the table, and screw the two together. Be sure to screw from the bottom up.  You don't want to cut a hole in your table top.










2.  Cut your legs to your desired height.  Take a 2X4 and screw it to another 2X2.  Do this four times, one for each leg.  This allows an easy fit into the frame on the bottom of the table.  If you want to add a shelf to your bench, screw another piece of 2X2 in the corner of each leg so the shelf can rest on it.  Number each leg and frame just in case you need to take it down. (more on this later).

 

3.  If adding a shelf, find a scrap piece of plywood, measure and cut it according to the inside of your frame on the bottom of the table.  Pre-drill the plywood because it can split easy.  Screw the plywood into another frame of 2X2s.  This can rest on the inside of the legs you made earlier.  Screw the sides of the legs into the frame of the shelf to pull it together. Screw the back frame into the studs of your garage wall for extra support.

4. Vice (optional).  Determine where you want the vice on the bench and mark the four holes with a pencil.  Drill a hole through the table big enough to fit a 3/4 inch bolt.  Screw the nut and bolt together with the Vice attached.  

 

 The finished product:  A nice-sized work bench for me to work on, and a more organized garage.

The shelf pictured above my bench (pic on the right) is the poor man's shelf that I blogged about before.

Hardie Family Christmas Letter~2011

Hello family and friends!
Here is just a quick update on the past year for us 3....

Kyle
~working at RBC (so thankful for a job!)
~writing columns for The Operative Word (departments' monthly newsletters)
~enjoyed being a part of EBC fishing league again this year, including a trip to Vermillion
~playing hockey recently, and hoping to do more in the coming year

Mel
~year off of teaching 1st grade to stay home with Miss T, and LOVING IT!!!
~teaching 16 piano students, 3 nights a week....God is so faithful!
~watching Miss E part time as well...so fun to watch her and T play together, and love having her in our home during the week
~been enjoying hobbies like reading, scrapbooking, sewing, and "getting crafty"

Miss T
~the love of our lives!
~walking, talking, so much fun!
~loves her "daddy time" when mommy is teaching piano
~knows who her little friends are and lights up when they come over to play
~lots of snuggles from the grandparents

The 3 of us
~enjoying watching Miss T experience so many "firsts" this year
~fun trips to the grandparents'
~camping at the North Shore with our small group (Miss T stayed with gma and gpa)
~Felicia is living with us and it is such a blessing to have her around. T loves the extra love and attention she gets from her aunty!
~EBC...still love attending, volunteering, and our small group

We have so much to be thankful for!

Praying that you enjoy Christmas with the ones you love,

and that 2012 is a year filled with joy!

1 year!!!

Kyle here, I can't believe it's been a whole year since our sweet baby was born. It seems like the first few months were such a blur. Looking back, I'm so thankful for the good and bad times, because for every one difficult moment, there were two extraordinary moments with my family. I'm so excited to see what the next year holds for us.

Mel here. Wow...there is something unique about celebrating your baby's first birthday. So many of the challenges of birth and the newborn stage are fresh in your mind, which I think makes the celebration even more rewarding. Look where we have come from! :) And now to enter the toddler stage--wahoo! We are so thankful for the last year that we have shared with our sweet little babe, and all of the ways that she has changed and blessed our lives. We are also so thankful for all of you that have invested in her life already, and supported us as her parents. God is so faithful!

Here are a few things are 1-year-old is doing....

~walking, climbing stairs, into everything!

~saying a few "words", and siging a few as well

~gives hugs (so sweet--I love this!)

~spends lots of time "reading" her books...she will go to her nursery, pull books off of the shelf, and bring them to whoever's around and sit down in their lap to hear her story :)

~Can find her nose, and show that she is "1"

~DONE with ZANTAC--wahoo!

~Loves to eat, especially by herself :)

It is so exciting to watch her learn and grow, and we're excited to explore many more new things with her in this next year.

11 months

Wow! Teigan has entered her last month as a baby....a lot of mixed emotions come with that realization. :) I have been working on her 1 year scrapbook and it is amazing to think of how much she has changed in just a few short months. We have been enjoying a lot of things this Fall, especially during the past few weeks of gorgeous weather! Here are a few updates for our almost 1 year old....
~taking steps/standing up on her own
~eating anything that she can put in her mouth
~playing with friends--she still enjoys being social, and gives HUGE smiles to people when they come through our front door...so sweet!
~signing please (with both hands if she wants food--ha!)
~her first tooth! YAY! (bottom, middle)
~first trip to the apple orchard; hayride, picking apples, picking pumpkins
~down to only 2 bottles each day (morning, and night)
~giggling/laughing, especially when she plays with Daddy....she loves being thrown up in the air by Daddy

"sooooooo big!" :)

Crafty...

Staying home with my little babe has been a blessing for so many reasons. But another benefit has been getting "reaquainted" with my crafty side. :) I've always loved making things, sewing, scrapbooking, etc.... so it has become a fun challenge to see how much money I can save by re-using things, or making something instead of buying it. I almost always find it more fun to give a gift that I have made too--an extra element of love. :) Here are a few of my favs so far:

table runner (T thought the buttons were great!)
baby hats...thinkin' I need to make T one too! :)

t-shirt scarf w/ rose (thanks Jill!)

love these for the little guys

...have to admit...I've kept a few of these for my little babe's hair

10 months

"Well, I suppose I can smile for one, but I will NOT look at the camera!"
" ...this is so lame mom..."

"...are we really still doing this picture thing?"

We are loving all of the new things T is learning and doing. She is so curious and intested in new things. She is definitely experimenting with standing independently and wanting to take steps, but she hasn't completely "gone for the gold" yet. :) She's eating a lot more finger foods (black beans, green beans, rice, cantalope, mango, cheerios) and loves making a mess at mealtime. We have also entered the stage of having her cry when we take something away that she wants, or hearing a whimper/whine if she wants something. We are bracing ourselves for the toddler stage, but are excited for all of the fun that comes with that stage as well.

9 months

Well, this post is a few days late because it took me a while to get a decent picture of her. Sitting still for pictures is apparently WAY over rated. ;) This is just such a fun age...she is learning so much and growing so fast. One day she can't do something, the next day she can. What a miracle! A few things she is doing right now:

~turning the TV on/off

~walking behind her walker

~going "new" places (stores, library, etc....)

~playing with friends--it is so interesting to watch her play when other kiddos are around. Her personality just continues to grow :)

~She has started waving "bye-bye" and signing for milk/water...however, these 2 gestures are VERY similar, so sometimes it's hard to know which one she's doing

~first ear infection (BOO)

We're excited to experience this next month with her, and to watch her take in the world around her.