DIY and Murphy's Law.

I read something about Murphy's Law here, which goes like this

1. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
2. Everything takes longer than you think.
3. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
4. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. Corollary: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
5. You never run out of things that can go wrong.
6. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
7. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
8. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
9. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
10. Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
11. Every solution breeds new problems.

It is so true in every way possible whenever you are doing something like DIYing, fixing your PC, or even cleaning it, upgrading it or modding it, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. And it always take longer than I thought it would be, even just cleaning the dust filter off my PC. It took roughly an hour.


Well, during the hols, I did some DIY on an Kitchen Island Peninsular.

First thing first, I got myself some material, compress wood, cheapo plywood that goes fat when drinking (must be careful) and table tops that are really hard-wearing. Well, the sizes are big, the length of the peninsular will be 8 feet, so its quite a project.


Didn't take any pictures of it since I forgot.



Plan out the design of the table, include drafts and support trust and braces.






Went to a hardware shop to get a few things.

1. 2.5" brush
2. ICI Dulux SatinWood paint (black)
3. Thinner
4. 90 Degree Brackets
5. 1 1/4 " screws
6. Wood filler putty, those cellulose type.

And tools includes

1. Drill set
2. Screwdrivers and Allen Key (DUH..)
3. Saw
4. Manual Sander and Sandpaper.


Since the raw material is from an L-shaped table with most of the things laminated with grey paper and top with Formica plastic, not much prepping is necessary.


There are some holes that need to be filled since I was making an ordinary rectangular table instead of an L-shaped table.


The first work is to paint the wood since this is a one person job and I don't want to paint upside down. Besides, moving a big table is a hassle by myself.


Thin the Dulux paint if necessary, cause you would want a thin coat of paint to make is even. If you really want it to look like those Cavenzi, Rozel smooth black, I would suggest you either

1. Use a really fine brush, those china white brush that has plenty of hair (pig's) and risk having pig hair on you finish.
2. Use a roller, with foam inserts for a smoother finish (I speculate that it would look nicer)
   
3. Use spray paint.
   
4. Use a different type of paint, that is water based so you can get a thinner mixture. Though I'm not sure that it can stand up to the wear and tear.
   

Take your time to let the paint dry. Under normal humid temperature, it could take up to an hour for the paint to initially dry, but maybe 3-5 days to dry completely.

I took myself 3 whole days to do the painting itself.


There are some problems like rain, since I'm doing it on a balcony with limited space.


After the paint session, its time to follow the plan and cut one piece of the plank into size as an additional support leg.





Measure twice and cut once.


According to Murphy's Law,
8. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.


Yeah, like you know how you put something against something of standard length and draw a line to cut it, that's how I almost made my mistake.


This plank had wood pegs in it that made it taller that it really was. So if I just drew a line and saw it, I'll end up with something shorter than I really need.


Good thing I measured it again to make sure.


Now with the plank cut to length, its time to attach it to one of the leg and the supporting trust.


Drill holes that are SMALLER than the screw. Seems simple right?
9. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.


Good thing the drill set comes with a screw set, too bad there's no Allen key add-on.


Slow and steady, and don't tighten the screws before all of it are on so that it will fit perfectly with almost no need of adjustment.




Add the braces on the structure before putting on the top unless your eyes are on the top most part of you head and your hands can make a fist with the screw driver on the same level of your knuckle. Either that or your fingers can screw things.


[Without braces]





[With braces, obviously]


Finally the top goes on last. Lock it in place and you are ready to go!




And the finished product,