How am I getting on with the bookshelf project I mentioned last week as being the reason I had picked up a router? The answer is a little. I’ve done some work on the design but it turns out there is a tricky dance between what I have in mind to build and what materials are available.

If I had even more tools and a big stash of lumber, I could design almost anything. In reality, I’m a bit more limited. I don’t want to waste money on materials but I can’t match the examples I’ve watched on YouTube, where people can easily cut and shape their lumber to precise dimensions. The nearest place I’ve got with some stocks of wood is Homebase and, having spend a bit of time perusing their stock, it is more limited and of less consistent quality than I would like. I think I might end up blowing £2.45 on a length of studwork pine and seeing what I can do working with that, including various kinds of cuts and trying to use the router for levelling.

Meanwhile, at least I’ve made a beginning on one essential task and my box of router bits now has the first coat of paint on the lid design that will help me easily identify it. Part of me is wondering if a starburst background with complex lettering over the top was too ambitious and part of me is excited just to have an excuse to get the paints out again!