Mote

I've been building a bookcase for the Monkey whenever I find a spare minute. The small bookshelves we have in his room now don't offer enough storage space, and they're too light and flimsy: now that he pulls up on furniture, he is bound to pull it right on top of himself. And with all the tempting toys and books to grab, it's a rush situation to get the bookcase out of the workshop and into the nursery.

The idea is to match the maple dresser and crib. I'm using Baltic birch plywood for the carcase and shelves, because the grain and color match the maple, yet the birch is cheaper and more widely available. I'm going to mill a piece of crown molding on my table saw out of some maple hardwood that carries the angular theme of the bookcase. I'll come up with a base molding, and use some leftover maple to cover the exposed ends of the plywood with edging.

After a lot of tedious measuring, squaring, checking, and rechecking, I've got the pieces cut into shape. That left some quick work with a piloted router bit: it guides itself, and I get to have fun with power tools.

What was not so fun happened to my eye this morning, while the Monkey was napping and I was routering. After a pass with the router, I took off my eye protection to blow it clear of sawdust. And a big cloud of sawdust went into my eye. Ironic. Bloody painful.

No harm done.