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Happy Earth Day.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my embarrassing L-bracket bookshelves and the new bookcase I was working on to replace them. I’m finally finished.
We’re shooting the opening picture tomorrow afternoon at my house, so last night, I moved all the books off the old unit and piled them on the dining room table, then moved the bockety, dimensional pine piece of crap against the dining room wall, just to get it out of the way to clear space for my slightly less bockety cherry bookcase.
Today, Senior Editor Glen D. Huey helped me schlep the new case to my house and set it up. It barely fit in his Dodge Ram. I simply must stop building such large and heavy pieces of furniture.
So now, I have to decide what to do with the old bookshelves. Sure, I could easily remove the L-brackets and bring the boards into the shop. The shelves are each 12″ wide and 48″ long, and the sides are both 36″ long. I’m sure we could find a use for the wood, even with the drippy cherry Minwax finished I brushed on these many decades ago (sorry Bob Flexner , now I know I should have used a rag).
But what I really want to do is rev up the chainsaw and go straight down the middle. Or start a bonfire. Or take an axe to it. Those would all make for good pictures. But it’s Earth Day, and I’m feeling guilty about my yen for destruction.
So, gentle readers, what say you?
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I’m a big supporter of reusing materials, especially wood. Usually people just don’t want to be bothered. You could strip the finish and plane it down and make a nice small blanket chest. You could make toys or other useful items from it. I think you’ve become estranged to this bookcase and want to detach it from your life. You should embrace it like an old friend that just needs a new lease on life…
Can I AXE a question? Can we see Megan Axe that thing? Let me AXE it again: can we see Megan axe it? Come on its the youtube era and we are axing for it!
Megan, if you should really please the Vikings, then you should make some small boats out of the boards, and present them to a kindergarten class, so they can play with them in a small pond. That should be pleasing to Mother Nature.
(By the way, a Viking funeral for a clan leader would involve that you made a viking ship first, then set it ablaze and pushed it out to the open sea, including the diseased persons belongings such as horses, slaves, weapons and a lot of good food and beer)
Megan could start a new column for the magazine…"I Can Axe That"
OK, now that Earth Day is over, will the axe-lovin’ peoples of this great land please step forward and let your voices be heard?
Megan + Axe = Hilarious Consequences
Chris
Ah come on. I wanna see a video of Megan taking an axe to the thing.
I mean, ya ain’t gonna let Chris’ video of smashing a plane with a hammer stand alone, are you Megan? Where’s the comraderie amongst editors?
RRR – take it apart and sent it to the local WW club and see what they can make of it. Although, I wouldn’t mind seeing you wield an axe in anger.
Jesse
I voted for pleasing Mother Nature, but almost voted for the Viking funeral, just for laughs. I have been around enough "country women" in my life time to stay the h-e-hockeystick-hockeystick out of the way when I see a "lady" swing an axe. Some of the "weaker" sex were pretty good, too. So, out of respect, I refrained from voting to see Megan swing the double-axe.
How about this: Select one of the boards (the worst looking one, with the most drips, rough cuts, etc.) to sacrifice to the chainsaw, and recycle the rest.
Jonas – Donation is a good idea…even though _I_ think it’s hideous, the unit does hold a lot of books – and it beats particle board!
Definitely and axe. I took an axe to an old shed once, it was very gratifying.
Its hard to throw away any wood, even though burning it can involve the pleasure of marshmallows etc. But you can recycle it the easy way, by giving it to a charity organisations second hand shop. then you can actually feel that you have done a good turn for somebody else as well.
Or how about using the shelves in your workshop?
I’m probably overly green, but I can’t throw any wood (even my scraps) away. Most of the larger pieces of wood that I stash get used eventually either for projects or jigs. The smaller scraps of hardwood get taken out back and used to roast marshmallows in the firepit. =)