I took on a couple of projects this past week. First, I decided to refinish Jon's old surfboard for wall decor - of course it is still rideable. Then I went on to replace the old Ikea (or whatever) bookshelf with something larger, more permanent, and less particle board-y.


Jon's board has been around awhile, and some time back I did a low-effort repair on some large areas of delamination. I wasn't about to spend much time filling and sanding it to perfection, the rugged look would have to do.

Since I am not artistically inclined, I decided to do a flat color with a vinyl. And I went with a B-Wing for the vinyl.

A few stripes would help with the starfighter-y feel, so I put down a base layer of white and cut out a mask fit for a Rebel Alliance fighter.


Having some green paint on hand, I used that for a base coat and then went to the ultimate grey finish. While it was drying enough to not come off with the vinyl transfer tape, I fashioned a simple wall mount. The board rests on a foam-covered pipe sitting below two fins, the top is secured with a small wire loop.


After applying the vinyl and a couple layers of spar varnish, I had my new wall decoration.


While I was at it, I rescued Connie's gorgeous CIS board from the garage rack.

Putting in custom shelving was always in the plan, and I finally got to it. The idea was to use the vaulted section of the living room to build a large set of shelves. I wanted to go with a trapezoidal shape, as the bookshelf would have 180 degrees of access.

Materials:

• Two 2x4x10' front supports
• Two 2x6x12' rear supports
• Six 1.125x23.25x71.5 shelf panels
• Twelve L-brackets
• Urethane, screws, etc.

Cutting, planing, sanding, varnishing. The usual. I went with a clear urethane for the shelves and a dark stain for the supports. As I was starting I decided that a white wall behind the shelf wasn't ideal, so I switched off coating the shelving materials and coating the wall.

The 2x6es went up first. Then the brackets. Then the shelves, top-to-bottom, attaching to the front 2x4s along the way.


Rob's bike is a fixture of the living room, so I found it a home in the new addition.