Well, the swing set is finally finished. It didn't come without setbacks, though. First, we found out that there were more bolts missing. I'll actually have to make a trip to the store tomorrow to pick up a replacement for that, but it wasn't a structural piece; it was just for one of the four posts that connected the picnic table to the play fort. After that, we realized that they'd drilled some holes wrong. First, the bolts that were supposed to fit between the two bars that connected the swing arm to the fort were set too far apart. They kept the swing section from fitting flush against the fort. We had to undo those and turn them around so that the flat T nut was on that side instead of the bolt head. After that, in the same area, we realized that they'd designed the metal plates to have holes 5 3/4" apart while the holes drilled into the beam were only 5 1/2" apart. We had to drill new holes , which were a little too close to the originals for my taste. One of the T nuts wouldn't set in the wood damaged by the new holes, so we had to improvise with a longer bolt from my dad's stash and a regular nut and washer.
We actually ended up finishing the set in the dark with the light of a couple of Petzl head lamps (K got one from my parents for Christmas). The set is finally finished and seems to be in good shape, even if it did take three days to finish the damn thing (four, if you count the trip to the store and 30-second bolt tightening tomorrow). If E doesn't like it, we're selling him on the black adoption market.
4 comments:
So is the feeling of accomplishment worth the four days of work and frustration?
Good for you. I hope Evan likes it. Wouldn't it suck if he refused to ever play on the thing? I'm sure that won't be the case though.
By the way, Meaghan and I will be in town all week except for Christmas day. I'm supposed to work all week, except for Wednesday and Thursday. E-mail me and let me know what you've got in mind. Logan's still pretty young and feeding too frequently for much partying on the town, but we'd love to see you guys some how or other.
Yes, we should all get together sometime this week. Mickey and I will be in Atlanta Wednesday through Sunday.
If Evan doesn't like the swing set, I bet you could sell it fully assembled to someone in town. I'd pay more for something already assembled, now that I know what an ordeal it was to put up the thing.
Would that be the black market for adoptions or is there a special market for black babies?
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