Friday, April 22, 2011

Flashback Friday #133




Making Panels






Welcome back to my faithful reader(s?).




Today we discuss a family activity that was was also a way to bring in some extra cash. Everyone in the family was involved. This activity was making panel for the tile company that Mom worked for.




A panel is like a picture frame that had no glass. They were used to display tile at the various outlets that sold the tile that Mom's factory made. They were about 18" wide, 24" long and 1" deep. These were filled with the various tile, so it was like a section of floor in a frame. Since there were many different colors and many different styles, we needed to make LOTS of these.




We would make about 50 every time we made them. Dad would take the wood and cut it to size. This involved using a circular saw for the backs and a table saw and miter box for notching the framing wood and cutting the angled wood for the frames. Once all the wood was cut it was easy to assemble them quickly. I was used to tote lumber and carry away the cut pieces and scrap.




All the lumber was arranged on & around a large table. Dad then used his air nailer to put them together. He could assemble a panel in less than three minutes. He then slid them to the end of the table. Mom & I were at another table staining them. Mom stained non-stop, while I stacked the panels that Dad slid down and took the stained panel from Mom and laid them in the yard to dry. When Dad was finished assembling them, he would grab a rag and help stain. Once the stain was dry. They were stacked in the trunk and back seat of the car. Everyone had dark brown hands when we were finished.




At the tile factory, they remodeled the offices and were planning to leave a section unfinished to show the difference. The boss was planning to leave a corner unfinished to show the contrast. To me, this didn't make much sense. I simply asked why they couldn't they take one of the panels we made, and use it to frame the unfinished section. The bosses looked at each other like they had just been handed a revelation. They thought it was a great idea.




We made these panel for years.

2 comments:

Liz said...

No kidding, leaving a corner unfinished wouldn't say proudly "Look at the contrast!" it would say "The contractor is a moron and didn't buy enough supplies." lol!

Right now my foyer is a picture of "in progress" You should come and see it :)

MotherT said...

I remember when we left the girls with your parents one weekend and your dad let them help make panels. Unfortunately, the Ogre was not able to stay away from the stain. I think she had dark brown hands for about 2 weeks!