Deferred Maintenance

I have read of woodworkers who spend the first 30 minutes of each shop session on tool maintenance. Predictably, their chisels and planes are always sharp, everything is always put away, and their major machines are in perfect adjustment. But the rest of us... well, we use things until they work so poorly that we have no choice but to take time to maintain them. My jointer was like that:

Minivans are BIG

The Grant St. Garage has been occupied of late by a real labor of love. My dear friend and trusted colleague Cindy gave birth to twin boys in September, bringing the household count to five, plus Pete the dog. Cindy's husband Ben bit the bullet and went out looking for a "Mommy-van." I offered him my sincere condolences.

Ben found a 2008 Toyota Sienna in fine mechanical shape, but well under book price because of the state of the interior. Frankly, I think a family of incontinent warthogs lived there - ones that often rolled in grease. Ben asked John Zimmerman to do one of his uber-detailing jobs on the van, but it quickly became obvious that the carpet was just done. Ben ordered an inexpensive replacement from the web, and John recruited me to help change it. Little did we know...