Diane Keaton to Al Pacino in The Godfather II.

I will preface the next part by saying ’It’s not all fun and games in the workshop’

“At this moment I feel no love for you at all. I never thought that would ever happen, but it has.”

This is how I feel about this job. It went together OK, but painting and installing it has just crushed me.

Because the colour was a Farrow & Ball colour (a paint manufacturer interior designers get moist over), I couldn’t get a gallon of pre cat enamel mixed up. The only way the paint shop would match something sprayable was in a waterborne. I bought the specially formulated mdf primer from the same manufacturer as well, just to be sure there would be no compatibilty issues, had it all primed, sanded smoooth, started spraying it. To my dismay, the fibres started swelling and showing through the topcoat. What should have been 2 days turned into a full week. That put me behind on the little things like making the beaded drawer fronts, and fitting them. Then the courier turned up with the wrong drawer runners, it must have been my mistake when I ordered from Hafele. One wrong number and you get an extra two inches of travel. Not good when you already have the drawer boxes made and a carcase for the drawers made for different,_ the right,_ runners.

Nothing a piece of spinning carbide can’t sort out, but it’s all time, and no space because the parts of the repainted wardrobe are strewn about anywhere they can dry.

My senses of enjoyment, accomplishment, satisfaction at making this piece are at their lowest ever ebb. Drudgery is what it is at this point, sheer soul sucking drudgery, and added to that, the knowledge, the certainty that I once again shafted myself price wise. This job will be stunning I know, but that is little consolation.

The “When will u b here with wardrobe?” text messages do little to cheer me up either. I understand, really I do. I have never done anything for this client before, she probably wants to make sure I’m not a gypsy masquerading as a cabinet maker, leaving town with her hard earned deposit. I speak to her to allay her fears. She understands now that it won’t be fitted until it’s right.

So onto the fitting, I have been there twice already. Two fully laden trips on Saturday in my Transporter van to bring over the pieces that will make up the whole. Wrestling with the carcases to fit them against her wonky walls, uneven shag piled floor, all in a fairly tight space. Back again today to make it usable, put in the rails, put on the drawer fronts and knobs, all thirteen of them. Thirteen, unlucky for some.

A further trip required tomorrow to fit the crown and frieze rail, tapered to fit the ever so slightly sloping ceiling, paint drying as I type. That will have to be after a day spent ripping up floorboards. I will make more per hour doing that than I have on this job.

I will post the completed project tomorrow.