Author Archives: fitz

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About fitz

Woodworker, writer, editor, teacher, ailurophile, Shakespearean. Will write for air-dried walnut.

No Drinking After 10 p.m.

Posted on February 2, 2017 by fitz

I’m still nowhere near finished with either of the two new bathrooms – and for the last three months, I’ve been without a second-floor toilet. That’s meant stumbling down the back stairs (because the front stairs still have no rail) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

My Woodworking (Among Other Things) Mentor: Christopher Schwarz

Posted on January 3, 2017 by fitz

I am extraordinarily lucky to have the job I do today, and to do work that I love. It is almost entirely due to Christopher Schwarz. In the summer of 2005, I notified my supervisor that I was leaving my … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Favorites | 10 Comments

A Plea for Pro HVAC Help

Posted on January 1, 2017 by fitz

In tearing things out for the bath rehab, I uncovered some rotted 10″ x 3-1/4 duct work under the floor (currently under the OSB above)…that goes to nowhere. A patch in the bathroom floor (where the fancy grate is sitting … Continue reading →

Posted in Renovation/Restoration | 7 Comments

Halfway (?) There

Posted on December 31, 2016 by fitz

The last of the Great Bathroom Tearout of 2016 will happen in 2017: cutting and framing  the door from the bathroom to my bedroom (see tape below). That’ll come when I’m almost done putting things back to rights (so maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Baths, Renovation/Restoration | 2 Comments

Good on Paper; Terrifying IRL

Posted on December 9, 2016 by fitz

I think my plans are greater than my ability to put up with getting there – but it’s far too late. My plan looks so nice and neat. My house does not. I’ve ripped out most of the old second-floor … Continue reading →

Posted in Baths, Renovation/Restoration | 12 Comments

‘Tools,’ by John Updike

Posted on December 5, 2016 by fitz

I’d not read much of John Updike’s poetry until recently, (though I’ve long counted his “Gertrude and Claudius” (2000) and “The Centaur” (1963) among my favorite contemporary novels). It’s engaging stuff, and this one in particular spoke to me as … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Favorites | 11 Comments

Anger Management

Posted on November 22, 2016 by fitz

After writing two checks on November 9 (one to the ACLU, the other to Planned Parenthood), I gathered my implements of destruction and started hitting things with a vengeance. I’m still angry, but at least I’m making progress on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Favorites | 13 Comments

In the Dark, Fixturally Speaking

Posted on November 5, 2016 by fitz

I got the old-knob-and-tube electric rewired in February, yet I’m still stumbling in the relative dark. Choosing the “right” lighting fixtures (at an affordable price) seems beyond my skillset. So I still have installed in three places the bare bulbs … Continue reading →

Posted in Renovation/Restoration | 11 Comments

Get Real

Posted on October 21, 2016 by fitz

Christopher Schwarz sent me a ridiculous link from Amazon this morning. So I spent a few minutes learning how to use the scroll saw (never touched it until today) to make this far more realistic representation of a “safety assistant … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal Favorites, Woodworking | 12 Comments

6-week Install

Posted on October 2, 2016 by fitz

It took only an hour or so to actually get a door fit and hung between the hall and one of the two front rooms on the second floor. But add in the distractions and prep work and it took … Continue reading →

Posted in Renovation/Restoration, Woodworking | 12 Comments