Some jobs just take forever even if they are really simple. With the job in this weeks episode, we started the job one year ago and we finally had a useable product this week. There were lots of different ideas, false starts and even a redo from start on the varnish, but that is how things are.

On Salty Lass we like to be able to use stuff for more that one job, for example the cockpit table doubles up as a handy workmate, while Beverley does loads of different jobs on Salty Lass so she can stay.

The sorry story of our small boxes to go around our face plates goes like this

• One year ago we were given some really nice pieces of wood that we decided to use to make electrical boxes
• Nine months ago I finally got around to varnish the boxes
• Three months ago, we realised that the first attempt at making the boxes was a bust, because there was no way we could secure the face plates or the boxes other than using glue and that is just not suitable on something that you pull plugs out of on a regular basis
• Last month I bought some plastic boxes, that we could cover, for that we had two ideas on how to make them look beautiful
• Wood Veneers - Theses were quite tricky to do and I broke at least two pieces before that idea was scrapped
• Wood Trim - We had some wood trim left over from when we made our fiddles and in the end we went with this idea
• Varnish - The first lot of varnish we used was still tacky after 5 days so that had to go as well

Making a small box

• Set the saw at 45° to make good corners
• Once you have all the pieces stick onto masking tape so that the pieces make a continuous line with the backs of the pieces facing up
• Use gloves to keep your hands clean
• Apply the adhesive you are using in a line using continuous pressure.
• Make sure you apply plenty of adhesive to the corners
• Use the masking tape to pull the box together and check you have plenty of squeeze out
• Leave for a day and attend to any issues with the squeeze out before you varnish
• Use good varnish or exterior wood stain to preserve the wood
• You can wrap your brush in cling film so that you don't have to clean the brush between coats

So after a year, we actually had a product that we could use on Salty Lass