Cowboy Carpenter



1986 - Cowboy carpenters patching roof
on cowcamp barn. It's gray tin now.

I'm not real sure how this fits with “scenes from the saddle” aside from the fact that this little cabinet looks like something we might have drug in from an old shop or barn. We've explored a lot of old homestead era buildings while out on the range, and have drug in more than one old, but salvageable item over the years.

At least that's the look I wanted. I looked all over the state and E-bay for a specific size cabinet that would fit on the end of that wall, and display my old “True West”, and new “Montana Brand” dishes. And, it had to fit my cowboy budget: fairly cheap, or free.

I finally found this nice modern white laminated one, made in Japan, with the put-together-number stickers still attached to the various pressed wood pieces. BUT, and this was the biggie, it was the perfect size. And I just knew my favorite cowboy could remodel it for me.

He amazes me with the stuff he can do. As long as I don't mind a little...umm... “primitive” look. He calls it crude, but the antique stores call it primitive-- and jack the price up about three times. My taste may be “primitive”, but I guess that's because the style incorporates the distressed “cowboy character” I'm always harping on.

My cowboy took the cabinet outside and went to work on it. He knew I planned on beating it up, so he didn't worry about dinging it. Pleased with the outcome, he set it up on the concrete floor of my laundry/sewing room, and told me it was ready, and that he'd “tightened” it up for me as well.

“Hmmm, I need to get my putty knife and spackle, and fix those screws”, I thought to myself as I glanced at my waiting project when I walked by the room.

WHOA! Screws? I don't remember there being screws on the outside... I didn't have the heart to have a hissy fit and tell my favorite cowboy he'd just turned my expensive primitive cabinet into a cheap crude one. Instead, as calmly as I could, I just commented that if he was going to use screws on the outside, he should consider counter-sinking the heads.

“Well, I knew you planned on taking a hammer and wrecking bar to it, so I didn't figure the screws would make any difference.” was his cowboy logic.

 I managed to get all but 2 of the screws mostly hidden. The other 2 just had those edges that stuck right up there where it was impossible to get a nice smooth transition. Since I didn't really have a clue as to what I was doing, I did a lot of looking on the internet, and combined bits and pieces of several how-to instructions into my own thing.

Then I had another wild hair. I liked the way my re-finished old coffee table turned out so much due to the kid's “distressing” when they were little, that, wouldn't it be neat to carve all 8 of our names (mom, dad, kids and grandkids) into my project, along with the year of our house!

Someone told me, at least once or twice, that not every idea that pops into your head is a good idea. This was probably one of those.

It took me at least 2 full days to get them carved to where they looked kind of right. By the time I'd done Ray and I and the girls, I had figured out that names longer than 3 or 4 letters were too long. I reduced Clayton and Kristine to initials on the other side, but spelled out their 2 kids full names. The good thing is, I strategically placed them to help camouflage screws.

So, this is how I work under pressure-- spend 2 days carving names when I need to be cooking, baking, and cleaning for our housewarming party! I finished a final coat of varnish by 3 on Friday morning, with 35 hours left to get ready for our housewarming... no wonder I stress out. (In highschool I studied for tests the night before with a flashlight under my covers!

Next week... Housewarming and Thanksgiving

Here is a link to a fun blog where I found the best info to get me going: http://movitabeaucoup.com/2010/07/19/how-to-antique-and-distress-furniture-with-paint/)