Matt Mauldin

Be sure to catch Part 1 and Part 2 to see my office before I hung my custom frames.

As I mentioned in the last office post, I purchased 14×16 reprints of the US Constitution from the Liberty Bell Museum.  Here are some shots of what I bought:

I finally finished the frames and hung them above my desk.  Here’s the before & after shots.

Before

After

I’m incredibly pleased with my work, as this was my first time building custom frames.  Hope you enjoyed this little series.  It’s not that big of a change, but I’ve got more in store for the office in the coming months, including repainting the walls a darker color.

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Be sure to read Office Makeover Part 1: My Current Office to get the first part of the story.

I purchased a replica of the US Constitution from the Liberty Bell Museum and planned to frame it and hang it above my desk.  The problem is that these documents are 16×14 inches.  And you CANNOT find a pre-made frame in those dimensions. So I tried to go the custom frame route.  It only took one quote at $140/frame (and that was on a 50% off weekend sale) that I said “No way!”

Instead, I decided to build my own frames.  I priced out the wood, class, and hardware at Home Depot.  I already had some wood stain and clear coat because I’ve also got a piece of furniture I plan to refurnish.  All told, the materials cost me a whopping total of $85.

Building the Frames

I chose pre-cut trim that had a notch cut out of the backside like the small picture.  This notch was perfect because it is the right size to hold the glass and backing inside the frame.  Four frames with dimensions of 14×16 inches equal a total of 240 linear inches, not including the amount of wood I would be cutting away to get the 45-degree corners.  In addition, the actual outside width and height of the frames would be more because the frame surrounds the pages, and is not equal to the page dimensions.  I used four eight-foot sections of trim, making a frame out of each section.

To get the corners right, I used a miter saw to cut alternating 45-degree angles and measured so that the inside of the notch was just a little bigger than 14×16, which would make the final inside dimensions slightly smaller than the replica Constitution pages – perfect to cover up the eduges of the paper.

At first, I tried to move the wood around which resulted in a completely backwards cut, and I almost didn’t have enough trim to finish all four frames.  To keep it simple, it was easier to alternate the miter saw blade 90 degrees (45 left then 45 right) so that the notch on the trim was always facing me.  That was MUCH easier.

Then I put wood glue on the corners and clamped them into a jig until it dried.  Then I nailed small metal brackets into the back to give the joints extra strenght.  Here are a couple of the assembled frames before I put any finish on them:

After that, I used a dark walnut stain, here:

I only put on one coat of stain and let it dry for a full day.  Then I put one coat of laquer on and let it dry for a full day.  By Sunday afternoon, all four frames were completely ready to put together.

Final Assembly

At this point I had fully assembled, stained and coated frames.  The only task that I was really worried about was cutting the glass to the right size for the frame.  I own a glass cutter, but have never used it, and I’ve only seen glass cutting done a couple of times on TV.  I was actually a little concerned about cutting the glass.

As it turns out, cutting glass is easier than I expected.  All I did was score the glass using medium pressure – I didn’t even use any glass cutting oil like suggested.  I put a little pressure on either side of the glass, bending it upwards on either side of the score mark, and POP!  The pieces came apart just like I wanted them to. This is one of the frames with a cut piece of glass inside it.  And here’s the tiny little glass cutter that made it possible.

All I did then was put the glass, a page of the Constitution, and cardboard backing into the notch (you can see a good pic of the notch in the back of the frame in the picture above).  I used furniture tacks to keep everything in the frame, and nailed in a small hanger at the top of each frame.

All done.  I hung them in the office Sunday night, so stay tuned to the next post to see the before and after photos of my office.

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I’ve been at my current house for a couple of years now, and I spend most of my week working out of my office.  I love working in my office and have it set up just right with everything I want:

• my shelves hold all the cool stuff from college, high school, travels around the world, etc.
• my nice recliner in the corner where I do my reading and catching up on written materials
• the sweet office chair with great lumbar support
• a Starbucks french press coffee caraffe so I don’t have to walk into the kitchen every time I want another mug of coffee
• and my ceiling fan with remote so I can turn the light/fan on and off without moving from my desk.

Here’s where the magic happens.  I try to keep my desk fairly clean and clutter free, but as you can tell from the stacks of paper that I don’t manage this all of the time.

That’s a Seagull guitar in the corner there.  I bought it from a pawn shop for $100 and it plays better than most Taylor or Martin acoustics that I’ve played on.  You can’t see too well, but there’s the box set of Calvin & Hobbes on the top shelf and a chess set carved from marble that I picked up in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The recliner is an original La-z-boy my wife and I bought from her college dorm director.  We had it recovered last year and it is still as comfortable as the day we bought it. Along with some family pics, there’s a European war club on the table.   The top shelf holds my hand-rolled Cuban cigars stored that I picked up in Havana.  They are stored in test tubes to keep them fresh, although I don’t ever plan on smoking them.  You can also see the rubix cube, of which I can solve all but the bottom face.  On the second shelf is my Led Zeppelin box set – the absolute best band ever.  Right next to that, although you can’t see it too well, is my championship belt buckle for the 2001 ACU Intramural Rodeo – I won the bareback competition (go figure).

Even with all of this great stuff, the office seems fairly bland.  Even after the wife and I put up curtains of the same material that my recliner is covered with, it’s a little dull.  Why? Because there’s nothing on the walls.

But I’ve decided to change that.  Stay tuned for the update because this weekend I’m working on a few things to spruce it up.

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I’m in the middle of catching up with the posts in my RSS reader and I came across this post about the necessity of reading books.  The post recaps a poll that Daily Blog Tips did last week asking if reading books was still necessary.  I’m not surprised at the results, but I am surprised at the amount of respondents that said “No.”

14% is just amazing to me when you consider that the respondents are people who are reading that blog! Maybe I just don’t get it because I’m an avid reader and find finishing a good book to be relaxing and fulfilling.  I read 2-3 books per month, and I try to make at least one of those a non-fiction book. I’m currently re reading the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan because Brandon Sanderson will be releasing his first part (one of three) of the series finale this november, and there are 11 books in the series leading up to it.  Even though I have read these, some two or three times, I still enjoy ending my day by reading a few chapters before going to sleep.

It has also been stated (read this book for one example) that reading books is a common habit of successful and wealthy people.  I want to be successful and wealthy, so why on act like one now?

Here’s my sad prediction: I think the percentage of people who do not think that reading is necessary will continue to grow.

What do you think?

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It’s been repeated over and over, but I have to add my admiration to Marcus Luttrell and his self-control when he found four guys who just killed his dog outside his Texas home.  Here’s the full post from the AP story Texas war hero helps nab suspects in dog shooting.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A highly decorated Navy SEAL who found his beloved yellow Labrador retriever shot dead outside his home helped capture the alleged gunmen following a high-speed chase through three counties.

Marcus Luttrell stayed on the line with a 911 operator April 1 as he tried to catch the fleeing suspects during the 40-mile chase that reached speeds of over 100 mph.

“I told them, ‘You need to get somebody out here because if I catch them I’m going to kill them,’” Luttrell said he told the operator, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Police stopped the suspects and charged two men with cruelty to a non-livestock animal. The driver of the vehicle was cited for not having a license.

There are at least five area dog killings in recent months that could be linked to the case, said Texas Ranger Steven Jeter.

A phone call by The Associated Press to a Walker County court administrator seeking information on attorneys for the men wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.

Luttrell was awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism in 2006. He is the lone SEAL team member to survive a June 2005 firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan and was given a dog to help him heal after he returned from the war.

“When I saw she was dead, the only thing that popped into my head was, I’ve got to take these guys out,” Luttrell said.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I heard the interview on Glenn Beck’s radio program (here’s a link to Glenn’s TV interview) Wednesday morning on my drive to work, and I was pissed.  I’m a Texas, a dog owner, and if that happened to me I would have emptied my clip in their direction.  Seriously, a man can kill his neighbors robbers and get cleared of commiting crime in this state.  That alone should be a warning to all the idiots out there who think they can get away with something like this.

People just don’t realize that those of us who believe in the Second Amendment really take it seriously. And no, the arguments that “guns are dangerous” and all the other crap gun-haters spout don’t mean a thing. Our guns aren’t just for show: we like our guns, we shoot our guns, we know how to use them.  And it’s because we know how to use out guns that keeps ourselves and others around us safe.

Someday someone may kill me with my own gun, but they should have to beat me to death with it because it is empty.

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