Comin' Round The Bend

This is the completed form for the next portion of the counter. It will be the most complicated one. It wraps around the corner and, also, has the cutout for the sink. Actually, it has a cutout for half of the sink. The next piece will have the other half. There will be a small joint where the two butt together, which I will fill with epoxy. The cutout, itself, is made from foam boards, cut to shape on the band saw and edged with clear packing tape. Since the form is large, two pieces of the Melamine board had to be joined. I just butted them together, tossed in a few screws to be sure they both level up and then I ran a strip of the packing tape to seal it up and cover the screw heads. There will be an impression of the tape on the face of the slab, but it will disappear when I cut it with the coarse wheel. The rebar is held at the correct elevation with some pieces of tie wire. I did not do this for the first two slabs that I did and they stayed where they belonged. This is a bigger and heavier cage and I do not want to flip the counter over and see rebar, so I am playing it safe, this time. Once the mud begins to harden, I will cut the wires flush with the bottom of the slab and poke them below the surface. Remember, this is the bottom of the counter, so it doesn't have to be perfect. This piece, as well as the next two are considerably larger and, therefore, heavier than the first one. Moving it poses a daunting challenge. Due to my crabby nature and, generalized, anti social behavior, I have no friends or acquaintances in the neighborhood. About 25 years ago, I built an engine hoist. I pulled about a zillion engines with it and it served me well. It has sat, fallow, for a few years and, as a result, the hydraulic ram packed it in. I took it apart and found I was unable to fix it so, today, I ordered a new one from Northern Tool. It should be here in a week, so that will give me time to polish the small slab and allow the big one to cure for a week. The hoist will allow me to pick it up and turn it over, painlessly, as well as to load it in the back of my truck to transport it up to the house. This will get it as far as the patio door, which is about 15 feet from it's permanent home. Then I will have to call on the friends, that I do have, to muscle the thing in place.