The downside of using the chisel to strip the paint is that it wasn’t always perfect.

I ran into issues where I went in at the wrong angle and gouged out wood where I wish I hadn’t and where the wood just kinda gave up on me. Since I’d have to patch the wood, I decided I’d use the same Minwax filler from a prior project. I knew that it’s not the same color as the wood of the chair, but I wanted it not to match because I expected to like the contrast.

As for the holes in my hands and splinters buried in them, filler wouldn’t have the effect I’d desire. (Gloves? Why?)

Oh! I upgraded from my old Makita corded sander, too. I now have a DeWalt battery-operated sander. Wow is it easier to use. It’s less cumbersome because there’s no cable. It has variable speeds. It’s way easier to change sheets of sandpaper. It doesn’t make my hands numb for days and days after sanding a lot.

I used the new DeWalt sander to get rid of the non-gouge roughness.

But before patching everything up, reassembly!

Everything had dry-fit together. It ought to work with glue, too.

Still fits!

Wood glue cleans up easily with a wet rag. As long as the glue hasn’t dried yet.

With each piece that fit together properly, it was excitement anew for me.

More next week on further reassembly, patching, and other challenges.