May 8 - 23, 2026 Kiosk Project - Mayfest - Making of Kiosk Doors - Mother's Day - Change in Kiosk

My Blog Reflection

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.

Albert Einstein

May 8, 2026:

Recently a Mountain Bike Trail was built at Legion Lake here in Perryville. The build project included a kiosk on which maps, information, etc., could be posted. The posting surface on the kiosk is just a sheet of plywood under a roof. Here is a picture of the front and back. Anything posted on it would blow away in an instant.

The powers to be thought locking glass doors were needed on both sides to protect anything posted. They contacted the Perryville Rotary Club. We were able to obtain a grant from our Rotary district to pay for locking glass doors for the front and back of the kiosk. I was "volunteered" to make these doors. LOL. I have until May 30th to get them built and installed.

The other day Alexa and I picked up the wood needed from the lumber yard. Since the kiosk is out in the weather we purchased treated 1 x 6s. These will be  sawn down the middle to make door frames 2 3/4 inches wide. 

We cut the boards to length and then split them on the table saw. Here is Alexa gathering some more table saw skills and learning to keep her fingers far away from the blade.

After splitting all of the pieces we mitered the corners. For four doors there are eight side pieces and four top and four bottom pieces. Here is a picture of the stack of pieces cut to make the four doors.

Each piece now needs to have a 1/2 inch deep groove cut in it to hold the plexiglass in place. The plexiglass is 1/4 inch thick so I want the groove to be 5/16 inch wide so there is no binding when installed in each frame.

Daughter Erin sent Kelly five pre-packaged meals for Mother's Day. They arrived early so Kelly fixed one for supper tonight. It was "Salmon Cakes with Roasted Potato Wedges".  The meal even came with Tartar Sauce and a fresh lemon. The meal was excellent and enjoyed with a nice glass of white wine.

 

May 9, 2026:

Alexa, Aaron, Kelly, and I met up with Mary Bock and her daughter, Jennifer, to listen to music on the Courthouse lawn at the Mayfest. Having found a shade tree to sit under we stayed for about three hours. It was a beautiful afternoon to sit outside. It is the first time I have attended the Mayfest in at least fifteen years. Here is a picture of us under the shade tree and a picture of the crowd at picnic tables under tents nearby.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Mary gave Kelly ten cans of "Steak n Shake Chili", her absolute favorite. Kelly was thrilled. We got home about 7:00 p.m. and each had a can for supper.

May 10, 2026:

This morning I cut the 1/4 grooves in all of the kiosk door pieces. Tomorrow morning Alexa will come over and we will work on cutting biscuits into each mitered corner to make the frames. A biscuit cutter cuts a slot in each piece of wood to be joined. The biscuits are wooden pieces you purchase. They are inserted with glue halfway into each piece of wood to secure the pieces together. Here is what a biscuit looks like. 

Due to the large size of these doors, I am using the largest biscuits, which are "No. 20". Here is a picture of my biscuit cutter. You can see the slot near the bottom where the blade comes out to cut the wood in a semicircle for the biscuit to be inserted.

Here is the mitered end of one piece of the frame. The arrow points to the area where the biscuit cutter will make it's cut. On the left of the board you can see the groove cut to hold the plexiglass.

The groove on each piece MUST match the groove on the adjoining piece so that the plexiglass will slide correctly into the frame. The wood we are using is treated pine and today I noticed that not all pieces of the wood are exactly the same thickness. This will present a challenge in lining up the grooves before making cuts for the biscuits. Once all of the biscuits are glued in place and the glue dried, each corner will be air-nailed for additional strength. We will have to make three sides, insert the plexiglass, then glue and nail the top piece. Alexa's pair of hands will help greatly with this.

It is Mother's Day so Kelly put me to work making one of the pre-packaged dishes Erin sent her for Mother's Day. Kelly picked out "Cream Spinach Cavatappi". They send along great instructions so I got to work chopping the spinach, etc. It took about twenty minutes to prepare. I was a little nervous because I didn't want to screw up the meal but it turned out delicious.

May 11, 2026:

Alexa and I started cutting biscuits and assembling pieces. We quickly found two long side boards that are bowed out badly. I clamped them to a straight edge and soaked them with water to see if they will straighten out in a day or two. If not I will have to purchase another board and make two new side pieces. I'm probably lucky that only two long pieces bowed out. The bowing of these boards is a result of the lumber being stored outside, constantly getting wet, and the liquid product they soak the boards in to make them "treated" to last longer out in the elements.

We also found one bottom board that was bowed up in the middle. I clamped it to the saw table as well and soaked it with water.

We cut all of the biscuits on the boards and then began to assemble one door. I needed long clamps for this project. Here it is the first door on the table. Once the glue dries on the bottom, before final assembly I want to take it out to the kiosk and make sure I haven't miscalculated any measurements. I only have one surface in the shop large enough to glue these doors. We will glue the rest on the garage floor.

Alexa had to work on Mother's Day so she and Aaron celebrated Mother's Day with us today. For supper they warmed up one of the meals Erin had sent. This meal was "Sweet & Savory Brisket with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli". Kelly added spring rolls, which came separately, and some of the asparagus Bob and Ronnie dropped off the other day. Like the previous meals this one was well made and enjoyed.

 

Bob and Ronnie have kept us supplied in fresh asparagus all season. This was their last batch as they left for their cruise to Alaska.

May 12, 2026:

We took the first door frame out to the kiosk to make sure there were no miscalculations. The two side pieces of wood that bowed badly did not straighten out so we purchased another board and cut two new side pieces. We then glued the side and bottom pieces on all four doors. After that I headed to Liberty Glass and ordered the four pieces of plexiglass cut to size. 

May 15-17, 2026:

Kelly and I have been dealing with the worst stomach flu either of us ever had. we are hoping to be able to eat come rice today and keep it down.

May 19, 2026:

I am still dealing with the stomach flu but felt well enough to pick up the four pieces of plexiglass and, with Alexa's help, install them in the frames. The doors with 1/4 inch plexiglass are heavy so I ordered more hinges. There will be five hinges on each door to support the weight. Here is a picture of the four doors with the tops being glued and clamped. Tomorrow we will air-nail all corners. The doors will be ready to be hung on the kiosk when the rest of the hinges arrive.

May 22, 2026:

A milestone today. The truck turned 222,222 miles as I pulled into the garage. We love our Toyota truck.

Work continues on the kiosk glass doors. Today I sanded and air-nailed all of the corners.

Later in the day I went out to the kiosk and found that a map had been posted on the front side which takes up the entire front of the kiosk. It was mounted by someone using wooden strips. These mounting strips totally screwed up how I was going to mount the two doors on the front. I had no idea the map was going to be this size. No one had talked to me about it. I made four doors, two for the front, and two for the back, as instructed. Here is a picture of the mounted map.

After talking to Alex, Rotary President, we decided to eliminate the front two doors I made and order one piece of plexiglass to be mounted to the wooden frame to protect the map from the weather and vandalism. I ordered the piece of plexiglass. Once it is received holes will be drilled so that it can be screwed in place, more or less permanently. 

I must admit I was quite miffed that no one talked to me about the size of this map, etc. It would have saved me a lot of work to only make two doors rather than four, plus it would have saved some expense.

May 23, 2026:

Memorial Day Weekend and what are Mike, Kelly, and Alexa doing? Working on the kiosk!

Kelly, Alexa, and I went out to mount the two doors on the back side of the kiosk. Once they were mounted and the lock installed it was clear that some cabinet latches were needed to hold the doors in place against the frame. We purchased two catches for each door, top and bottom, and installed them. Here is a picture of the doors installed. Lots of information can be posted here about park rules and activities.

With the exception of mounting the front plexiglass when it is cut, the project is complete. The cost was covered by a Rotary grant. I do not intend to let myself be "volunteered" for anything like this in the future.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!