Week One Progress in Cooperstown, ND

Because there are no other RVICS couples at camp, Karen and I are teamed up to work the next three weeks together on our assignments. Adam, Cooperstown Bible Camp Director, needed some bunk bed safety rails built before the first campers arrive on June 16, so we started on Monday morning cutting 2x6x8 boards into the three component parts we would need to construct the attachment.

I set up a jig to stop the 8 foot board at 18 inches before making my first cut. Slide the board over, cut again and the second support is cut. The remaining length is our 5 foot rail.

The camp has a portable chop-saw I set up to cut the eight foot board into two 18 inch supports and one 5 foot rail. After cutting the rails, Karen used an electric router to trim all the edges and round them off. I adjusted the chop-saw to cut a 45º angle on the top and bottom ends on the outside of the vertical support. These also would be routered so all the edges were rounded smooth.

Following the cutting and routering of all the pieces, Karen began the process of using an orbital sander to smooth over all the surfaces before the assembly would begin. Karen is really enjoying working with all the new tools. She was initially reticent but after a brief demo she was all in.

While Karen is sanding the component parts I started the assembly of the bunk bed rails for 36 upper bunks.

With the bunk bed rails assembled, Karen began applying a wood sealer to protect the wood. All of this has been accomplished in the first three days of our first week in camp. Adam, the Camp Director, is thrilled with the progress we're making. Because the camp's insurance carrier has required these rails on the upper bunks before campers arrive, this is an important deadline and it is our priority project..

We work from 9:00 until lunch at 12:30. The camp staff is doing training and another organization, Children's Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), is also using the camp facilities while we are here. That means the camp's kitchen is providing meals for everyone including us, saving on our meal prep. At 1:30 we return to our job site and continue until 4:00. A six hour work day for both of us and we feel it by the time we get back to the trailer. A shower and a nap before dinner has become my routine the last three days.

Thursday, June 12 was installation day for the new bunk bed safety railings. We were able to finish 3 and a half girl's cabins and one of the two boys cabins before running out of the dry, completed rail assemblies. Karen and I would align the rails after I measured their location on the top bunk. We used clamps to hold them on the frame and checked the height. Once the rails were ready for mounting Karen would drill the pilot holes and I would follow up with the wood screw fasteners.

The installation process was completed in about three hours. We still have nine more rails to install next Monday. They are in the cargo trailer drying over the weekend. All in all, this was a productive and successful first week of camp in the books!