At the Carpenter's Shop

I am working on a couple of small DIY projects here.  I rewired a light fixture that had developed a broken wire as a result of my changing out a light bulb.  I decided to go with the 42 cent sockets instead of the 14 cent sockets to improve the overall quality of the fixture.  By the way, the Arabic word for "socket" is pronounced roughly, "why-a."  This caused me considerable confusion.  I don't want a wire, I want a socket.  "Who's on First?"


Next up were two projects involving some wood.  We want to put a hanging rod into one of our closets.  I needed two 1x4 cleats to fasten to the brick walls.  Yes, our closet walls are made of bricks, aren't everyone's?

Here, you don't just run down to Home Depot, pick out a 1x4 and have them cut it to length.  This is a job for a carpenter.  Fortunately, our friend, Roshdy, knows a good carpenter.  Roshdy took us over to the Carpenter's shop where we specified the length, width and thickness of my boards.  My efforts to get a "standard size" piece of lumber were roundly rejected.  Everything here is custom.

The carpenter's shop that we drove to is down one of those narrow streets in the labyrinth near the pyramids.  It was after dark when we arrived but when the carpenter opened the door, we entered a brightly lit workspace.


I left the measurements for the two cleats and also for two blocks of wood to raise the stove.  At home, I could have cut a couple of 2x4s for this task.  Here, I requested blocks exactly 6.5cm by 8cm and the required length.  The boards would be ready in 24 hours.  The larger blocks required the carpenter to go to a bigger shop to have them cut to custom size.

Naturally, I asked permission to take a picture of the shop.  The carpenter wanted to be in one of the pictures, as is usually the case.


This is his table saw.


And here, Roshdy and I are placing the blocks under the stove the next day.


I'm not sure why the stove has such short legs.  Perhaps because it is made for the Italian market?