kscans

Chapter 121 - The Yuri Village Renovation Plan 4. The Workshop

With the emergency repairs on the houses more or less complete, Yuri moved on to considering a matter that had been on his mind. Securing a workshop. For small repairs, it was one thing, but he couldn't do major jobs like lumber processing outdoors forever. Yuri's village, located in the mountains, got a fair amount of snow in the winter. The thought of working outside, pushing through snowdrifts and enduring snowfall, was something Yuri wanted no part of.

"In that case, securing a workshop is essential... but I guess that’s the only place."

It wasn't that there were no candidate buildings. There was one house with a strangely large earthen floor room, which looked for all the world like it had been used as a workshop. He suspected it had probably been used for refining the rock salt they had dug up, but...

"It has no tools in it now, so it's perfect for a workshop."

And so, he decided to use that one house as his workshop. Fortunately, it wasn't too far from the lumber storage and drying shed. It was a convenient layout for woodworking.

"I can just gather up the tools I bought in Laurenzen and put them in this hut. Maybe I’ll move the scrap wood over here too."

He felt like a workbench would be a good idea, but unfortunately, he didn't know what shape or size would be best. A bench would probably be good for planing, but since Yuri used `Wood Transformation` to smooth surfaces, the plane he had gone to the trouble of buying had no chance to be used. As for the workbench, he decided he could just make one with Earth Magic when it became necessary.

"Now, as for what to make here in the workshop... I guess I have to start with that."

The "that" Yuri was thinking of was a chair. When Old Man Audel and Dona had visited his house before, the chairs made with Earth Magic had seemed heavy and difficult for them to use. He himself had gotten used to them and hadn't noticed...

"I don’t know if I’ll have more guests in the future, but I shouldn’t forget the spirit of hospitality."

...That was certainly one of the pretexts, but more than that, with Yuri's still clumsy skills, a chair was about the right level of difficulty.

"...I mean, rather than jumping into making a cupboard or a dresser, it’s standard to start with something a little less difficult..."

Enough with the excuses.

In any case, it was decided that the first thing to be made in the workshop would be a chair. A three-legged round stool, the same type he was currently using. The reason for three legs was a matter of stability. A three-legged structure is easy to stabilize, or rather, it's extremely difficult for it to become unstable. With four legs, if it’s poorly made or the ground is uneven, it's common for one leg to lift off the ground. But with three legs, that doesn't happen. So for a beginner like Yuri, starting with three legs was appropriate. The reason for a round stool was a practical one, it didn't matter how you placed it or sat on it.

"Even so, cutting the wood properly, carving out the mortise holes, and fitting the tenons in them... it’s going to be pretty tough..."

Yuri muttered this as he drew a blueprint and began his work, but...