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New Additions
This is Where I'll be Showing The Newest Projects to Come From My Shop
Click the pics for a larger view.
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Wall
Mounted Coat Rack
My Son-In-Law, Kelvin Solsberry, is an
aspiring woodworker. With Christmas upon us, he decided he would
like to make something for his wife, my daughter, Stephanie. We
thought of several different options, and this is Kelvin's pick,
from the November issue (# 145) of Wood Magazine. I thought it
might be a bit daunting, with the mortise and tenon joints, but Kelvin
took it on and never looked back. I think he did a fine job,
with very little help from me. The openings can contain mirrors,
cork board, chalk board or pictures. Kelvin decided on pictures,
one opening for each member of the family. Kelvin used solid oak
for this project and gave it a hand-rubbed finish, applying several
coats of polyurethane, for durability. All joints are mortise
and tenon, with no metal fasteners in the project. |
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View
from the Left
I
took these pictures of the coat rack, before the family pictures were put in
place. I hadn't asked if they wanted their pictures on the
Internet, so decided to take the safe route. Besides, they
didn't even know I was putting this on my site. |
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Rear
View
Chuck
Hedlund at Wood did a fine job on the design of this piece. It
seems he took everything into account. The retainers for the
pictures are plastic turn-buttons we purchased at a local hardware
store. They sit in a recess bored out with a 1 1/2 inch Forstner
bit. Kelvin used 1/4 inch fir plywood to back the pictures,
mostly because it won't be seen and, it's inexpensive. |
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Detail
of Picture Retainers and Keyhole Hanging Slot
Kelvin used
a keyhole router bit to cut the slots for hanging. The article
called for a special bit of hardware for this, but as we started the
project kind of late in the season, we didn't have time to order the
hardware. We
believe the keyhole slot should be just fine for the infrequent times
the frame needs to be removed from the wall for picture changes. |
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An
Urn for Eric
My
nephew, Eric Carl Anderson, died in April of 2001. I was honored
to be asked by his wife to build the urn to hold his ashes. I
selected oak as my wood of choice, as she wanted a light wood. I
planed 1" stock down to 1/2" thickness, for this project.
The finish consists of two coats of sanding sealer and two coats of
wipe on poly. |
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Corner
Detail
I
used an ogee bit to obtain the profile shown. The top does not
open and is not removable. Access is gained from the bottom via
the only mechanical fasteners in this box, four brass screws.
The corners of the case are mitered and splined, and the bottom has
the same ogee detail. I used ebony for the inlay. I've
never used it before and I like it a lot. The only negative
about it is, the sawdust and chips left from the machining, leave
little bits of black all over. It was somewhat disconcerting and
I found myself vacuuming, often. As you can see, I left the
inlay proud of its' groove by about 3/16". I think it adds
character to an otherwise plain piece. |
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Foot
Makes the Look
I
didn't want this piece to look like just a box, rather, the honored
place for a favored nephew. I gave a
lot of thought to what type of pedestal or feet it should have.
I'm pleased with the look I obtained with the beveled feet. |
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Mechanical Bear Bank
I built this bank from an article in the September 1997 issue of Popular Woodworking. The article actually was an excerpt from a book that I won't mention, here. The reason is, the instructions and photos just were not clear and this "weekend project" turned into much more time then I expected. Still, I'm very happy with the outcome. This is my first attempt at anything mechanical and with a certain degree of determination, I was able to overcome the poor presentation and, indeed, make this thing work! On the base of the bank, towards the left, you can see the new Sacajawea dollar coin. |
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Constructed of Solid Mahogany
The instructions called for "an easy to carve wood, like basswood." Well, I've never carved anything in my life, so what do I know? I had the mahogany within reach, so that is what I used. I shaped all the parts for the bear with my bandsaw, then I went to work on the head. I fumbled around with chisels and knives for just a few minutes, then broke out the Dremel. That was the answer, for me. The bears features just about leapt out of the wood, with just a few strokes of the Dremel. A couple of dabs with a Sharpie, and I had him.
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Click the Picture To See the Bear
Do His Thing
Here you can see the 2000 Sacajawea $1.00 coin I inset into the front of the case. The coins measure 1 1/16". I didn't have a bit that size, so I bought a 1 1/8" spade bit and ground it down. I had to grind the point also, or it would have gone through the front. It turned out pretty good. The lever is connected to a 1" dowel running horizontally, side to side. There are four cords inside the box, from the head and left arm. One cord from each attaches to a spring and the other attaches to the dowel, kind of like a pulley, with the springs supplying tension to hold the head up and the arm down. Moving the lever down creates a pull on the cord to give the head a nod and the arm salutes! |
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Dream Computer Desk
Built in Three Pieces.
My good friend Don Berg wanted to build a computer desk for his home office. So, he dutifully went out on the Net and, using some Search Engines, came up with a picture of a desk he liked. He then came up with a plan
based on the picture he found. He asked me if we could build it together in my shop. Ever the Good Buddy that I am, I said sure and this is the result of our collaborative effort. We would like to thank another good friend of ours, Ken Donner, who supplied ALL the hardware for this project. Ken has the good fortune to be able to secure this hardware, often at no cost, on a fairly regular basis. Thanks, Ken!
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The Master, Himself
Enjoying His New Surroundings
Here, you can see the open back. Don wanted to be able to do the wiring from back here, without pulling all the components out. We used 3/4" Oak plywood for the entire job, edging it with solid oak. Because the rear of the desk, shown here, is visible from the living room, we also faced the back edges. The desk measures 7 feet for each wing. Boy, I wish I had the room for a work area like this. Behind Don, and to his left, is a two drawer file cabinet. Thanks to Ken, that pullout
keyboard
shelf works smoothly, as do all the drawers. |
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