This is a wall mounted display cabinet that I built for my dad recently. He is 89 and lives in a senior assisted living center just a few blocks from me. He seems to be spending his time buying replica model cars out of catalogs and he had them standing all over the apartment so I decided to build him a cabinet to display them and clean up the apartment a bit. The cabinet is about 26 by 36 inches and 5 inches deep. Its built from red oak. I dovetailed the sides together. The back is oak paneling. The front has a glass door. I put in adjustable glass shelves leaving him some room at the top for any future purchases :-)

The finish is oil stain with two coats of shellac.

This is a steamer trunk that I just finished for my son and fiancee’s wedding which is coming up on June 6th.
The trunk is made from reclaimed American Chestnut. The plan came from The New Yankee Workshop series, but I did make some changes. I excluded the wooden feet and put on brass studs for feet. I also used drawbolts for the cover. I thought that the metal straps on the cover looked better terminating into the hinges on the back, and also terminating into the drawbolts on the front. I also built a shelf that fits in a wooden support bracket inside the top edge of the trunk. I chose to use a lock set rather than a knob on the lid. I also added an antique metal rosette on each end of the lid. Otherwise its pretty much Norm’s plan. I may take a 5X7 picture of my son and fiancee, antique it, and glue it to the inside of the lid…just havent decided on that yet. Doing some computer work to see what I can come up with.

The finish is an oil based stain from Minwax called Early American, and there are four coats of orange shellac covering it.

Again my poor photography skills are showing up. The color is more like the dark pictures rather than the lighter picture of the back showing the hinges.

I had a friend tell me that she had a quilt that she wanted to hang on the wall on a curtain rod, but she had to sew loops in the quilt so it would hang on the rod. I decided to build her a quilt hanger that doesnt require hanging loops on the quilt. I am sure many of you have seen these before. It’s actually two pieces of wood (narrow boards) that are the length of the end of the quilt. You insert the edge of the quilt between the back and front board, then screw down the knobs and it pinches the quilt and holds it in place. I routed a dado through the middle of the back of the front board so the quilt would bunch up and lock between the front and rear board. The knobs have threaded studs in them that screw into a T-nut that is mounted in the back of the rear board. I used a keyhole router bit to cut a couple of hanging slots in the back of the rear board so it can hang on the wall. I also used the router to put a decorative trim along the front board. It’s made from pine with a colonial oil stain. This paticular one I use to hold a flag in my family room.

A few years ago I visited an old colonial farm house that was on display. I noticed that they had these shelves over the window frames and door frame. I thought they looked neat since they fit so close to the frame and utilized the space above the door and window frames. I decided to try a couple. The first two pictures is a shelf that I built that fits over a door frame. The third picture is a similar shelf over a double window. This shelf is much longer than the one on the door frame. They make great storage areas for antiques and collectables without taking up room in the middle of a wall. You could also run a rod between the side supports for curtains if you wanted. They are made from pine and stained with an oil antique stain.

For those that know me well, they know that I’m a neat freak. It’s common for me to stop working on something in the shop just to clean work surfaces, sweep the floor, and put away unused tools. I like a clean environment to work in. I don’t like things out of place and I hate it when the shop is dusty or dirty, or I have to spend time looking for something…which can be often when I am building something…ha ha ha. I was getting tired of going through drawers of sandpaper looking for what I need. I decided to build a sanding station a few months ago. It was built out of scrap plywood. I also created a shelf at the top to store my sanders. I screwed it to the wall, and now I can see and find everything for sanding that I need.

This was a good weekend project. I decided to build a box mount for my dovetail jig. The box not only raises the jig up from the workbench so its easier to use, but it also allows me to easily clamp it to the bench.

I made the box from scrap poplar. Of course I dovetailed the top board to the sides, and used a dado to attach the sides to the base. I left ears on the bottom sides so I can clamp it to the bench. The box has a door on the backside. For hinges, I used some scrap piano hinges. The inside of the box can be used for storage of dovetail jig parts. I bolted the jig to the top of the box and put some handles on the sides so it can be easily carried.

This is the second cabinet like this that I have made this year. This one was for my daughter for Christmas. I had posted a comment earlier regarding the trouble that I was having with the gel stain. Thanks to all of your responses and help, it worked out just fine. She just picked it up and she is thrilled with it, so all the work was well worth it.

I was looking around the antique shops for an old box to store firewood in for my family room. Couldnt find one that was fairly small, but yet sturdy. Decided to design one that would hold about two wheelbarrows full of wood. I used 3/4 inch pine panels for the sides and top. I fluted the sides to make it look like individual pine boards. I put a 3/4 inch plywoood bottom in it, added some trim, a couple of strap hinges. I left the lid hang about 1/2 inch over the front for something to grasp when lifting the lid. I have built several of these for friends. On the next one I build, I think I will use an old piece of a leather belt for a handle on the lid.

This box makes a great toy box too. Just need to add the lid safety support.

You might recognize this project as a U-BILD design. I made a few alterations like using dados/rabbets for the side and back panels,, and also the drawer slots. I also used dovetails for the drawers and a bit of a different necklace hook arrangement inside the side doors. This paticular one I made for a friend from red oak. I have another in production for my daughter which is made from Wisconsin Cherry. Completion date Xmas 2008…surprise !

My sister was looking for an old antique cabinet to display her Dept56 items. She wanted to set up her items in the cabinet, open the doors to display her collection during the Christmas season, then close the doors and let it stand until the next year.

All of the old country cabinets she looked at in antique shops were shaky and falling apart not to mention expensive for what she would get…she was worried about them collapsing with her expensive collection in it.

I decided to design and build her one. This one has 3 adjustable shelves inside and two drawers to store odds and ends. After assembling it and filling the nail holes, I went back and placed cut nails along the cabinet corners and along the cross braces in the front to give it that antique look. I distressed it, even adding a few worm trenches in the wood with a wood burning tool.

I also put lift off hinges on the doors so the doors can be easily removed for display. This way it doesnt take up a lot of room with the doors open. The cabinet is shallow (15”) so I built the bottom side under the skirt with extra framing and support to add weight and stability so it doesnt tip when the doors are opened.