Oak and oak plywood hall table with woven amdrosia maple doors and inlay. A lof of “firsts” on this one. First attempt at a piece of “furniture”. I’m not an experienced finisher and dont have a HPLV sprayer so used a few coats of minwax stain/poly blend with steel wool in between coats to make it easier on myself.

Also first attempt using google sketch up. Ended up purchasing a video tutorial which was a huge help. This hall table was designed to fit a finch cage I built for my wife. (Cage is “working prototype ” out of poplar and i will post once the final is built). Doors were intended to be raised panel (again, FIRST time with cope and stick) but I made a last minute design change and used 1/16th” strips that I wove to make the “panels”. I liked this look better. Had fun laying out the pieces to created the accidental designs on the panels.

First attempt at tapered legs (only part below cabinet bottom is tapered). My teen daughter called it “legit”, my wife is o.k. keeping it in the hall, and the birds are still chirping. That’s good enough for me!

PS: Anyone know a good way to get iphone pictures or ipad pictures onto LJ?

Here is a display case that was commissioned by one of my most important clients (my son), and at the request of the rest of my families feet that kept stepping on LEGO pieces.

This is a purpleheart and Oak shelving/display unit for LEGO miniature figures (in LEGO speak, that’s “minifig”).

Bought 10”x10” LEGO plates (same as used for the earlier tray posting) and cut them into strips on the band saw. Mortise with router and then chisel corners.

NOTE: I used a thin application of gorilla glue since the bottom of the plates were not flat and that glue expands. The glue still squeezed out over time from the LEGO flooring and it took as much time to remove that squeeze out as it did to make the case! Live and learn…next time, using CA glue or whatever you fine Lumberjocks recommend.

Son likes to be able to remove a single row with minifigs from a specific set to go play with them, and the display case works because HE PUTS THEM BACK! VICTORY!

Thanks for looking.

Really enjoyed this turning project. I liked how some of the “natural edge” came through in the final turning. I am not a hunter, but got the rack from a co-worker as I always wanted to try antler turning. I promised him the pen in return. Got two good sized blanks out of it but one exploded on the lathe. I gave him the finished pen and hope to try another one later.

Learnings:
1. GO SLOW
2. This really SMELLS BAD, wear a mask and turn your ventilation on. Think “smoldering hair + sewage”
3. Drills very easy but go slow.
4. polish with micro mesh…and I also added several coats of CA. starting with medium and then using thin. go through the micro mesh (wet) grits after that as well.

1st real attempt at BSB, mothers day gift. Kids had fun at the costume jewelry store picking out it’s first “inhabitants”. Tremendous learnings on this one. I knew I disliked sanding, and this box confirmed it. broke down and purchased flocking tube ($6) at woodcraft. I wouldn’t attempt a good flocking job without it. I was pleased with how the micro-shredded suede turned out. Even more pleased with how the wife like it.

Anyone know the wood? I bought it for $1 at bin at rockler…it was called “project wood”. the top piece (of 4) had what appears to be striped spalting in it. There is a pen in the foreground to give you an idea of scale. This box was almost too big to do on my bandsaw and I had to “flip it over” to complete some cuts due to size. there are finger holes drilled in the back to get the drawers out. Wife preferred to go without pulls at this time.

Thanks for looking.

My son is a LEGO-fiend…and the bottoms of my feet aren’t getting any tougher when it comes to stepping on small LEGO pieces. So I made this “LEGO-tray” out of scrap and 8×10 LEGO sheets.

Before you say it…I know…the “six-fingered man” would appreciate the handles. That’s what you get for designing on the fly…or maybe I was just having too much fun with that forstner bit to notice!

Happy Thanksgiving Fellow LJ’s.

Received a pretty piece of walnut from a friend but it had some serious cracks in it. Kept it for a while wondering what to do and thought I’d sandwich it between some ply and try one of those plywood bowls. photos of glue-up included.

Fun to make, but wear your PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) when lathe-ing plywood!

Thanks go out to fellow LJ “lockwatcher” for his post on a simple and fun to make rolling shop cart frame. I thought I’d post mine that was fitted to house my air compressor.

The compressor would startle me in my basement shop every time it kicked on, so the noise reduction provided by encasing this cart is almost as valuable as it’s new found mobility.

Features:
1. Easy pull-off door (magnets—> screw head). Easy access as compressor is large and I can pull it out quickly if need be. I was concerned about possible overheating during heavy use. So far so good.

2. Designed with “under the table top” shelf is perfect to slide tools to keep top free of clutter. You’ll typically find my brad nailer and air wrench under there…

3. Hose holder made from scrap.

4. Have an old recycled computer desk-top that lays on top of cart and is held in place by a few cleats so I can roll it in place as a long outfeed table. (sorry, no pic of top)

5. Used all big box 2×12 to rip the lumber from. Greatest expense were the locking casters. Got a good deal from an on-line site (think it was called “highland woodworking”).

6. Top is hardboard “insert” that can be replaced when worn.

Thanks again to lockwatcher. I’m sure I’ll be making more of these.

I made the cutting board (maple and walnut) for my wife and she made the banana bread for me. I would say I got the better deal!

I have an explanation…after nearly 10 years of research and regulatory work my company has recently received registration for a prescription strength medication to treat head lice in children. One of the researchers we worked with has perfected a method of “breeding” head lice that are resistant to the most common over the counter medication. In appreciation for his wok (and because I wanted to see if it could be done) I asked him to send me some of his lice (yes…they were dead and floating in alcohol) and I cast them in resin. Result – a pen with lice in it…possibly gross to some but to a researcher a symbol of their work. I hope he likes it.

There is a photo of the casting included. I attempted to make 2 pens but my first one exploded on lathe (photo also included). For this casting I used “pre-painted” tubes from woodturningz (mesa pen kit). I painted my own tubes once and the paint sort of “curdled” when it came in contact with the resin. That pen looked really cool but I did not want this pen to have that same texture. Whatever color (or pattern or paper photo) surrounds the tube really “fills up” the pen once it is turned and polished, which is why this pen looks “solid white” when the resin is actually clear and only the brass tube is white.

I found the lice “really shifted around” when the mold was poured and many floated to the surface of the mold (and are now…well…in my DC….). I did not want to “superglue” the lice to the tube as I thought the glue may be visible, but if I do this again I will try that to get a better dispersion of the objects around the tube.

We needed a new pizza cutter. This kit was on sale today at Rockler. Has a nice threaded insert that you put in the handle and then you thread the fairly substantial cutter head on. Found it very easy to do. We eat lots of pizza, and the ability to screw off the blade section to put it in the dishwasher will come in handy

I threaded the insert onto a 5/16 bolt that I chucked in my drill press per the instructions. clamped the handle down and hand turned the DP to drive the insert into the handle while slightly raising the DP table.(I used the same DP setup to drill the hole so it went it straight).

Handle is olive wood. Finish is wipe on poly.

Anyway, I give the kit a thumbs up and will likely pick up a few more for gifts.

Wife and I went to a nice dinner for V-Day, so she said “don’t get me anything, the dinner is enough”. Well, I found this lovely and unique piece of olivewood in my shop and since my wife is also lovely and unique I knew they would go well together, and “technically” I didn’t get her anything for V-Day since it was already in my shop…

Didn’t have the right kind of chuck for my lathe for making a pendant, so I did it the old fashioned way. Steps are below.

1. cut wood
2. shape as best you can on disc sander.
3. hand sand
4. hand sand
5. repeat step 3 and 4 about 80 more times
6. add lines with wood burner to taste (optional)
7. apply poly, let dry
8. lightly hand sand
9. repeat steps 7 and 8 three more times
10. buff like you mean it
11. Give to spouse

My 12 year old daughter milled (in the kitchen) this severely spalted (with chocolate) yellow(cake)heart blank. It is about 4.5”x4.5”x18”.

The “spalting” is eerily reminiscent of chocolate icing mixed with white icing, and occurred with the help of my 3 youngest “lumberbakers”, who last week watched many episodes of “cake boss” on netflix while snowed in from school.

The saw blade appears to be a 24 tooth “creamy white” and the Kerf (see measurement photo) is a little hefty at 1/4”, hence the sawdust (DC is not hooked up yet to this machine, although voracious sucking/inhaling sounds were heard shortly after it was revealed).

I can’t take credit. The concept for this piece was by my wife, milling was my 12 year old daughter, and spalting was done by all 3 lumberkids (photo3).

Best lumber I have ever tasted…

These pens were made using acrylic blanks filled will shredded U.S. currency. I made 7 of them for an executive document signing between my company and a partner company. The pens were well received and added a fun touch to the event, representing the value of the contract we were embarking on.

I tried to include higher res photos so you can see the currency inside the blanks.

Though acrylic, these pens need to be finished with CA glue and polished as you would a wood pen because the money shards can be felt in the freshly turned blank and will get dirty (hand oils) with use if not finished. I normally use 10 coats of thin CA and polish to 12,000 grit, then diamond wheel buffer and muslin buffer most of my pens to remove all scratches possible.

It’s been a few months since these were given and I’m pleased to say when we meet they usually still have the pen on them! I’ve never sold any of my items, only gifted, so it’s neat to see them being used.

To make the blanks I shredded $100 bills and cast the shreds in acrylic molds. (Just kidding – I got the blanks on-line from Woodturningz. uses de-comissioned currency but it’s pretty “clean” looking). I have cast a few pens, though. Fun but time consuming. Will try and post those soon.

just had to use my lathe over the holidays. Grabbed small firewood piece (slightly green) and turned it. First time to turn “branch” between centers without cutting in half and avoiding the center wood. I assume it will crack some day, but fell in love with the unique grain pattern of this little chunk ‘o wood.

Thanks to everyone who posted info on how to make these. This was fun. Not so fun to sand…but fun nonetheless.

Saw so many of these on here just had to try. Used scrap 3/4” walnut and maple. Glue up photo is actually 2 boards, a larger and smaller “cheese server” size (just skipped glue in one joint). Used some Watco salad bowl finish I found at Menards…must say, it left the maple with a bit of a “pinkish/rosy” color that I wasn’t too pleased with. I think I’ll try something different on the smaller board. Oh well. wife likes it. And a happy wife…is a happy life.

Time to put away the lights…so…what could be better than procrastinating a few minutes in the shop! Scrap wood, nails are set at 3/4” and 1.5” intervals, round the handles a bit for comfort. Insert one end of light string in the 3/4” section to hold it. If you don’t have a helper, insert other end of light string under something heavy enough to allow for tension…and roll up those lights! Hook on the end of the handle and you can hang ‘em until next Thanksgiving.

Intended to use dowels but I don’t think the wife would accept “I can’t now honey, the glue is still drying” as an excuse. However, I think the nails work better as the heads seemed to provide sort of a guide/catch.

My apologies for putting such a “hack and hose” on here, but I really found this more useful than winding the lights around the empty wrapping paper tube or stuffing them back in the box and it only took 5 minutes to make.

...Unless of course the bottle is empty, then you can throw it away and open another and stop that one.

I’m thinking these will go in my “gonna be a gift for somebody at some point” pile. The olivewood (round) made me hungry when it was turned. Smells great.

Rats…picked up this bowl blank from the folks at woodturningz and for the life of me I can’t remember what it was. Brazilian Bocote? Any guesses?

Finished with wipe on poly.

The title says it all. Funny, seemed bigger before I measured it…maybe it’s time to calibrate my tape measure…