Wood Art #2: Biggest, Tallest Tree Photo Ever
It is a pretty awesome photo, but I won’t repost it here. Check it out over on NPR, which also has an article about it, a movie on the making-of, and a slideshow.
Redwood gate with glass insert
Ive very slowly been working on what could be considered my first “real” project. In that it is a project that is not for use in the shop. My mom had a very nice stained and stamped pation poured recently and installed a new cedar fence for privacy. So i volunteered to build a gate. She said that she wanted something that was very really nice looking and would be the focal point of the fence. So i drew up several sketches of some redwood gates, and asked what she liked the be...
new life for an old bird #1: eagle inlayed door re-use
this is a door i made 20 years ago , for my then new home .i worked in a production cab. shop at the time ,and built it after work in that shop ,every morning one of the owner’s would say ,” that’s a nice door , but get it out of here ,we need the room ” . not really true , as it was stashed away in a corner of the shop .so i was under pressure to finish it !it is 3’ 6” x 6’ 8” x 1 3/4” ( 42” x 80” x 1 3/4” ) exterior ent...
hand carved redwood bench #4: a smidgen of progress
Well we were able to put about 6 more hours into the bench project this weekend. The display cabinets have been consuming our free time, but I’ve decided to stop working on it at 5 and work from 5 to 8 on the bench. We still need to sand it all, screw it all together and shape the arm rests. It’s just sitting there and the mortises are what’s holding it together. I put the seat slats down onto it so I could test the comfort. I need to shape the front slat and radious al...
hand carved redwood bench #3: more progress
Well ladies and gents here are some more progress pics. I think this may be the end for awhile. I need to start a new job and it will be taking up all my free time. So this project will be on the backburner unfortunately. Anyhow, the back rest is carved, as well as one leg. We still need to do some sanding and such, and I need to make tool marks on the left and right sides of the back rest. But I don’t want to do that until I run the tenons. Just so everyone know, redwood is not s...
hand carved redwood bench #2: Some progress and an introduction
Well the bench is coming along about as slow as possible. Working full time now doesn’t leave much of a window for me to be out there carving. And with some commissioned jobs coming up it will be worse soon. So I’ve been sort of rushing the carving while I’m out there and have to say that I feel somewhat bad, as I am trying to blog how to carve as well. So the tutorial will still happen, but it may not be up par (if they ever are).Right now I want to say that I’ve r...
hand carved redwood bench #1: The materials, site, and thoughts
I’ve been building a fence here at the house I’m renting (see blog). I ended up getting 2 sections out of one board as opposed to the 1 section I originally thought so I figured I’d use some of the material for a couple of projects. The first one is this bench, the second will be a carved screen door. This project is going to be a little tricky because I don’t really have “fresh” materials, nor do I have the thickness’s I would buy if this was goin...
Craftsman Bungalow Restoration #20: Madness and The Deck
Home Tour MadnessIn two weeks (April 26) our house is going to be featured on the neighborhood home tour. Over 1000 people will be walking through…. gulp. I have a to-do list longer than my arm. I’ll give you more details on that later. Item 50: Build DeckPreviously we had a crummy set of dilapidated stairs leading to our back door. After some poorly planned landscaping we ended up with a dirt circle. Seen behind me in this picture. On the upside it was a good place ...
Desk backboard, cubicle conversation piece
This simple project was prompted by a forum topic, What do you do for a living? The topic was interesting to me because of the diversity of the folks, jobs, specialties of many of you. I guess with 6000 plus people on LJ’s, there’s gonna be quite a cross section of life. One thing that we all do have in common is our love of wood and what can be created with it. Seems that after we make something, we like to share with others. Problem is, after we share with our wife/mo...
Ebonizing; Steel Wool and Vinegar
A few months ago I had read an article about ebonizing wood with steel wool and vinegar. Awhile back I tried this and absolutely nothing happened. I never even tried again. Ebonizing is a stain of sorts I guess. I also have heard there are several ways of doing this. The reason the original article caught my eye was because I sure as hell don’t have the money to buy Ebony (wood), and I am forever wanting or needing dark/black wood for my projects and I do not like to use paint, to the ...
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