This has been an enjoyable event. I made an awl and marking knife out of walnut and maple that went to OnlyJust Me. The brass ferrules were turned down from some old air fittings, and the blades were ground and polished from old screwdrivers. The last 2 photos is an extra I made for myself out of birdseye maple and nickle hardware…..

I gotta admit, This has been a real challenge. Not only squeezing this project out of a small piece of wood, but coming up with something to build to begin with. Just when I was about to throw in the towel on this one, the idea came to me over a couple of beers.

So here it is. 1×4x36 rough cut oak, 144 cubic inches of pure awsome…..

The sides were resawed to a half inch while the inserts and bottom was finished to one quarter. Corner splines of eastern cedar and walnut were added as an added touch. The carrier was wiped down with a coat of BLO….

I made this frame from a gift box for my Cousin. The mirrored print is behind glass and the rock tumblers are set in their morticed shelves. The frame is white oak with black dye and two coats of wipe-on poly…..

During a full kitchen remodel, I decided to build a pot rack instead of another cabinet beside the stove due to the location of the newly built breakfast bar. After finishing the rack, I figured I’d go ahead and post it ahead of the rest of the kitchen.
The rack is a mix of red and white oak. I used a half lap on the center section which doubles as a shelf for the 2 big pots. The hardware is imitation wrought iron (satin black paint) with imitation cut nails…..

Have you ever woke in the morning and rushed to the shop to check the calendar because you just know that you’re forgetting to do something? I’d like to blame it on that, but the truth is, I procrastinated. Yes, I put it off until the last minute. So grab the scrap bucket and brass wire, and bounce it off of the lathe a couple of times, combine it with a nice dinner and I think I can save this thing…..

The small bud is Boxelder and the larger bud is cedar with red and yellow dies and finished with a wax. The vase is eastern cedar with a coat of BLO and poly. The middle was drilled for a test tube so that it could hold water for a real flower…..

What do ya think, does it look last minute???

What was I thinking? As soon as I put their toys in the box, they were there to drag them out again.

I built this toy box just to play around with different profiles on my shaper and experiment with some finishing techniques. The wood is oak with a coat of Minwax dark walnut stain. After the stain had dried overnight, I sanded the box back down (leaving the dark in the grain and the beading) and re-stained it using Minwax natural. It is finished with simi-gloss poly…..

What do you get when you cross a warped child with a mortician? Well, Hopefully a couple of Grandkids, but for now you get the opportunity to build a couple of unique projects.

Some of my LJ buddies have asked me, why the table, why the urn box, why the book? Allow me to explain.
The stage is the Gothic Chapel of Crown Hill Cemetery. Now if that doesn’t make the hair stand up on the back of your legs, then let’s throw in a reception at the funeral home.

When my son asked for a box to put cards/cash in at the reception, I suggested mounting it to a table. Little did I know at the time that I would just be adding to my own workload. What about a guest book? (open mouth and insert foot again)

The table is white oak with morticed Cabriole legs. The finish is black dye that has been rubbed out with steel wool then a coat of simi-gloss poly to give it an antiqued look. The urn is cherry with a birdseye maple trim around the top and corner inserts. A card slot has been cut into the side. The lid/top is glued on with an open bottom. The box is accessed by removing 4 screws that attaches it to the table. The cherry and maple have a BLO finish. The guest book is a dye and black poly box elder with a maple hinge…..

Thanks for looking…..

When my Granddaughter came to me and said ’’Papaw, I need something that is sleek and fast that will outrun Mommy’’. (well that’s what she would have said if she could talk but she’s just turning a year old) But anyway, I knew that for her birthday, I would either have to turn over the keys to the convertible or make a special trip to the wood shop. This was a tough decision to make, but I chose to hang on to the keys for at least another year.

Instead I re-sawed this Bi-plane from a laminated construction header that I had laying around. I used 5 inch, rubber tire, ball bearing wheels mounted on a 1/2 inch steel rod with threaded ends. The rear wheel is a swivel rubber wheel caster.

My original plans was to dye the wood yellow with black stripes as a bee, but after the black dye bled and over took the yellow, I went to plan ‘B’. I primed, filled, sanded, and primed some more before shooting two coats of enamel over it.

Thanks for looking…..

Another LJ had seen my G-scale shelf layout and told me I needed to post it since it was made of WOOD. So here it is. The shelf is 3/4” plywood attached to the wall with brick molding. The shelf is then supported with rods that go thru the ceiling and into the attic. The plywood edge was then capped with a 3/4” molding before primer and paint was applied…..

This is a machinist add-on box for some large mic gauges. The box measures 42” wide by 12” deep and 9” tall. It is made from red oak with a nicely grained white oak drawer front. The knobs are also white oak that was turned on the lathe. The drawer is maple with a lined bottom and tool rests. The band-aid on the front is walnut to patch a small knot crack. (as seen in last pic) The finish is Minwax stain with 3 coats of poly…..

I made this rocking horse for my newborn Granddaughter. It may be a while before she can ride it but, you can never start to early on spoiling them.

The horse is made from some walnut that I’ve had set aside, waiting on that special gift. (I figured it was time) The saddle and rockers are made from oak. The finish is BLO and beeswax…..

I sawed, joined, turned, shaped, routed, sanded, and even smacked it with a hammer a few times. I think I tossed this tubafore into just about every tool in the WoodShack before it finally took shape. A few of them even tossed it back. So here it is, my pine box. What else would you do with a tubafore?

This is a pie box for the Mrs. It is a mix of cherry wood with an aged cherry trim. (all from the scrap pile) The integrated hinges were made from the blog of the master hinge builder shipwright. I also have to give thanks to Kent Shepherd for his inspirational boxes for which I borrowed a few ideas from. The box holds two pies stacked on top of each other so that she can carry them to family gatherings and such. The finish is two coats of Howard feed-n-wax. Now I have to go put my order in for a cherry pie :)

Started clearing out my scrap pile, I was able to shape some of it into a lathe bench with a 3 drawer accessories cabinet. Most of it is recycled 2×4’s and plywood. The drawer glides and solid brass knobs (worth more than the cabinet) were donated by a friend…..

This bookcase was built for a friend as a Christmas gift for his daughter. It is built using 3/4” oak plywood with oak facing and finished with Deft polyurethane. It was inspired by Konquest’s walnut cantilevered bookcase/room divider.

While looking for something to pass the time today, I stumbled upon a dummy crank phone box that I had picked up at an auction. I grabbed some oak from the rack and immediately started making sawdust. I used a box joint on the sides, a lil’ roman ogee on the front, and turned the crank handle out on the lathe. Now let’s see how long it takes my daughter to find the phone…..

Yep, It’s another box. This one is cherry with what i believe to be a soft maple lid and splines. It is a piece that I got out of a truck load of hardwood I bought and couldn’t resist doing something with it. I have seen markings similar to this in other soft maples. If anyone has any ideas on it I would like to hear them…..

Now that Christmas is over and the WoodShack is somewhat swept and reorganized, I can sit down and start uploading some projects. These are a couple of simple keepsake boxes, the first is ash, the second is poplar. They are both trimmed in walnut.