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37K views 314 replies 78 participants last post by  FatherHooligan 
#1 ·
And it begins.

Okay all. Time for something a little bit different.

This story has a preface:

When I was wee, I kept to myself. I was not particularly interested in playing with other children, though I did have some friends. I had a series of autoimmune disorders that kept me occupied (and often still do). I was allowed to have any books I wanted. While I did my fair share of reading of young adult literature (Nancy Drew!) my favourite thing - and thing I asked for most - were things about houses and architecture. Every time I saw a houseplan magazine in a store, we had to get it. I would spend hours looking at houseplans and I'd pull out the ones I loved most. I'd hang them up, much like most other girls would hang pictures of their favourite rockstars from the rags. I read up on all aspects of it, became very familiar with the different styles and architects and learned all about the engineering …

I've since gone on to (among many other things) learn the nitty-gritty of architecture and engineering.. which comes in handy.. although I have since decided that I don't really have the desire to build other peoples' houses all that much. I do want to build my house someday… but that is not today!

Anyway, I found a way for me to get my house-fix without having to finance building entire neighbourhoods was to work in miniature. I've been building since I was maybe 9 or 10. I am working on plans for a really impressive one - with working plumbing, even! - but I'm waiting until I can get everything "just right".

Since many of you follow along you may know that I do not have access to most of my tools right now… and I don't have a workshop.. unless you count the 50 sq feet I can squeeze out of my garage. So I opted to play it small (no pun intended) and go with a pre-made kit.

I don't consider this "real woodworking".. I'm going to be blogging about this over on my website, mostly, but I'm going to mention the woody related things here. In particular, I'm going to do some very fussy finishing work. So, whatever is relevant I will post here and whatever is not, I will do a short post letting you all know there is more going on… Seems like a good system! :)



Here we go. The big parts are MDF, the little parts are solid wood. (Some kind of SPF I'm sure - they're not Balsa, they are a bit sturdier than that.)



The doors - which I love. Mostly I like the fact that they are actually separate panels, they open and close.. The front door has a panel of plastic in it. I may or may not remove it and put in a slightly sturdier piece of plastic. I will be adding plastic to the tiny windows on the top.. I have some colourful stock that is just perfect.



The exterior colour scheme. I learned a long time ago to always spray paint the clapboard siding… I do not need to prove my patience to anybody.



And the wallpaper for the interior.

I'm going to try and hit Woodcraft sometime soon and see what they've got in stock for pretty pieces of exotics. And thinking inlay pieces could make for some neat borders. I need to hammer out what to do for the floors. The craft store sells wood plank flooring (pine) but it's stupid expensive - $10 for a single room. I mean, it's nice in that it's pre-cut and on a sticky back so you just stain and go. But I feel I can do better.. I don't mind doing some sawing next time I'm with my tools.. but I have no table saw right now.. anything I can do on a mitre saw would be fine.

I printed out my list of suggested woods from the thread I posted a bit back so I will be keeping that in mind.

The theme I am kind of going with is "Remodelled Farmhouse". Traditional exterior but extremely modern, refinished interior that still has hints of the past.

Should be fun.
 
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#232 ·
One room done...

Pretty small update today. I worked on this for quite a while last night, actually, but progress was slow. It was a lot of measuring and re-measuring.

I mentioned the other day that I cut up a bunch of cherry and mahogany. I still forgot to take a photo of the lot. Ooops. The cherry was salvaged, from a shipping pallet. I have used some pieces of it for my "tiny art" series wall hangings. I had a plank of it with me, that was ready to go for more engraving (It even had one side covered in silver spray paint, ready to go) but I decided it would serve a better purpose here.



So this is what I did yesterday. No "in progress" shots as the progress was pretty boring.

I papered the ceiling in this room. I am going to do something kind of spectacular for the main floor ceiling, but I decided it would not work for the smaller rooms on the second storey. and of course, the third storey does not have a traditional ceiling. If it were a real house it would have a flat part, but on this scale it would end up feeling cramped. I've been thinking about it…

Anyway. I papered the ceiling with a pattern that I felt was appropriate. I then put two of those cherry planks in the ceiling. They are not intended to look load-bearing, it's definitely just a decorative thing. I may, however, put the continuing planks in the other rooms, when I get there. I finished the cherry with orange oil + caranuba wax.



A close up of the ceiling. Glue is still very wet here - everything will flatten out as it dries.

I then finished out the trim in there, and finished out the trim in the little stair-room. Which was a pain. I can almost fit my hand in there to glue the trim, but I can't see it. I had to put it in place, walk around the house and look in from the window to see how it looked.



Like that :)

I've had a few people comment about the colour scheme I chose… :D I did it very much on purpose. I have seen dollhouses that are hyper-realistic in their decor and they almost always end up looking a little boring. In person being in a room with solid walls and a couple of pieces of art here and there may be "enough", in a tiny house it just looks like you've left it unfinished. The best little houses I've ever seen go a bit over the top, are just a wee bit excessive in their ornateness. It would definitely be a little too much to live in, but for a diorama of sorts, it's exactly what I want. Just wait until you all see what I put IN the house…. :D

If you have not figured it out yet, I have a love affair with mixing patterns and I am not done yet! hee.
 
#233 ·
Lis,

This is beginning to remind me of my aunt and uncle's farm house. So many rooms and each one a bit different from the rest; having to go thru one room to get to the next and multiple staircases made for many a summertime adventure.

Thanks for bring back so many happy memories.

Lew
 
#241 ·
I've always wanted a ceiling like that.

I finished out the stair-room today. Oopmh, that was a lot of wood in such a tiny room!



I couldn't find a mirror, but when I do, I will take a photo behind the stairs pointing up. The trim goes all the way around, on all four levels, even though only dust bunnies will be able to see it. I couldn't let it be unfinished.

The pattern on the ceiling is very big, but also very non-invasive. It's pale blue and white, which evokes the feeling of the sky. I've done insanely big patterns, such as this, on real-scale ceilings and they always look awesome.



I did the bathroom, too. Again with the ceiling. I've always wanted a ceiling like this. I had this paper, waiting for a good use in this house, when I realised I had a use just waiting for it. Yeah! The text is the same colour as the wood stain, too, so it is really tied together. I'm imagining laying in the bath, relaxing and looking up. It would make me smile. Especially works as this room is very tall for its width.

I could use some suggestions from you all. The bathtub is going right next to the window. It will fit longways, so there is no weird gap between the edge of the tub and the wall. I planned the size of the room, for that. I want to make a wooden bathtub frame/surround. I will make the tub-part to fit in it myself, should be fairly easy.

Give me bathroom suggestions! It doesn't need to be historical, as I'm pretty sure the ceiling is a good indication the room has been remodelled somewhat recently. ;) But it does need to fit within the general aesthetic of the house. As you can also probably see if you look carefully, the planks right at the back aren't perfect. I wasn't too concerned, because the tub is going there. I'm also going to mount the tub in permanently-I didn't put baseboards in this room, because I want them to butt up against the tub.

I was going to work on the tub tonight until I realised I had no plan at all. Aside from just making a box.

It would be especially cool for ideas for the sink/toilet that also utilise wood. (but are realistic!)
 
#242 ·
tub across the end ,
toilet in between partial walls on right ,
they can be high enough for a shower curtain
at tub end , light still passes over walls .
towel closet from toilet to tub ,
vanity coming forward same side from partition wall from toilet ,
cabs under , against same wall . opposite door .
light from window reaches everywhere
and partitions create privacy space ,
tub entry somewhat restricted ,
but it's an old house ,recently remodeled !

better get some curtains on the window ,
there is some giant peeking in with a camera (LOL) !
 
#250 ·
Not quite ready for a bath



I made a bathtub.

This was a chunk of mystery wood. I cut it down to size and milled out the interior. I painted the interior white.



I played around with veneer. I've never used this before… not sure how I feel about it - would perhaps be nicer to work with on larger materials and/or blocks without tub holes in them.. lol

I used some purpleheart for trim. I'm going to do some fancy trim to this.. not quite sure what. But it's far from done. I think the mix -and- match feeling suits the rest of the room.

The tub is glued into the floor and wall, and the trim is glued into everything. I need to source down some hardware for the faucets.



In other news, I did some work on the attic. I put some trim in there which I'm pretty pleased with. And then I sealed the floor with epoxy. Wow! Such an impact. I have found my ballroom floor.
I loved it so much I already did a layer on the bottom floor. It should be cured by morning.

Not quite sure what the next step is. :)
 
#251 ·
moving right along here , lis .
the detailing is really coming together well .

and you are right ,
your 'dance floor' looks very nice .

how long before you figure to move in ,
assuming scotty gets the proportional transporter running in time , LOL ?
 
#272 ·
Tedium



Where we left off: I mentioned putting the epoxy on the main floor, and here it is. It looks great! :)



It's hard to convey in photos, but the wood really shimmers. I think the combination of shellac + epoxy was absolutely perfect. I think if I had just put epoxy on it, it wouldn't have the same feel. The padauk in particular really shines - it has a lot of figure. It also bleeds, as you can see in the corner there. I don't mind (and there's nothing I can do about it now, anyway) but it isn't helping me when I insist to my friends and visitors that I did NOT just stain pieces of wood differently. I have found most people don't really realise wood actually comes in different colours. I was a bit disappointed that the purpleheart doesn't look super purple, but it's definitely there. I mistook it for walnut in a couple of places.

Anyway.

The second storey was still epoxy-free. I was originally going to install the furniture in the bathroom and then apply the epoxy. and I started working on that last night when I realised the floor wasn't level in the place where I was going to put the sink. So… I put the epoxy down.



Did not get a shot of the bathroom, but I think you all get the idea by now. ;) As you can see, the reflections on this stuff is just magic.

Since I was now waiting for epoxy to dry in the bathroom, I couldn't really work on anything IN the bathroom. So I worked on the sink cabinet and I will get it glued in later today, I imagine.



Didn't get progress shots of this but this is what I spent a lot of time working on. the "counter top" is made from a pen blank I found at Woodcraft. In fact it was this pen blank, if anybody is interested. I ran it through my bandsaw and ended up with 5 slabs with the most amazing patterns.

The legs are from a walnut dowel I found at Woodcraft, also - I believe it was a whole $0.93. I mounted the legs to a piece of maple (leftover floorboard, actually) and then the maple to the acrylic. The sink will sit on top, with exposed plumbing.

So.. the sink…....



This is a slightly long and meandering story. I was shopping online yesterday at my favourite miniature supplier and noticed they had exactly 2 sinks (that weren't attached to something) The kitchen sink offered was alright - it looked like a standard double kitchen sink. The bathroom sink was your typical in-counter round offering, and made out of clear plastic. You are supposed to paint the underside of it. It's pretty decent, but just not my style. I know this is a farmhouse…. but I just can't escape my own personal taste.

So I decided to make my own out of polymer clay. I started with a hunk of white with a little grey and then rolled in some accents of blue and green, to match. It was going to be a lovely marble. Only problem: the first 15 tries turned out badly and I kept kneading the clay to start over, which means eventually I ended up with a block of solid seafoam. I rolled in a little white and grey scrap to try and salvage it but the colour was just terrible for the room. No problem, I carried on. Eventually I hit upon a sink design I love.

And there we are.

I did more to it today but have not taken photos of it yet, so you'll have to wait and see.

I need to make faucets and pipe for it. I am also going to make those out of clay. Eventually.

The bathroom is basically functioning as my practise zone for the kitchen, which I want to be perfect.

I also have a few plans to make the sink fixture actually "make sense" in the room. Haven't done it yet, but I have everything waiting for the moment of inspiration to strike.

In the meantime, I'm taking a day off and am going to the beach. :)
 
#273 ·
This is quite inspiring to see all your progress, Lis! I guess we are taking shifts because I took yesterday off and went to the beach!

I know just what you mean with the flooring. The shellac penetrates and makes the wood look almost metallic the way it shines. I agree that you probably would have not had that effect if you had just put the epoxy on them. I love the slight bleeding too. I don't know why, but it really adds to the realism of the whole project. I also found that many pieces of purple heart are more dark brown than others. I guess it is the luck of the draw.

The sink and bathroom will be amazing. I was actually wondering last week if you were intending to use clay for them. (I think Fimo even comes in silver and gold metallics). I can't wait to see how they turn out. I know it will be awesome.

I hope you have a great day 'off' today. If I know anything about you though I know you will be thinking about kitchens and pluming and fixtures, etc. :)

Thanks so much for showing us all these details. I love your story!

Sheila
 
#281 ·
A little update.



this is what the table looks like un-taped. I also added the inlay which I think ties it into the rest of the house really well. I have to say, there is something about the balance between modern and the traditional.



This is what it looks like from above.

So what I did to the sink was spray it with satin nickle paint and then clear gloss. It gives an interesting look when it is finished, I think. I like it.

I encountered a minor problem with the doors upstairs. The epoxy I poured the other day soaked into the SPF wood and epoxied the doors shut. Ooops! I took them out, but they broke at the epoxied part. I dug that out, and glued them back together. So I will need to figure out how to re-mount the doors when all the framing is in place. (They use pins)

A very brief update.. but I wanted to show you all how the sink turned out! :)
 
#285 ·
Another tiny update



Today I took off the tape holding the table to the wall, and a little bit of the wallpaper came with it! Ooops! Fortunately I was already kicking around a plan for what to do there. I had these little mirrors, and I was going to use one of them anyway. But I had already been kind of pondering how to make it look like it wasn't an afterthought.. So this was just perfect. Unfortunately I didn't think it through too much because I didn't know what I was going to use for the trim. I kicked around using something smaller, but in the end I felt the thick, sturdy trim weighted it. I had to shave a little bit off of that piece that goes above the sink. Oops.

After it's all solidly cured I will clean the windows. :)

I also have a plan for the sink-but it has to wait!



The other little thing I did was the bit of trim on the tub. This covers up the tiny split I had in the wenge, and just makes it look a lot more pulled together I think. I like it.

I will eventually make everything for the tub shiny.. because it should be able to stand up to water.

And that's the last update on this from me for a week at least. I'm off to a conference in Malibu until Tuesday! :)
 
#291 ·
And we're back

Hey everybody!

Haven't been able to make any progress on this project lately, due to lots of travelling and then the work backlash that happens after lots of travelling..

Last night I had some time avaiable and decided to work on this.



I am using simple balsa wood for the frame of this. There's no reason to use anything heavier. So, I glued together the base frame and then glued some heavy cardboard to it. I considered using wood for the bottom, since traditionally plywood is used for this application. But any sheets of wood I have that would have been appropriate were all nice veneers. I don't want to use those. :) Cardboard is just fine. You're not going to see it.



Glued in some vertical supports. I drew some guidelines in the bottom so I'd know where I definitely didn't want support rails. And as you can see, this was all done with super glue. I love this particular stuff. You hold it tight for a few seconds and then it is strong enough to hold on its own.



And then did some creative gluing on the top half to make a full structure. I was a little torn about the construction process. Using methods you'd find in full-size cabinets don't quite work here because there really isn't opportunity for fasteners - either the wood kind (dovetail, dowel, etc) or the metal kind (screws, nails). While it's not exactly a weight-bearing structure, I do need it to be able to support itself, so. Again, you'll never see this part, so it is okay.

Then did some major head scratching. Didn't want to use wood for the top. Almost - very, very almost - used cardboard with a paper veneer. In fact I had cut out the cardboard and was leafing through my papers to decide on one when this piece of plastic fell out of the paper pile. I had looked at my plastic inventory but didn't have anything suitable. So this was exciting! I drew some lines and then cut it out on the bandsaw. This was my first attempt at cutting free form on the bandsaw. I didn't want to cut the hole out completely, so this was tricky.



It worked out well in the end I do think. White wasn't my first choice, but I worked with what I have, and I will make it look integrated by the time I'm done.



I set it in the room to get a feel for how it looks. Yay! If you hadn't figured it out yet, it's the kitchen counter. The space at the end is for the fridge. If you look closely, you can see that I even put the toe-kick in it. :) I added some supports around the sink, too. By the way, I had decided a while back what kind of sink design I wanted to do.. I like the big porcelain ones that sit right on the edge, rather than the stainless ones that sit in the centre. Which is why I made the sink cut-out like that. I did not realise how close to the trim on the wall it would come - not sure what to do about that yet. I can raise the whole counter a little so it's even (I have some very thin balsa) or I can put the fridge up against that corner instead of in the opening for it right now.

I'm going to skin it with… something … and then figure out how exactly to do the doors and drawers.
 
#302 ·
Welcome back Lis, missed your posts and was wondering about that but you did mention something about traveling. I figured you were too busy to take time out but better busy than not!

I know I am being shameless but have you seen my new cutting board? I'm quite proud of it!

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
 
#305 ·
My first dovetails!

So the discussion in my last blog really got me thinking and for whatever reason this evening I decided to give dovetails a shot. I've never done any sort of locking joinery before… in fact I've only even tried mitred joints a few times without all that much luck.



I figured it out.

This is 3/32×1/8 balsa wood. It was just two scrap pieces I thought I'd see if I could actually do it. Determining that, in fact, I could, I set about making the drawers.



Drawing it out helped a lot. Really need a better marking tool but my super fine pencils don't quite stick and when I tried to mark with my knife I ended up just cutting it all the way through. Er, oops.



My first dovetailed drawer frame! WOOHOO.



And my second.

I only made two tonight. That was more than enough to go cross-eyed. The counter needs four. I cut out the planks for the other two, they just need to be cut for the joints. I tried really, really hard to keep a slight angle to the dovetails so that they wouldn't be just straight finger joints. And amazingly, it made a big difference! These pieces for the drawers are 3/32×1/4 basswood. Super nice to work with!

I put bottoms on them - nothing fancy just 1/64 basswood.



This is one of the drawers sitting in its spot. I made a little brace so that it sits on that.. just like a real kitchen. (I inspected my own kitchen to see what would make sense)

Of course, the drawers will get proper drawer fronts. Those, I imagine, will be made out of a nice hardwood. Kind of leaning towards padauk..! We'll see.

I glued the joints together because the wood just isn't sturdy enough to grip all on its own. I did a friction fit in several places and it still wiggled free pretty easy. Nothing a little CA glue can't fix. :)

By the way, thanks for the encouragement, guys! I definitely would not have tried this otherwise.
 
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