if you arrange them just so, they will look a little like this:

This project has pretty much consumed me for the majority of this year. I’m not complaining though. I’ve learned a ton about myself while putting these bottle stoppers together.

I’m currnently in the process of ensuring that the next time I post 2299 segments after turing there are far fewer bottle stoppers displayed!

Stay tuned!

As you can see, the dying process mostly worked, but not 100%. I’m not really sure I like the color selection anyway, but it would have been better if each piece of dyed maple had dyed completely. I wonder now if using a pressure pot is the only way to ensure that each piece gets 100% color saturation… time and testing will tell I suppose.

here’s a detail shot of the piece.

Any feedback, suggestions & insights would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve been a big fan of Joe’s (trifern) postings and the amazing work he does. His work has inspired me to try working with dyes. A realized early on that a key requirement for me is my pieces can’t rely on just the surface being dyed, I would have to make sure my pieces were completely saturated. Thankfully it wasn’t hard to do!

Here’s a mockup using some maple samples dyed green:

a close-up:

whoa… back up!

I’m pretty excited to see what new concepts come to life with this new capability!

I have to say this really is a challenge. If there is a struggle to find time for the shop, there is also a struggle to find a way to get the projects posted! I’m going to to my best and try and get all 30 projects completed before June 30.

Here are the latest submissions for my challenge:

yes, there are more wine bottle stoppers…

but I also found time to make some pens…

inbetween making bottle stoppers of course!...

and one project wasn’t even made of wood!

In an effort to make sure no one is getting bored with my continued wine bottle stopper collection, I thought I would push myself to try something new. I’ve been thinking off using the open segmentation technique for a little while now, so I spent the past couple days putting this together to see if it would work. I think it came out kind of cool. I’ll definately be seeing how I can continue pushing this concept.

I think is was hollowing out the inside that had me most concerned. I made sure to show my wife the completed blank before I started turning, just in case there wasn’t an “after”!

Here are the other three projects I have completed this past week.

Off to a positive start! I’ve completed my 14th segmented wine bottle stopper (shocker I know!). This stopper is a new pattern that I have named 1/2 & 1/2 Twist.

here are the stopper stats:
Total pieces: 121
Wood: Red Leaf Maple & Walnut
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

This stopper is available for sale through my Etsy store
serial # 2009-014

I’ve got several bottle stopper blanks prepped and ready to go. I also have a few pens to complete as well. I’m also hoping to get in at least one bigger project, a recent Family Handyman magazine has a rather simple wall shelf that I’d like to make for my daughter’s room.

I’ll be posting available items at my Esty store as I move along through the 30 day challenge.

Wish me luck!

Once I got my ideas all together, I started working on cutting the pieces needed to make a couple of nesting boxes. Having quite a bit of that baltic birch ply still available, that is what I used. I also figured the girls would want to paint the nesting boxes when they were done, so I wasn’t overly concerned on the longevity of the ply.

After I had all the pieces cut, I laid out and drilled the nail holes and the bird entrance. Considering that I got the wood for free and already had the nails, I really didn’t want to have to go out and by hinges for this project. I decided that it could be cool, and much more LumberJock like to have a French Cleat system to hold the house to the backing board. Then it was time to introduce the girls!

I had already walked myself through the assembly order, so it went fairly smoothly getting the girls to follow along. We attached the sides to the bottom and the houses side of the French Cleat. Then using the house as a guide, the girls attached the mating cleat to the backing board. The top was added next followed by the front.

The two bird nesting boxes I made with my daughters

A view of the French Cleat system used to access the nesting box for cleaning

The girls both seemed really happy with their houses. Now it’s time to paint and put them in the wild!

Here’s Violet holding her nesting box.

I’ve got several long weekends coming up so hopefully I should have some time to play around in the shop.

With a bit of searching through the piles, we were able to find some pieces that would work without much cutting required. I showed them how to line up and mark their pieces so they could see where to spread the glue. I also let them do the glue spreading themselves.

The only real glitch we ran into was when we attempted to glue the small side pieces on that would connect the front of the bench to the back. After letting the glue dry for 30 mins, I removed the clamps. All seemed well until I attempted to move the bench and that is when it all fell apart (literally, not figuratively)! My 7 year old looked up and me and said “maybe we should use nails”. All I could do was laugh.

I’ve told this story to one of my friends in Chicago and he has been busting my chops since then asking when I’m going to complete this little wonder project. Well Paul, here it is. And this time I used screws!

The girls are very happy with their bench and after we return from vacation, I’ll show them how to sand it down to take off the sharp edges and perhaps we’ll do some painting.