This has got to be the absolute hardest project I have ever worked on. Not because of the technical details of building this urn, but because of who it is for.

As some of you may know, I lost my lab last May. He was with me through thick and thin, and was a great blessing through some of the hardest periods of my life. Losing him was like losing a child to me. If you’ve never had that special pet in your life, you probably think I’m nuts, but those that have been similarly blessed know what I am talking about.

The urn is 12” x 6” x 5” tall, made from Black Wallnut that was harvested in upstate New York during some farm land work (walnuts out, something else in…), and shipped to Texas by the fellow I bought it from. The curly maple doesn’t have that cool of a story…

Finish is BLO with 3 coats of brush on lacquer that has been sanded to 400 grit and buffed to a mirror shine between each coat. The photos don’t come close to doing it justice…

The dovetails were done with my MLCS pins and tails template jig, and once run flush, I rounded them over for a smooth appearance.

The dog bone inlay is my first successful inlay task and I am fairly pleased with the result. I haven’t mounted the tags yet, but the last license, and a memorial tag we had made will be mounted in the dog bone so it will have 2 dog bones inside the dog bone.

I spent an unusual for me amount of time finishing this project, including a probably excessive attention to detail in the application and buffing of the lacquer. The result is not only beautiful to look at, but has a tactile feel that is warm and silky smooth.

I hope I did Deacon justice with this… He is missed…

Once the remains are transferred from the vets pine box to here, I will finish working up a matching picture frame, and collar display box where this will all be kept on the mantle of the fireplace. When he wasn’t in the field hunting with me, he loved to hang out by the fireplace, especially in the winter…

This is my late grandmother’s recipe box. My Dad made it in 1965, and I inherited it when I was in college. It has seen better days where the original hammer on hinges my daud used failed, and the original finish was just dead. So apart it came, a quick installation of some basic Schlage hinges with abbreviated screws courtesy of my bench grinder. I stripped the original finish with the mere pass of some 200 grit sandpaper… Sanded it down to 400 grit then applied 2 coats of Minwax Golden Pecan stain, and 2 coats of Minwax wipe on poly…

I kept a few imperfections, one was a small burn in the lid that I caused when I was a kid, and the other is a small bit of tearout / chip in the front left corner from where my Grandma dropped the box…

I am beyond happy to have brought life back to a piece of my family history. God willing we can pass this down to our grandchildren…

Dimensions are 28.5×28.5×4”. Material is SYP 2×4 stock jointed and planed to 1.25”. Construction is dowels and glue finished with Rustoleum spray primer, topped with 2 coats Rustoleum hunter green enamel. This has been one of a stack of projects that have been sitting partially done in my project queue for far too long, but since it is after Thanksgiving, I have GOT to have it done, or the tree doesn’t go up…

You guys have read the painful tale so far. Sorry I took so long in this build. It is ever so basic. Just a divided box, butt joints glue and screws. Lots of primer and paint to insure that this doesn’t contribute to any sort of dungeon feeling (I am starting to get Claustrophobic in my shop these days!).

You can see from the shot of the end panel, I went to some effort to conceal the screw recesses by use of abundant wood filler. I figured since it was a painted project, who really cares right?

I need to apply the shelf liner material still, but there it is, in its uh, glory. I know it’s a far cry from what most of you guys do. And honestly, even kind of basic for one of my projects, but it was something so necessary shop organization The cabinet is painted Glidden high gloss latex white, the wall is a Semi Gloss bright white. The idea here is to eliminate shadows / dark spots as much as possible… My next shop project has GOT to be a dust hood for the SCMS… That thing just vomits dust everywhere!

Okay now for the details…

Total size is 73.5” wide x 16” tall x 13.5” deep (including the cleat). Material is 23/32” Aracuo plywood from Home Depot (I’m cheap), with the dividers being 1/2” sheathing grade plywood from hurricane Ike. (Some of the last of the usable material that was in my yard after the storm). I used a mixture of 1.5 and 2.5” coated deck screws and glue for the butt joints, and filled the screw countersinks on all visible areas with Minwax stainable wood filler. And no, I was not about to stain it…

Since my initial post last night, I have cut to size, and installed the shelf liner material. Even with my tallest, and deepest books, there is plenty of room. There is some concern from my wife about premature aging / yellowing of my books as the shop isn’t really climate controlled all that well. I figure I’ll be dead before that matters much anyway, and hopefully the technology, and techniques for electrical work, home improvement, and woodworking will have advanced beyond my books by then…

As I have mentioned here, and elsewhere, the Harbor Freight mortiser is a decent machine, with the most laughable hold down design of any hollow chisel mortiser. A quick fix that came to mind was to add T track to the table, unfortunately the stock table is just MDF, so that wouldn’t do. Instead I built a simple table with T track for hold downs out of 3/4” CDX ply. After sanding it came out smooth enough for what I am doing with it. The finish is simple BLO.

I promised to post up the completed project. This is #1 of #2. Construction is screws and glue. The finish isn’t totally done, but I more or less gave up after it sucked up half a quart of danish oil and didn’t make any difference…

The material is Home Depot 3/4 “Cabinet grade” plywood, joinery is with rabbets, glue and screws. I had a LOT of trouble keeping things square until I hung the cabinet, once on the wall everything went where it belongs…

I left the inner doors off in order to allow room for the multi drawer cabinets…

This is a reasonably simple washer toss game board. The construction was done with scrap 1×6’s ripped to 1×2, and held together with glue and screws. entire framing assembly and decking is held together with Titebond 2 and screws. The decking is 1/2 sheathing grade plywood. The covering is black / charcoal indoor / outdoor carpeting and was the part that posed the greatest challenge. This was held in with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, staples, and hot glue.

I would gladly give credit to whomever designed the plans I worked from, but there was no name, no signature. The friend that wanted this built, simply handed me a set of printed out plans / dimensions etc…

This quick and simple holder was built to hold all my drilling accessories that don’t have a case of their own. So far it is holding the Forstner bits I got for setting clock inserts, as well as plug cutters, counter sinks, pilot drilling countersinks, and my spade bits. I left open holes for the missing bits (hey, after 30+ years a few go AWOL okay?)

The sides and back were resawn, face jointed, and planed to 5/8”. The bores for the bits were sized so that the bits just slide in and out, and are countersunk. I jointed the back side to give me a dead flat surface to mount the rear plate on, and it is all held together with 1-1/4” drywall screws that are piloted and countersunk. I wanted to be able to disassemble it in the future in order to add any needed new bores for additional bits or accessories.

Mounting this between the garage doors puts these bits and accessories immediately behind, and to the right of the drill press, making for easy access instead of having to cross the entire shop to get to them…

The fact that this was made entirely from scrap lumber, and found screws (okay they were found in my shop floor, but they would have been swept up as trash had I not been more careful) means that this is effectively a free project, which are my favorite kind of projects these days…

Hope this gives somebody else ideas on how to efficiently store their items…

Thanks for looking!

Another older project I never posted. This simple cross was made for my BIL when his beloved cat Tigger passed away of congestive heart failure within 3 months of him being put on Dialysis (and within a month of his ex serving him divorce papers at the dialysis clinic!) it is made from home center cedar, 2×4s, dowelled and glued in a sort of half lap joint. The edges were all routed with a 1/2” 45 degree beveling bit. This is unfortunately the only photo I have of this cross unfortunately as the property this is on is presently being contested in a divorce between my BIL and his (personal opinions here deleted) ex wife…

Okay this is an old project, but I just discovered I never posted it here as a completed project, so here goes…

The design is the one from Fine Woodworking’s Get Started in Woodworking Season 2 videos / magazine. I did however deviate from their plan slightly, and have found problems with their plan that I would change now that I have done it…

The changes were minor, but they include… #1. Top lamination was of Birch ply instead of the called for MDF. #2. The base was made of Cedar instead of the pine as called for in the plan. I couldn’t find 4×4 pine that was untreated near me, I did NOT want to use treated, and figured cedar was just as good. Yes I am an idiot… #3. The plan calls for a 60” wide top, I went with 72” so that my bench would act as outfeed / extension table to the entire length of my Ryobi BT3100 table saws extension wing. #4. The plan calls for, admittedly optionally, a lower shelf, I just haven’t done that…

Overall it lacks mass, and I have to re-tighten down the bolts every time the weather shifts. I could have solved that with Loctite, but I am already in the initial stages of constructing a new bench. This time based off of the Shop Notes “Weekend Workbench” plans, size adjusted to meet my needs of course, and instead of a solid core door, I am laminating a butcher block style bench top out of SYP 2×12’s ripped, jointed, and planed to 1.25” x 3”. The new table top will be 72” x 30” (the 24” depth of the FWW design is annoyingly shallow to me). The cedar base won’t go to waste however. I have a mess of still good pull out PT 2×4s from fencing that I am going to free of any metal, joint, plane, then laminate into a top for a 60” x 24” bench top, and the whole thing will be turned into a potting bench for LOML in the back yard. So stay tuned to that!

All these projects, and each a learning experience. I hope I am getting better with each project…

My niece, that lives in the Pacific Northwest is graduating high school, and is a big NASA fan. Being the uncle that lives in / around Houston, it fell to me to get / build her a NASA themed gift for her high school graduation. This is actually part 1 of a 2 part set, the other part isn’t done yet…

Construction is construction grade SYP 2×6 and walnut scrap with oak dowel joinery. In case it hasn’t been noted, I am getting to be a very big fan of dowel joinery…. It’s quick, easy, and extremely durable… not to mention it looks awesome.

The NASA meatball logo is a car emblem that I bought at the NASA gift shop when I was touring the center last year with my Mom.

The finish is Minwax Golden Pecan stain on the SYP, BLO on the walnut, and the whole thing with 2 coats of lacquer that have been buffed.

The second part of this gift is a pen / pencil holder set that will hold a mechanical pencil and a pen both from that same gift shop, space themed of course. In between the pen / pencil holders will be a small stand for her iPod. I figure the iPod will eventually go out of vogue, but maybe she can re-use the slot to hold business cards when she graduates college and gets a career going…

Thanks for looking.

I hesitated for about a week to post this. This is a pitiful excuse for a project, but one that I felt had to be done. You see my drill press is sort of wobbly on it’s own puny foot, it is really designed to be bolted to the floor, or a stand. Well I happened to have a Harbor Freight Universal Mobile base , and some not too warped or twisted 2×6 laying around…

The base was built per HF’s instructions with 1.25” square lumber, which was obtained by face jointing the 2×6, and planing it to 1.25”, then ripping the 1.25” cross sections. Now my caliper was reading 1.25” in each dimension except length of course, but somehow this one was different from my other HF base, and it did NOT fit. I had to hit it with the hand plane a couple of passes each way to get a good fit.

The overall dimensions of the base itself are 24” deep x 28” wide. This gives me a MUCH more substantial footing than what the drill press has stock, The levelers lock it nicely to the floor. 2 24” long 1.25” sections of 2×6 were used to create the cross piece / pad for the drill press to mount to. These were drilled to accept 1/2” x 4” carriage bolts. The bolt heads do not fully recess into the lumber below as it is off the floor over an inch, but the do pull solidly into the lumber.

In the near future, I plan on painting both the foot and the mobile base a gloss black enamel to help it resist rot and rust in my shop as it sits up against the shop door and hard winds / driving rains tend to push water under the door seal from time to time…

It’s just curing now, but my first non log slice band saw box is done! The plan changed fast on the fly as I was fighting the clock. The wood is maple from Rockler’s January sale, Maple is tough to get here in Texas except from the shops that import it, so it tends to be spendy here, but Rockler had a good price on it, and it gave me an excuse to work out the jointer and planer some… Dimensions are 6” tall x 5.75” wide x 3. 5/8” thick. The pul knob is just off the shelf hardware from an old cabinet project in my last place, so it has been sitting around in my garage for 10 + years….

I had some finishing trouble due to glue squeezeout that I just couldn’t seem to get rid of on the drawer, so I ended up flocking it, which I initially didn’t want to do. Now that I have done it, I am REALLY happy with the result as the contrast looks really nice to my eye…

I am really hoping she’ll like this, and appreciate the effort and thought that went into this….

Nicer build than the first one. My requirements for this were simple…

#1. Match the width of my push broom. 18”. Done. #2. Lower profile than the first one to present less area to the airflow to improve static pressure. Done. #3. Better joinery than butt joints and screws. Done. Rabbets and glue. Pins to hold it steady and tight while the glue dries. #4. Lighter material as the 3/4 ply just seemed WAY too chunky. Done, 1/2” ply scrap..

I’ve been wanting to make one of these for a long time, I finally got up off my lazy butt and did it. This was a fun, quick project…

The woods are red oak and black walnut scraps. Some of the walnut is transition from heartwood to sapwood so there is a lot of color variation.

The handle is shop made of the same material as well.

Dimensions are…

Head 3.75” wide, 6” deep, 2.5” tall.
Handle 1” dia tapering to 1.25, 12” long.

Assembled length 14” from tip of brass hook.

Finish is Danish Oil & Paste Wax. I fully blame Jim from Alaska for the inspiration on the finish, and it turned out great in my humble opinion…

Have scrap plywood?
Have scrap S&D PVC sized to fit your DC ducting?
Have 10 minutes spare time?

I did, and slapped this thing together, I know nothing fancy schmancy, and I managed to break not 1, but 2 countersinking pilot bits… I did however get to give my HF SCMS a workout cutting the angles for this, and I am pleased as punch with the results. All the angles are exactly where they are supposed to be…

Well, here it is. After fooling around with the Ryobi OEM router accessory fence for my BT3100, I decided the add on extension wing / router table, deserved a proper fence. Now mind you, I could have trimmed the corners, or made it prettier, but this is all function. The T track is from Rockler as are the T bolts, My intention was to use star knobs on the adjusters for the faces, but I was an idiot and mis-measured things, and came up 1/4” shy of where I was supposed to be… So 5/16” nuts it is! Other than that bit of stupidity, which I guess I could fix at a later point, I am very happy with the result

The construction is 3/4” scrap SYP decking grade ply, 3/16” tempered hardboard, screws and a tiny bit of glue.
I might have gone a bit overboard on the dust port, but I figure I have a 4” port, why not use it? I originally got the port for my band saw, and opted for a different approach there, so it has been in my shop just, ahem… collecting dust. (oh boy, how ironic is that?)

The table itself needs a second piece of Rockler miter track. I sort of ran short on that!

Once that gets done, and a delamination problem gets solved, I am ready to start building some raised panel doors for the kitchen renovation project that has been put off for far too long!

In all honesty, I am probably going to end up building some shop cabinets fitted with some nice raised panel doors just to get some practice in first, THEN I can work on the kitchen…

This quick and simple project turned out not so simple, or quick…

The limb cutoff you see there is from a tree that was blown down by hurricane Ike back in 2008. I snagged a couple of chunks of this stuff, and have been keeping them in the shop since. The tree was in front of the office building LOML worked at when we first met, so there is a little nostalgia here. She stuck her head in to the shop and nosed around while I was making it, so I sort of fibbed and told her it was for my mom… Hope she doesn’t get mad at me…

The hinge pin is a 3/8” oak dowel. I believe the tree was Camphor because it smells like Vicks when I machine it. I left the chainsawn texture on the top for the rustic effect, and coated the entire thing in Minwax brush on Lacquer. I was less than brilliant and applied the lacquer in the shop, closed up… I wasn’t able to go back in for 2 days!

The interior of the box is lined with the Suede Tex stuff in Wine. The instructions say that I can mask it, but I did get a little bit of bleed through the masking tape on the top. However it bled on to some heartwood, and I think I was able to disguise it enough that it won’t be noticeable…

I sure hope she likes it…

Simple, cut scrap plywood, cut 2×4 to match, drill stopped holes in 2×4 to keep bits from falling through, drill holes to match ply and 2×4 to join the 2, drill some holes for wall mounting hardware, mount it up, and load it up. It’s quick, ugly easy, free, and most importantly, effective.

Now there was a bit more thought that than into this, but not much. I have spaces for 24 1/2” shank drill bits, 12 1/4” shank bits, a dedicated section for counter sinks, and the drilling countersinks, as well as storage for all of my spade bits even though most of them are junk and should have been thrown out 10 years ago…

I know, I just felt bad about not posting any new projects, I have been so tied up with shop projects and things for Christmas that shall not be revealed until then, that I wanted to put SOMETHING up as a project!

Yanked a chunk of Pecan from the BBQ wood pile and stuck it on the lathe to try out the new Versa Chisels. This is what came out… The finish is Orange Oil and Beeswax. I messed up on centering the counterbore for the candle. My hand twitched just as the bit was about to grab… Stupid operator error… I need to figure out some sort of self centering jig…