A client needed a 2’x1’ sign for an up-coming conference in a 10 days. We agreed on a price and I got started.
I had a couple of pieces of poplar that I laminated to the desired dimensions. I then used a straight bit to rout out the letters freehand.
I sprayed the letters with a white Krylon let dry, sprayed again two more times.
I then sanded the excess paint off (this took forever since the poplar is pretty porous) and then used Min Wax natural stain. The next day I sprayed with Min-Wax Satin and recoated it a few times.
Finished with 5 days to spare!

The reason for the title is that I bought this piece of mahogany over 12 years ago and it’s been living rent free in my wood storage since then. I actually found this piece of wood a year before I bought it at a lumber yard I didn’t normally use (Meeks) in Elk Grove CA. It has since closed.
As I said I saw it left, and went back a year later and found that the board was still there. It was knot free and straight as an arrow. 7 1/8” x 3/4” x 96” of really nice mahogany (not sure which variety). The asking price was $83. I cornered the manager and said he should give me a deal to take it off his hands since it had been gathering dust all this time. He thought about it for about 15 seconds and said, $40 take it or leave it.
Yes, I was “Quick Draw McGraw” with my wallet and drove home with it. Put it up on an overhead storage in my shop and left it there for 12 years… You know the “I’ll make something out of it someday soon”, syndrom. Still don’t know what it’ll be used for but it is built.
I used pocket screws that I concealed with home made plugs cut from a mahagony scrap, rabbeted a back for an 1/8” panel and used Minwax natural stain. I used a rare earth magnet to keep the door closed and a neat brass fish knob! I’m thinking of using a varathane clear or satin finish.
It measures, 6 1/2×12 x 16 3/8 inches with one adjustable shelf.
Hope you don’t wait 12 years on your favorite wood!
Jack ;0)

There is a new requirement that holy oils used to anoint the sick have to be kept in a separate cabinet in Catholic Churches. I was given a picture with rough measurements and asked to make one…

I bought a 9’ x 3/4” x 11 1/2” red oak board from my local Home Depot. After letting it set for a couple weeks I went to work on making the door, sides, top and bottom. It was a little challenging in that the top and bottom are matching isosceles trapezoids and as I said I was given a picture with rough measurements. Since this is going to hang on a wall with a fair amount of weight in it, I decided to use pocket screws all around and plugged the pocket holes after assembly.

I got a pair of flat brass hinges for the door as well as one of the fish knobs I bought a few years back and inset a rare earth magnet in the door and side frame to keep the door closed. The wood was stained with Min-Wax Early American and a hand rubbed wax finish is on top of that.

The cabinet measures 27” tall x 17” wide x 11” deep. I had glass for the door and sides as well as a mirror on the back to highlight whatever goes inside cut at a local shop. I also had 1/4” tempered glass for the two adjustable trapezoid shelves cut as well.

The vases inside are just to see how things look. They don’t keep holy oils in kitty bottles… ;0)

Thanks for looking.
Jack

I had just finished making an extension for the floor of a dais and was picking up the scraps. I noticed that the cut offs from the corbel had a nice shape. I don’t throw away much and this wood was pretty special being clear and 16/8” and all. I cleaned them up, routed the edges and used the Watkins Walnut Oil to seal and stain.

Gave them to a co-worker.

Hope you too can save some bits!

Jack

We had a new priest transfered to our parish who is rather large… He does morning mass in the old chapel (built in the 1850’s) and was having a hard time getting around behind the alter (second picture). The altar needed to be moved forward about 8 inches to allow him enough room to easily navigate. To do this I had to extend the floor of the dais while trying to blend the new wood with the old.

I got a hold of some clear douglas fir to match the old floor that was on the altar and some ends from some true 16/8×12” beams of Douglas Fir a friend was hanging on to for firewood. It was also clear. I connected the 3 1×4”s with connecting plates and pocket screws and cut a 1/4 round off of each end to not only add some design but to get rid of a potential hazard to shins.

I took the 2×12”s and drew an ogee shape using the bending rule you see and cut all three on the bandsaw. I taped them together and used a drum sander to equally shape the corbels. I used part of the profile of a double roman ogee bit in the router table to shape the edges.

The corbels were then drilled for 4 pocket screws, two to the top and two to the bottom to go into the existing facial of the dais. Since the existing floor had an overhang of about 1 1/2” I was also able to drill through that lip and into the corbels for extra strength. I drilled other screw holes into the other corbels and either hid them under the altar feet or used matching plugs to hide the screws.

The new douglas fir was finished with Watkins Oil and some MinWax stain to get it close to the old floors color.

The alter was then unattached, moved forward about 8” and reattached to the new and old floors with screws and plugs through the feet as before.

My best compliments actually were when no one said much of anything at all for a couple of weeks. They hadn’t noticed the extension since they matched the existing steps you see on each side. My goal of blending it in to the old floor worked somewhat!

Jack

We have an old wooden church that was moved to the current church grounds that dates from the 1860’s. We now use it for a wedding chapel and morning mass. Inside is this very old walnut case foot-pump organ that is still used for services. I was asked to repair the sound grill if possible.

The problem was that it was not only old, dry, slightly warped walnut but also very thin. As you can see, it was cut with I assume was a hand fret saw when it was made. The pieces had been lying around for a few years so I wasn’t sure they would come together.

Fortunately 99% of the wood was there and fit for the most part like a puzzle. I did it in two sittings on the same day and had it back on the organ that night.

Both sides of the grill had been broken out so that there was about a dozen pieces altogether. I used Tite Bond III and a bunch of little clamps (can’t have to many or different kinds of clamps…) to line up the bits as well as hold them together for the recommended 30 minutes. Great stuff with a nice long open time to shift the bits till they were flush. Not that anyone is supposed to have liquid near this instrument but the glue is water proof too.

All the joints came together and only if you do a really close inspection can you see a few of the cracks.

Finally got name signs for the three neighbors that share the same road with me. I like to do the numbers and letters freehand (I do have stencil kits) so they look more “country”.
I usually just make street numbers but thought my neighbors might like their names instead. Now I need to make one for me!

Jack ;0)

I have a Thursday night “This Old House Hour” gathering at my house every week and one of the guys brought this picture over one night to show us. It’s a painting his youngest brother did of his Great Grandmother from a wallet photo. She died in 1957 at the age of 100. He explained that his brother had passed away and this is all he had to remember both of them. I offered to make an oak frame and he let me take measurements.

It’s made from an old white oak stair tread I recycled. I used kreg joinery on the frame and backed it with 1/8” oak plywood inset in a rabbet. The screws you see are to attach the painting to the frame and reinforce it for hanging.

I used a combination of a 1/2” round over and then a roman ogee bit for the frame edges. The stain is Min-Wax golden oak and a polished wax finish.

“Honey, can you make a paper towel holder for the garage?”
“When do you want it (it’s Sunday 11 am)?”
“By Tuesday.”
“Ok…” ;0)

I gathered some “scraps and cast-offs. 4 pocket screws, 2 wallboard screws with matching wall anchors, glue and a spindle I’d saved from a junked piece I found on the side of the road 14 years ago.

I laid a roll of paper towels on the wide board and allowed 3 1/2” on each side (17” in all) to be able to mount the 3/4” x 5” arms that hold the rod and paper towel that I’d cut from the 2nd board from the top. (Here’s where I got fancy, I routed a 5/8” roman ogee around the edge)...

I then drilled the arms with a 3/4” forstner bit (the rod is 15/16”) and drilled a 1” square plug (from the skinny piece shown) also 3/4”, pinned and glued it to one end. The other plug I drilled with a 5/8” forstner bit, tapered the other end of the rod with a sanding attachment on the drill and made a removable friction fitting.

I used pocket screws to attach the arms and “gold” wallboard screws to mount it to the wall. I’ll paint it someday.

Got me an “ATTABOY”! ;0)

Jack

My first grandson is still a little guy and looked like he’d like his own seat that he could not only sit on but stand on too. It’s made of red oak (my fav wood) and finished in Watson’s Danish and wax. It’s 15” tall, 28’’ long and 7” wide. I used pocket hole joinery. P.S.
I spent 4 weeks on and off trying to make a jig to dado tenons in a board at a 60 degree angle so that I could make a through mortise/dado joint for this project. All I did was make lots of boards with tear-out and re-learned words I thought I’d forgotten… The last two pics are my results.

My Mailman wanted a toy chest that would last so we chose red oak. In retrospect, I should have put wheels under it, it’s that heavy (almost 50 lbs)!
I edge glued the oak to make up the widths and pegged the sides and bottom together in the “Sam Maloof” style, i.e. screws and plugs of a contrasting wood. The plugs really “pop” when you apply clear stain and then varithane. I finished it off with a hand waxing.
There is a piano hinge and two friction hinges to prevent mashed child fingers. I also put on the brass corners and handles for moving (dragging) the chest a round.
The chest measures 28” x 15” x 18”. I also extended the top edges with an overlapping trim to allow an easy to grab edge for opening the chest.
It’s a Christmas present.

This is a display cabinet I started last spring before my knee and bursa started giving me trouble (finally got my mojo back) ;0) ... It’s for a good client who has inherited some of her dad’s duck decoys he carved (Bruce Burke). She may also have a handmade working, model steam engine he also built stored in it.

The dimensions are 38 1/2” tall x 15 1/2” deep x 27” wide at the top. The case is 24×24 with 3/4” sides. It’s all red oak. The top is pegged to the sides. I laminated the legs, cut a taper, routed the edges and attached them with pocket screws and glue. The door is also joined with pocket screws at the mitered corners. All the pocket holes have been plugged so they are nearly invisible.

The back is 3/16” mirror with a 1/4” ply backing. The shelf is 3/8” tempered glass while the door glass is 1/8” annealed glass.

The finish is minwax natural and minwax semi-gloss varithane.

Thanks for looking.

A couple of neighbors went to Disneyland a few months ago. They had a sidewalk artist do a water color caricature of them as a pirate and princess. They asked me to frame it in “dark oak”... Since that doesn’t exist, I used red oak with a walnut stain and clear varithane. I started out with some 1×3 cut-offs left over from previous projects and milled them to 5/8×1 and 3/4 inch rails and stiles. I cut a 1/2” wide and 3/8” deep rabbet to hold the picture and a 1/4 inch inside-cove to give depth and show more of the matting. I also used 1/4 inch plywood for the backing much as you would do for a cabinet back. The stiles are rails are held with glue and pegs. The dimensions are 19” x 12”. They were happy and it was a fun project.

We were down to 4 Rhode Island Reds and so decided to get 8 more girls this spring (6 Barred Rocks and a couple more Rhodes). They are beginning to lay eggs. It was turning into a feathered traffic jam with only the original 3 boxes and 12 birds. I saw a need for a second story.

I put a steep (9:12) pitch on the top this time to discourage them from sitting on top and making a mess. Each box has a 14”x15” floor area with ample head room on both levels. The addition is made of left over maple plywood for the roof and sides, 1/4” luan plywood for the dividers and poplar strips to cover the plywood edges. I used pocket screws, glue and brads to assemble the unit.

Hope they use it as much as the old one was used!

Thanks for looking.

Jack

;0)

I’ve got a hairy project (red oak trophy case with a mirror back, glass shelves and mortise/tenon doors…) I’ve been putting off for a while and decided to get the juices flowing by making another box to help get my MOJO back. I have lots of cut-offs from other projects and as usual, kept a few pieces for whatever. My idea was to build it on a pedestal base with a similar top to balance it out. I used a 1/4” round over bit on top, bottom and vertical edges. I used Minwax Puritan Pine and my usual final coat and buff of Johnson’s floor wax. The measurements are, base – 8 1/2” x 4 7/8”, overall height 10 1/2”, lid 7” x 4 7/8”, main case 6 1/8” x 4 7/8” and the interior is 5” x 3 3/4”. The wood was planed down to 9/16”.
It’s not a great piece but my MOJO is back! ;0)
Jack
p.s.
It’ll will be a gift for in-laws that are visiting next month.
p.p.s.
I thought a brass fish knob might be good…

I’m going to New Orleans the 10th of March, (not crazy about crowds so it’s after Mardi Gras), to hang out with best friends from “way back when” for a few days. We all grew up in New Bedford, MA but have scattered. I’m in Herald, California, Dave is in New Orleans, LA, Bob lives in Newport, New Hampshire and Tom stayed the closest to home in Fairhaven, MA. (We started doing this two years ago because we hadn’t see each other for 42 years figuring we couldn’t wait another 42)!

Since we’re all officially retired and just mostly wander around all day, I thought we should have an appropriate timepiece. I made 4 matching clocks with one hand that shows the day of the week, and what part of the day it is, (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)! The dark gray is to remind us when we’re supposed to sleep and the white part is for staying awake, mostly, I guess… (Gotta do something to help us guys with “Old-Timers”). ;0)

The frames themselves are pieces of the darkest Poplar you’ve ever seen. It went from a dark green to almost a black walnut color. I used mitre joints for the frames with “TiteBond II” and pin nails. I stained them with “Min-Wax” ebony, used a spray poly and hand buffed with Johnson’s floor wax which is my usual way to finish pieces. There is glass plate fixed to rabbets and the face of the clock is mounted on red luan which is also mounted on deeper rabbets further back from the glass.

The movement came from “Klockit” as did the face and hand.

Hope you like it!

Jack

This is just a small hang on the wall curio cabinet. I had bought this incredibly straight grained piece of Douglas Fir and thought I’d do something besides a box for a change. The wood itself is quarter sawn and a rich gold. The board was so straight that i only ripped to width and cross cut the lengths. I also only ripped the pieces when I laminated the crown and pedestal to glue on the piece, the wood was that straight and matched. The back is rabbeted with a 1/4” maple ply inset to stop future racking. It is attached with brass screws only so if someone wants, they can remove it for a different effect. The shelves are pegged with poplar for contrast. The overall dimensions are 19 3/4” x 14 1/2” x 5” with the crown and pedestal 2” longer and 1” wider to make the overhangs on the front and sides.

I was asked to raise the height of a cherry headboard for a friends sister. It needed to be about 6” higher because the new bed was one of the taller types popular today. After a lot of thought, I decided to use a “red” doug fir 4×6 to get the height and thickness. Unfortunately it took 4 weeks of drying to get the wood down to an acceptable moisture level in my shop. I then milled 4 17” pieces to 2 11/16 square widths. I finished the piece with Min Wax Cherry stain and Varithane satin. How to attach was next. I wanted to be sure that in the future if someone wanted to go back to a shorter bed, they could take it apart without having to contend with glued pieces. I decided to through drill a 3/8” hole that centered on the outside foot on each side so that I could connect the pieces with a 3/8×8” SPAX lag. I counter sank the hole so that the hex head was up inside the new foot. I also used 4 – 2 1/2” pocket screws on each end of each foot to help anchor and stabilize the new foot. The whole thing tightened up solid! The feet will be hidden by bed skirting and I expect the wood to mellow with age so as to blend in better.

I took apart an old redwood fence years ago and saved some of the better rails. I use them to make street number signs as gifts for good clients. I do a free-hand numbering and I sometimes carve a little on one end. This piece had a better sap wood side so that is why it’s not “red” redwood. ;0)

This is my attempt. I had this neat board I got from a local Home Depot about a year ago. I thought it would look interesting with a natural stain/seal, varithane and wax polish. Hard to see but the board has birds’ eyes like maple sometimes has.