Dick Cain's Blog at LumberJocks.com

Building a Deck from my SketchUp plan! #4: The Grand Finale!

Dick Cain — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:11:21 GMT

Well folks!

It’s finally done!

This took a little longer than expected, because of the weather, & things.

It’s amazing that it looks just like the SketchUp plan, but I think a tad better looking though.

My Son, & his family really love it.

It’s almost like a new room on their house.

I also learned about the new way of staining treated lumber.

They don’t recommend letting it dry out for 60 to 90 days.

They say that if you treat it right away, it slows the drying process, & prevents cracking, & checking.

I relate that to treating the ends of green lumber to prevent cracking.

It’s nice to have it done right away.

I’d like to Thank all of my helpers, on this project, & Barb the chief photographer.

You’ll be able to see them in the slide show.

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I’m really happy with the outcome.

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The comforts of the shade.

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Watering the Flowers!

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Check out the Slide show!

Building a Deck from my SketchUp plan! #3: Deck in constuction stage!

Dick Cain — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:05:10 GMT

Well, we got the permit, & finally started building it.

The demolishing of the old porch didn’t take too long,

because it was so poorly constructed, it was hanging by a thread.

They poured the slab over some clay in between the foundation walls,

The clay had settled over time, so there was nothing holding up the slab.

there were two 16” 2×2s just under the threshold, each with about 5 nails in each.

There was nothing holding up the 6 foot length along the wall, & no re-bar.

Since the clay had settled, we didn’t have to haul away any rubble, it fit in the hole.

I hardly needed to look at my SketchUp plan, because I’ve been looking at it so long while drawing it.

I had to make a few minor adjustments to some of the dimensions as i was building it.

I made up a short slide show to show our progress.

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I’ve decided to make the balusters out of 2 X 6s, because I don’t think the quality of the 5/4 material is strong enough. I can get clearer boards in the 2 X 6s.
So now I’ll have to exchange some boards.

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Building a Deck from my SketchUp plan! #2: Some modifications to the deck plan!

Dick Cain — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:38:57 GMT

I’ve made a few minor changes to the deck plan.

We should start building it next week.
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You may notice that I learned to apply the plan to image a lot better. Practice! practice!

The corner support pipe also looks much better with a darker paint.

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I modified the stair railing.

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I added the old foundation of the old porch, this will eliminate adding a support beam.

Building a Deck from my SketchUp plan! #1: SketchUp drawing of a front (Deck)!

Dick Cain — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:02:04 GMT

I’ve been really busy trying to learn SketchUp.

My Son needs a new front porch on his home.

I decided this would be a good way to learn SketchUp.

His old concrete steps have been gradually leaning, & it makes the whole house seem crooked.

He said if he sits on a step, he feels like he’s going to fall off.

This was quite an experience for me, because I’ve used a T-square, & triangles for so long.

This project took me an awfully long time, but I learned a little about SketchUp.

It’s almost addictive as LJs. LOL

The city planning, zoning called this a Deck, so I changed the title.
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You can see by the gap at the siding, the steps have sunk 2 inches
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Here’s Barb going in for a visit.

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A series of SketchUp Models of the Porch.

I designed it so it will fit over the old steps, all we have to do is break away the concrete deck.

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What I really like about this, is you can attach your drawing right to an image.

My Daughter in law loved seeing what it would actually look like.

Even with a paint job.

Now all we have to do is build it.

Drawing bookshelf plan #1: Trying to learn SketchUp!

Dick Cain — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:18:50 GMT

About 3 days before the bookcase challenge, I thought I’d try my luck at drawing a plan for this bookshelf.

I made this to fit in a corner of Barb’s little library in our basement.

I purchased some MDF plastic clad oak pattern shelf boards,

& I had some old stair balusters from a dilapidated house that was raised.

I set them up in my lathe, & turned 3/4” tenons in the middle before I cut them in half.
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This is the completed bookshelf.

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This is what I’ve accomplished in the past week and a half.

I’m still trying to draw in the balusters, which has been a struggle, but I think I’ll solve it,

because I’ve made it this far.

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The spindles.

Carving tips! #1: What a carving looks like before, & after applying the finish!

Dick Cain — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:18:39 GMT

A person can spend a lot of time on a carving, but after the final cut with your chisel,

you don’t really know what all of the chiseling you’ve done really looks like.

You have to choose a finish that will enhance your carving.

On some carvings I use a stain, others, just a clear finish, it all depends on the theme, or type of wood you’re using.

I’ve chosen some images of my mining scene to show you the difference of before, & after.

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This is the carving before staining. It doesn’t look that great.

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This is with one coat of stain. I used a lighter stain for the background.

Notice how some of the detail starting to stand out.

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This one is from a little different light source.

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Here is the completed carving, frame, & all.

Some day I’m going to take this down, & brush on a matte finish.

I’ve discovered that a carving with a glossy finish destroys some of shadows,

& shadows are the main asset to a relief carving.

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This is my first try with Widgets.

An Invitation to all Lumberjocks, to our Anniversary Party!

Dick Cain — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:28:53 GMT

Barb, & I are celebrating Our 57th Wedding Anniversary today,

& WE ARE HAVING A BIG PARTY.

Where: At the Lumberjocks Hall

What Time: Morning, Noon, & Night

BRING ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!

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We actually lived next door to each other for a short time, when we were 3 years old.

We didn’t meet again until we were in High School.

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Here is a short slide show of some memories.

Shamrock shaped box! #2: It's all finished now.

Dick Cain — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:50:04 GMT

I guess I’ve been poking along on this project long enough now.

Here are some more pictures of my progress for you.
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Sawing the Fonts, & backs of the drawers.

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I drilled holes at the drawer bottoms, because of the short sawing radius.

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Gluing the drawer fronts, & backs.

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Originally I was going to saw the stem in one piece, but it’s impossible to get in that small area for finishing.

I mortised, & tenoned the stem on.

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I carved some small Shamrocks for drawer pulls.

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This is the end product.

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I just lined the drawers with felt today.

Look at some more pictures in My Projects Gallery.

Shamrock shaped box! #1: A wee bit of a taste of this box!

Dick Cain — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:44:40 GMT

You may not know it, but my little wife, (”Bairbre”), that’s Irish for Barbara. She has a wee bit of Irish in her blood.

But I think her heart is 100% Irish. You all must have seen the, Click here> Irish Claddagh, I carved for her.

Now I’ve decided to make her a Shamrock shaped box, for this years St. Patrick’s day.

The finished dimensions are: 7 1/2” High x 7” Wide x 4” Deep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m taking a series of work in progress pictures to share with you.

Here’s the pattern drawn on a piece of Silver maple, from our backyard tree.
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Cutting it out!

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Sawing off the back cover piece.

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Back cover removed.

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Gluing the cut out drawer sections back together.

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Gluing on the back.

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All glued together, & getting ready to round off the corners on the router.

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To Be Continued.

My 2008 "Not Just Any Box" Winter Awards #8: The Box is done, BUT!!

Dick Cain — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:06:56 GMT

I completed the box yesterday, but I’ve been struggling to get my camera to work.

All of the light areas of an image have a pink tinge, & I can’t edit the pink out.

I even tried taking pictures outside, but it was even worse.

Here’s an out door picture, Blah!! Maybe someone has a cure for this disease. HELP!!

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In the meantime I’d like to tell about my recent discovery.

Barb has multi-chemical allergies, & I’m always looking for something that doesn’t bother her.

At first I used mineral oil on it, but was a little on the dull side.

Even the smell of raw linseed oil bothers her, so I was looking in the art supplies at the big W,

& I found purified linseed oil. I opened the cap, & took a sniff, no odor whatsoever.

So that’s the finish I’m using. I mixed Beeswax, & purified linseed oil about 50/50 Put the sealed baby food jar in

some hot water, It’s turned out the consistency of soft margarine.

I rubbed that in with a couple of coats, for a nice satin looking finish, with no odor.
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Here’s one picture that didn’t turn out to bad

Notice the pinkish area in the lighter wood. I can’t edit it out.

I’ll have to take some pictures with Barb’s camera, but the lens quality isn’t quite as good.
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Click here: To go to the project page.