Another challenge I had to take.

When asked if I could design and built a spice chest to fit into a narrow space between a doorframe and a windowsill, I of course said yes! Building a spice chest is pretty easy, but how to make it look different and interesting was the challenge.

For this I borrowed from the Asian Print stands serpentine spindles and used this concept to make a door. As you move across the room, the door changes shape slightly and goes from water like ripple to full slats that give an idea of what is inside.

Worked out well using red oak and shellac finish, and most importantly moved the spices from hiding in the cupboard to be easily reachable while saving cupboard space.

This whole thing started of in a odd manner, (Odd by most people but sort of normal for me.)

While rearranging the shop and picking up after completing a project, I happened to look into some of the drawers in my old fly tying bench. This has been moved many times, and I do not think I have used it in probably 30 years, (I kept thinking someday??). While some of the feathers had been used for moth fodder, most including my hackle “capes” where still in good shape. Also I discovered that my fly reels where in decent shape. Now taking stock, I find that I have 4 good English reels, with spare arbors, one English made bamboo rod and 3 fiberglass rods that I had built up.

All in all a bunch of very nice bunch of fishing tackle sitting around waiting for me to try again.

Since the old tying bench had seen better days, and was too big to put anyplace usable, I remembered a portable hobby bench from one of my periodicals. “Shopnotes”
Now the fun starts. The concept of the plans looked good, but the bench was sort of ugly. Fine for a shop or hobby area, but I wanted something that wouldn’t look like what it was. In addition I came up with the following list of changes.
1. The top overhangs the base too much so you have to pick it up by the top, and that could cause problems.
2. The top needs some sort of receptacle to hold small things that are apt to roll off and become lost.
3. The removable top section is a great idea, but could become separated at an inopportune time and have all sorts of stuff fall out.
4. The front needs some sort of doors to keep stuff in and out of sight.
5. When the top is separated from the base, it needs to be place some distance from the top, if not you cannot get into the bottom drawer.

Solutions,
1. Make the top smaller and add lifting handles, that slid up with a tapered dowel to lock the top into position. Since the handles also slide down, use magnets to hold in the up position.
2. Use a solid top of oak rather than the plywood one, and rout in a pencil type depression to hold odd stuff that wants to escape.
3. Make box type doors that will hold small tools by magnets with piano hinges so the doors open fully.
4. Make a stand so that the box sits up enough to allow the top when removed to come to the bottom of the box giving access to the whole chest and keeping everything close at hand.
5. Trim out the exposed plywood with oak pieces and apply iron on oak to the doors.

Completion;

This is a step in the right direction, and it sort of looks like an oriental shrine box and could be placed in a number of spots totally hiding what it really was.

Now next step was to make the second case done with some Arts and Craft style hardware to work as a base for the first. This second one is larger and has some smaller drawers. Both have doors that double as storage.

This allows them to be used together at home or the top alone for a portable case.
I should have made them both using the same colors, but wanted to do a little experimenting with the colors.

As mentioned in my “Frank Lloyd Wright Print Stand” project, this is the Asian version. Actually this is the third, with the second being about this size and used some other ray flecks, but used the mitered corners.

About the only dimensions used from the Wright stand is that the table and leg height are the same size. I was able to put together a fair amount of “Ray Flecked” stock for the frame and it really brings the wood to life. As you move about, the flecks flash off and on, and the serpentine spindles seem to change shape. If I was into “video” I could probably show this better, but I already have too many projects ongoing.

Finish is Golden Oak, quickly wiped off and shellac with as touch of medium brown tone added. The frame and spindles are mortise and tenon.

Currently being used to display some “David Bumbeck” prints. David was a High School classmate, and was kind enough to sign several of his early prints for us.

This is two versions of the same theme.

Having seen several pictures of the small Limbert table and then seeing the plans in “Popular Woodworking’s book “Arts & Crafts Furniture Projects”, and I think seeing one as a child at a lakeside cottage, I was intrigued. First from pictures and memory this seemed like a interesting project, but the 3D drawing in the book looked like something designed for “Ikea”, maybe in the close out section- Dull and Boring.

What would seem to make or break this was the wood and grain pattern. One other thing that ran counter to my personal taste was the use of a rectangular bottom shelf and round tops shelve.

No 1 To try and keep things, to my taste, I lopped of the table to sort of mimic the other shelf. This one was made of Oak.

No. 2 -My wife liked the size and asked me to make another out of Poplar and use the red stain that I have used on the kitchen cabinets. This is shown in the second picture and also shows the top changed to a square with rounded corners. This makes the top area larger.
I like this version better than the original, even though the legs are not in the best position for maximum stability. Sort of gives a double pyramid with one pointing up and the other down.

Number 3, is the third version using the standard round top and a ”self made” pumpkin stain on Poplar, then a tinted shellac. This one has a added change of flairing out the legs at the bottom(1/4”) to give a little more shape and lightness to the design.

I think this third version, with the right grained oak, could be stunning

Here is another version of the print stand done by Bill. Like the long drop clock, this is another one of my projects that sort of grew out of the wood. I made this slightly lower than the original one shown in Popular Woodworking’s book “Arts & Crafts Furniture Projects” to scale the height down a bit and make better use of the wood available.

Finish is clear over “Golden Oak” pore filler, with mortise and tenon for the spindles. The outer frames miters are reinforced with R3 mini biscuits and the legs are joined with #10 biscuits. For the “:stop”, I used Black Walnut for a little more interest.

I am looking at this as sort of as prototype, as I may build another one using some Asian design elements, or Greene and Greene details.

This bookcase was by no means hard to draw, or built. Just hard to make it work! Confused??

Okay let’s start at the beginning. My wife asked if I could make a small bookcase to fit in the back hallway and hold some of her books. Now these books are hardbound and about 6 inches deep, and the only space is between doors and is only 28 ½” of usable space. Now if I make a normal bookcase it will;
1. Stick out too far
2. Be in the way of the doorways.

If I make the bookcase small enough to just hold the books. It will:
1. Still be in the way of the doors.
2. Be VERY tipsy. (I know the cats will bump it and dump out all the books.)
3. Look like someone stuck a dumb bookcase where it shouldn’t be.

Now not wanting to admit defeat, I proceeded to think and visualize and think a bit more.

1. If I used the existing door moldings to fasten the sides to, I would not have to worry about tipping over.
2. If I brought the sides out slightly over 3” then went at a 45-degree angle the bookcase would not appear to stick out.
3. If I made the shelf’s 6 ¾”, they would hold the books and allow for ¾” upright supports to hold the front edge.
4. If I ran the shelves up to the existing doorframe top edge, it would gain space and “tie in”: better.
5. If I then ran a shelf across the top of the doors and around the corner, it would blend the bookcase into the “woodwork”. And add more support.
6. If I made some sort of a detail on the edges, the boards would appear smaller.

Even though some books ended up being larger than planned, the project worked out very well.

Used Poplar for entire project.

Snow is gone, at least for now, so time to start thinking of venturing outside again.

Designed and built this a couple of years ago. When we downsized to our new home, the previous owner had a rose arbor that the roses had engulfed and destroyed.

Being a nice guy, I promised my wife I would get her a new one for her birthday. This let to several trips to all the local garden centers that only found ones that where too small, and sort of boring, not to mention so lightly built that one bump with the mower would dislodge them.

Even though this was planned as an arbor, it morphed into a Strombella since we decided that we didn’t really want the darn roses anyway.

The cat is a replica of one in a museum that we had sitting on the porch, so my twisted sense of humor couldn’t resist giving it a new home.

Construction is PT, using 4 X 4 for the uprights and 2 X 4 for the cross members. Arch is from 2 X 8. It is roofed with white cedar. Fastening is by ¼” and 3/8” lags with washers, countersunk in dados, and covered with the PT strapping plus some deck screws. Legs are not cemented, but are about 1 foot into the ground.

Cost of materials was more than the Garden Center ones, but well worth the extra expense.

Even with our New England winters, this has not moved in three years

More of a design challange than great woodworking skills, but thought this might be of help in dealing with a “Non Standard Closet”

When I noticed a article in “Workbench” for closet organizers, I thought COOL, just do a funiture makers RDS, (Rip, Dip, and Ship) job and straighten out my office closet.

My home ofice is the smallest room in the house and the closet sticks out over the stairway. This gives it a foot more of depth than normally found in a closet.

As soon as I laid this out, I found I could gain some space, but would still waste the 1 foot. Added units to the corners, but then would be unable to reach anything hanging-DARN!

Once again a simple project grows.

SOLUTION was to redesign and make units shallower, side towers smallet, and use 45 degree angles to open up the area.

I hope this may be of help!!

This is a kitchen wall that worked on over the summer and finished last Sept. (I work at my own pace=slow!!)

In my quest to make the most of space available, this kitchen wall shows some interesting adaptations, if one is willing to step outside the normal.

Problem was that the area was chopped up by a existing square stock cabinet that appeared to jut too far into the room. On the left side, the only wall space was the width of a door molding, and the other side allowed about 2 feet at the corners. A small radiator at the left side complicated it somewhat. (See photo 3)

Solution was to use entire wall, less the existing cabinet, and two pieces built on an angle so that the lines flowed. Starting at the right side, cabinet was made floor to ceiling and hides a broom closet.

The angled section to the left hides a recycling bin in the bottom and an angled knives drawer above.

The straight section is 4 inches narrower than normal cabinets and 3 inches higher to blend with the window. It contains a large full extension drawer and two full extension pull out trays behind the doors.

Left of this is a small set of triangular shelves for display and to partly conceal the radiator.

Counter top is white oak, lightly pickled, and poly coated. Over the radiator is a pattern of ½ inch holes allows airflow. The top is held flat by using oak cleats, fastened down with screws in large fender washers to cover ½ inch holes for expansion.

Shelf over the window, balances the area, and is somewhat wider than normal, but beveled with corbels to appear a more normal size.

I love a challange

Some thirty years ago, I built a short drop schoolhouse clock that my young son always seemed to like.

So when I came upon a tiger maple board with spalting, I was able to get enough good pieces to built this long drop and have the grain run around both the face and the sides. The picture shows just one side, but the spalting also shows upo on the other side as well. I think this type of spalting is reffered to as ambrosia, since the spalting is highly defined.

It was finished with golden oak danish oil for color and poly varnish to protect. Given as a Christmas gift

Sort of interesting to have both the tiger and spalting together. Anway, my son and his wife where delighted with this one of a kind clock.