Homemade gripper No not a Grr ripper

Ive got something of a backlog I want to catch up on this week.

Sergio Jimenez (you may recall his homemade speaker brackets back in April) decided to make his own familiar-looking adjustable push stick. Of course, I recommend MicroJigs Grr-Ripper, but I love it when anyone looks at something and says, "hmmm...I think I can make something like that." This is clever.

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Mere Minutes.

Categories: a, gripper, grr, homemade, no, not, ripper

Make a heart shaped box

Please welcome Micro Jig as a new sponsor to the show! Great products and people.

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For Valentines Day, I decided to make a heart-shaped box with a little extra. It has a tray area, for sorting change, holding rings or whatever. I wanted the design to flow together as one unit and repeat the sweeping arcs of the heart shape.

If youve made a band saw box before, you will recognize the techniques. This is sort of like making two in one. Just consider the tray area as a second box: instead of slicing off the back, you will just add a separate base.

I used purpleheart and padauk and it really looks nice, although I wouldnt recommend using such hard woods. Bandsaw boxes require a lot of sanding to smooth out the blade marks and your will struggle less with a soft wood.

Plans

Im quite proud of this cutting template! It includes all the steps you will need to perform to make this box. Just print it out (make sure you set your printers scaling to 100% size) and paste it to a block of wood.

• Download WWMM Heart-shaped box template. (pdf)

Categories: a, box, heart, Make, shaped

A Girls Farmhouse Bedroom

We finally finished Jillians room and I am so excited to share it with you!  

Of course I have to show the before pictures first.  When we first moved in our upstairs felt a little like stepping back in time.  While we loved the originality and charm, we also knew we had to lighten it up.  

BEFORE:

BEFORE:

(The closet was an add on)

And as renovations tend to go, this was not without its share of troubles.  When my husband was doing some repairs on the window, wouldnt you know it, but he discovered all of the inside boards were rotted.  So imagine my surprise when I was working outside, heard my name being called, and turned the corner to this...

(You should have seen the stares we got as people drove by.)

I should also mention that while we were working on my daughters room, we were also making a lot of outdoor changes, which is why our front beds were nothing but dirt. 

And Im not sure my husband was so pleased with my grand idea of refinishing the original floors.  Whew, what a mess and what a job... and thats an understatement!

But in the end... Id have to say it was all worth it.  (smile)

AFTER:

Her room is so bright and sweet now.  I think this may be my favorite room in the entire house!  I especially love the schoolhouse light... we will also use these same fixtures (purchased from Amazon) in the office landing area upstairs.

My husband built the little reading nook in the corner.  This room is very large but we wanted to keep the room simple without multiple pieces of furniture.  This seemed the perfect thing to do with a bare corner.

Despite the hours of work, I do love the way the floors turned out. 

 The door to her room is original, but since the closet was an add on, a newer door was installed here.  However, we ordered this five panel door from Lowes to replace the one that was already there so it would match the original.

 We purchased this antique dresser a couple years ago.  I was worried that the wood would be too dark for the room, but it actually seems to match well with the light fixture and curtain rods being an oil rubbed bronze.

I made the curtains with some ticking fabric I found at our local fabric store. 

The cushion for the reading nook is also made from the same fabric, but I recruited my mom to help with that project.  It was a little too advanced for my novice sewing skills! 

 I love this cross stitch and its very special to me.  My mom made this for me when I was a little girl and then she had it framed and matted again when Jillian was born.

 We debated on what to put beside the bed.  We had a couple different end tables we tried, but nothing seemed to look or fit right.  Then I saw a Pottery Barn Kids magazine with a picture of some shelves next to a bed, so I asked my husband to build two.  I am so fortunate that hes so handy and enjoys building things!

I love the view from her bedroom...

 I have a few ideas for the shelves, but we havent gotten that far yet, so for now Ive decorated with a few special things we already had.

 My father-in-law recently gave Jillian this antique Snow White figurine.  He found it stored away at his parents home.

 We hung a few antique plates above the bed.

Jillian received two very generous gifts for her birthday a couple years ago... this quilt bedding, made by my mom, and the bed, from my mother-in-law, which is from Pottery Barn Kids.  The sheets are from the Shabby Chic line at Target.

 I bought these plates over four years ago, before Jillian was born. Sometime maybe Ill share some pictures of her first room even though we no longer live in the same house... it was so sweet. 

A few more vintage items on the shelves.

Here you can see the original door, which we left in its stained wood state.

In the little nook beside the closet I hung some bunting that is made from the same fabric as the bedding.

 I also painted this vintage garden bench white and put it here for Jillian to use for some of her stuffed animals and dolls.  Below is a basket filled with a couple throw blankets.

(If you are wondering where Jillians toys are, we have another bedroom upstairs we use as a playroom for the girls.)

I hope you enjoyed the room tour!  Jillian loves her new room and I have to say, I do too.

Of course her favorite spot is the reading nook.  (smile)

Sharing at
Savvy Southern Style

Categories: a, bedroom, farmhouse, girls

Want a Quick Shed Try a Wood Shed Plan

A wood shed plan is perfect for those who want to do it on their own and is their first time. Along with being fast and easy to build it also saves your hard earned money, effort and time, if you have the right method to guide you.

Going by its name "wood shed plans", they are the perfect guide to build sheds mainly built by wood, as this material is rather tricky and difficult to work on; you have to be very careful in drilling holes and cutting. A simple shed plan can increase your work if you happen to have miscalculations of the materials. To be more organized helps in the long run and completes things faster and with ease.

So let us begin with the dimensions of the wood shed. However the difficult part in this project may be the size of the wood shed as many folks settle on the medium size shed that is a 8 x 12, as the bigger shed take a longer time to complete, yet the project can be completed rather fast if you get some help from friends or family.

After deciding the size of the wood shed, go ahead with the work of the foundation and start by digging the necessary holes in the backyard, which can then be used for beams, you need roughly around 2 feet deep holes for each corner including the rear sides, the front and the mid points.

Basically these wood sheds are comparatively simple to build than the other material sheds. Better still if you do not have anything heavy to store in it, you can build it with no windows which is easier.

The design of the wood shed wall can be a flat row with braced sticks, or a plain one. The typical one is a 7 4" long stud down the rear wall and 1 4" gap between them. The front side, has studs a bit higher about 6", so as to create a slope for the water to run down easily. This way the door too will get wider. The frame of the side wall should be followed by the elevation of rear side wall and on the front. Though a little complicated a well worked out shed plan will give proper instructions.

A good wood shed plan will have all the details from the roofing to the flooring and from measurements to materials.

Download My Shed Plans Now

Categories: a, plan, quick, shed, try, want, Wood

Laminated Block becomes a Laminated Bowl

Hi Everyone,
Remember the laminated block from several days ago? Well, it is becoming a laminated bowl. Here are several photos of the back and sides of the bowl:

Its approximately 11 1/2 inches in diameter and since I havent hollowed it out yet, Im not sure how deep it will be. But the joints are nice and tight and the colors look great together.

Ill post more photos in a day or two.

VW

Categories: a, becomes, block, bowl, laminated

Repairing a damaged plane body

Old wood planes are tools often challenging the century, continuing today to give satisfaction to those who use them. When accidentally  a damage occurs, who causes it feels very guilty for having interrupted a century-old life . The only partial relief could be a good repair. The accidental fall of a cast iron  plane often results in a lesion at the point of greatest weakness: on the sides, near to the mouth. This happened to my Stanley # 3. After listening to other suggestions, I developed this system to repair this lesion type, which was particularly simple and effective. After appropriately clamping the  plane body to avoid unwanted movements we can drill 4 mm holes (slightly larger than electrodes that measure approximately 3.5 mm) along the lesion.

At this point,  cast iron is properly heated with a torch or any fire, and the arc welding is carried out. I used a small inverter welder with specific cast iron electrodes. In fact it is easier fill the holes than a concave groove, which instead requires some experience. ( In the pics I forgot to take a shot just after soldering) .

I then proceeded to flatten the sole and sides, which were however almost completely aligned. And here it  is returned to its former glory (or almost) and produce the usual thin shavings.

Categories: a, body, damaged, plane, repairing

a really old friend

now this piece is what you would call a REALLY old friend.  i actually made this cherry and ash piece, according to the client, in 1980, my first full year in the custom furniture business.  the client was a friend who started and owned a successful art gallery and custom framing business at the time.  the design of the doors is actually taken from one of his most successful frame designs.  originally, there were two shelves above it, but the second one was crowded out in the bars most recent home by what i believe is a striking gunter korus oil.  click the photos to enlarge them.

i dont remember the origin of the carved drawer pull detail, but i remember it being a challenge to cut those faces out of the top frame board to make the grain continuos.

this view shows more clearly the finger jointed slate frame for the well cared for black slate, and the hand carved backsplash detail

drawer detail with funky dovetails ...

a view of the interior of the cabinet.  i actually remember making the jig to create the box corner detail on the v shaped pieces.  i think the ends of the vs slid into angled slots in the sides of the wine rack.

this piece is actually for sale.  the client is now in his late 70s and intends to downsize to a new home in the spring and hes editing his extensive holdings.  he told me last week he hasn;t had a drink in 27 years and his daughters house is too small so it is on the block at a VERY reasonable price.  way less than i would build it for again now.  if you are at all interested, please contact me at 802-867-5541 for details.

thanks! its a great piece.  if i had a place for it, i would consider buying it myself !

Categories: a, friend, old, really

A Distressed Walnut Table Top

Were working on a distressed walnut table top for a client who has a masonry pedestal. Were just making the top and the apron/stiffener. Its nearly finished and looking pretty good. Click the photos to enlarge them ...

The rough lumber form Irion Lumber in PA ... Beautiful boards, all from the same log.

Glued up and cut to round with a circle cutting jig on the bandsaw.
Heres one way to do it ... circle cutting jig There are simpler ones, like a board and a nail

We like this next process. Its quite fun. You move the pin that you use to cut the table round out away from the blade and one person spins the table (Trevor in this case) and one person (me in this case) holds the belt sander square and level. Once that kicks in, then you actually have to keep the top from spnning too fast. Sanding the cut edge this way takes only a couple of minutes .... Dont skip grits .... Dont let it take off ....

Trevor mortised the six round apron parts with the domino and glued them up in a circle using the band clamp, adding small moldings to the bottom edge to reinforce the glue joints.

View of the table bottom.
More later this week as its completed

The clients pedestal

Categories: a, distressed, table, top, walnut