A Box Of Course

  Isn't just about all woodworking box making? or lathe work.  We arrived home from holiday and resolved to do our spring cleaning.  One thing that we discovered in guest bedrooms and our cars were facial tissue boxes 3/4 filled with tissues that had been attacked and savaged by one or more grand children. Why, I don't know?  

  Since I am cheap and love to make things that have a purpose:

  What makes this box interesting as well as useful is 

a: it is made from the wood that was a drawer in the dresser I took apart just before leaving for holiday.  

The thin lumber that was used to make the drawer once sanded and stained had real character.  The lesson learned is to check out old furniture sitting on the side of the road on garbage day.  &

b: 

   I wanted the box of tissues to stay inside the box when it was moved from place to place so I glued a strap made from bicycle inner tube. I used contact cement to glue the inner tube to the box wall.  I have found, over time, that few adhesives are as versatile as contact cement.  Yes it smells and it does take time to set but I just clamp the pieces and leave them over night. 

  This was an easy project that made use of reclaimed materials.  I think I may make a couple more of these and give them to our church to sell at the Christmas bazaar.  

  I have been spending time painting our new windows, and then touching up the paint on the wall around the windows. We then decided to rehang the old roller blinds and each window now needed a valence type of cover, hiding the roller blind.  We bought new windows, from a serious window company. There are three windows, all the same, except the frames are different sizes, but 1/4 inch.  It is also worth noting they are only sort of square. Jeez louise.

  The current project is a bit of a back breaker. (hunched over carving) I am making a chair rail that has shallow relief carving the full length that about about 25 feet of carving.  I will post some pictures in the next blog.  If you look up chair rail photos there is often wainscoting too, I like the look without wainscoting although a design decision will be made one the rail is up.

cheers ianw

Project # 5 - for real

  As I was working on the table, I introduced this set of long suffering, abused chisels. They were used  to chip away old hardened glue on the table legs and in the leg mortises. These stainless steel, one piece chisels get all the really terrible jobs, but I decided they deserved a better home then loose in the back of a shop drawer after this last project.  Also I figure that If they are closer at hand they'll get more use and maybe! better treatment.

  I really don't remember where I got them, what they cost and why one has black tape wrapped around it.  I know they weren't expensive because they've always done the dirty jobs.

  My first thought was a box for storage.  I like making boxes and tools store well in boxes  and the box would take up as much space as the chisels alone.  So I thought about a tool roll/sleeve.  I have bits of leather laying about and make duct tape cloth too. Then I decided on a compromise design, it will store the chisels and not take up too much space, and will keep the tools at hand.

step one: thin oak board, leather and contact cement. 

step two: read and follow the instructions for your glue. In this case clamp and let dry over night.

  Step Three:  as well as gluing the leather, I glued various wooden spacers onto the oak back board. I have become partial to Weldbond myself for wood, paper and leather.

  Step Four:

  Ready to be hung on the wall beside my other chisel rack. This is one of those projects that cost $00.00 to make, or at least almost nothing.  The wood is all scrap, the rubber band in the middle is a bicycle tube.  I suppose I paid some money for the bits of leather, at some time but I don't remember how much or when.

  Now these rough and ready chisels will hang on the wall above my bench and will do the chipping and scrapping jobs so saving  my  'good' chisels for paring and trimming. 

cheers, ianw