Photo frame, tea pot and book rack

I have puttered away in the shop lately, and actually finished a couple of things.

Painting from P.E.I

  This photo frame is made from found wood and found glass. Eva bought the painting while on a week's holiday in September. We are a bicycle riding family, so we like bike art.

There is plenty of talent in our family.  My niece and her mother throw pots and I have one of their tea pots.  It is lovely and will live in my shop.  I am working on a handle, the glue is drying as I type. 

  The tea pot is sitting on one of my favourite book rack patterns. I think I have made at least a dozen.

  This version used 24 inches of re-claimed cedar decking. I cut the board into its three pieces then hand planed and sanded it smooth.  The angle is just enough to lean the books over. 

   I know that cedar dust it dangerous but with the right precautions cedar is lovely to work, it is light, strong and smells great. I used one coat of Garnet toned shellac just to seal the grain and bring out the high lights a bit.  

  A project like this is a great, easy D.I.Y type gift. This is another project for a two power tool shop.  The two power tools, a jig saw and a cordless drill. If you are starting out or have limited space or money those two power tools and a hand full of basic hand tools will build lots and lots of small things that will personalise your home and life.

  Winter is coming folks, we put up our Christmas lights today.

 cheers ianw

 

Spreaders, Spatulas and Spoons, Oh My.

Those of us playing in our workshops must remember and respect.

 November happily has had unusual weather. This day last year I needed my snow blower, this week I've been out riding my motorcycle.  We know for sure that there will be weather, we just don't know what kind. 

  In the shop lately  I have been making spoons and spreaders for church sales.

  These wooden tools have been made from milled lumber that was collecting in a box by the bench.  I like to make longer spreaders to reach to the bottom of the peanut butter jar.

  There were a whole spectrum of tools used to make these pieces, power does make it happen faster.

Bench and Sanding Station

  First I cut the basic shape with the band saw then various sanders and my Dremel Rotary Tool makes short work of these pieces. Generally I used planes, saws and sanders on milled lumber as I find it more difficult to shape with knives and chisels.  If I begin with a piece of wood that is split out it seems that the grains works with me rather than against me and so I use knives much more in the shaping process.

  Years ago I recovered an A.V. cart from a school dumpster. It had lost a wheel. It wasn't that difficult to replace a missing caster and I've used it as a sanding station since. When I am in production like this I roll the sanding station into place, clamp the Dremel to the bench and layout all the tools I could want to use. 

  The final stage for the spoons is hand sanding with 400 grit and a hemp oil finish.

  The other thing I did one evening was:

  When I  made my antler handled tankard I had two small bits of horn left.  I love the feel of horn. I got an inspiration to use the small bits of antler.  These are two horn handled scrapers/awls . The blade is 1 inch finishing nail, one pointed and the other hammered into a thin wedge shape. I frequently use a nail or knife to scrap crud out the teeth on a file or rasp or dislodge dried lumps from sanding belts.  I now have a couple of proper tools for those scraping jobs and won't need to risk my knife's edge.  There are other ongoing uses for a fine tipped awls and these fill that need.

  Remember, Christmas is just around the corner, get making your gift. 

cheers ianw

For The Fallen:  

Poem by Lauren Binyon

Music by my friend David S. Fawcett,