Something for Kathy

This box was made for Kathy, a simple wooden box, for keep sakes or whatever, with mitred corners and a slider top. It is birdseye maple with red mahogany stained and 4 coats of polyurethane.

Recycling Mahogany

It is made for recycled mahogany, that was our window valance, some of it has been reworked and here is the result. I originally made this writing slope for myself but my brother-in-law was visiting with his girlfriend and she liked it, so I gave it to her.

As I gave the first one away I decided to make myself another, plus one more just in case, you never know. It gives me a place to to put down some ideas, designs, draw up new trucks or box designs and if I get creative maybe a piece of furniture or two. Besides this is the last of the old window valance.



Fire Truck for my Uncle

This new truck was made for my Uncle Norbert, it still has the same basic design, I have to work on that. It is mostly birdseye maple, the tires are were from an old loom I did some repair work on, the ladder rails are walnut, the tool boxes are zebra wood and the dash and engine cover divider are bloodwood. And like my other work all parts are handmade.

A witing slop for my Mother.

I made my Mother this writing slop, it’s made from cooked curley maple or tiger maple as some call it. The cloth on the inside lid is my wife’s work, she had some very nice died material I could use and I know my Mother likes a bit of green.



Table Saw Fence Extention

I finally got the chance to make my table saw fence a bit longer. The fence it originally came with was fine but I could only cut up to 30 inches to the right of the blade and 10 inches to the left side. Now I can cut a full sheet of plywood, as the fence will go to a full 48 inches to the right of the blade, and I do not need roller stands, that sometimes are just crap. All the weight of the wood is on the saw table and router table, then finally on the out feed table, which is also my work surface. I still only have 10 inches to the left of the blade but I don't do much on that side other then when make a bevelled cut.

New rails with fence on the left.

Fence extended to the full 48 inch mark.

I incorporated my router table into the end of the fence rails, it is a great support and everything is nice and steady.

Finally I added a wooden spacer, between the saw table and router table, it finishes it of. Later on I'll build a small cabinet to store the accessories and jigs.

The new Swarm

Here is the new Swarm of Woody Bees, I thought two were not enough so I made a few more. They are made of the same material as the original bees, Pau Amarello and Wenge wood for the body, Curley Maple for the wings and Walnut for the antenna, legs and stinger.

Lumber Storage Shed

One can never have enough lumber for projects, even if you don't know what is coming up, and of course so I needed a place to store it out of the weather. The shop is full and this looked like the perfect place, I just added onto our fire wood shed. I can access the lumber from the front door but when required, the sides come off with just 4 screws to get some of the shorter pieces at the back, which are back there to even out the load.

Upper Studio Built-In

My latest project is a built-in bookcase for ReBecca's upper studio. It is in a location that was not as funtional as she wanted and as always she had a very good solution.

For my Mother-in-Law, Marjorie Graves

On July 30, 2010 we lost my Mother-in-Law to cancer, and my Father-in-Law honoured me with making a box for her. He gave me quarter sawn oak from their property to make the box, the wood was great to work with and the grain from being quarter sawn is excellent.

Higby's Box

Here is my latest project, a box for our Dalmatian, Higby, her registered name is “Yule Higby Avalon Paterson”. She was 13 ½ years old (24 October 1996- 21 May 2010) when we lost her and I felt it was fitting that she be placed in a birds eye maple box, somewhat spotted.

The Bloodwood Dragonfly

Here are my Bloodwood Dragonflies, and as you might have guessed they are made from bloodwood, the wings are curly maple and the legs are walnut. It was interesting researching dragonflies online to find the right picture to work from so many to choose from, but the simplest is usually the best. They were an anniversary gift for members of our family, it is always satisfying to know your work is appreciated and they’ll enjoy it.

Taking wood to work

My latest project was a recreation of a wooden laptop case, construction was the same, I just made a few material changes. The sides are curly maple the top and bottom are panels of birdseye maple, rather than use plywood. I used walnut with purple heart for the corner splines and inserts, instead of maple with cheery, I like the way they stand out. It was a fun project and a little challenging as I have not had to make dado cuts on the corners before, and with a homemade jig for the table saw, they came out great, better then my nerves were when I started.

The Woody Bee

You’ve heard of “The Bumble Bee”, “The Honey Bee”, “The Worker Bee”, “Billy Bee”, and “Busy Bee”, to name a few, now let me introduce you to “The Woody Bee”. The Sussex Artists’ Co-op will be hosting “Bee In this Place” and I thought it would be fun to try to make a bee and here they are. They are made from Pau Amarello and Wenge wood for the body, Curley Maple for the wings and Walnut for the antenna, legs and stinger. You would never guess how much sanding goes into those little legs, lots trust me.

Laying Tools

I made these laying tools a while ago, they are used by Fibre Artists, Embroiders, Quilters, and Needle workers just to name a few of those who are skilled to create exquisite work, what we sometimes take for granted. A laying tool can give a neater appearance to needlework by helping multiple strands of floss or other fibres lay side-by-side without twisting. They are made from several type of wood and a couple combined.

Furniture

Today I thought I would post some of the furniture I have made. From bookcases to repairing/reproducing chair legs, they’re all challenging and I enjoy making them all. Each has something new I haven’t done before, be it adding doors, dovetail joints, or some detailed work, even shop made cove moulding. In the end they were fun to build.

My first big project was a day bed, redesigned from a magazine, I made it higher,added the back, and drawers in the front. The only mechanical fasteners used were screws to hold the plywood bed in place, the rest are mortise and tenon joinery.

The bed I made in 1997 and the end tables in 2002. Sorry about the picture quality, it was scanned from a print.

The book case was a big project and with something this size you always need two, the top cove and trim were had made. A lot of work but well worth it, they look great.

This hall tree I designed to match the book cases.

This TV stand was custom built, it was painted black and oriental hardware added.

This part to an older office chair required some repair, one of the legs was broken, so I replaced them all with oak, the centre joint was a dovetail cut, it worked out great, and should last another 50 years.

This is a display case I made to custom fit into an old door way, it has doors on the bottom that are spring loaded to open with a simple push.

Here is a simple bookcase for our spare room.

It is always nice to recycle wood, I got some pine from an old bed frame, dressed it an waited for a place to use it, and it didn't take long. Here is a little stand for the bathroom.

I've been told you can't have enought bookshelves, so here is one made for the kitchen and the one behind it with wheels, a place for the cat to eat.

Another recycled project, we had mahogany valances in the living room and dining room that didn’t' match what we had in mind, so once again they were set aside until the right time. We needed new living room end tables and I happen to have just the wood. They are stained with red mahogany and finished with several coats of satin poly, I am very happy how they turned out.

When sitting in a chair without a table how do you put down your thoughts comfortably, a writing slope can solve that. This is made from cherry, with leather top, the underside is my wife’s had died material; it fits with this project perfectly. And it should it was made for her.