Cleaned out the shop, time for a project

Hi Everyone,

Well, I think I've actually moved a mountain of stuff, dirt, and saw dust out of the shop. Gave away about 90% of the scrap wood I had and that really cleared out a lot of room. Also got rid of old wood stains, glue, and other assorted stuff I no longer need so it's time for the first project of the year.

I have a buddy in Florida who has a large collection of perfume and she needs a tray to display it all in. So after a chat online about this, I agreed to make her a large wooden tray out of pine. She also wants it stained grey and I'm attaching metal cabinet handles to make moving the whole thing a little easier. So here we go:

Photos

The tray is going to be 25" long by 18" wide and about 3" deep with metal handles on the ends. For the wooden frame and bottom I purchased an 8' long 1"x 4" pine boards and an 8' 5/16" x 4 1/2" section of pine lattice, along with 2 cabinet handles (see the photo below), and some brass wood screws:

From that I cut the parts for the frame- 2 18" parts and 2 25" long parts:

And here it is with just the pieces dry assembled on a work table:

I cut 3-25" lattice section for the bottom which were not wide enough to make a solid bottom so I took some scrap lattice from another project and cut 2-approximately 1 1/2" x 25" long additional parts to complete the bottom:

I spent some time looking at the frame and it looked a little too boxy for me so I cut 1/2" off all the boards. The sides a little lower but I think overall the tray dimensions look better:

Here's the handle-it is 6 1/4" long:

I placed the handles on top of one of the ends and didn't go for the appearance so I decided to inset the handles along the top edge of ends. It looks a little more finished that way. What I didn't want was just a box with handles on it:

To place the handles in this manner meant I had to cut the top 1/2: off and from that 1/2" strip, cut two beveled ends which will be glued to the ends with the handle placed between them. I also had to drill holes for the screws for the handles, which took a while: 

 The screws that will hold the handles on will be inset on the underside of the ends:

And here is an assembled end board with the handle just sitting on the top edge of the board. I think that looks better than just screwing the handle down:

I'm going to glue these beveled parts down to the boards and let the whole thing dry over night. Tomorrow I'm going to assemble and stain the tray so drop by the shop again on Wednesday to see how that comes out.

Stay tuned,
VW

Hello, I'm Back-Time for a Shop Clear Out

Hello All,

Well, the harsh winter weather is finally leaving us and even though the temps are still chilly, the snow has almost disappeared. In a few short weeks it will be time to get back to work.

I promised my husband I would make shop clearing and organization my first priority this season so that's what I'm in the middle of right at the moment. I've been making trips to the recycle center to get rid of the million little cans of stain I'll never use, dead bottles of glue (I forgot to take them inside this year), and I'm bravely attacking my pile of scrap lumber:

I also have some logs that I'm getting rid of as well. This should make the wood I will be keeping much easier to find and use. Ok, enough said about all that.

What will I be doing this year? I will be turning some seasoned turning blanks and moving them out and I've exhausted my supply of wooden spoons so more of those are on the way as well. I am going to be getting rid of my living room furniture so I'm in the process of thinking about what I would like to build in their place. I'm not going to be building a lot as I would prefer a simpler less cluttered look going forward.

I've been wandering through the Internet and Pinterest looking at photos of artwork and types of craft work that I don't do such as basket making, painting and photography and enjoying the amazing results that other crafts people produce. In particular I've returned to the work of Peter Follansbee, the green woodworker on the east coast. I've always loved his carvings and the boxes he makes and I may look into that more later this spring.

And I'm planning on making some furniture for my deck so I can go outside and read and think in comfort.

In the fall, the cabinetmaking courses begin again. I've had a difficult time what with recovery from some surgery I had and just plain ol' being sick. But I have recovered so I'll be working on those courses full time beginning in late August.

So there it is!  There's always something going on in the wood shop so grab some coffee, put your feet up and let's get to work!

Stay tuned,
VW

Little Free Library build-postscript

Hi Everyone,

Well the little library is done but done too late-it's gotten too cold to dig a hole and fill it with concrete and expect the concrete to solidify. So we can't place the post and the library in the ground this year. It will have to wait until next spring. The little library will be placed inside my home and wrapped up so the cats don't get to it. Humbug!

Anyway, it's time to close up shop for the winter. I'll be sweeping and dumping all of the unusable scrap wood I've collected and getting ready for the holidays.

I'm grateful to be back working in the wood shop and being able to do all the wood working stuff that I do. Next semester I'll be in the wood shop that is used by the cabinet making course I'm in and I'll tell you all about that as well as do other projects here on my own.

So my friends, have a wonderful rest of the year and a terrific New Year!

Best Always,
VW

Little Free Library build-it's finished!

Hi Everyone,

Well, here it is:

What a challenge this was-it's like building a house. There are a lot of little details (and aggravations) that went into it but it's very very strong, waterproof, and I think it could withstand a tidal wave. As I mentioned previously I live in a rugged climate with snow, lots of rain, and wind so the box had to be water tight and the finish had to be water proof and I think that's been accomplished.

The building of the box portion of the library was very straight forward and didn't really present any challenges other than running out of plywood at one point. The door however was a challenge. I built two frames and re-did the second frame and window twice before I got a door that would fit flush, keep out water and snow, look appealing from the street, and basically be destruction proof in case anyone thinks of vandalizing it. But I managed to prevail. The hinges were another difficulty as I couldn't find any hinges that were small enough to fit but strong enough to move the door multiple times without coming loose. Here's the hinges on the side of the box:

There is also a simple knob on the front and a hook and eye latch on the right hand side of the door to keep it closed.

The roof is similar to a regular roof on a house. I used construction adhesive and wood screws to attach it to the roof panels and I guess time will tell if it leaks. I don't think it will as there is a ton of adhesive underneath all of that roofing material.

The post and the framework

The post hole is going to be dug this weekend. The library itself is very heavy and so we need a very deep hole to support it, as well as a strong theft proof frame to hold the library onto the pole. And I'll let you know how that goes in a later posting.

Well, I'm glad I did it but I'm not too keen on doing another one anytime soon.

I will do a posting about the post and the frame and show you photos of it in place.

Stay tuned,
VW

Little Free Library build-nearing completion

Hi Everyone,

Well, here it is:

I still have to finish the door and put it on and there are a few odds and ends that need fixing. I think it's going to look really nice outside.

I'm going to screw and glue the Lexan pane on the door later this evening and screw it on tomorrow.

Stay tuned,
VW

Little Free Library Build-the roof, re-doing the door, and the exterior finish

Hello All,

Brrr, it's getting really cold outside and it's beginning to snow so my work time was brief today. Here's today's photos:

The roof:

Someone, I'm not sure who it was, donated some black roofing paper, several strips of roofing tiles, and a box of nails to the project. As I got on the last roof panel last night, it was time to put the roof on. Here's a photo of the paper in place. I held it in place with staples and spray adhesive to hold it still while I worked on it:

Here it is with the paper trimmed and in place:

I know this looks crooked but it really is straight and it' looks very nice against the brown stain:

The door

The door I made yesterday wound up not fitting the face frame-the frame inside for the Lexan panel didn't fit the inside space of the face frame so there was about a 1/2" gap between the door and the frame. So I had to make another one. It's down stairs with red paint on it and I'll install it tomorrow.

The exterior stain

I don't have a photo of the stain on the sides of the box. It's a medium brown, transparent deck stain and it looks really nice, especially with the red door next to it. I'll have to get photos of all this tomorrow afternoon.

In the mean time, I ran a screw into my left index finger so I'll need to tend to that and get some dinner.

Stay tuned,
VW

Little Free Library build-the door

Hi Again,

Well, the day I've been dreading has arrived-time to build the door.

The door in the plans is essentially a window with hinges, a knob, and a door clasp. I've never made a window before so I've had to improvise a lot and hope for the best. Here's the photos from today:

I debated whether to build an inset door or just to basically copy the face frame. I even consulted my  husband the engineer on this one and eventually I decided to go with a face frame type door. It is bigger and heavier that an inset door would be but I think it will keep out water better so face frame door it is:

And so that's what I did. Here is the completed door from the front:

The second part of the door is the window. I have a small Lexan sheet that I'm going to use. I built a frame work around the opening in the door and I plan to butt the edges of the Lexan window again the frame and glue and screw it in place:

This is what the underside of the door looks like:

And since red is the color of welcome, I've painted the door frame red. It will look nice against the natural wood color:

Next I will attach the face frame to the box with screws and glue and finish up any other work. Then it's time to apply a finish to the exterior of the box and the frame. I'll try and get to all of that this evening. Once this is done, all that remains is the roof and apply some exterior deck stain to the pole to preserve it. And then it's time to put it in the ground.

Stay tuned,
VW