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Oil bottles
This wasn’t the first attempt to cut these square oil bottles. I’ve been using this oil for a while for 2 reasons – it is good oil and of course to get the bottles themselves. Surprisingly this time I successfully cut all of them! No rejects! I didn’t remove the labels because it had always failed. But not this time – I still can’t believe it – 100% success! The DIY dry grinding station was set and ready to go. Some dust was created and trapped by cobwebs. The top and outside edges are smooth and polished. Sandpaper from 40…
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Marking knife
It is always a good idea to have one and it is very satisfying to make one! All you need is a knife that is about to end in a bin. And some tools. Cut and prepared for polishing. The knife doesn’t have to be insanely sharp. It’s just a marking knife, single bevel because I’m right-handed. The drill rotates slower than the angle grinder and this is crucial to get a fine polish. Grits from 40 to 3000 were used. It works. A quite nice line is marked and ready for cutting or chiselling.
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Budget thickness sander
Its capacity is 60 x 5 cm (width x height). This should be OK for most of my future projects, however, there is an easy way to increase these dimensions. The nuts shown in the picture below will be replaced by butterfly wing nuts in the coming days, these were just easier to get at my local store. It’s made from upcycled workbench from LIDL. The original top is replaced by a homemade angle grinder table top. Cutting the MDF is producing a lot of dust. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of wearing a dust mask. The borders can…
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Making the letter Z
It’s made of 3 large elements and a few smaller ones. Spruce and pine, some pieces were supposed to be ebony stained. But when I finished cutting them I noticed there were too many knots in them and probably the stain wouldn’t soak in properly. It is upcycled wood, commercial pallets, completely different size than euro pallets. 17 pieces of wood and 39 screws were used to build this project. There are 4 castors attached by 4 screws each, these screws are not included! It seems to be very sturdy. Very happy with how this came out! There is one…
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Making the letter K
I think it looks great above the fireplace. Very original and unique. Way better than a mirror or a cheap picture. The pieces are joined by glue and pocket screws. Sanded and ebony stained. Very soft in touch. The wood grain texture is nicely exposed and the stain was wiped off just after application. It is a very good idea to clean off the excess before it dries. The finish is not glossy and tacky – it’s beautifully satin. One of my favourite projects!
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Summer tools, edition 2017
Tactix tape measure is a beauty! Dual-sided blade printing for maximum visibility and large magnetized hook. It is perfect for someone who prefers using millimetres rather than inches. It can be extended to approx. 220 cm before it breaks. DIYed table saw. It uses Ryobi EWS1150RS circular saw and a homemade mini table. I have 2 blades for this saw: for cross-cutting and rip-cutting. It wouldn’t work without the bar that suspends the saw and helps to get a perfect 90-degree angle. Not exactly happy with this purchase, because setting it up takes so much time and there’s no guarantee that…
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Unbreakable garden bench
The idea was to build something extremely sturdy, something that even kids will never break. And another thing was to build something weatherproof. I got some reclaimed wood from work. Cut into pieces, and rounded the edges using my router. Sanding, staining and assembling. Drilling holes for heavy-duty bolts wasn’t easy at all. It’s good to have a backup bench, like this one, just in case your primary one is being restored/painted. Or if you want to have a pint in your backyard, far away from street noise. All reclaimed wood! Ebony stain leftovers – the only money was spent…
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Cut and polished bottles
Mostly bottles and jars from time to time. Various colours, shapes and sizes. Exchanged for pallets and building materials. Never sold any of them. Maybe the asking price was a little too much for some people. And it wasn’t cheap! To cut the bottles I’m using a jig, homemade, second generation, the first one couldn’t manage square bottles and jars. Removing the labels from the bottles is also a challenge. Water only works sometimes, but they’re there to help: This one looks like it’s been cut in half, not sure if this is the same bottle – probably 2 different…
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Bottle neck frame shelf
100% upcycled pallet wood. This frame shelf is made from a single plank, cut into 4 pieces. That means it’s not so big, but it’s big enough to display 4 cut bottle necks. Cable clips were used to hang the frame. Not too strong, but for this particular project they did the job. Quick job with cutting the bottle necks. Quick grinding and polishing, little imperfections can be seen when the necks are lifted up off the shelf. This is how it looks on the wall. Ebony stained as most of my projects in this room. This project combines upcycling,…
