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Whoa-O Cacao
Out of nowhere, it’s turning into a series of heads, or whatever it may be called. There is already one on the wall, I call it Bandit, this one is the 2nd, and another project is underway. They are always made as I go, without any plans, maybe just with a blurred vision in my head. One thing in common – they’re made from scrap material and other upcycled items. They also have their names. I started by drilling 2 holes/sockets for the dowels. Not all way through, I left lips to support the dowels on them. Next, I routed…
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USB LED lamp
This lamp replaced my x-mas lights in a bottle one, as it simply burned out after 2 ½ years of use. The project involved cutting a new bottle and making a wooden base for it. The old bottle finished its life in a recycling bin, it was time to try alternative methods and approaches to making bottle lamps. The challenge was always about inserting a wire through the glass or placing it into the glass (bottle) in a nice and only way, which was from the bottom. There were no safety features to be concerned with because it was using…
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Simple picture frame
In general, that was a very simple project. Setting the blade to 90º and the mitre gauge to 45º took some time as that had to be done precisely. Once the setup was done, the cutting and glueing were quite straightforward. I lightly clamped the frame with a strap clamp, using very little force and then aligned all 4 corners with small c- and quick-release clamps. I didn’t want any dents in the timber so again I didn’t apply much pressure. Slowly and precisely, there was absolutely no rush and no pressure. Once the glue dried I removed the clamps…
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Thunderbolt
Just another wall decoration, but if there is nothing complicated in cutting the timber or if the wood joints are simple – the finish has to differentiate the project from many others. In this case, these are the colours and beautifully exposed grain. The thunderbolt comprises only 2 blocks of timber deliberately divided with 2 rounded edges. I started with cutting tapers using my tapering jig. The first board could be placed against the jig’s fence, but the other was held just with the clamps, it was still safe though. I set my mitre gauge to about 83º and cut…
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Large round planter
They are quite expensive to buy and relatively easy to make. Since I could purchase cut-to-length timber, that fitted into my boot at a good price I took up the challenge to make a wooden planter. I got 18 pieces of timber, 529 x 97 x 40 mm cut from 2 full lengths of 4.8 m each. Those were way too long for any car, that’s why it was important to get the timber cut to more manageable sizes. I used 14 pieces for the walls and the remaining 4 were supposed to be used for the bottom. However, I…
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Bandit
This was the last job for my chain saw as it was sold the very next day. Initially, I was trying to use a reciprocating saw to make these cuts, but eventually, the tool of choice was something more violent, something that leaves deeper saw marks. Cutting and carving at the same time. I made a few straight cuts with and across the grain to get the shape I wanted. To add some character to the end grain sides I made a series of shallow cuts, more like carving with a chain saw. Next, I burnt the wood with a…
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Finger joint jig
This is just an attachment for my table saw sledge, it can’t be used on its own. It’s made of scrap, unused and upcycled materials. Very cheap to make and didn’t take much time. It was one of these jigs that had to be made sooner or later as it is quite essential addition to any shop. There will be a new way to join wood, strong joints that also look good. First I removed one corner from the timber block, and that was only done to get the same height as the backing fence it was going to be…
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Saw-toothed skull
I had to download a template for this project and resize it to my needs. First I transferred the middle part to the board and only using a jigsaw I cut out the shape. Even the nose was entirely cut with a jigsaw. The only thing worth highlighting is that the selected blade had the teeth pointing down, so they cut on the downstroke producing a cleaner edge on the top. Once the middle parts were cut I spaced them apart a little and transferred the right-hand side part from the template to the board. Flipped over and traced to…
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Plant stand
A simple outdoor project, scrap timber, leftover wood oil and basic joinery. For me, it’s very satisfying that I turned something with no value into something pretty and functional. Learning new skills and having fun at the same time, that’s what I like. It is also a nice feeling to do outdoor projects in summer, proper projects at the proper time. I selected the timber for the project and cut off one side (rip cut) that was rough and had a lot of saw marks (from an industrial band saw I believe). I left one side rounded, just as it…
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Wooden bath mat
The top is made of construction timber (white deal aka spruce) and for the runners, I used some scrap, but better quality material. It’s generally an experiment, built to have some fan, practice skills and try new finishes. Of course, it serves another purpose – exiting a shower/bath with class. First I needed to plane the timber slats from all 4 sides. Due to moisture content (~12%) it needed some further sanding as the planed surface wasn’t perfectly smooth and it got some tear-out. But before that, I cut everything to length on my table saw. With my router and…
