This piece of wood has gone a long way from a tree, through a log and finished as timber. I still remember that sycamore tree growing in my backyard. It was cut down and I saved a couple of logs for future projects – the rest ended as firewood. Before I put those logs away, whilst they were still wet, I chopped them in half with an axe to speed up the drying process. A few years passed and they were ready. One of those logs, I clamped in my SuperJaws and with my jack plane, I gave it one…

Power carving is about noise, dust and turning wood into art fast. The progress is quick and gives much satisfaction. It’s easier with cordless tools as they offer more freedom in moving from one spot to another. Especially a cordless angle grinder equipped with a carving disc may be very helpful. There are many carving and shaping discs for angle grinders, I use what I think is safe. Proper clamps also help in quick repositioning the workpiece – I use SuperJaws with soft, nylon pads. This head was mostly finished with power tools, just a few spots with limited access…

I have to admit that this miniature house is a replica of a project I found on the Internet. According to one of the sources (social media), this little house is made by architect Leif Larsen from Denmark and the original is 8 cm high. My version is slightly different and almost 3 times bigger but the idea remains the same. It’s rough timber, a gable roof and most importantly an ascending staircase that ends up with a door opening. My staircase is “plastered”, I also replaced a single chimney in the centre with twin chimneys. It’s still close to…

That set was an upgrade to the existing project – a nightstand that I made sometime in the past. There was some unused storage space left in between those 2 tiers and I had to change that. One of the solutions to the problem was a conversion to a cabinet by simply adding panels and a door, possibly with shelves inside. The other solution was to add 1 bigger or 2 smaller drawers and only use half of the space, leaving the bottom tier as it was. I made the decision in the shop when I found the perfect pine…

Earlier that summer I made a set of oversized mouldings, that could be used in many applications. Due to their size and shape, they could find some use as structural elements, for example, legs, corner connectors etc. or as decorative mouldings. They were strong, straight and thick, also the grain was almost knot-free. All they needed was a thorough sanding, getting rid of saw marks and other imperfections left by a router. I took one of these mouldings and decided to make some art – something decorative and patriotic. Now that it’s finished, it looks like a white and red…

The jigsaw cabriole legs couldn’t wait forever for their second half. Sooner or later I had to have that bookcase finished, all I needed was the proper material to start the project. I couldn’t find any good plywood locally so I ordered it online. Cut to size and surprisingly at a good price too. There wasn’t much left to do with a product like this, however, some steps had to be finished to enjoy my new bookcase. Some of the sheets had to be cut to get a couple of strips for the mounting pads. They could be ordered like…

This base has 2 cabriole legs in the front and 2 regular legs at the back. It’s made that way because only the front ones will be visible. That was a project which I postponed for a long time, looking for the right tool for the job. The most obvious choice would be a band saw, of course, which I don’t have. But I like to complicate things and try alternative tools and methods to make stuff. The jigsaw, I used, was powerful and heavy-duty and could cut up to 150 mm (almost 6″) through the wood! It accepts blades…