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Display frame shelf
This shelf can be called a 3D picture frame, picture frame shelf, picture shadow box shelf etc, etc… In my case finding the right name is even more confusing as this one was built like a drawer. Anyway, I started the build by cutting the board to a rough size. I made a temporary fence and clamped it down with two clamps, one of them on the opposite side, but that was still OK as the working pieces were quite small. That layout helped to stabilize the fence. It took me ages to set the right fence position and the…
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Advocaat bottle cut
Thick and heavy glass, a perfect addition to my handmade collection. It’s actually the first glass with labels and this makes it so special. After I cracked the bottle with boiling and cold water I had to remove some material with a glass cutter. Then came the sanding – from 40 to 3000 grit. Outside first, inside last, polishing with compound and paste. All steps are shown below: Taking pictures required light so I lowered the lamp to the bench level. Smooth and shiny. Washed straight away with washing-up liquid and ready to serve. As the day was dull I…
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5-hole wooden vent cover
The main challenge to design and build this one was its shape and its function. It had to cover a not-so-square hole and there had to be 2 cables going through the board with their large, UK plugs. I built it square and simple (unlike the hole beneath it). I didn’t use my table saw in that project, just a circular saw and a speed square. The board had the right width, so it was easy to get started. Once cut to size I drilled holes and gave them a sanding. I used my router with a round-over bit to…
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Autumn tools, edition 2019
The most important upgrade to my “shed shop” this year was the new table saw Bosch GTS 10J Professional. I’d watched tons of YouTube videos and read thousands of reviews prior to buying this one. I must say I like this saw! It’s easy to move from place to place, it’s easy to clean with compressed air, the top is flat, it has a paddle-off switch and the riving knife has the right size and position. On the other hand, it has a very badly designed mitre gauge, and it comes with a terrible blade. Makita TM3000CX4 Oscillating Multi-Tool is…
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Vertical sundial
For this project, I used some scrap steel roofing sheets. It only looked bad but in fact, it had a protective film on it. A couple of days prior to that build I printed out the template and tested it. I was very happy with its accuracy. No astronomical knowledge was needed as all the work was done by the script on a website. However, it’s good to know how it works. I glued the template to the sheet with contact adhesive. Using my razor-sharp snips I quickly cut out the shape. Next, I punched some holes and flattened the…
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Circular saw jig
It’s made of OSB, steel and spruce timber. Simple and stiff construction, ideal for cutting long pieces of timber such as skirting boards. Cutting at 2 angles: 45 and 90º made easy. (The post Improved circular saw jig can be found here) The first thing to do was to trim the board to length. It was an easy job for my recently bought circular saw. 4 supporting pieces I cut on my table saw as they were too small for any other tool. The steel corner I bought had to be cut in half, but that was the easy part.…
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Garden hose stand
It’s usually an arch that supports the hose, but in my build, I’m using 2 rounded bars. I am hoping that there won’t be any kinks and dents in the hose and the whole construction will last for years. Once I had all the timber cut to size I used my hole saw to remove some material from the horizontal pieces. As the material was too thick I had to proceed with my coping saw. To clean the cut I used the hole saw again. I then roughly removed the corners with 2 tools – a coping saw and a…
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Polish vodka bottle cut
This vodka is the best and the most famous Polish vodka. It’s yummy, which is quite unusual! Bittersweet, herbal taste. I remembered to remove the cap during the “glass cracking” part. I must say the first (buying + drinking) and the second part (cutting + cracking) of the project went very smoothly. The cut glass looks nice and it’s symmetrical and round rather than oval and uneven. When I moved to the third part, which was polishing I made a couple of mistakes that had to be reworked. First things first. Sanding with coarse sandpaper was followed by a final…
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Gallows lamp
3 pieces of wood and 4 dowels were used in this project. The length of the arm was approximately half of the dining table, so the light could spread evenly throughout the top. I started by cutting the tenon on my table saw and then shaping the other end of that arm. To minimize any tear-out I drilled the hole before proceeding to my sanding station. I wasn’t sure what bulb holder would be installed (plastic or metal) so I used for this project a 3-core cable, just in case. Sanding took a while. I used more aggressive belts first…
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Cocktail tabouret
Made of 6 pieces of wood, dowels not included. Angles are 45° and 60°. Quite simple construction but the 60° angles had to be cut very precisely. I started by cutting all the pieces to length, and then I cut little grooves into the top pieces. Initially, I was going to use dowels and glue, but these angles made me change my mind – I had to use additional fasteners – screws. So I had to drill some countersunk holes for the legs and using screws and glue I fixed the legs to the top. I used longer screws and…
