Projects Page 4
I've had the following cradles started for almost two years now(Dec '02). Having an unfinished project is like a woodworking albatross around my neck. The wood used is salvaged primavera that I have used for many of my other projects. The wood is a 'soft' hardwood and very white. Like pine, primavera tends to blotch with stain even with a wood pre conditioner...pigmented stains make the staining difficult because it tends to emphasis small scratches and wood imperfections. These imperfections, to name a few, result from pithy portions in the wood, nail holes and grain irregularities.
(click on picture for a larger view)
 |
The wood is just a little less than 1" thick before planing. The joints are handcut dovetails cut with a dozuki and a dovetail guide from Lee Valley. The waste was cut with a coping saw and cleaned up with a chisel. The rockers are two pieces laminated together. Some of the nail holes were drilled out and plugged. |
| A wood preconditioner was used before a gel stain(chestnut) was applied. Two coats of satin poly were sprayed on. The bead along the bottom edge and the grooves in the rockers were cut with a 90 degree router bit and then rounded off with sand paper. |  |
 |
The imperfection just beneath the arch in the front is one of those pith sections in the wood. Sometimes I fill them with epoxy but, in this case, I left it. A couple of plugs can be seen in the side and front. A very close inspection will show some sanding boo-boos and a few of those swirly things that an orbital sander leaves. Someday I will learn to deal with these appropriately. |
My daughter-in-law suggested I make a hutch for the top of my grandson's desk. The wood is salvaged pine. The dividers are dadoed into the bottom, shelf or back.
| Note the square tenons thru the sides... Took some work but it was worth the extra effort. |   |
 |
That's Brady the happy owner of the hutch. |  |
I spent about a week building a playhouse(Sept '04)for the grandkids. This is one of the few projects in which I bought the wood. I made the local Menard's happy. The roof is ground contact, half inch plywood and the roof seams are sealed against the weather. The sides are that cedar fencing. One could put a crescent moon on the side and the playhouse would pass for a privey on legs. There are no windows at the request of the kids mom, who asked the house be built.
| That's Hope and Brady enjoying their new playhouse. |  |
 |