Woodworking Thread

So much of fine woodworking is choosing the wood correctly for different parts of a project. Straight grain for straight legs, arched grain for curved legs, arched aprons, etc.

A master at this and a good way to gain insight into the artistic aspects is to read books written by James Krenov. I have most of them and am wiling to loan them out. In there you will learn all kinds of nuances that give a piece presence and character. For example he will talk about using grain to create arches in table aprons or parts of a furniture frame. The arch gives a natural support bridging the legs. Turn it upside down and the piece will instead display tension. This is just one example of many wonderful insights that are not difficult to master, but need to be understood. An example taken from my night stand illustrates the concept.

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This was made for me as Christmas gift a couple of years ago. It's just about 2ft in length. When the wind blows and the blades rotate, the baby loon goes up and down. The mechanism is inside the longer green piece of wood. The momma loon is carved out of a solid piece of reclaimed barn wood from Roland Creek Farm, and the cattail is made of left over copper from my countertops and painted.

I know nothing about woodworking but this thread is awesome you guys really have some talent.

pacamom wrote: This was made for me as Christmas gift a couple of years ago. It's just about 2ft in length. When the wind blows and the blades rotate, the baby loon goes up and down. The mechanism is inside the longer green piece of wood. The momma loon is carved out of a solid piece of reclaimed barn wood from Roland Creek Farm, and the cattail is made of left over copper from my countertops and painted.

I like the recycling aspect of it all. It is a very nice whirly-gig. I've not made any of them, but can see that happening in the future. BTW, you did a great job in decribing it.

CinnamonGirl wrote: I know nothing about woodworking but this thread is awesome you guys really have some talent.

Look who's talking. Miss Talent herself. It was your fantastic afgan? that inspired this thread.

I know there are some more woodworkers out there. I may have to go on a raiding party.

Yes, please more. It is really cool. Thank you Franz. You are very kind. I probably won't be making anything else until next winter.

RenegadeCJ wrote: See...this is why I don't want to post my tinkering....when you have a craftsman like Rockdoc here!!

My daughter needed a stepstool and I didn't like the cheap walmart plastic ones, so I took a bunch of old 1x4's from crates a packing company throws away by my office, and made this....

Course, I'm just a noobie, not a skilled professional like Rockdoc. Maybe someday!!!

That is beautiful! It would be great for her to keep and use when she has kids of her own. I can't believe you made that from old crates. Very resourceful! :woo hoo:

I'm like RenegadeCJ, if I have to buy anything other than a few screws for a project, it was a failure!

I get a lot of enjoyment out of evaluating what I have on hand, and figuring out how to make it accomplish the desired purpose.

Or, looking at some of the 'junk' I have collected, and trying to figure out something 'useful' to do with it! lol

My brother is the ultimate junk collector because he is the ultimate creator. I do not know anything he can not do well. Thus he sees a project possibility for everything.

Personally, I periodically houseclean, a must or I'd end up like my brother. This pertains to wood too. I want to save all cut offs for there is always something one can create out of them.

We needed some racks in the greenhouse for plants recently, so I used the balusters off the deck from the old house we demolished to make the rack seen below. Turns out previous owners pained over redwood. After planing the balusters to thickness, the soft red color of the redwood showed. I ended up make three of these. Nothing fancy, just nailed together. I'm afraid I did not take a picture without plants on it, but I think you can see the basic concept.

All the wood is square about 1.75 inches on a side. I left 1/4 inch space between the bench pieces for drainage.

All plants are a living birthday gift from my princess, Sunshine Girl. :Love: