Sometimes you just have to get after it. Last week my wife got a phone call that resulted in a major shift in our tempo. The principal at our kids school called and told my wife she had a teaching job for her, if she wanted it. This has been pretty high on the family …
A couple weeks ago, I brought up that I was waiting on a delivery. Well, it showed up the day after I wrote that post. Jimmy Diresta has a video where he restores a printing press almost identical to this one. I’ve been trying to track one down for a reasonable price ever since the …
My family returned from our yearly beach vacation this weekend. During the trip we enjoyed lots of sand, sun, and good food. I’ve developed a personal tradition of whittling on driftwood while sitting on the beach. Last year, I switched from a pocket knife to a spoon carving set. Driftwood spoons really aren’t functional. The …
One of the great things about wood turning projects, is they don’t take a lot of setup. All you need is a blank and a way to mount it on the lathe, and you’re good to go. I was waiting on a delivery this weekend, and figured a quick turning project was a good way …
When I found this button press in a local junk shop, I didn’t know exactly what it was used for. I don’t think even knew it was called a button press. It did look like it might be useful. From looking up the Handy Button Machine Company, I found out it’s used with a set …
Full disclosure, I completely stole this idea. I’ve mentioned Dave Fisher’s work before. I’ve never met or spoke to him, but in the green wood/bowl carving world, he’s kind of a big deal. I’ve read through his blog three times and learned several things each time. My wife needed a small gift for a friend …
I’ve kind of been on a streak of making small things for family for the last several days. But, even though these were all given away, lets call them prototypes for now. I can count the hours I’ve spent on leather craft on my two hands, maybe just one. I decided to learn a little …
After talking to my 9 year old last week we decided we needed to make some projects for several family members. We talked about it and came up with a good idea for a few of them. My son loves pen turning, so we wanted to do something around that. I still have some acrylic …
As I was putting the finishing touches on the bedroom furniture, I wanted to make sure I documented how the repairs looked after I was done. Here are the cracks on the edge of the top and base of the night stand. These were repaired by putting a bead of CA glue in the crack …
Well, it wasn’t intended to be a Mother’s Day present, but I timed it pretty well. After letting the lacquer cure for several days, it was time to put the finishing touches on this furniture. To cut the gloss sheen from the lacquer back, I started with 0000 steel wool, and rubbed the finish until …