Category: Wood
Marble Machine
I haven't posted anything about it yet, but I think a lot of you have heard about it already, as Sean talks about it constantly. He and I have been building a modular marble machine based on plans from this site. It's taken a long time, and it still isn't finished - but it's definitely in a 'playable' state right now. Next time you're visiting, ask Sean if you can see it. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to oblige!
Lathe Project – Pens
I've been noodling around on the lathe at night over the last week, and here's what I've made. These are pretty fun to make. They're a good project for someone new to the lathe, because they are pretty easy to make, and I can take one from a raw blank to a finished pen in a single evening. Plus they're a good way to use up some small offcuts of figured wood that I can't really use for anything else.
First Try with the Lathe
Yesterday afternoon, I tried the lathe for the first time. Wasn't really trying to make anything specific - just following the book I've got, and tried practicing with several different chisels and techniques. When I was done, I sanded it and gave it to Carter to play with. Planning to try to make a pen next - might start on it tonight.
Workshop
Scrollsaw Cart
Band-Saw Box #2
Coffee Table – 3D Model
Medicine Cabinet – 3D Model
I've been wanting to play around with Google SketchUp, and making a 3D model of the medicine cabinet I plan to build served two purposes - it gave me a chance to play with the tool, and it also gave me a chance to see what the cabinet would look like. I must say, I like it on both counts! Google SketchUp is pretty neat, although I feel like I must have done a few things the hard way while making this model. Hopefully with experience, I'll figure out the easy way. And now that I've seen it in 3D, I'm liking this cabinet design better and better. Can't wait to start building!
Woodworking – Medicine Cabinet
Getting ready to start a new project. Both our upstairs and downstairs bathrooms are in need of new medicine cabinets. The type the previous owners left behind are the bargain-basement particle board type, and they are falling apart. I think that I am going to work on this project in parallel with finishing the work on building my router table. I'm hoping to learn some new techniques on this project - inset frame-and-panel cabinet doors, and I also plan to try and veneer the panels using some fancy burl veneer I picked up in a veneer lot on Ebay a few years ago (and haven't touched since). Below is my concept drawing for the piece - I am going to try and document the project on our blog as I go.