Archive

A custom branding iron received for Father’s Day is one of the coolest presents ever, despite still mastering the technique.

Wrapped up this small, Shaker-style(ish) black limba side table. I’m really happy with how this one turned out. The drawer was 1/16th too large and required some creative fixes to slide smoothly, but it got there. Finished with Rubio Monocoat.

Work continues on the little side table. Since I’ll be relying on mechanical connections from this point forward, I have the joy of finishing pieces individually. Once finish wraps up, I’ll be assembling the frame and starting on the drawer box.

Gluing up the top for a small, shaker-style table. So many clamps (and prayers to the gods of woodworking.)

Wrapped up this small box. Pretty happy with how it turned out, overall. Those mitres could be improved and I perhaps rushed some sanding. I learned a lot about flocking wood boxes. Needed a bit more glue and a lot more flocking fibres. I love the clasp on this one.

Another box! Built and glued-up as one piece and cut the lid on the bandsaw. I’ll probably build a donkey-ear shooting board to clean up my box mitres, in the future. There’s some very nice jewellery box hardware waiting to be used for this one. Might even flock the inside.

Our pool isn’t anything special (and is very temporary), but we’ve always talked about setting up a poolside table/bar. Some pressure-treated lumber, post spikes, an umbrella, and one Sunday afternoon made it a reality. For making it up as I went, I’m pretty happy with how it …

Millie being a very good shop dog.

Getting some box practice in with this gorgeous Black Limba. I’ll probably do another version with full grain matching on the outside, but it felt better to just dive back in. Will be adding a lid with a contrasting dark wood handle.

A tool isn’t really “yours” until you’ve had to disassemble it to diagnose an issue. I learned a lot about how my bandsaw is constructed, tonight.

Been building a mobile stand for my new toy — a 10” bench top bandsaw from Rikon. I researched options for a long time and this feels like a good fit. Solid construction, cast iron table, a good fence, and 5” of resaw capacity. Excited to start adding it to my workflow.

Took some time to paint and mount the plant shelves, over the weekend. I countersunk some screws in the vertical supports and filled the holes with some plugs I cut from scrap pieces. Both feel like they’ll hold up relatively well.

Future shop dog in training.

I spotted this Black Limba at KJP Hardwoods and couldn’t resist picking some up. Love the grain on these boards and I can’t wait to dig in to some projects.

I’m not sure if it’s a problem everywhere, but businesses in our area love littering coroplast signs — the ones with metal prong feet — all over the public boulevards. Including right outside our house. I used to just throw them away, but I eventually realized I was ditching valuable …

Wrapped my up frame for my new print from Jimmy DiResta. Continuing my love for big, wide picture frames. Used some more of my leftover poplar and finished with Rubio Monocoat. Feeling pretty happy with how it turned out. Even if I did get a little blood on it. It adds to the charm.

Building a frame for this beautiful print from the man himself. Picked up the Veritas shooting board & plane and my 45° mitres have never looked better.

Built two plant pot shelves out of some leftover poplar from the bathroom built-ins. Will end up painted, sealed, and mounted in the backyard.

Custom built-in shelving for our recent bathroom renovation. 3/4" plywood for the carcass and shelves, with poplar face frames to clean it all up. Built shaker-style cabinet doors for the first time, which was made much easier by picking up a rail & stile router bit set. Quite happy with …

Been playing around with a small hobby CNC machine. Made some quick upgrades — including the spindle & mount, end stops, and the emergency stop button. I’ve been doing some test cuts, but I’m excited to continue learning and creating with it.

The second iteration of my crosscut sled, which has thoroughly replaced my mitre saw for most tasks. Just over 20 1/2" deep and constructed from 3/4" plywood it — combined with the extra infeed support on my table saw cart — allows me to crosscut some pretty wide stock. The end stop was …

The third iteration of my table saw cart. I don’t have the space for a proper table saw, but I’ve had great luck with this DeWalt DWE7485 job site saw. I added outfeed support with mitre slot extensions, side wings, and infeed support. All of which fold down for storage. Combined with …

Continuing my obsession with chunky items, I built a picture frame for my partner’s fabulous artwork. I used some nice maple, cut a bevel on the inside, and cut down some acrylic for the “glass.” First time trying out the point driver, which worked out quite well.

The boy likes to skate. We made a rink out of 1/4" plywood, some homemade stakes, a tarp, and a bit of luck.

Quick shot of my previous dust collection setup. The good ol' “shop-vac and cyclone on a bucket” setup served me well for a very long time. I added a twist by 3D-printing a wye and some blast gates, which let me swap between a long hose for the big tools (table saw, router table, etc) …

My son was loving bean-bag toss games, so I decided to surprise him with this. Constructed almost entirely out of plywood scraps I had lying around. The numbers are 3D-printed. It was a big hit.

Glued up three oak boards and took a run at my first round tabletop. I used a palm router (beefed up with some aftermarket handles) and a circle jig, which turned out really well. I attempted a spray poly finish, but could have done more sanding between coats. The midges loved the poly, which …

Another chunky box. I finished it with spray-on poly, buffing with Kraft paper in-between coats. I managed to refine my half-laps and added the angled handle to the lid.

Sometimes you just want a box that’s small and chunky. This was my first time practicing half-lap joints on the table saw. The box lives on in my son’s room, containing various knick-knacks.

When we moved into this house, the backyard had a rickety chainlink gate that was falling over. I enlisted some help from my Dad to get the 6x6 posts set, then another two weekends to build the gates and mount them. Pretty enough to please the neighbours, but wide enough to drive a camper through.

Farmhouse-style bench for the back patio, built from Home Depot 2x4 material. My finishing/staining technique has improved considerably since completing this project, but it has held up well for more than two years.

Sometimes, in life, you have a tiny person in your care who likes to run. And then you need a gate.