Knot Your Average Grain Woodworking

My son loves ducks right now. He spots them all over, and when we think he's just saying the word, he'll point, and we'll discover a duck on a label or a logo. I made him this simple puzzle based on a pattern I found in a 1980s woodworking magazine.

I used face paint, thinking if it goes on a face, it must be safe. I had some pretty poor results with it and wouldn't use it again for something like this.

The frame took a couple of attempts, but I'm content with the fit. It was finished with a couple coats of spray shellac.

I built this toddler 'helper tower' for my favorite fan. I started from a picture and made adjustments as I saw fit. I made the tower 16"x16" and fit it to the height of the counter. I fit three slots for the base to be adjustable but at 15 months, we're already on the lowest setting.

The build was all plywood from my old workbench and I used some leftover poplar dowel from the pikler triangle.

I'll post the rest of the build tomorrow.

I just finished this board I had commissioned in Jan. Just in time for their anniversary and Valentines Day.

I'll have a reel coming soon to highlight its beauty, but for now, picture of the build process.

The customers wanted larger end grain sections, which meant thicker wood. They wanted purpleheart to be the focus, and we agreed on size and features. Not pictured are the standard feet with stainless steel hardware.

The kiddo was sick often throughout this build, which left me with some unusual build times and limited tool use at night. The biggest limitation ive found, as a new dad, is that I don't give myself slack when I'm unable to be as productive as before kids.

Upgraded my miter saw bench to a space that is more suited to storage and breaking down larger material. It's a huge footprint in my shop and was a master class in full extension drawer slides. 23 sets in total. I need to work on organizing them to have a better work flow.

It was sentimental breaking down my old bench that was generally too high and too deep to utilize efficiently. I still have the pile of construction pine and low grade ply that I made my original with two years ago. I'm sure another project will present itself that I can use those boards again.

I still need to figure out a better dust collection but for the moment I'm happy with the progress.

I've been busy taking all the piles of partially finished projects and getting them completed. These turned out amazing and they are all for sale right now:

More projects that are finally being completed coming soon!

It's been a while since I posted.

I got commissioned to make a hexagon picnic table and the customers wanted me to follow the directions from Ana White. I'd never used her instructions before and I found them to be decent but not great. The framework for this build was great. There were a few important details that were left out (mostly regarding leg spacing).

The build was a ton of fun and the customers love it. I hosed off the dust with to create the pictures. It will remain natural for its lifetime.

I've been taking a ton of pictures and videos. It's hard enough to make time to create with an 8 month old but the video and photo edits and uploads are the big thing that suffers. Bear with me, I've got some great stuff coming soon.

Belated Happy Father's Day [gift].

We've been busy being sick.

I also got some red metal from the fancy brand.

This is the process of making 'board butter' which is part beeswax (and sometimes others for smell/texture) and mineral oil. I use a rough 3:1 ratio oil:wax and it makes for easy application with a rag. I prefer the more waxy rub in/rub off feel. No Karate Kid pun here.
Usually I give them away with each board but im thinking of selling them to preserve all your wooden kitchen items.

Baby bookshelves!

We were given some old Ikea bed slats and I knee I'd have a project for them eventually (justifying being a wood hoarder).

I measured them to be centered on the wall and not go past the light switch. I chose these joints to add a little extra strength compared to butt joints (&glue).

Once assembled, we made keyhole holes and screwed into the studs. This way if we want to paint them (or laser cut literary quotes into them), we can do it with ease.

We had an issue with some of the wood having some twist and the simple frames not enough to correct the twist. However, even with a small gap on one side, they still function just as well. Let me know what you think!

Find piece for project.
Remove bark. Sand.
Make mold. Silicone and mold release.
Pour epoxy.
Love the results.

Knot your average baby. He's a classy baby with mahogany hand plane shavings. How stunning cute is he in this oneself?

Game night at the office with .

Polishing some brass that I picked up (off the ground). It took me just over 2 hours for this batch but I think the results are worth it.

Without polishing the brass first, it doesn't have a nice luster in epoxy. It oxidizes during the epoxy reaction causing it to brown and dull.

Next step is to seal the insides with some silicone. This is done to prevent bubbles from forming and helps to ensure an accurate volume of pour. Be sure to let that silicone fully cure or the heat from the epoxy will cause some issues!

Popped the spalted oak out of the form and got started on a nice copper board.

I've got 20 colors that i haveny used yet and I intend to do a pour of each this year. (That's a pretty achievable goal, right?)

SQUIRREL TABLES!
I'm bringing them back for 2022.

Improved construction. Made from 1" thick Western Red Cedar.

Available with nails for ears of corn and with walls for seed catchers.

$25 ea.

Customized tabletops available +$5

I'm trying to figure out why all my cleats are attached at the wrong end.

Finishing touches on these black walnut epoxy boards. Used deep pour from up start and starbond to fill voids (not enough in a few spots) and finished with odies oil. Will be posting for sale this weekend!

Continuing to work on organization. This is a stop gap solution for my router bits. I LOVE those curls that come from drilling these.

Testing different buffing agents on epoxy. I learned quite a few things so far. I have 4 order car buffing agents to try out. Results will be posted on my blog.

Note: lost power tonight - I hope that doesn't ruin these beautiful deep pours that I poured on Friday night.

Still experimenting with epoxy. Going to knock out a few more soon and bring all the varieties that I've done so far to market and see how the customers respond.

Christmas Kazoos.

Only a few weeks late. This was a really fun project for all the little kids in our lives.

Build details to come. I used brass screws and screens to highlight the hardware. The wax paper can easily be replaced by removing the screws and cutting a new piece to size. I finished with Rubio Monocoat.

Time to start posting the pictures of the gifts I made for Christmas. My mother in law was amazing enough to stay with us to help with Wes for a while and I saw her use our walnut spoon more than any other spoon, so I made her one of her own. I'm proud both of how it turned out and how quickly I was able to make it ĺwithout a bandsaw. Currently in the market)

This is what I poured the night I came down with a fever. My wife said there was a "little leaking" so I wonder how they turned out.

The middle was an equal mix of the blue and green. I wanted to play around with the swirls as it dried or do a fill but I haven't been down stairs in 6 days.

The last two pictures were something I was trying with an even pour red on one side and green on the other. Unfortunately, it started leaking. I got it taped up and then found I had lost my ratio and the colors swirled together. Oh well, Merry Christmas. Hopefully these will complete someone's last minute holiday shopping.

With a newborn, I am trying to work on handtoold to keep the noise down. I've acquired these over the years but I've never been comfortable using them. Now that they are cleaned up, I intend to learn how to use and maintain them properly. Its been a lesson in love restoring these and I can't wait to use them.

Really excited to add these for sale. I absolutely love the way the mahogany popped after oiling.

Message for details to ensure yours for the holiday!

This is part two of my first epoxy pour project.

These serving boards look even better in person.

Its hard to pick a favorite, which one is yours?

I've been wanting to do this type of project for years. Im not sure why I waited so long.

I found some clearance boards for the molds (frames) and got a couple shelves from someone's kitchen reno to make a couple larger molds.

I did my first epoxy pour and the results look even better in person than in picture. This will have to be part one, since for my first epoxy pours, I did a dozen pours in one night. Stay tuned for the next.

Woke up this morning to a crash. I found a shelf with lumber drying had given way. Time to build some stronger shelves.