Talking Tools

I swear as I walked past my tools they called to me. They said "cut some wood" "come-on, forget responcibility and come play!".

LOL, I need double long days to be able to work AND have time for projects. With both me and the hubby BOTH having to take pay cuts (thank you furlough days for the State workers, grrrr) we are thinking we may not be able to swing Christmas presents for everyone.....

then again this could work in my favor. Since we can't afford lots of gifts or gift cards, perhaps I can suggest a wooden present. I can take one large piece of wood (not too expensive for just one piece) and make lots of small presents for the family. Like personalized ornaments. I know we will be the lame siblings/aunt and uncle, son and daughter for lame cheapo gifts, but we can't afford much. But homemade cookies, fudge or truffles in a homemade wood box....it would seem nicer than it is right?

Hicks Sign Again

I have done all I am going to do to fix the neck of the "bottle". I cut a groove around the end so it looks like the lip of the bottle and I used my scroll saw to cut out a cork shape. Once I glue that on and attach to a larger board for the background it will be done. Its not perfect, but I think I have reached the end of my skill set for this sign.

Bean Bag Toss Game

So my son asked me to make him a bean bag toss game. We looked at a bunch of pictures on Google and decided to do one that was painted with a clown holding a bunch of balloons and each balloon was a different number of points. He helped me get the setup right. I used scrap wood so it was a nice simple project I didn't have to spend any money on. (I think this may be a first!)

This is not painted yet, but this is the shape of the toy. I am going to build a leg thing so its up at an angle. I think I will make it stand up like an A frame so its easier for the kids to be able to see the places to throw the bean bags into.

I used some scrap plywood. Just thin 1/4 inch thick plywood and the edge is old 2x2 pieces I had ripped from a larger board. I think they were leftover from the built in bookshelves I did before. Either case, I took the 2x2s and ran them through the table router with a 1/4 inch straight bit it. This made the rabbit that ran the length of the inside of the edges. This way the board fit into the groove and with some glue it should stay that way. I think next time I will make those cuts deeper. The board barely went into the edge pieces so it was a bit wibbly as I tried to clamp it down.

For the circle cuts I used another piece of scrap wood and cut a circle out using the scroll saw. Then I clamped that to the board and used my 1/2 inch flush trim bit to cut the circles. There is a small wheel that is attached to a flush trim bit (for my momma friends who don't know what that bit is) so it will roll along a template and cut flush to that wheel. Its great for when you have a template like this to run along.

Fairly simple and fast toy. Depending on how I make the A frame, I may end up spending money afterall. I don't think I have anymore hinges laying around anymore and I would want to hinge mount the legs so that I can fold it up flat for when they are not playing with it. I also have to decide if I want to leave the wholes as they are, or attach a netting to catch the bean bags once they are thrown. That part hasn't been decided yet.

Here is our super simple scrap wood bean bag toss game (unpainted or finished).

Quick Little Project

So I had an hour to kill (because I guess I don't like sleep) and I went out to the garage to test out the scroll saw on cutting out names.

The first attempt was great. Until I realized I cut out the outside first and then when I went to drill the wholes for the insides of the letter and found my drill's battery dead. BOO!!! I made the mistake of being desperate to keep working on it and I tried to just use a nail. I forgot of course the reason we use a drill in the first place. WOOD SPLITS! Off came the top of the A. Blah!

So I sat down and redid it. This time I cut out the center of the letters first and then I cut the outside. I biffed the bottom of it when the blade started to wander and my straight bottom because slightly curved.

Either way it was fun and not bad for getting to know the machine. I can already see tons of decorative pieces I can cut out for my other projects. :-)

Here is my attempt. It was for a gift for another forum friend's son.

In Other News

I made some progress on Furla's house sign. I made an aweful horrible attempt at inlaying the name into the sign, but well....it was aweful. So I flipped it over and decided it was better to just lay it on the top and have a nice 3D affect. I still think that it may need something on the top of the bottle to make it look more like a bottle and less like a cutting board.

I stained it a Merlot color and I spray painted the name white. I can't find any other way to make the white look as nice as with a coat of spraypaint. Once I deal with the wine bottle top issue and I attach the name, I am going to coat it front and back with lots of layers of an outdoor sealant. I don't want it rotting or something like that. It will be outside, so I have to make sure it can take it.

Any suggestions on what I can do to make the neck of the bottle look more like a wine bottle neck than a cutting board shape?

Happy Days Are Here Agiain

I got to make some serious sawdust. I am happy as a clam! Not only that, I finally GOT how to make my scrollsaw cut like I expected it to. Turns out the biggest problem was my blade was too loose. I kept trying to figure out why the blade seemed to bend instead of cut into the wood. Last night I went out there and was playing around trying to figure out if I would ever be able to get it to work. I had watched a dozen how-to videos and yet it wasn't cutting through the wood like a hot knife through butter like in the video.

Through misadventure and accidentily tightening the blade more than I though I was supposed to and whammo (real technical there huh?) it was a thing of beauty. The blade was cutting through the wood so fast and smooth. Sigh. I was so happy.

Did a little testing of what I could do. I cut out Chloe's name and then I cut out a sun and worked on what would happen if I cut out a path as if it was a side of a bead maze. It was WONDERFUL. Granted there is no way the scroll saw will EVER replace my beloved router in my workshop, but it does open up my work I do to have decorative parts thanks to the scroll saw.

So, I thought I should share the pictures of my experimenting. Yes, I know it doens't look like much, but if I can do cut-outs like these to make bead mazes for Chloe or some of my friend's kids. It could be fun, and a nice activity on a free afternoon.

Anyway, here is the test run!

Ideas

There are so many things I want to build and so little time. I got the name cut out for Furla's sign and I have to finish cutting out the bottle shape on the outside as well as the usual finishing on it.

Then I want to build so many things. Boxes, wood table organizer things (to hold salt/pepper/napkins etc on a table), stool like thing for my son to be able to stand at the counter with me and help me cook, and large doll house like thing for both the kids to play with.

I only wish my garage was warmer, cleaner, less spider-y, and actual time to fit it all in. I am so swamped with kids and chores and visiting with friends that I can't seem to find the time to dedicate to some work.

I say it often, but I will say it again, I wish I could win the lottery so I wouldn't have to work in an office and I can just work from home in my garage. There is so much I could build and sell and gift to people.

I also got the dowel rods for the birthing stool I am going to build for a doula friend. I need to get some nice oak wood or something similarly stong and beging to build it too.

For now I will just keep dreaming as once again I am gone for the weekend and I wont get home until late on Sunday. Another weekend gone and no sawdust to show for it! Grr.

Withdrawls

I am having serious withdrawls. As it gets colder and darker sooner, it becomes harder to convince myself to go out to the garage in the evenings to work. I put it off until the weekend and we are so busy I barely have time to breathe. Its now Saturday night and I have not had even 10 minutes to go out there.

Its times like this I wish I had a full shop. Not just the garage, but a full blown shop. One with central heating and large overhead lights. Then it will be bright enough and warm enough to work. I have a lovely heater to keep me warm out there, but its directed at one spot so I can't move around. Add a small little electrical box that the fuse can't handle a heater and a power tool at the same time. So I have to switch all the time. I have the heater on, and then when I go to do a cut, I turn off the heater and turn on the power tool. Then back again.

I want warmth AND be able to use the tools together. I need more power for the garage or at the very least central heating. It not as much fun if I have to wear 2 layers or more just to work out there. Brrr!