Easier on the eyes? Maybe...

Ok.. as much as I like dark backgrounds and the fact that they make pictures pop out nicely, there was something inherently wrong with the template I was using for this blog... the dots in the background were playing havoc with my eyes after a while, and I was seeing afterimages for about 10 minutes after reading through the preview posts checking for spelling mistakes. Sooo.... we try something new and see if it's easier on the eyes :)

This post is going to involve a few projects, two of which were smaller ones, and one larger one to cap it off. Firstly however, we'll go back to Christmas, and a little something I made for Carrie.

I had enough scraps of wood floating around at this point after making various toyboxes and cedar chests that I thought I could cobble something together that would make use of the leftovers. I wanted to use both kinds of wood, but for something that used both elements equally. What I came up with was this little seed box, just tall enough to hold packets of seeds for the garden :) It's made of crosscut cedar and spruce, trimmed to size and glued together (no mechanical joints of any kind this time... yes, the glue is just that strong). A little router work on the lid and a couple of coats of varathane (no stain this time, it didn't need it.. cedar darkens down quite far naturally, and the golden amber of the spruce was a nice counterpoint) and we have an attractive little box that made a neat Christmas present :)


Next up we have an even smaller project than this! We have an evergreen in the front yard (probably a Scotch pine) and it's been growing very well the past few years, at least to the point of the branches was overhanging the driveway by about 6 feet. Not so bad in the summer, but loaded with snow in the winter and you had to try and dodge it to get into the cars, so off it came. I had the wood stacked by the firepit for burning when Carrie came across it, and of course, the first words out of her mouth were "Oh! You can make me some of those little deer!" :P I should have guessed... Soooo, miter saw, glue and spade bits created these little guys.. they'll move out to the front flowerbed this spring and we'll see how long they last before someone steals them... (hey, they stole my sprinkler.. I don't really have high hopes here).



And finally, we've got the project that I alluded to in my previous blog post :) In my computer room upstairs I've been using half of a desk Mick abandoned here (pssst.. if you're reading this Mick *hinthinthint*) as a stand for my tv and various game systems. Not exactly the purpose it was intended for and lots of things were on the floor or floating around aimlessly. So I wanted to build myself (scary.. first thing I've ever built out of wood for my own personal use!) something that would fit all my systems and components and get them off the floor. A bit less wobbly than the desk half would be an added bonus.

The concept came to light when we were getting rid of some large slabs (15x52 10mm tempered with a polished edge) of glass that a customer had ordered to blueprint dimensions, then failed to build the showcase they were to be used for to said dimensions :P 6 of them came home with me to be incorporated into my project. What I came up with was a three tier design, using the glass shelves as key elements. Everything is up off the floor and fits quite nicely. The only trouble I had was the side rails as they're jointed 2x6's and not the straightest things in the world. 1x6 can be forced back to plumb using clamps and glue, but the 2x6's take far too much pressure to get them back to square once the blanks start to twist a bit, so despite not wanting to, I had to use a number of screws to keep everything square and tied together properly. To say some of this project is under tension would be an understatement :P Finish was accomplished by 2 coats of ebony stain, and two coats of varathane. The finish isn't perfect, mostly because this project was almost too big for the room I was trying to work in, though some spots the varathane dried to a glass like finish and overall I'm quite pleased. It serves the purpose I built it for, and I can always scuff sand and add more coats of varathane down the road if I really feel like it :)