Four footed tribute

We are excited to finish Diamond’s plaque so the entry way to Ron and Charlie’s house is complete. 

I Pledge Allegiance

Today's carving adventure 

measures 24 X 30

Time to sand and finish.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Sunday afternoon lathe fun

The project today was to create something out of the rescued wood from our church’s gym floor.  The hard Maple made some great pens. I have plenty more Maple for more projects. Any ideas of things I can create?

The "Ultimate Date Book"

Had a fun day in the shop today working on the "Ultimate Date Book" One special order and three to be listed on Etsy.com and CraftyScramble.com.

Three books are made from Red Oak and the other one made from Poplar. Each book spline is made from Walnut to give it a majestic look.

All glued up and ready for the finally sanding. Next step drilling for the wooden hinge and sanding the top so the front opens correctly.

Excited to finish them and get them listed. 

Check back and for the finished product.

Special project for our Grand Pups

We got a special request from our sons to make meal time easier at their house. We decided on a Star Wars theme for each meal station which includes a hinged top for storage inside. 

Saturday in the shop

The day started at Home Depot picking out the perfect wood then it was off to my shop to begin working on a special project.   Here are a couple of pictures of the beginning of the project.  Stay tuned for updates.

Hand crafted date book

What says “I love you” better than a handcrafted book with over 150 coupons for dates?  

Carvings of our dogs

Removing fears by serving others

1 John 4:18 (ESV)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Most people associate Halloween with fear—fear of death, fear of dying, fear of evil. But when we come to know the true power and trustworthiness of God, many of the fears we have in life melt away. Fear, however, is a natural and good feeling. Without fear we would make many stupid mistakes, hurting ourselves and others in the process. Without fear, we would not have enough wisdom to flee when true dangers present themselves.

One of the ways people deal with their fears is by making fun of the fear itself. That, in fact, is part of the origin of Halloween, which means "all hallows eve." People were naturally afraid of death and dying, and so they decided to face their greatest fear by poking fun at death. In 1 John, we are told that perfected love drives out fear. That is to say, when we become certain of God's love, we don't have to be afraid anymore. It's as if God is the parent who comes in at night and tucks us in, turns on the night light, and tells us that there are no monsters. In God's great love, all fear melts away.

We can remove our fears by serving others. When we abandon our lives in service, we often discover that our fears lessen as our friendship and love deepens. As you and I think about our fears now, I hope that we will see that just as God has protected and redeemed those who have come before us, God will protect and redeem us, too. Even from death itself!

Dear Lord, help us remove our fears by serving others. Open the doors so that we can share Your love to those around us that need it. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Project #2 finished

 Snowman in Florida

Project #2?

What is your guess to what this will become?

Project ?

Any guesses to what I am making?

Eye test

Table saw cabinet construction.

 The base carcass is complete. The casters are installed and ready to turn it over.

 The sides of the dust collection system are installed. The ramp is put into place so the saw dust will fall to the port once it is installed later in the process.

 

The rough outline is cut out  with a jig saw.

The opening is then cleaned up using my router and a trim bit.

Drill Press table

I really like my drill press but I realized that the metal table that it came with wasn't adequate. That's why I started searching for a solution for the problem.  After watching many videos on YouTube I came up with a table that I liked. 

I used 2 pieces of ¾ inch Poplar plywood 17 ½ X 24 inches sandwiched together.  On the underside I cut two dados to fit the Kreg mini track in to connect it to the drill press table.  On the top side I cut two more dados for the adjustable fence. Since I had some scrap Red Oak in my shop I used some to edge band  the top to hide the plywood edge. I then made the fence from two pieces of the Poplar 3 x 24 connected together with pocket holes.

I am happy with how it turned out and look forward to using it on many projects.  

Storage for my dowels

Storage for the miscellaneous dowels laying around my shop.  I used 2 inch PVC pipe cut in lengths of 30, 24,15, 9 and 5 inches.  I used a hole saw on my drill press to cut out the plugs. After a little sanding they fit perfectly. I used the french cleat design so I can move it around if I need to.

Organizing my wood shop - Lathe Tools

Using the French Cleat system  I made a way to store my lathe chisels in reach of my lathe.

I used 1 1/2 inch pvc pipe cut to length and then angled. After using pipe cleaner on them I turned a rod the right size to fit inside the pipe. Once the rod was the correct size to fir I cut it off in one inch disks that fit snugly inside the pipe.  Next came the drilling of the holes in the top and bottom. The screw in the bottom not only holds the pipe to the french cleat it also holds the disk in the bottom of the pipe.

Keep watching for further improvements in my shop this year.

Countdown to Christmas

This is a second Christmas advent tree i have made.  This one features 24 Christmas ornaments that are each different. As we get closer to the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior the tree becomes more decorated. Each time you put the days ornament on the tree you receive a Hershey's kiss.