Woodworking Dungeon

Work in Progress: Poke

2011-06-03T08:17:00.000-04:00

This vessel "Poke" is made of walnut and looks as though one segment is being pushed in causing another to be pushed out...

and the reverse side...

I've been thinking about this design for quite some time now and I'm liking how it's coming along so far...

latest vessel

2011-05-25T23:02:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a while! It's amazing how fast time can slip away...

Ok, I have been doing some woodworking. I've got a new vessel nearing completion. This vessel is made up of 144 segements of mahogany. I still need to do some sanding and apply the finish, but the turning is done!

Similar to the past couple vessels, "coconut" is also 6" tall with a 6" diameter. There will be a floating bottom to allow the very bottom ring to be made of segments as well. The finish, when applied, will be gloss polyurethane.

Square Segmented Bowl

2011-04-19T22:48:00.000-04:00

That's right, I made a square segmented bowl!

made of 25 pieces of pine. I've been thinking of this idea for a little while now. I was supposed to attend my local turners group meeting, but instead I stayed home and worked on this and another project...

The top is about 4" square and the bowl is about 2-1/4" tall.

I think since this worked out fairly well... granted a little rough still... I may give this another go using some hardwood instead.

Work in Progress: Scarred

2011-04-18T23:42:00.000-04:00

I did the carved feature of Scarred tonight. I still have a bit of touch up work to do... I also need to finsh sanding the rest of the exterior and complete the bottom, but it's coming along nicely I think.

As I was shutting the lights off in the photo booth, this image caught my attention...

I thought the shadows looked pretty cool here and showed off the carving pretty well...

Sneak Peek - Scarred

2011-04-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

My next hollow vessel, which is already underway, is titled "scarred". This vessel will be about 6" x 6" as the last two have been. There are 288 pieces in this vessel and it will also include some carving detail.

Stone

2011-04-13T19:58:00.001-04:00

Stone

Stone is made of 85 pieces of Pine. The seam of each segment was hand carved. The entire piece was stained black with Minwax ebony stain before the majority of the stain was sanded off the exterior to add contrast to the stained carving detail. I then finished the piece with 4 coats of tung oil. There are about 20 hours of work in this piece.

Stone is approx 6” tall and 6” in diameter.

Segmented Hollow Vessel #2 - Finishing

2011-04-07T07:43:00.000-04:00

With the carving complete, I applied a liberal coat of ebony stain over the entire piece.

The following day, I put the vessel back on the lathe to sand away some of the stain to contrast and highlight the carvings.

I've now applied a single coat of tung oil to the piece. I will add more coats over the next few days...

Missing

2011-04-06T23:43:00.000-04:00

I designed and created this piece based on the empty feeling I have from losing my brother Sam last October. Made of 234 individual pieces of Pine, I call this piece "Missing".

Vessel in Progress

2011-03-29T22:58:00.000-04:00

I wasn't sure I was ever going to finish the details on this piece! but alas, it's closer to done! I still have some touch up work to do, along with staining and finishing...

This piece will be titled "stone".

Flower

2011-03-14T12:34:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I was able to get together with a photographer friend that snapped a few shots of "flower" for me. It's amazing what a difference a good photo can make!

The black background really looks killer I think. Though the white background provides some really nice detail to the piece.

I'm looking forward to finishing these other couple pieces so I can get some more amazing photos done!

Segmented Hollow Vessel #2 - Carving Complete

2011-03-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

After another 3+ hours tonight, I have finished the carving in this vessel. I still need to finish sanding the whole piece... I think I will tackle that tomorrow.

thoughts?

Segmented Hollow Vessel #2 - Turning

2011-03-06T23:37:00.000-05:00

After yesterday's glue-up, I started turning the new vessel today. First up was to mount the lower section of the vessel and layout how the base needs to be turned.

Next I turned the rough shape of the vessel and finished the bottom (not shown... sorry).

With the vessel turned around I could start hollowing the inside of the lower section. The tools I have can only go about six inches deep, so I first had to turn the inside of the bottom to the size I wanted. Then I could glue on and start to hollow the next ring.

The final two rings were then glued on and I could finish shaping the outside of the vessel and hollowing the inside.

I didn't want to make the walls of the vessel to thin since I am going to be doing the carving to the outside. The last thing I want to do is carve through the vessel! That would be bad...

This is how the vessel looks after turning...

and this is how the vessel looks after four hours of carving...

It's a slow process for sure, but I do like how it's coming along. I still have more carving and sanding to do, but I think I can get this one pretty close to done this week.

Segmented Hollow Vessel #2 - Ring Glue-Up

2011-03-05T17:26:00.000-05:00

Today I got the segmented rings all glued together. Next up is gluing the rings in a stack to form the vessel blank. I've started this too, but there isn't anything to take a picture of yet!

Progress is being made!

Segmented Hollow Vessel #2 - The Beginning

2011-03-03T23:09:00.000-05:00

And here were are, right back at the beginning of another segmented hollow vessel. I think I learned a lot from the first one (which still needs to have the gloss poly applied by the way) and hope to make this one even better! so let's get down to it... here's the post-segment cutting mock-up for this new vessel.

This piece includes 85 segments and is 6" tall with a 6" diameter. The glue-up should start tomorrow... hopefully!

New Technique

2011-03-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

I had this idea the other day for a way to incorporate carving into my segmented turnings. I didn't want to build a whole new piece to try this out on for fear that I might not like it, so I used an old dish that I've done some color sampling with...

I'm really diggin it! There is some great depth added to the overall look and now I can't wait to put together a new hollow vessel and try this out full scale! I have a couple other ideas on how I can work with this technique in other ways too...

what are your thoughts?

A Segmented Hollow Vessel - Turning

2011-02-28T19:40:00.000-05:00

I'd like to start off and say to anyone that wants to turn a hollow vessel... go get a hollowing tool! Using a gouge, scraper and skew I was able to get the results I was looking for, but I believe a hollowing tool would have been WAY easier!

I did turn the bottom of the inside before I finished doing the glue-up. And it's a good thing too, I never would have been able to get it done well otherwise.

I used thin CA to strengthen the foot and that is what is giving the wet effect.

I need to do some sanding now. Sanding the inside is going to be a little tricky, I haven't quite figured how I'm going to do that yet!

I am happy that I've acheived the overall shape I was going for.

A Segmented Hollow Vessel - The Glue-Up

2011-02-26T16:15:00.001-05:00

I know this is kind of short and sweet, but i needed to find something to do while I wait for glue to dry! As of this morning I have all 20 segmented rings glued. I'm now working on gluing the rings together to form the hollow vessel blank.

...and since this is such a short little status update, here's another picture to give you an idea of where this piece is going.

yes, you are seeing it right, there is going to be a big hole on one side.

A Segmented Hollow Vessel - The Beginning

2011-02-20T22:11:00.000-05:00

What is a segmented hollow vessel? Essentially a segmented hollow vessel is a form of vase without the intention of holding anything. It's an art piece.

I have been working on various design's to follow up my Segmented Abstract Model, Flower, for several months now. I've got a few different designs that I would like to pull together at some point. Recently I came up with a design that felt just right. I knew it was time to make it happen.

With all the sketching done, it was time to make some saw dust and cut some segments. I started the segment cutting yesterday and finished up today. I've got a couple days off from my job and hope to get most of the gluing done before I go back.

The vessel will be six inches high and six inches in diameter and will include 235 segments. Here's a sneak peek...

First Bottle Stoppers of 2011

2011-02-18T16:40:00.000-05:00

With the Tung oil and wax finish applied, my first bottle stoppers of 2011 are complete!

2011-001:
151 segments. Made of Mahogany, Brazilian Cherry, Oak, Bloodwood and Walnut.

2011-002:
131 segments. Made of Maple with Oak, Mahogany, Walnut, Brazilian Cherry and Bloodwood

2011-003:

151 segments. Made of Walnut with Maple, Mahogany and Cherry.

2011-004:

151 segments. Made of Mahogany with Bloodwood accents.

2011-005:

151 segments. Made of Walnut with Maple and Brazilian Cherry.

2011-006:

121 segments. Made of Maple with Brazilian Cherry, Walnut, Cherry and brass accents.

2011-007:

51 segments. Made of Mahogany, Brazilian Cherry, Walnut, Maple and Bloodwood.

2011-008:

151 segments. Made of Walnut with Maple, Mahogany and Bloodwood.

2011-009:

151 segments. Made of Walnut with Maple, Mahogany and Oak.

2011-010:

151 segments. Made of Walnut with Maple, Mahogany and Brazilian Cherry.

I'm really happy with some of these new designs and I really like the newer tung oil and wax finish. I think these new stoppers have a much warmer feel to them now.

A New Finish

2011-01-25T07:37:00.000-05:00

With the newest set of wine bottle stoppers, I thought I would try out a new finishing technique. Rather than going with the gloss polyurethane, I'm applying two coats of tung oil followed by a buffed paste wax. Here's an example of a finished stopper.

Thoughts?

The New Series - Candy Dishes

2011-01-24T13:05:00.001-05:00

I know I've posted a couple pictures previously, but now that I have the first 4 completed, I thought I would post them all at once. These have been tons of fun to work on and I am certainly going to be making more!

The first candy dish includes 61 segments. I stained the wood prior to applying a gloss polyurethane finish. This dish is 2-3/4" tall and has a 5" diameter.

The second candy dish uses a similar design as the first, but includes 121 segments. This candy dish was also stained prior to the gloss polyurethane finish. This dish is 2-3/4" tall and has a 4-5/8" diameter.

The third candy dish includes 81 segments. I decided to skip the stain on this dish and just apply a gloss polyurethane finish to maintain the natural color of the pine. This dish is 2-3/4" tall and has a 4-3/4" diameter.

The fourth candy dish includes 81 segments. Again I decided to not stain the wood prior to applying the gloss polyurethane finish. This dish is 2-3/4" tall and has a 5" diameter.

Part of my original goal in making these candy dishes was to help give me a better visual of how different segment sizes would look as I am designing new pieces. So far I have not been disappointed and I'm looking forward to creating new candy dishes and trying different finishing techniques to continue providing new and different designs.

Please feel free to share any thoughts!

Darryl

New Bottle Stoppers

2011-01-20T07:34:00.000-05:00

I had a rather busy and productive night last night. I turned and sanded six new bottle stoppers today. Each one is a new design (with the exception of the one on it's side) and I'm rather pleased with how they have come out. I can't wait to get a nice glossy polyurethane finish on them!

The second one from the left even includes some brass accents. I think my favorite though is the middle one standing up.

A Candy Dish, Cutting Board and Napkin Ring walk into a bar...

2011-01-14T00:13:00.000-05:00

ok, probably not the best set-up for a joke, but as far as a list of latest projects go I don't think it sounds too bad!

I finished the latest cutting board that was requested of me. This one is a bit of a monster too with a dimension of 13" x 21"! If it had not already been paid for, I'm sure my wife would have claimed it for her own!

Tonight I turned my forth candy dish. This one is 2-3/4" tall with a 5" diameter and includes 81 segments. I think I will apply a clear gloss finish to this one as I am also planning for candy dish #3. These have been a lot of fun to make, I'm totally making more!

I also finished a prototype of sorts... I had thought of making a segmented napkin ring. I had a chance to get that turned tonight as well.

thoughts? on any of them?

First Project of 2011

2011-01-03T23:16:00.000-05:00

I glued up this bowl blank a while back, but since it's not a completed project until it get turned... well it's still the first project of 2011.

My third segmented candy dish. I haven't applied the polyurethane finish yet (I don't think I'm going to stain this one) so it's not completely done yet. Made of pine, there are 81 segments in this little dish.

Candy Dish - Segmented of Course!

2010-12-29T07:38:00.000-05:00

I've finished my first segmented candy dish!

The candy dish is 2-3/4" tall with a 5" diameter and includes 61 segments. I used the "early american" stain from Minwax for color and applied several coats of wipe-on gloss polyurethane.

I like how this little dish has come out. I've got a second one nearly finished and I'm looking forward to making more!

Another Segmented Candy Dish

2010-12-01T22:59:00.000-05:00

Here's a better picture of the candy dish from yesterday.

Today I turned another candy dish, with a similar segment pattern, that uses twice as many segments.

I was thinking that by making similar dishes with different sized segments it would help design new pieces in the future. It should give me an idea of what a design should look like with the different options. Tha's the theory anyway!

Segmented Candy Dish

2010-11-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

I worked on the plug needed for the bottom of the "flower" today. While those pieces are drying off, I also worked on a little something different.
I had actually glued up this little segmented candy dish a while back. It seemed like a good time to work on it again. I think it looks pretty good. Should look even better when it's full of M&M's!

Segmented Abstract Model - "Flower"

2010-11-23T22:59:00.000-05:00

I present to you

"Flower"

a Segmented Abstract Model

Darryl Masterson

I will be getting a better picture soon!

Segmented Abstract Model - Nearly Finished

2010-11-21T21:44:00.000-05:00

That's right, it's not completely done yet, but it's certainly to the point where I can snap a picture and be happy with what I see!

I'm so close to done now that I can taste it though!

Segmented Abstract Model - Applying Polyurethane

2010-11-18T23:14:00.002-05:00

I've now finished the fifth coat of gloss polyurethane on the base layer. I'm really excited to see the finished piece now!

but for now... here's what I've got

Segmented Abstract Model - Staining Day

2010-11-15T07:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finished sanding and staining each of the three sections of my project.

I like how the stain helps highlight each segment.
What do you think?

Segmented Abstract Model

2010-11-12T00:34:00.000-05:00

I've spent some time in the workshop this week and have worked on my current project. I still have more work to do, but this gives a good idea of my overal design.

thoughts?

A Slow Return to the Workshop

2010-10-31T22:03:00.000-04:00

Just two weeks ago my mother-in-law woke me up from a nap asking if I had heard anything from my parents regarding my brother being in an accident... not 10 minutes later my father confirmed my brother had died at the hospital.

My brother, Sam, was 30 years old. He had just earned his Master Electrician's License this past May.

I've tried to distract myself by working on a couple of projects in my workshop. I've had limited success.

The Sculpture - Section Two Complete

2010-10-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

When I started turning the inside of section two I was pretty well convinced it was going to end badly with pieces all over the workshop floor... I'm happy to report it did not end that way! I'm super pumped that I was able to get this section turned without a crisis!

Here's where it stands now with section two in place.

And, as always, I would be happy to hear your thoughts!

The Sculpture - Section Two in Progress

2010-10-10T23:01:00.000-04:00

Today I finished gluing up section two of the sculpture and turned the outside shape. This allowed me to get a better visual of how my design will look in 3D. Want to see it?

ok, here goes...

With the addition of section two, the sculpture is now 10.5" tall and has a diameter of about 7". I'm happy to say it's looking pretty close to how I designed it. And I really like that you cannot see in enough to see section two connect to the base. I was hoping to acheive that sense of mystery and I'm happy to see it work out!

Thoughts?

The Sculpture - Section Two

2010-10-04T22:35:00.000-04:00

I've got all the segments cut that are needed for the second section of my sculpture.

Section two is just over 6 inches tall and 7.5 inches in diamter and includes 300 segments. The rubber bands are holding the segments together as I have not yet started gluing this section.

The Sculpture - Base Completed

2010-09-30T23:32:00.000-04:00

With some work I finished turning the base of this sculpture I'm working on. I'm happy with the end result, but it certainly wasn't easy getting there. Turning a wine bottle stopper is nothing compared to this! I had a ton of sanding to do to clean this up!

I'm really happy with the alignment of the segments and I think I was able to maintain a fairly consistant wall thickness. There is a flaw... but i'm going to leave it there.

Now to start working on the next section!

The Sculpture - Rough Turned Base

2010-09-29T22:02:00.000-04:00

With the based glued up, I put it on the lathe tonight and started rough turning the shape. So far I'm rally happy with the results. I can't wait to see this idea of mine come to life!

What are your thoughts so far? Seriously, I'd like to hear them!

Wine Bottle Stopper Give-Away!

2010-09-27T13:13:00.000-04:00

That's right, you read the title correctly! You now have a chance to win this wine bottle stopper for FREE!

Serial #: 2010-018:

Stopper Details:
~ Total pieces: 151
~ Woods: Maple & Mahogany
~ Cap: Sapele
~ Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
~ Finish: polyurethane (gloss)

To get yourself entered, just jump on over here and follow the directions!

Sneak Peek at a New Project

2010-09-21T08:19:00.000-04:00

Here's a little something new I'm working on. For size reference it is currently about 5" in diameter, 7" tall and includes over 250 pieces...

I haven't started gluing yet, so the rubberbands are holding the rings together. :)

The Segmented Rollerball Pen

2010-09-15T19:34:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago I spent a weekend working on this new pen. I realized it had been more than two years since I completed my last segmented pen. I've been wanting to make another, so I got to it!

This pen includes 300 pieces of Maple, Brazilian Cherry, Bloodwood and Cherry. I used the Patchwork design that I had used on several wine bottle stoppers previously. The hardware is black titanium, providing a beautiful and durable finish for years to come!

This pen is currently for sale through my Etsy shop.

The Playhouse - Windows!

2010-08-17T08:21:00.000-04:00

My parents stopped over on Sunday and offered to buy the windows.

My dad helped me get them installed. The girls have even spent the night in the playhouse now!

The Playhouse - Now With a Door

2010-08-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

That's right, I've finally installed a door on the playhouse. For now I've just gone with a simple storm door, but it's got a sliding window to reveal a screen which is nice.

Next up I need to install the soffits to close up all the little gaps where the roof line and walls meet. That should do the trick to keep the bugs out so the girls can have their sleepover!

The Playhouse - Roofing Complete

2010-07-26T12:44:00.000-04:00

With the help of my friend Jeremy and my nephew Zac providing the shingles, the playhouse roofing is now done! The whole thing actually went up pretty well. I bought an aluminum drip edge for each side and then we over lapped the roofing paper (tar paper) before starting the shingles.

Since the sun was so hot on Saturday we started on the "shady" side of the playhouse. That did make it a bit more comfortable to work! I certainly did drink a lot of water that day though!

Considering neither of us have ever really done roofing before, I think we did a pretty decent job!

And the little bit of rain we got on Sunday shows that it all is working like it should!

Next up will be the trim around the roof I think... that or windows. I haven't decided yet!

The Playhouse - The Poor Abused Finger Chapter

2010-07-19T12:34:00.000-04:00

as I've mentioned previously, a week after my left middle finger got tangled up with a nail gun, I found out I broke the same finger while loading some 3/4" OSB into the car... well I got my hands on the x-ray today!

so nothing was done this past weekend on the playhouse. I did get a few more wine bottle stoppers started though! hopefully another week or so and this finger will be good as new!

The Playhouse - On Hold

2010-07-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

This past Thursday I found out I broke my finger last Sunday. The same finger that tried to tangle with the nail gun the week before! After my finger has been sore and swollen for 4 days I thought it would be a good idea to get it checked out. The x-rays were pretty gnarly! I want to see if i can get a copy at my follow up appointment in the morning.

So considering that it hurts like crazy to put any pressure on that finger, and i really don't want to do any further damage to it, progress on the playhouse is currently on hold. Hopefully in a week or to my finger will be back to normal and I can get back at it!

While my finger is healing, I think I may get back to working on some new wine bottle stoppers...

The Playhouse - Sheathing Done!

2010-07-12T21:39:00.000-04:00

With all the framing finished up over the 4th of July weekend it was time to get to work on putting up the roof sheathing and also finishing the front and back walls. This past Thursday I got the first piece of sheathing added to the roof.

The following day I got the second piece of sheathing added to the roof.

This past Saturday it rained most of the day, so I had to find other things to do. Sunday, however, was gorgeous! I called my friend Jeremy and he agreed to come over and give me a hand in finishing up the rest of the roof sheathing.

with the roof sheathing done and still some daylight available, we decided to tackle finishing up the sheathing on the front and back walls.

I'm really happy with how the playhouse is coming together. My girls also seem very excited which makes it even more fun! Next up will be the shingles for the roof and working on fitting the windows.

The Playhouse - Framing Done!

2010-07-04T10:11:00.001-04:00

After a couple of fairly intense days of working on the playhouse I was a little slow to get going yesterday. Once I did get going though, everything moved along pretty smoothly. I finished up both the front and back hanging rafters.

Front hanging rafters.

Rear hanging rafters.

With the hanging rafters complete, all that was left was to put up the permanent collar ties and frame up the peak section of the front and back walls.

Front view with all framing done.

Rear view with all framing done.

oh... and on a side note, becareful with nail guns! As I was finishing up the framing for the peak in the back wall, i had a nail come through the back of a 2x4 and stab my finger. If it had stopped bleeding on it's own, the trip to the ER would not have been needed... but that's where I ended up! My finger is a bit sore and now bandaged up. I'm curious to see how it looks tonight when the bandage comes off.

ouch! Thankfully the nail didn't come out the other side of my finger!

The Playhouse - Roof Rafters!

2010-07-02T21:05:00.000-04:00

Today I worked on installing the roof rafters. I've never done anything like this before. I found does info online to help show me how to do it. It all seems to be coming together well enough.

It took a while, but I got them cut and installed one by one.

This view from from the back shows just how tall a 9 foot roof line really is! I added a couple of temporary plywood collar ties. I'm going to put up some permanent collar ties with 2x4s before I add the OSB to the roof.

The hardest part so far has been adding the rafters that overhang the front. I'm not going to explain how I did it... but you can tell I got them up there! ...and I didn't hurt myself!

Here's how it looks as of now.

I need to make another quick trip to Home Depot tomorrow, but then I should have the roof all framed up!

The Playhouse - 4 Walls Complete

2010-07-02T09:24:00.000-04:00

I have some time off of work and I'm using that to work on the playhouse. Yesterday was a fairly productive day as I got all of the remaining shealthing cut and nailed to the walls. I also finished framing around the door and built the supports that will hold the ridge board in place as I start putting up the rafters.

This picture shows how I have added the wall plate (basically a layer of 2x4 that helps lock the walls together) and framed out the top six inches of the door. I was actually a little surprised how well that went together!

With the wall plate now installed, next up I needed to finish installing the sheathing on the walls.

A view through the right side window

A view through the left side window

Next on the list was to built the supports that will hold the ridge board in place while I install the rafters. Once the rafters are all in place, these supports will be removed. I also finished shealthing the front wall to match the other three walls.

And now I just need to get to work on the rafters...

A Monster Captured in My Dungeon!

2010-06-29T20:23:00.000-04:00

As I got to work last night in the workshop dungeon, I first had to capture a beast that thought it could move into my territory! Little nasties are often found and vanquished, either by stomping them or vacuum captured, but this little baddie... this was something different!

I caught it with my cat-like reflexes (actually he just sat there as a slipped a peanut butter jar over him) and locked it in my makeshift cell.

ok, fine... I found this nasty spider in the basement last night and wanted to share!

Gross huh!?! Now I'm going to go squish it before my wife freaks out that it's even still in the house!

The Playhouse - A Quick Catch-up

2010-06-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

I've started working on a playhouse for my girls. It's being built in the backyard in an area close to the house, but not really used. I had shown my wife a playhouse another woodworker out there had built for his kids and we went from there. The playhouse is not really going to look anything like the inspiration it came from though.

After deciding on a floor plan of 8' x 12' I got to work with the help of a friend and my brother-in-law. We were able to get the floor and back wall put together pretty quickly.

For those that don't know, I'm the one in the Red Sox shirt. The other guy is my friend Jeremy.

It rained the following weekend, so nothing was done then. But it was nice on week three and I was able to get the front and one side wall framed up...or at least mostly framed up! The front wall has a door in the middle and a window on each side of the door. Both side walls will have a centered window. The walls are all six feet tall.

Last weekend I picked up some 7/16" OSB (that particleboard stuff and referred to as sheathing) and started adding that on. I also got the additional 2x4s i need to finish framing the last wall. With the sheathing applied the frame is now much more ridgid and it's starting to look more like a playhouse.

I picked up two more sheets of OSB to work on finishing the sheathing on the two sides and the front up to the top of the window frames. The top 18" of the walls I'll finish after I get the roof framed up. Speaking of which... I have six days off for the 4th of July and I'm planning on getting the roof framed and hoping to also get the OSB up there as well so the whole playhouse will be closed in with the exception of the window and door openings!

Once I get the roof started (hopefully Thursday) I'll be sure to post some new pics. Stay tuned!

Time Flies!

2010-06-16T21:24:00.000-04:00

Wow, has it really been this long since I've updated my poor little blog? Well I suppose Facebook is a little addicting! For those that don't know, I have created a Facebook page for my woodworking and most of my recent work can be found there.

I do like my little blog though, there is a great deal of history here that I find fun to browse through from time to time, so I don't plan on giving this up. I will try and make sure to post a little more regularly too!

New Pieces in the Works

2010-04-09T07:37:00.001-04:00

I put together a new bottle stopper blank this week and I've also got a blank put together to make a candle holder. I'm pretty happy with the progress of both so far. I need to get some new stock prepped up to finish up the candle holder, it's only about 2/3 complete right now.

here's the bottle stopper - the design is currently un-named... I have used maple and bloodwood in this piece.

the candle holder is a twisting pattern that uses oak and mahogany.

the candle holder blank is about 2.5" in diameter and will be about 3-5/8" tall when completed.

New & Improved Heart Stopper

2010-03-22T21:35:00.003-04:00

with an adjustment to my tablesaw sled,

i am now able to cut smaller segments than in the original heart stopper...

so here's the new mock-up

can't wait to get this glued up to see how it looks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here's the completed blank. now i just need to turn it!

here is the completed heart stopper #2

The Heart Stopper

2010-03-14T23:14:00.006-04:00

here's an idea i have been considering for a while.

only with these new smaller pieces do i think i can pull it off. what do you think?

I got the majaority of the blank glued up last night... but ran out of pieces....grrr.

here's what I've got so far...

and here we go...

Mini Cutting Board

2010-03-05T20:37:00.001-05:00

Ah! It's feels good to have them all done!

Here's a look at the freshly oiled (and ready to go) mini cutting board!

mini cutting board - maple & walnut racing stripe

10.5" x 6.5" x 1.25"

Coming Soon...

2010-02-28T13:44:00.001-05:00

Look what's coming soon to an Etsy store near you!

The Mini-Cutting Board

Here are the details on this board...

it's made of walnut and maple.

It's dimensions are 10.5"l x 6.5"w x 1.25"t

http://www.etsy.com/shop/darrylmasterson

I Was Not Expecting That...!

2010-02-27T10:16:00.000-05:00

I recently joined a specialty chapter of AAW (American Association of Woodturners) called Segmented Woodturners. This group is specifically focused on segmented turnings... which is why the group name makes so much sense!

Anyway... yesterday I was informed that one of my pieces... this one specifically:

was selected as the "Photo of the Week" and is now displayed on the group's home page!
http://segmentedwoodturners.org/index.php

Possible Design...

2010-02-24T20:00:00.001-05:00

I have come up with a new design I want to call the "Chocolate Chip"... I think I might like it as is, but i'm not really 100% sure. Here are a few different shots of the prototype.

I haven't glued this piece together and that's why there are some gaps showing. I'm thinking there are enough walnut "chips" included... I'm going to have to think about this one a little more.

Thoughts?

5 New Wine Bottle Stoppers - A Detailed Look

2010-01-19T07:39:00.002-05:00

Here is a closer look at each of the five new wine bottle stoppers that were rently completed...

From the parallel twist series, this wine bottle stopper is constructed using jatoba as the primary wood and walnut for an accent.

Serial #: 2010-001
Details:
~ Total pieces: 121
~ Primary Wood: Jatoba
~ Secondary Wood: Walnut
~ Cap: Sapele
~ Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
~ Finish: polyurethane

From the 1/2 & 1/2 Twist series, this wine bottle stopper is constructed with jatoba and maple. The contrasting color looks beautiful.

Serial #: 2010-002
Details:
~ Total pieces: 121
~ Woods: Jatoba & Maple
~ Cap: Sapele
~ Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
~ Finish: polyurethane

From the Speckled series, this wine bottle stopper is constructed from cherry with walnut accents.

Serial #: 2010-003

Details:

~ Total pieces: 121

~ Primary Wood: Cherry

~ Secondary Wood: Walnut

~ Cap: Sapele

~ Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter

~ Finish: polyurethane

From the NEW Triple Twist series, this stopper features jatoba with walnut accents.

Serial #: 2010-004

Details:
~ Total pieces: 121
~ Primary Wood: Jatoba
~ Secondary Wood: Walnut
~ Cap: Sapele
~ Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
~ Finish: polyurethane

From the Speckled series, this wine bottle stopper is constructed from cherry and has jatoba accents.

Serial #: 2010-005

Details:
~ Total pieces: 121
~ Primary Wood: Cherry
~ Secondary Wood: Jatoba
~ Cap: Sapele
~ Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
~ Finish: polyurethane

Each of these wine bottle stoppers are currently available through my Etsy & ArtFire stores.

5 New Wine Bottle Stoppers - Finished

2010-01-13T13:06:00.000-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me how much different wood can look once the finish has been applied. Each of these wine bottle stoppers has received 5 coats of polyurethane, applied by hand, and was rubbed down with steel wool prior to each new coat. The natural colors of the wood is just so rich and beautiful!

I'll be posting individual pictures of each of these wine bottle stoppers over the next couple of days.

In the mean time, feel free to take a look at what is currently available in my Etsy shop!

Thank you for looking!

5 New Wine Bottle Stoppers to Start 2010

2010-01-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple days I've turned a handful of new wine bottle stoppers. It's been several weeks since I last turned any wine bottle stoppers, so it's been a fun couple of days getting these done! I haven't completed the finish application yet, but I will provide a little sneak peak of the newest additions.

From front to back they are:
1. Parallel Twist w/ Jatoba and Walnut.
2. 1/2 & 1/2 Twist with Jatoba and Maple.
3. Speckled with Cherry and Walnut.
4. Triple Twist with Jatoba and Walnut.
5. Speckled with Cherry and Jatoba.

The Triple Twist is a new series that I've just started. I'll provide further details when this wine bottle stopper is complete!

I'm looking forward to the opportunities that come along with a brand new year!

Cutting Boards

2009-12-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

With Christmas creeping up on us I was asked to make a couple cutting boards. Thankfully I had the cutting boards roughed out already, so I just needed to finish them up! here's the final look.

The cutting board is made of curly maple and walnut. The finish is a very easy rubbing of mineral oil. The board measures approx 17"x10.5"x1.5".

I'm really excited to see how the curly maple looks, it just adds that much more dazzle to the cutting board!

I think I might have to add the cutting boards to my Etsy store after the start of the new year.

Segmetned Christmas Tree Ornament

2009-12-12T11:51:00.005-05:00

After completing the Segmented Vessel, I decided I'd make the segments on my next piece a little thinner than the 3/4" previously used. Since we are all in the Christmas spirit, I thought I'd make a new ornament for our tree this year. The segments in this piece are 1/4" thick, and this piece includes a total of 92 segments.

Here's the before picture of the ornament blank glued up on the lathe.

After turning, sanding and the first coat of wipeon polyurethane, here's the end result. I'm pretty happy with how this piece came out. I expect this piece will require six or seven coats of polyurethane like the segmented vessel did. Once I get the finish complete, I'll work on getting some additional (a.k.a. better) pictures posted. Oh, and the ornament is about 3-1/5" in diameter. It's also hollow, I drilled out the segmented layers as I did the glue-up.

A New Blog

2009-12-05T23:21:00.002-05:00

I would like to take a minute to introduce you to a new blog I will be doing in conjuction with the Woodworking Dungeon. The blog is titled "An Etsy Favorite" and each posting in this series will focus on a specific Etsy store that I find particularly interesting. I will also include an example or two of what it is about the store that I find so intriguing. Be sure to visit and follow along as each new shop is revealed!

I'd like to point out that I am recieving no sort of commission or other form of benefit from the stores that I will be show casing. The sole purpose of this new series is to simply show off the very talented people that I have found since I started my own Etsy store.

If you have not heard of Etsy or have not taken the time to look around at what is offered there, I highly recommend that you do. If you aren't sure where to begin, you can use my Etsy store as a starting place!

A Segmented Vessel

2009-11-28T23:53:00.000-05:00

In taking a break from the wine bottle stoppers I've been making, I wanted to make something that I haven't done yet. I've always been very impressed with the vessels that trifern (a fellow woodworker at LumberJocks) has posted, so I thought I would start there.

Now don't go thinking that just because it's not a wine bottle stopper that I'll be turning a single piece of wood. Heck no, a segmenting we will go!

This piece is 6" tall and about 3-3/4" in diameter at its widest point. I did make a conscious effort to design this piece with the golden ratio in mind. I decided to create the piece with pine just in case something went horribly wrong, I didn't want to waste my small supply of hardwood. I'm actually a little surprised how well the pine turned.

I haven't applied a finish to the piece yet. The current state is post sanding and I wiped it down with mineral spirits. I haven't decided if I'm going to stain it or not... I'm thinking I might.

Week in Review

2009-11-21T11:59:00.006-05:00

This week started out by spending two full days in bed with the flu and the remainder of the week left me feeling drained and exhausted. I could certainly think of better ways to spend my time!

I dropped of the packed wine bottle stoppers headed to Colorado this morning. It's a nice sense of accomplishment that the order is now on its way. Here's the collection prior to packaging:

There is a total of 2299 individual segments used to complete this collection and no two wine bottle stoppers are the same.

As for the packaging of each wine bottle stopper, I wanted it to be something that would provide protection for the wine bottle stopper when in the mail and when the wine bottle stopper is not in use. I also created a Care and Use card to provide some details about how one should take care of their wine bottle stoppers. This card also provides some details about the specific wine bottle stopper, including the serial # and the wood species used.

I do have a few wine bottle stoppers available at my Etsy store, including the one in the photo above.

Time to Catch-Up

2009-11-15T20:03:00.003-05:00

well let's see, it's been so long where should I start?

30 projects in 30 days:
I liked the idea of this challenge. I never thought it would have been as hard as it was. I made it to day 15... I hate to admit defeat, but I got my butt handed to me on this one! I may try this challenge again in the future, but I think I will go in a bit more prepared next time.

wine bottle stoppers:
I wanted to starting making these almost two years ago. I finally started when I was asked if I could make twenty of them for a customer/friend in Colorado. I have finally got them all boxed up and ready to ship now.

Etsy Store:
Now that the order of twenty wine bottle stoppers is complete, I can focus on posting more wine bottle stoppers to my Esty Store. Currently I have seven of them listed. I've got five more glued, drilled, tapped and ready to turn. Yesterday I finished the first glue-up phase on three more.

Other Stuff:
I started working on a bookshelf a while back for my eight year old similar to the one I build for my fifteen year old. I pulled that off the shelf about a week ago to get that moving along again. It would be nice if I could get that finished by Christmas or her birthday on January first, but I'm not going to stress myself out about it.

30 Projects in 30 Days - Day 8

2009-06-08T22:55:00.002-04:00

I know it's day 8 and I'm only posting project #s 5 & 6... I'll get caught up!

well there's not much more to say than these two cigar pens should have been done a long time ago, but I seem to recall a saying that I like:

Better late than never!

30 Projects in 30 Days - Project # 4

2009-06-07T10:33:00.004-04:00

I finished my fourth project yesterday. I wanted to try something new, so I put a little extra work into coming up with this new wine bottle stopper. For the highlight area of this stopper, I used the open segmentation technique. This technique leave open spaces between the segments leaving the stopper hollow and see-through.

serial # 2009-017

Stopper Stats:

Total Pieces: 121

Primary Wood: Walnut

Secondary Wood: Red Leaf Maple

Cap: Sapele

Dimensions: 2-1/8" tall, 1" diameter

Finish: CA/BLO

here's a picture that shows a little more of the detail.

30 Projects in 30 Days - Day 2

2009-06-02T23:35:00.004-04:00

Day 2 project 2 of the June 2009 30 projects in 30 days.

Continuing on my positive start for my 30-in-30 challenge, I’ve completed my 15th segmented wine bottle stopper. With this stopper I've used my Patchwork pattern combining four species of wood; Jatoba, Cherry, Red Leaf Maple and Walnut. The randomness of the assembly gives this pattern a great patchwork quilt type look.

Serial # 2009-015

Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 121
Wood: Jatoba, Cherry, Red Leaf Maple & Walnut
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

To purchase this stopper through my Etsy store, click here.

30 Projects in 30 Days - Day 1

2009-06-01T22:52:00.002-04:00

Day 1 project 1 of the June 2009 30 projects in 30 days.

Off to a positive start! I’ve completed my 14th segmented wine bottle stopper (shocker I know!). This stopper is a new pattern that I have named 1/2 & 1/2 Twist.

Serial # 2009-014

Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 121
Wood: Red Leaf Maple & Walnut
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

To purchase this stopper through my Etsy store, click here.

30 Projects in 30 Days - Intro

2009-06-01T08:02:00.003-04:00

I have taken up the challenge of a fellow woodworker to create 30 projects in 30 days!

All through the month of June, I shall be creating new projects everyday. I'm expecting to finish several new bottle stoppers, a few pens and hopefully a new shelving unit for my daughter's bedroom.

Items that will be available to purchase will be posted at my Etsy store.

Stay tuned for all of the action!

Lila's Bakugan Battle Game Board

2009-05-29T21:35:00.003-04:00

Lila, my eight year old daughter, has kind of a silly personality. She's been interested in this game called Bakugan recently (she keeps her battle cards in a little pink zip-up purse that reads "Kiss" on one side as I'm sure all Bakugan battle cards are kept!) so I decided to make her a little game board for her to play on. I'm hoping she gets a kick out of this!

Wine Bottle Stopper # 13

2009-05-22T12:22:00.004-04:00

I was inspired a few weeks back to try something new with my segmented bottle stoppers by this project. I made a jig for my drillpress to hold my individual segments so I could drill a little hole and insert a small dowel (also known as a toothpick!).

Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 137
Primary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Secondary wood: Walnut
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

serial # 2009-013

a close-up to show more detail.

Be Careful with CA Glue!

2009-04-24T07:40:00.003-04:00

I've been working the past couple of days on getting more stopper tops through the final glue stage so I can turn them on the lathe. Most wood glues that I use in furniture (titebond II typically) takes a couple hours to cure before being ready to continue working with the piece. I can't use this type of glue while working on the bottle stoppers or else I'd still be working on the first one! I use Cyanoacrylate... typically referred to as CA. It's basically like super glue and it bonds within seconds.

While working last Wednesday night, I had this short, but very real fear that I'd glued my thumbs together! I went to set down the piece I had just glued up and my thumbs were stuck together. I breifly pictured how it would go down if I had to go upstairs and wake up my wife for help (I pictured a lot of laughing). Not wanting to have to make that journey, I was able to pull my thumbs apart. Thankfully it was just a drop of CA and I didn't have to tear any skin in the seperation process.

It's not just tools with blades that require respect and careful use!

Etsy& My Online Store

2009-04-16T22:50:00.002-04:00

I have signed up at Etsy and created my own store!
My store name is darrylmasterson (darrylmasterson.etsy.com)

what is Etsy?
Etsy is: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade.

I've created to store to provide the ability to sell the bottle stoppers I've been making. I have sold my first! The postings from yesterday (stoppers 9, 10, 11 & 12) have not yet been posted to my Esty store, but I should be getting to that shortly.

So stop on by and take a look around at what I've set-up!

Stoppers #s 9, 10, 11 & 12

2009-04-15T23:50:00.007-04:00

I've got several stoppers in different phases of the gluing process and I've also finished a few more.

Here's another parallel twist stopper:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
Secondary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

serial # 2009-009
To purchase this stopper through my Etsy store, click here.

A Parallel twist plus:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Walnut
Secondary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Tertiary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

serial # 2009-010
To purchase this stopper through my Etsy store, click here.

A Speckled stopper:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Secondary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

serial # 2009-011
To purchase this stopper through my Etsy store, click here.

A Random selection stopper:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Cherry
Secondary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
Tertiary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Quaternary wood: Walnut
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

serial # 2009-012

To answer a couple questions you are probably asking yourselves right now:

Yes, I did have to do a google search to find out what comes after "secondary".
No, the Random stopper is not just a bunch of left over bits. My sister had suggested to me a while ago to make a random stopper. I'm glad I listened!

wine bottle stoppers

2009-04-05T22:29:00.005-04:00

I worked a little on the adirondacks today, but the day was primarily about wine bottle stoppers. I finished three (well four actually, but I only have pictures of three!):

#5
Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Secondary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

#6
Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Walnut
Secondary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

#7
Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 121
Primary woods: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) & Walnut
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

I also setup my Etsy store today!

Well that caps my five days away from the real job... heading back to the office tomorrow morning. Thanks for following along the past few days, I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!

Production & a Break

2009-04-05T08:44:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I finished attaching the seat slats to two of the adirondacks. All that's left on this pair is to attach the arms.

I also finished another bottle stopper:

I call this the "Argyle Sock", here are the stats:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) & Walnut
Secondary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

To end the day, a couple of friends came over and we played several rounds of Mille Borne. It's a fun card game.

New Stopper & Adirondack Backs

2009-04-04T00:07:00.003-04:00

I spent most of the day working on the Adirondacks. I got the visible screws plugged & then started working on the backs. I have two of the four Adirondack backs assembled and installed. Tomorrow I should be able to apply the seat slats to the two chairs that have backs. I need to apply a coat of shellac to the two other frames to prep them for paint (the last two chairs I will be painting!).

I wanted to get at least one stopper completed before ending the day, so here's stopper #3.

Stopper Stats:

Total pieces: 121

Primary wood: Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)

Secondary wood: Red Leaf Maple

Cap: Sapele

Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter (approx.)

Finish: CA/BLO

Adirondack Frames

2009-04-02T22:17:00.002-04:00

In day two of my three days in the shop:

I did the final glue up on two more bottle stopper blanks. This puts me to a total of eleven needing to be turned. And of course I need about another dozen to fill the current requests (not a bad thing!).

I also continued working on the four Adirondacks. All four now have completed frames. Tomorrow I hope to make some good progress on completing and installing the backs. I tell ya though, adding four Adirondack frames to an already cramped workspace makes things a little tight!

Working Outside

2009-04-01T23:13:00.002-04:00

I've often thought of how nice it would be to break out of the dungeon and have a 1st floor workshop. Wouldn't it be great to open the doors and enjoy the outdoors and woodworking at the same time?

Since it wasn't raining today (and I'm not a fan of cleaning the shop!) I dragged the planer outside to finish prepping stock to cut a sickening number of segments to build more bottle stoppers and pens. Oh, did I mention that it was about 37 degrees today?! It did get up into the 40's but it also rained this afternoon. It was nice to be outdoors though!

Other than prepping that stock for stoppers, I assembled the front legs of four adirondacks and did the final glue up on three bottle stoppers today.

Anticipated Updates

2009-03-31T23:02:00.002-04:00

In desperate need for a few days away from the real job, I'm taking the next three days off.

...well sort of!
I have 4 Adirondack chairs to work on, along with about two dozen bottle stoppers!

Stay tuned for updated stories, postings and pictures!

Segmented Bottle Stopper #2

2009-03-30T23:27:00.003-04:00

Here is my second completed wine bottle stopper.

I’m fairly happy about how this stopper came out. There are still a few tweaks I’d like to make to the process to improve the results.

Stopper Stats:
Total pieces: 121
Primary wood: Walnut
Secondary wood: Red Leaf Maple
Cap: Sapele
Dimensions: 2-1/8” tall, 1” diameter
Finish: CA/BLO

First Wine Bottle Stopper

2009-03-17T23:02:00.003-04:00

I bought my bottle stopper kits about a year and a half ago. I had made this blank to be part of another segmented pen, but got to thinking that it was just about the right size to make a stopper also.

There are about 120 +/- pieces of walnut, maple, bloodwood and sapele in this piece. I used the same CA/BLO finish on the topper that I use on my pens. The stopper top is about 2-1/4” tall.

darrylmasterson.com

2009-02-16T21:58:00.002-05:00

I updated my website again: darrylmasterson.com

I'm trying to work on a simple design to showcase each piece and allow (if somwhere way down the line) to sell pieces without yet again another redesign. It's close to what I have in mind, but I don't think it's quite there yet.

I'd like to work on my images. I think if there was a more consistant picture quality it would help even everything out.

I also need to work on my item descriptions, a marketing guru I am not!

First Project of 2009

2009-02-02T21:12:00.004-05:00

I've completed my first project of 2009!

My 14 year old daughter asked me to build her a DVD shelf for her bedroom. I liked the look of the DVD shelf I made for my living room a while back and wanted to make something similar. There isn't enough room on her wall for a horizontal shelf so I adjusted the design and made a vertical shelf.

I had a heck of a time installing the horizontal shelf in the living room, so I decided this time around I would design a built in French-Cleat system to make installation easier. I based this feature on the construction of the nesting boxes I made a couple months back with my younger daughters. By adding the French-Cleat at the time of the initial design, I could make the shelf sit flush against the wall and still not make the unit too bulky.

The shelf is built of Pine. For a finish I used the Minwax stain "Early American" before applying a BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) and paste wax. This is the first project that I've used a stopped dado for the shelf supports. I do prefer this look and will probably use it more often now.

For a "cool-factor", this unit also has a hidden drawer! Initally I was calling it a secret drawer, but it's not so much a secret anymore...

I'm pretty happy with the outcome of this project, which is a good thing too since my eight year old now wants me to build one for her room.

Project with the Kids - Nesting Boxes

2008-10-27T12:57:00.005-04:00

My two younger daughters, ages 7 and 4, are always interested in working with me in the shop. I thought it might be fun to make a couple of birdhouses with them. After looking around on the internet a little bit to learn what size and style to go with, I settled on a style called nesting boxes. From what I understand, a nesting box is design more for the actual birds needs rather than going with a traditional “house” type design that is typically made.
Click here for one of the websites I used in putting this project together.

Once I got my ideas all together, I started working on cutting the pieces needed to make a couple of nesting boxes. Having quite a bit of that baltic birch ply still available, that is what I used. I also figured the girls would want to paint the nesting boxes when they were done, so I wasn’t overly concerned on the longevity of the ply.

After I had all the pieces cut, I laid out and drilled the nail holes and the bird entrance. Considering that I got the wood for free and already had the nails, I really didn’t want to have to go out and by hinges for this project. I decided that it could be cool, and much more LumberJock like to have a French Cleat system to hold the house to the backing board. Then it was time to introduce the girls!

I had already walked myself through the assembly order, so it went fairly smoothly getting the girls to follow along. We attached the sides to the bottom and the houses side of the French Cleat. Then using the house as a guide, the girls attached the mating cleat to the backing board. The top was added next followed by the front.

The two bird nesting boxes I made with my daughters

A view of the French Cleat system used to access the nesting box for cleaning

The girls both seemed really happy with their houses. Now it’s time to paint and put them in the wild!

Here’s Violet holding her nesting box.

And Lila with her's.

Here are the two girls together.

Dungeon Happenings

2008-10-14T23:07:00.002-04:00

I know that based on the numbers of posts rolling through this blog lately you would be hard pressed to think anything was happening at all in my little dungeon of a workshop... and you'd actually be wrong!

I actually do have a few projects in the works!

~ I have a couple of pens that I need to get finished. They really should have been done a long time ago, but sadly they kept getting stuck on the backburner.

~ I have another set of Adirondack chairs to do. This set is going to be painted white. They are for one of the girls at work that has already purchased two others. She also wants a couple more foot rests to go with them. The foot rests aren't quite as far along as the chairs though...

~ I have another small table in the works also. Similar in size to the table I made for my daughter, this one is being made with some oak that once was a hand rail in a local college.

~ I also have that dresser from oh so long ago that I would like to make some progress on. In a way, I'm actually glad that project got halted. I've found a few ways to overcome some perceived obstacles in that project that I feel fairly confident in tackling now.

So if I can stay focused and busy, I might actually have some interesting posts coming up soon. It would be nice to end the year with a barrage of completed projects and postings!

Prototypes - Scallops

2008-10-09T23:12:00.002-04:00

I have seen other penmakers use this scallop techinique and thought I would give it a try. To start out I wanted to get an idea of what size I need to use initially to know what to expect when the blank is turned down. So far I like how everything is looking. I want to try incorporating this and a couple other segmenting techniques I used to come up with something a little crazier than I’ve done previously.

I’ve got several long weekends coming up so hopefully I should have some time to play around in the shop.

PTA Sandwich Board

2008-09-29T23:22:00.002-04:00

The other day my wife brought home the PTA's (Parent / Teacher Association) sandwich board and asked me if I could fix it up. This sorry excuse for a woodworking project consisted of two 36"x48" pieces of 1/2" ply connected via a couple of hinges and small chains.

I decided that if I'm going to work on this, I'm going to do it up right!

I built a new frame using some baltic birch plywood that I've had lying around. The top and bottom supports have rabbets cut into them to support the new removable 1/4" ply pieces that will hold the sandwich board content. I did re-use the hinges and chains from the original board.

The new board, while stable, is lighter and much more manageable than the original.

A New Door has been Discovered!

2008-08-18T21:55:00.004-04:00

Apparently my daughters have been so nice to the fairies that moved in, the fairies have invited their friends to move in as well!

A new door has been discovered. And a note has been left at the first door that reads:“Thank you for the gift. You have been so nice to us, we have invited our friends to move in as well.”

Apparently the fairies in the new fairy door prefer a room with a view as this door is located a few steps up from the original.

It looks like this door is constructed of Jatoba with a Cherry frame and finished with Boiled Linseed Oil.

Pine Adirondack - Natural

2008-08-17T13:17:00.003-04:00

I finished the latest project by the requested due date.

It was a nice reminder of why I hate due dates! As I rolled into bed at 3:00am needing to be up at 7:30am to head out to the real job, I was wondering what I was thinking of by doing this!

I am glad that the new owner didn't want me to paint this set of chairs. I would have had to tell her no. There was no way I'd get those done in the short amount of time she was looking for.

but staying positive... I've got a little more cash that I can set aside for Christmas time!

Here's a shot of one of the new chairs:

I am really happy with how they came out. I've discovered a couple of ways to make cleaner and more repeatable cuts on a couple of the angled pieces. Time to get back to work...

Adirondacks Revisited

2008-08-11T23:55:00.002-04:00

Three people at "the real job" have requested a set of Adirondack chairs. I'd also like a couple more for my own yard. To get everything ready,I've been working through a pile of rough pine my brother-in-law had given me. One set of chairs need to be done by Friday. Thankfully the person that wants these doesn't want me to finish/paint them. That is going to save me some time, and quite frankly if she had wanted them painted they would not be done in time. I do need to add little cup holder divets to the arms rests, but that shouldn't take to long.

This set of chairs is coming along well. I just finished putting the chair base together. Tomorrow night I'll work on getting the backs put together and attached them to the base.

One of the sets of chairs I made a while back had an unfortunate encounter with a puppy that liked to chew things. I'm going to make a replacement set of arms because it drives me crazy knowing that my chairs look ugly! I've seen them too, that dang dog did a heck of a job.

A Fairy Door

2008-08-03T22:49:00.004-04:00

My two younger daughters are completely fascinated with fairies right now. All they seem to be talking about lately is fairies. My seven year old told me earlier today all about how she and her neighborhood friends built a little fairy house in the back yard under a bush.

Apparently the fairy didn’t want to sleep outside with the bugs and decided to set up a little condo in our hallway.

I have to admit that I do like the fairies selection of wood. It looks like the door is made of walnut and the frame is white oak. I also get the faintest smell of BLO as I walk through the hallway now!

Bed Side Table

2008-07-19T11:22:00.005-04:00

This past April, our oldest daughter wanted us to upgrade our cell phone plan to include unlimited texting. It's not the most exciting gift in my opinion, but if that's what she wants that's what she gets.

I'm always looking for the next project opportunity, so I decided that I would also work on a small bed side table for her as well. I kept the design quite simple and clean. I used lumber a friend had given me. My friend had recovered the lumber from the landfill after a local flooring company had dropped off their "scraps". These scraps of Brazilian Cherry (also known as Jatoba) are all two inch wide one inch thick and eight feet long! Plenty good enough to complete my project.

I had considered attaching the table aprons to the legs in the same method as the bistro table, but instead decided to try mortise and tennon joinery. I think my first attempt with mortise and tennon joints went pretty well, the table does feel pretty solid.

Another first time technique used in this table are the tapered legs. I'm very happy I decided to taper the legs as it really removed some of the visual weight the table had initially. I completed the table by sanding it down to 400 grit and applying BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) and paste wax. Considering a fourteen year old would be in possession of the table, I wanted to have a finish that could easily be updated. So far it seems to be holding up pretty well.

A Glimpse into the Future

2008-07-10T07:58:00.003-04:00

I've started working on a new segmented pen. There isn't much to look at right now, but I can give you an idea of what it will look like.

Prior to finishing my last segmented pen, I cut several hundred segments with 22.5 degree angles to create a few more pens with eight segment layers. Having these pieces of Maple, Walnut and Jatoba, I thought it would be a nice way to get a good visual of what some different designs could be. Kind of like a rough sketch in 3-D.

I didn’t want to get into gluing anything and commit myself to a design I didn’t fully like, so I carefully stacked my segments and let gravity hold everything together for me. I figured this method would let me quickly see, physically, what I thought I was seeing in my head. It would also be much less time intensive than gluing a full blank together to flesh out the complete idea. Each design I have put together is the full size of a Jr. Gent II cap.

After stacking a design and taking a couple pictures from different angles I took apart what I had done and designed another. It was after I had six or eight of these designs that I thought I would put together a blog series to show how these segmented pens would look from design to completed pen.

A couple of the designs I’ve come up with include all three species that I had prepped. This design I'm working on now is one I’ve been thinking about for a while. With the light color of the Maple separating the Walnut and Jatoba diamond patterns; it reminds me of an argyle sock.

Currently I have the first of three glue-up phases completed.

Segmented Rollerball

2008-03-22T09:07:00.002-04:00

One of the girls I work with asked me to make a pen for her that she could give to her husband for his birthday this weekend. The wood is jatoba and maple. The kit is a black titanium jr gent ii rollerball (from Craft Supplies USA). I used a CA/BLO finish. There are 200+ pieces used in this pen.

I’m pretty happy with how this pen came out. There are a few details I’d like to improve though…