The Playhouse - Windows!

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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...

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...!

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...

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

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.