Monday, February 5, 2024

Building Shelves

The process of building shelves for a new bathroom closet


Lumber from Lowes




Created a jig on my miter saw stand so that I could cut all the boards and rails to the exact same size without having to measure for each cut





Used a biscuit cutter, glue, and clamps to join boards to the desired depth




Sanding and painting...



Final construction -- putting it all together





























Sunday, October 15, 2023

Making a Puzzle Table

Here's how I built a puzzle table that swivels.


Supplies:

 

1. I ordered a Lazy Susan, 18 Inch Plastic Rotating Turntable (Icasa brand with Steel Ball Bearings, ABS+PC Material, 66 Lbs Capacity) from Amazon.

2. At Lowes I had a 4x4x 1/2 sheet of plywood cut down to 36 x 36 inches. I also bought two 8ft by 3/4 inch pieces of pine trim for the edges.

3. Green felt from Joanne's -- 1.5 yards


Steps:

First, sand the top and bottom of the plywood.

Second, cut the trim into four pieces for the edges.

Third, glue two of the trim edges onto the plywood. Gluing tip: Put strips of clear packing tape under the edges when gluing. This enables easy separation once the glue has dried. 


Fourth, iron the felt and cut to size of the plywood. 

Fifth, glue the felt to the board (before adding the last two edges). I used Gorilla spray glue for this step. Fold half over, spray glue on board and back of felt; fold other half and repeat.



Sixth, attach Lazy Susan hardware to the bottom -- and it's done!


Next -- add puzzle.






















Sunday, January 22, 2023

Second and third 2023 projects: piano bench and cutting board

Seven years ago a friend gave me a beautiful live edge black walnut board that he had finished. We have been using it as a table top on an ottoman.


This week, I turned the board into a piano bench. I found the four iron legs on Amazon.




Our cutting board of 20+ years came apart for the second time. Because it's such a great design -- reversible with lips to catch the edge of the counter -- I decided to fix it.


My attempt to use my hand planer failed, so I ask for help from a friend who is also a woodworking expert.


He used a table saw to rip apart some sections that were unsound and to square up all the edges. 


And he gave me great advice for gluing up the pieces: put clear packing tape on all the supports so once the glue dries it will be easy to separate them from the board.


After a careless mistake using my biscuit cutter, lots of sanding, and a coat of Walrus cutting board wax, the board is back on our kitchen counter.











 

Friday, January 13, 2023

A Novice Caner's First Project in 2023

The previous owner of this chair gave it to me because the seat had a large hole in it. Glued up the wobbly parts and on to the caning.






Three tips for novice caners like me:

    1. Save time along the way


    2. Final stage advice


   
    3. Listening to audio books helps me through the tedious stages. I highly recommend  the Bloody Jack series written by L.A. Meyer and read beautifully by Katherine Kellgren.


January 9,2023 
Project is done!



Special thanks to Peerless Rattan: I learned caning through their excellent video, "Weaving a Cane Chair Using the 7 Step Method."

I buy caning supplies from Peerless Rattan and Amazon. 



Monday, October 10, 2022

Turning Lawn into Meadow


First, I chose a small section of lawn and mowed it as short as possible.



Next, I removed grass from three areas to plant 50 agastache (anise hyssop) deep plugs. I also began covering parts of the lawn to kill grass and weeds near the plants.


I was impressed by the quality of the plants I bought from Izel Native Plants, an online supplier recommended by the Mount Cuba Center.


Made space for two black adder agastache plants we had in pots. 


We want to see how the agastache fares before adding grasses and other plants to the meadow. I will to continue to cover the grass around the plants to prepare for spring plantings.



 

Saturday, February 5, 2022

DIY--I replaced my broken garbage disposal. You can too.


Our garbage disposal of 20+ years finally died. 



I decided to replace the disposal myself, and here are some lessons learned:
  • The parts in the sink and the mount are still in good shape--I just needed a new machine. Replacing an Insikerator with the same brand saved lots of time.  All models attach to the same mount.
  • The drain pipe and dishwasher hook ups were a breeze because the measurements of both Insinkerator machines were the same--even though the new disposal is a different model (Evolution Spacesaver XP).
  • Stainless steel grinders are worth the extra cost if long life is a value.
  • Horsepower also matters: I chose 3/4 hp for grinding power.
  • I applied some of the the money I saved from hiring a plumber to purchasing a higher-end, more durable, and quieter machine.
  • Not all "how-two" Youtube videos are equal. Here are links to the two videos that I found most helpful:

New model installed, and and a sink full of water is draining so I can check for leaks.



All done! Here's a video of the completed installation so you can hear the noise level.









Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Making Gerrit Rietveld's Steltman Chair


Inspired by a photo, I set out to build a Gerrit Rietveld Steltman Chair. Apparently, it was Rietveld's last chair design. (See links at the end for more information about both the designer and the chair.) Most of my dimensions are close to the original chair. However, I chose to add about 2 inches to the height, and I raised the seat by the same amount. 

This first photo shows the planned dimensions and sequence of construction (A through I) as well as what really happened along the way. 



I chose cedar 2  x  4's -- which were really 1 1/2  x  3 3/4.  After a kind friend with access to a table saw took 1/8 off of both sides, my boards ended up to be 1 9/16  x  3 5/16Construction began with cutting 5 segments to build the 16 x 16 seat.

                                               


Next came the opportunity to use my new biscuit joiner! 








Construction continued with a combination of biscuit joints, pocket screws and glue.

                      







Boiled linseed oil brings out the natural color and designs in the cedar.




Here's the finished project, polished with carnauba wax. It's fun to view the chair with the "floating seat" from different angles.









Click here to learn more details about Rietveld.

Three minute video on Rietveld with photos & movie clips from the designer's life.

Brief video about Rietveld's chair designs ("floating elements")