Wood Crafting Thread: Making Stuff From Trees, branches, roots, or any wood

[Leadeye]

I used to dowel stuff. Then I got a biscuit joiner. It's life changing.

I built this "stand up desk" for my kid's room at his frat house. They are prohibited from having "bars" in their rooms...

The wood was mostly rough sawn cottonwood. Which is nice because it's super light. I have a big pile of lumber like this in my barn that my dad and grandpa cut up back in the 60s. I don't think my grandpa EVER bought lumber. He had several acres of woods, and his dad had a sawmill.

I've seen a lot of furniture over the years, but have never seen anything built from cottonwood. Interesting.

 

[ghuns]

I've seen a lot of furniture over the years, but have never seen anything built from cottonwood. Interesting.

If it was something I wanted to look pretty, I wouldn't have used it. I have no idea how it would take stain and I don't like the grain pattern. But I sanded it just enough to knock the worst splinters off, but keep the saw marks. Then I put layer upon layer of poly to lock the remaining splinters in place.

 

[techres]

Made some antler hair sticks for my youngest:

 

[AGarbers]

I have been slowly working on a book on how to make log and rustic furniture for years. I approached a publisher with the idea a year ago. They decided to do it six months ago and sent me a contract and a check. Tomorrow, June 1st, was the deadline for the manuscript. I just sent it via Dropbox tonight. If everything goes according to plan, I should get another check soon, and the book comes out in Spring 2019.

 

[ghuns]

That's awesome.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Very Cool, Congrats!

 

[yetti462]

This isn't wood, but nature based art I've been doing. Now the table it's setting on is from a cherry log my wife's grandpa let me cut.

 

[techres]

That's great!

I have been slowly working on a book on how to make log and rustic furniture for years. I approached a publisher with the idea a year ago. They decided to do it six months ago and sent me a contract and a check. Tomorrow, June 1st, was the deadline for the manuscript. I just sent it via Dropbox tonight. If everything goes according to plan, I should get another check soon, and the book comes out in Spring 2019.

 

[AGarbers]

That's great!

Thanks. Trying to get it finished by the deadline was making me a wreck.

 

[Nazgul]

Ok, be careful. Two days ago, cutting some small pieces on the table saw, got my thumb into the blade. Don't normally wear gloves around moving machinery but was getting splinters from the unfinished edges. I don't feel the glove had much to do with the injury.

Really sore now, trauma to the thumb joint shows bruising. Doctor thoroughly checked it out, no damage to tendons/bones/nerves. Everything moves ok. My first real injury in the workshop.

No sympathy from the wife, she expects me to do dumb stuff often...…

Don

 

[AGarbers]

Ouch! This is why I bought a Sawstop saw last year.

 

[Nazgul]

My brother has a Saw Stop saw. Neat the way it operates.

Don

 

[bobjones223]

View attachment 67328

View attachment 67329

Ok, be careful. Two days ago, cutting some small pieces on the table saw, got my thumb into the blade. Don't normally wear gloves around moving machinery but was getting splinters from the unfinished edges. I don't feel the glove had much to do with the injury.

Really sore now, trauma to the thumb joint shows bruising. Doctor thoroughly checked it out, no damage to tendons/bones/nerves. Everything moves ok. My first real injury in the workshop.

No sympathy from the wife, she expects me to do dumb stuff often...…

Don

Well I hate to tell you that you didn't get the job!!!

The only way you can be a high school wood shop teacher is if the thumb is MISSING!

 

[ghuns]

Finally got around to building the new cabinet for the kitchen. Our kitchen is narrow, so an island was a no go. But we really needed more counter space, so this will have to do...

I wanted to build it at bar height but my vertically challanged wife vetoed my plan. I guess my John Deere bar stools, like the one on the left, are out and something like the shorty on the right is in.

With no upper cabinet on this side, the wife wanted some floating shelves above this cabinet. I found a board out in the barn she approved of. It was part of a cattle feeder in the old milking parlor. I greatly underestimated the amount of work it would take to remove 60 year old, petrified cow snot. A wire wheel in my angle grinder finally got the job done. Then I had a dilemma of how to hang them up by myself, the wife wasn't home. So I came up with a brilliant, adjustable, shelf holder upper...

Try it lower...

Or raise it up...

I sent pics for approval at various heights before she settled on one. Then I dumped out a box of old junk my wife has been collecting and threw a bunch on them...

What can I say, my fung shui is strong.

She will disagree and rearrange it all. Plus the dining room table is still covered with all the "treasures" that didn't fit.

 

[AGarbers]

Looks great!

 

[patience0830]

Finally got around to building the new cabinet for the kitchen. Our kitchen is narrow, so an island was a no go. But we really needed more counter space, so this will have to do...

I wanted to build it at bar height but my vertically challanged wife vetoed my plan. I guess my John Deere bar stools, like the one on the left, are out and something like the shorty on the right is in.

With no upper cabinet on this side, the wife wanted some floating shelves above this cabinet. I found a board out in the barn she approved of. It was part of a cattle feeder in the old milking parlor. I greatly underestimated the amount of work it would take to remove 60 year old, petrified cow snot. A wire wheel in my angle grinder finally got the job done. Then I had a dilemma of how to hang them up by myself, the wife wasn't home. So I came up with a brilliant, adjustable, shelf holder upper...

Try it lower...

Or raise it up...

I sent pics for approval at various heights before she settled on one. Then I dumped out a box of old junk my wife has been collecting and threw a bunch on them...

What can I say, my fung shui is strong.

She will disagree and rearrange it all. Plus the dining room table is still covered with all the "treasures" that didn't fit.

Curious how you hid the hanging hardware?

 

[ghuns]

Curious how you hid the hanging hardware?

Found the 5 studs in the wall that the shelves span and used my trusty Kreg pocket hole jig to put holes from the top face of the shelves through the back edge that lined up with the studs.

I'm tall enough I can see them, but the wife will never notice they are there. And with all the stuff on them, they're covered up anyways.

Used #10x3-1/2 construction screws. I'm 200 pounds and I hung from the top one. In this case, the weak point is the wood itself. I think it's cottonwood. Super soft stuff. The screw heads are the counter sinking type and you can drive them right through the board if not careful. I ordered some slightly larger washer head screws like these...

I'll swap out the #10s for them when they show up.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Awesome use of that beautiful old wood. Looks really nice.

 

[Leadeye]

Nice work! Live edge stuff always has a great look to it.

 

[ghuns]

Wife wanted another floating shelf above the couch in the living room. This one was a little too heavy for my pocket hole mounting trick so I bought a steel bracket that's rated for 250 pounds. The shelf is an oak board that some loggers left in our woods. It's 3-1/2" thick, 12" wide, and 90" long. Figure it weights right at 100 pounds. Really like the weathered grey, brown, and black patina...

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