Wet Sand

23 March 2020

The Workshop Has Re-Opened for Business (kind of)

Mostly recovered from hip surgery, I've been back into various projects for the last month or so. Unfortunately, work has been getting in the way but the Covid-19 outbreak means I might have a bit more spare time if the construction industry inevitably slows down.

A few items from odd scraps of wood:

A couple of cutting/serving boards, Rimu and Jarrah (top) and White Oak (bottom) finished with the remains of some non-toxic chopping board oil.

A handheld router cut sign for the Laundry door. In Pompei, houses had signs stating "Cave Canem" (Beware of the Dog). We don't have dogs so Beware of the Cat it is. Stained Macrocarpa finished with leftover Shellac.

A hexagonal outdoor table for the hexagonal gazebo. Macrocarpa, finished with leftover CD50 decking oil.

We will have to see what the year brings, and how the supplies last!

04 January 2020

So bored...

... that I've started drawing cartoons with really bad puns.

13 December 2019

2019 Projects

I'm stuck inside, off my feet and recovering from more surgery. Getting a bit frustrated at not being able to do anything outside or in the workshop. Time to reflect on the year.

Well, our pine forest was logged at the end of 2018, so there was a lot of cleaning up to do.

And lots, and lots, and lots of screws to finish off the deck.

I finished the gazebo...

and repaired a couple of chairs for a friend.

I think the only thing holding them together were the borer beetles all holding hands, but hopefully they will last a few more years now.

There was the coffee unit of course, blogged about previously.

And two large bookshelves for our living room, made from roughsawn narrow oak boards joined together.

These were mounted on the living room unit / credenza that I built in 2014. There is adjustable shelving between the main cases and glass sliding doors to four of the shelves.

And last but probably least a bird feeder. Since our monoculture of pines have been removed we seem to have a lot more birdlife - excuse me while I chase the cat, she has just caught a phesant 😔

Stumped to find a seat

My sister found a nice seat for their entry at a local market - a simple log of wood.

The only problem was the price - $500! Maybe I could make something similar?

Off down to the ex-forest at the back of our land. A wattle log was located, waiting to be cut up for firewood. It was felled last year by the forestry contractor, but it was of no value to him. Maybe this would do? Two very heavy lengths were cut off and rolled up into the 4WD - one for my sister and one spare.

The bulk of the bark was peeled off in the workshop using various tools at hand: crow bar, claw hammer, chisel.

Next, with the stumps on wheeled dollies a small laser was used to mark horizontal lines top and bottom, about 480mm apart.

Then the logs were cut to the lines with the chainsaw.

An MDF box was made, just bigger than the logs, allowing a router mounted on an old melamine shelf to skate over the surface of the log, machining it to a smooth flat finish (sorry, no photo of the router setup).

The two logs were then flat enough to sit on the floor without rocking, and just required final sanding and finishing.

I tried out a bowtie across a crack on one of the logs.

This worked reasonably well, but who knows whether it will be able to resist the shrinkage forces of the log as it dries out.

Three coats of Danish Oil were applied and the seats were ready to be used. It will be interesting to see how much they crack as they age, but they will make good firewood if nothing else! They have a certain rustic charm anyway.