Current Projects On The Workbench...

Curve Balls, sliders and occasional knucklers have been crossing my plate over the recent weeks, but it seems more and more difficult to get the shed outta my head. For those of you have asked, both my wife's and mother's health have improved and I appreciate your concern. Hopefully things will remain stable for an extended period and I can focus on completing the projects I currently have on my workbench. Seeing I've been bouncing from one project to the next recently, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share the currently active list.

One of the earliest projects I started actually started right after completed the end grain cutting board back in September 2011. At the end of the cutting board glue up I had a little incident with a couple of laminated pieces snapping at the glue line. I assume I didn't have adequate glue in those joints and they failed as a result during the glue up. The cutting board that resulted has held up perfectly fine and I have no issues with other areas separating even slightly, so who knows exactly what I did wrong. Anyway it seemed like quite a waste to just scrap the remaining pieces, so I pondered how I could use them in another project. I came up with the idea of using them to create a lamp. So I drilled holes through each of the pieces and inserted a hollow metal rod through them. By the time that was done the glue had dried on the cutting board and the lamp was place on the shelf to finished as quickly as possible. So here we are going on two years later and I haven't even touched the project since. While it's the oldest project in the shop it will not be the first one completed. It will most likely be the last one complete of the ones I am listing in this post. What I am committed to is not starting any new projects until all these are deemed complete.

The second oldest project in my shop is the wave top Trinket Box. This sucker has been collecting dust in the shop since August 2012. Actually. I have picked this project up a couple times over the last year and done some quick task towards completing it. As a matter of fact this morning I finally installed the hinges I purchased for the project several months ago. My biggest stumbling blocks on this project have been edge treatment for the lid and dealing with the base. As it is currently the base is flat and to me it just seems very heavy or static. I know adding legs will lighten its appearance, but I cant decide how or what style of legs will serve the the design best. Again I have set the goal to complete this project before any news ones hit the bench, so if you have suggestions I am all ears.

I have made no progress on the live edge table recently, with all the family health related activity going on around me so I won't bore you with static pictures from other recent posts. This table is the third oldest project in the shop and will likely be the second one to be completed, as my wife has made a special request, which I'll describe last. As for the table though I still have the shaping on all the parts to complete, then I'll need to pull out the special effects kit to hide several major boo boos, followed by sanding, sanding, sanding and then finally finishing. As far as finishing goes I really haven't decided, but I am pretty firm that it will be a matte/natural finish. I have never really been a fan of the high gloss finishes, but for some reason (mainly because its what I had on hand) I've found myself stuck in the rut. Once there is progress worth posting you'll see the live edge table again.

Lastly, (sighs of relief I am sure) is my wife's special request. She ask me to make a shelf to put over the dryer to hold the laundry detergent. We use the dispenser/refillable type bottles for both our detergent and fabric softener, so she thought it would be convenient to have the dispensers placed in a location she can dispense them without having to pick them up from the shelf or dryer. Not wanting to disappoint the boss I immediately went to the doodle pad. Very simple plywood construction with dados, screws and of course Titebond II. Once the shelf is complete it will be fastened directly to studs in wall above the dryer. Below are Sketch Up models and photos of the progress through this morning. This will be the next project to leave the shop stamped complete. If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy...

Until my next post,

Keep Your Mind on your Fingers and your Fingers on your Hands!!!