When I made the Maple And Padauk Box last week I needed a 45 degree crosscut sled to cut the sides so I had to stop and make one first. I also made a 90 degree crosscut sled at the same time.

Both sleds are approximately 15″ X 11″ and made of plywood and Pine with Oak runners.

I find that these sleds make crosscuts a lot easier than using the miter and they minimize tearout.

I made the smaller 90 degree sled because often times I find my larger sled can be a bit of overkill when working with small pieces of wood like that used in making small boxes.

Back to the shop…

Small, decorative wooden boxes have been on my ToDo list for quite some time and this week I finally got to make one! This was a fun project and I can see myself making more.

It is made of Maple with Padauk for the lid and bottom. The corners are accented with Padauk splines and the underside of the lid is trimmed with Maple. It measures approximately 2 3/4″ tall, 5 1/2″ long and 3″ deep. The sides are about 1/4″ in thickness. It is finished with beeswax.

I guess the thing that has always interested me about making boxes is the amount of variety of boxes that one can make. Your imagination is really the only limit. You can change the size of the box, the wood you use, you can mix and match woods, use different corner styles, use different types of lids and so on.

Here are a couple of more photos of this box showing different views:

Continue reading 'A Maple And Padauk Box With Splines'

I got a bit more done on the Craftsman Style Coffee Table that I have been puttering with on and off for the past few months.

I was able to get the mortise and tenon completed for the bottom shelf. As well, I got the ‘buttons’ made and skirt mortised which will be used to secure the table top to the base.

I first made a full width tenon on the shelf and then divided it into three. The plan is to only glue the center tenon thereby allowing the others to ‘float’. This, I hope, will compensate for wood movement.

This is also the general premise for the buttons that I created. The buttons will be inserted into the skirt mortises and then secured to the table top. Since the mortises are a larger width than the buttons they will be able to move as the wood expands and contracts.

Here are some more photos:

Continue reading 'Craftsman Style Coffee Table – Part 5'

In keeping with the garden and patio theme here are two small garden benches that I built a couple of years ago. I (my wife) had to give them a new coat of paint this year to ‘spruce’ them up a little. Each of them are just over 3 feet long, 12 inches wide and about 18 inches tall.

They are just a couple of pieces of 2 X 10′s and a bit of 1 X 4 that my son brought home from a construction site that I slapped together. However, simple as they are they make great useful, accent pieces. I cut a couple of notches out of the skirt to add a bit of Southwest style.

Here you can see them in the garden and on the patio:

Continue reading 'Simple Garden Benches Add Accent'