Elvis sketch burned on wood with the pyrographer

This is a sketch burned on a scrap piece of plywood.

First of all I draw my sketch with a pencil. Then I burn the basic lines with the pyrographer and then I start adding shading on the sketch.

Make a log picture frame

 

One day I found a fallen branch in the woods, during hiking. I had it for sometime until I decided to make a picture frame out of it. 

First of all I used an old chisel to split the branch in half. Then with my saw and a miter box I cut my pieces to size using the 45 degrees setting of the box.

Then I lay the piece on a piece of 9mm plywood and trace around the frame. Then I cut the basic part of the frame. Now I trace a line 5mm less than the inside of the frame. This way  I will have a rabbet for the glass and the picture to sit in. 

To cut the inside of the plywood, I drill a hole for my scroll saw blade to fit in. I cut the piece with my scroll saw.

Now I secure my block plane backwards on a vise and I plane my pieces to flatten them a little bit.

I use my glass cutter to cut the glass.

I glue the branch pieces on the plywood and apply some pressure for a couple of hours.

After the glue is dry I use my block plane to trim the plywood and the log pieces flush.

Because the branch  isn't split right in the middle, the edges do not match. So I use my chisel to even things up. This way I give the piece an axe cut look which I think looks nice with log woodworking projects.

I fill some gaps with glue and wood saw dust.

I assemble my picture frame and I use a few nails to hold everything in place.

My frame is ready. Now I can add something for standing on horizontal surface or a hanger for mounting it on the wall.

Make a scroll saw cat

 

I had a small scrap piece of spruce and I decided to make a cat out of it.

First of all I draw the cat on the sides of the piece.

Then I turn on my scroll saw at a low speed. I slowly cut on the pencil line.

After I finish with the scroll saw, I draw the lines for the pieces I want to carve out. Then I use my sharp knife to carve out the pieces I don' want. I try to remove small chips of wood with the direction of the grain. I try to force the blade with direction away from my body and fingers.

Know it's time for a little sanding. I start with 100 grit sand paper and I finish with 600 grit.

After sanding I take my pyrographer and burn the facial characteristics of the cat on the wood.

My little cat is ready, I hope you like it.

Scrapy son paractices karate

Scrapy practices his skills in karate. Some self defense techniques might be useful in his dangerous videos. After all cinema stunt men need to be in perfect shape.

Scrapy decides to measure something

Scrapy is really trying to do things but somehow he manages to fail every single time. The thing is that he never gives up! And that's the spirit, keep trying Scrapy!

Scrapy is getting routed over

Scrapy finds himself in very awkward moment. He is trapped in a jig while a routing is taking place.

Make a rustic key and envelope hanger for your home

 

This is a key hanger I made out of 6mm plywood. First of all I cut all the pieces to size. Then I glue and nail my parts. Then I round over the edges of the back side. I drill holes and glue dowels to hold the keys. I take my scroll saw and cut out the letters H O M E. I glue them on the piece. I sand the hole piece with 100 grit sandpaper.

Now it's time to paint. I apply a couple of coats of white primer and I sand between coats. Then I apply a couple of coats of black glossy paint. After the paint is dry I sand some parts of the piece to reveal the white primer under the black coat.

Now add a couple of hangers on the back and mount it on the wall. From now on you can easily store your keys and your day to day envelopes.

Quick curtain hanger holder repair

 

Some curtain hangers are fixed in place with this kind of hangers which are mounted on the wall.

 

Unfortunately they brake really easy and they are difficult to glue because there is not enough glue surface for the glue up to be strong.

 

I decided to join my broken parts with metal inside them that would make them really strong. Some nails will do the job. First of all I'll sand clean the surfaces for the glue up. Then I cut my nails to size.

 

Now I must drill some holes to both sides for the nails to sit in. To find the appropriate size for my drill bit I use my caliper.

 

Now I do a dry fit test.

 

I'm gonna use two part epoxy glue to glue everything up. I will apply glue in the holes also.

 

Now I clamp everything  and I wait a couple of hours for the glue to dry and my fix is done.

Scrapy is a Memo indeed

My favorite woodworking show on the web is Woodworking for mere mortals. This animation is dedicated to Steve Ramsey the creator of the show and to all the mere mortal woodworkers. The MeMo community is a great source of inspiration for me.

And don't forget, all the props for this animation were made from scrap pieces of wood.

Scrapy was sloppy

Scrapy was a bit clumsy and fell because he stepped onto a hammer. I hope he'll be more careful in the future while carrying his scrap pile of wood.

Scrapy goes to jail and feels blue

Scrapy spent some time in the joint singing the blues.

Scrapy likes reading

The new adventure of Scrapy He really enjoys reading while promoting scrap wood city.

Make a wooden character to animate

 

This is Scrapy, the ambassador of scrap wood city. I wanted to create a character out of scrap wood for this blog. I wanted him to be simple but to be able to bend certain parts of his body.

This is how Scrapy was build. First of all I begun by sketching my idea on a piece of paper.

Then I laied down Scrapy's basic parts. His limbs are made of dowels and his other parts out of scrap pieces of spruce.

 

I clamped my block plane on a vise  and rounded over some edges. I also carved out his head and feet a little bit with a sharp knife.

The rounded profile of a foot

 

This is the result

 

To connect the body parts together I used super glue and brass wire. I drilled holes for the wire to sit in. This way I can easily move the limbs of my character. If something brakes over time I can easily remake it.

 

For Scrapy's eyes and ears I used screws. For his hair small nails.

 

And my buddy is ready for action! 

Wooden toy boat for summer fun

 

I found this idea on Pinterest. It is a toy boat that floats on the water with the help of a propeller. The propeller uses the energy of a rubber band to spin and as a result forces the boat to move.

First of all I take my measurements on a 6mm plywood piece and trace the outline of my boat. Then I use my scroll saw to cut on the line.

 

After sanding with 100grit sand paper to fine tune my curves it's time to make the propeller. I cut a piece of plywood and then cut it in two pieces. I find their centers and trace the pieces for the slots I want to cut out. The two feathers of the propeller will fit together with a slot joint and will be glued together.

 

A bit of sanding before glue up.

 

I decided to add my little touch to the project by adding a deck on my boat. I had a scrap piece of fruit crate which was perfectly old and rusty. I cut some boards out of it and I glue them on my boat. I fine tune them with my block plane. I apply some pressure with weights.

 

After some sanding, I mount the propeller on the boat with a rubber band and my boat is ready to set sail.

Scrap wood city trailer

This is a video I produced to promote my blog. All the characters starring in this video are made for this blog. You can find out more about them through surfing in my scrap wood city.

Make a wooden tape dispenser in 80's cassette style

 

This idea passed through my mind because a cassette and a tape dispenser share some similarities. Both could have a cubic shape and both contain some form of tape inside them. So I decided to build one out of 6mm plywood.

First I take my measurements based on the tape I'm gonna put in. I had a scrap cylinder from an old project which fits perfectly inside my tape.

 

I cut the pieces and I glue them together. I won't glue one side, but I am gonna use it to clamp everything up while the glue dries.

 

 

A small dowel will be used to hold the roller in place. I've drilled some holes to the sides to hold it.

 

I drew the tape's outlines to my sides with a pencil.

 

After the glue dries I add some nails to the glued sides to add some strength. The other side will be attached with screws. So I drill some pilot holes for the screws and test screw them.

 

Now let's take a look inside and do a test fit.

For the tape cutting mechanism, I drilled some holes and nailed a few nails inside them with their sharp edge on top.

Now I use my pyrographer to draw my cassette's lines. I've decided to name my cassette after Michael Jackson's beat it. After all It's an 80's project!

 

I sand everything  smooth and apply a coat of linseed oil.

 

Job's done!