New Gift Started

With Christmas just around the corner it is time to start turning out some gifts. The first gift I am going to start out by making my daughter a bank for her collection of pennies from the various places that we have gone on for vacation. I am going to use a PO Box door for the front which I purchased from a local woodworking store. You can get old out of service boxes that were in United States Post Offices but due to time I purchased this one. For the body of the bank I am going to use red oak along with pine dowels as an accent on the sides and top. This should offer a nice contrast when the project is complete. Here are a few photos of the parts for needed for the start of the project.



The pieces of the PO Bank are starting to come together. I cut the final pieces for the top and bottom today and routed the detail and here is what it is going to look like. Stay tuned for more updates.

Candle holder

I started a new project today using some Cherry and Pine that I had sitting in the shop. The main part of the candle holder will be made of cherry and have an inlay of pine down the middle once completed. Once completed the holder will have spots for 3 candles. Today, I removed a 1/2"x1/4" chunk of the cherry down the middle. This will be the place where the pine strip will be placed. Below are a few photos of the progress that has been made. Take a look and feel free to comment or ask any questions.

1)Solid piece of Cherry

2)1/2"x1/4" groove removed for pine inlay

3)Pine inlay glued in place

After drilling out the 3 places for the candles and a little sanding the candle holder is starting to take shape.


I made some progress today on the holder by routing the edges with a roundover profile and getting grooves cut for the feet. The feet will keep the candle holder elevated off the bottom.

I finally got the chance to apply the finish to the candle holder over this past weekend to complete the project. I applied 3 coats of Minwax waterbased semi-gloss clear finish. The finish really brings out the color and grain of the Cherry. The pine inlay gives great contrast to the cherry. This should make a great center piece for a kitchen table or dresser.

Floating shelf detail and final mount

I was able to get the shelf finished with several coats of Minwax Semi-gloss water based poly. With the hidden mounting bracket the shelf has clean lines and appears to just float on the wall.

After getting the shelf put together I thoguht I would post a photograph of the back which shows the various pieces that make up the shelf. As you can see the shelf is made up of 6 seperate pieces that together make up the design and detail. I have put one coat of Minwax golden oak stain on so far and a coat of Minwax semi-gloss clear coat. In the end I'll probably put on between 3-4 coats of clear.

Progress:floating shelf

I was able to make some progress on the floating shelf this weekend. The mile of leftover oak has been transformed into a floating shelf. The shelf consist of a top made of 3/4" oak plywood trimmed with solid oak to hide the exposed edge. Just below the top is a piece of 1/2" oak that adds some detail. The oak crown molding sits in the piece of trim to add additional detail. The bottom is inclosed with a piece of 1/2" oak plywood with 1/4" oak trim to add once last piece of detail to the profile.

Next project:Floating wall shelf.

The next project on my list to complete is a floating wall shelf. The shelf is going to be made out some leftover red oak that I have sitting around the shop. The only think that I had to purchase was the crown molding. The rest of the pieces are comprised of 3/4" oak plywood and solid oak. I will make sure to post photos and updates as progress is made. These two piles of wood may not look like much now but once they come together I should have a fine piece of furniture to hang on the wall. Stay tuned for more photos and updates to come.

Cutting board completed

I just finished the cutting board that I had started a few weeks ago. The cutting board is made of oak and aspen leftovers from previous projects. The board measures 9.5"x22.5" and .5" thick. The board was finished with 6 coats of General Finishes salad bowl finish. The board has 4 rubber feet to prevent it from slipping while using.

Display/Cutting board update

I have made a little progress on my latest project which is going to be a display/cutting board once completed. I did not have a specific plan for this project just trying to use up some material I had leftover from previous projects. I'm planning on applying a salad bowl finish once I figure out the final design is going to look like. I am thinking that I may round the corners and make it a little softer. I did use a round over router bit for the edges in this picture which is not noticeable. I will have more photos to come as progress is made.

Multipurpose Bookcase/changing table Completed

I just completed a multipurpose bookcase that will also serve as a changing table. The bookcase is made out of 3/4" oak plywood and
solid oak to trim the unfinished edges of the plywood. It is finished with Minwax golden oak and several coats Minwax clear semi-gloss. The top has a small 1/4"x1/4" trim piece that adds a little detail to the simple design.

Repurposed flooring tranformed to coasters

In my efforts to continue transforming leftover material into usable items I have come up with coasters. The coasters are created from leftover pieces of flooring from a few projects that I have been involved in. I have created four unique coasters from various types of flooring. The coasters are sure to be conversation pieces at any party you have. Below are a few phots of the coasters and the unique design each one has. The coasters still have some of the tongue and groves showing which shows how the pieces have been made from flooring.

Here is a photo of the progress of my next project. This photo was taken after the boards were glued up and run through the planner. I am not exactly sure what the finished project is going to end up looking like but this is the start. I really like the contrast between the oak and the aspen. It should end up looking nice once sanded and finished. The final design will be determined as the project continues.

New project started

I am just finishing up a bookcase/changing table for our second child who will be here shortly. I had some leftover oak and aspen sitting around from a few other projects. As will most of my projects I want to use every last piece of material so that it does not go to waster. I cut some of the leftovers down to size and glued them up to make one big piece. The contrast between the oak and the aspen looks nice at this stage and should look great once finished. At this point I think that this will end up being a cutting board/serving board. You will have to wait and see for the completion of the project.

I'm back

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back and hoping that I will get the chance to start posting on the blog again and work on projects. To give everyone an update in May I had a couple of episodes which were later determined to be seizures caused by a brain tumor. I had surgery and it was a success. The surgeon was able to completely remove the tumor and avoid and damage during the surgery. The bad news is that the tumor was cancer but a low grade which is good. I did not have to go through any treatment as it was not have been very successful due to various factors. I go back in for an MRI this week and follow-up with the surgeon. I am hoping that I can start getting back in the shop and working on projects to post about. Thanks for following everyone.

Recycled Business Card Holder

In my continuous effort to use up leftover pieces of plywood lying around my shop I created this piece. It is made out of several pieces of 3/4" plywood glued together. The sides of this piece have the oak veneer showing, while the top and front have the exposed layers of plywood that creates a special look.

I knew that I wanted to build a business card holder that was unique and showed that you can use every last piece of wood sitting around the shop. I did some searching on the web and stumbled across a few designs that were similar to what I wanted to do with this design.


This business card holder is a great way to show that even the leftovers are functional and can look good.

Childrens Glockenspiel

I have moved on to antoher project now that my plywood cribbage board is completed. I decided the next project would be a Glockenspiel. I purchased the kit from my local Rockler store. The kit included the 25 bars and directions with all the needed specifications. The kit is sold as a xylophone when in reality it is a glockenspiel. I built the base out of leftover oak and aspen from a few other projects that I completed earlier this year. The photo to the left is the base unfinished. The large holes are drilled through to help improve the sound. I also placed rubber feet on the bottom to lift the base up.

I finished the base with a clear satin finish to showcase the different woods used in the project.

This was a quick and fun project to put together. I look forward to building a few more of these in the weeks to come.

First salvage project completed

I wanted to find a use for the leftover pieces of plywood lying around the shop after larger projects were completed. I figured there had to be a better use for these pieces besides throwing them away or burning them up in the fire pit.

The idea for the cribbage board project came from many lunches and dinners at the local Noodles and Company. I thought the tables at Noodles were interesting because of the detail in the plywood. At first I thought the tables were made of bamboo or something else. But one day in the shop I was cleaning up some pieces of plywood on the floor and had them stacked next to each other and it hit me the tables are made of plywood.

Since this was the first project using the leftover pieces of plywood, I thought making the cribbage would be fun. Now that the project is done, I am going to design a few more items using
the recycled plywood.

Using the plywood give the cribbage board a very unique design and adds interest when playing a game of cribbage.

The idea is coming together

The glue has dried and now the finishing work beginnings. After the glued dried I ran the piece through the planner to get rid of the glue and flatten both sides. A little light sanding on both sides and you can see the basic design I have in mind. I am still not going to give away what this piece is going to end up at this time but hopefully this will keep you interested.

The basic idea of this project popped into my mind after many lunches and dinners with my family at the local Noodles and Company. The tables at Noodles look like the glued up board in the picture.

After most projects I am always left with leftover pieces of plywood. Typically the pieces are pretty small and not good for much of anything. My goal with this project is to come up with a design and concept for future projects using my leftover plywood.


I hope that I will be able to post some more updates of the project later this week and give you a little more insight into the finished project.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments or questions.

Progress being made

I have had a little time to work on my next project and thought I would post a few photos and see if anyone can guess what it is. What you see in the picture are pieces of plywood that have been glued and sandwiched together.

This project is going to be a test run for a product line that I want to put together for my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/woodbydesign If this project turns out I think I will be able to put together some pretty cool items to sell.

Work begins now that projects are complete

Progress is coming along with the shop and inventory. I have been able to come up with what I think is a cool looking banner for the show and my blog. I want to make sure that I have a consistant look.

I just finished up a DVD cabinet for a local customer who picked it up yesterday and was very pleased with the results. The cabinet is made of solid oak and stained with a few coats of a Minwax cherry.

Now that this project is out of the way. I am going to focus on starting a line of products that I though about while building the cabinet. Here is a photo with a little insight on what I have in mind for the line. I do not want to give away the surprise so you will have to stay tuned and watch my blog and shop for the be reveal.

Feel free to post and comments if you have any idea of what this is going to be turned into.