Octagonal Side Tables

I've been wanting to build these tables for a long time. I got the idea from a side table we bought at a yardsale for a couple bucks. We like them so much that I decided to make a few.
I started out with some 1x6s and a 1x12 from Home Depot. Liz and I cut the 1x12 into 11" squares on the table saw. Then we drew the octagon shapes onto one. Once I realized that the angles were all 45s, I figured out how to make a template for the table saw; that meant I didn't have to measure up and draw 6 octagons. Definitely a time saver.
Next we cut the legs down from the 1x6. I'm not sure of the width b/c I just cut them all to the same width on the table saw but they're 22" long.
The next thing we built was a plywood box (from scrap) with a couple stops on it so that we could set the bottom shelf at the right height and have a stable surface to hold things in place while we nailed the legs on. Two 15" lengths of scrap legs let us set the table tops at the right height.
A bit more sanding and a coat of stain and we are good to go.
I didn't keep the receipt from the Home Depot when I bought the materials but I'm pretty sure they cost less than $10 each.
I forgot to mention one of the prime motivations for doing this: it's hot as blazes here and working in the basement for a couple hours was nice and cool!

Christmas Gifts 2010

2010 was a good year for hand-made Christmas gifts. It took me a while to come up with the exact right idea for each person, but in the end I was very pleased with both the quality of the gifts and how well they fit with each recipient.

For Sarah, I made another bird feeder. The feeder I made for her a couple years ago is still going strong and is a lot of fun to sit and watch. I wanted to make a feeder that would contain different seed and accomodate more birds at once. This is the design I came up with. You can't see it from the photo, but the upper part of each hole is half-covered by a small piece of wood to prevent the seed from just spilling out. It spills a bit when I pour it in, but once it settles the seed stays put. The feeder is about 24" high by 4" square. I used half-inch poplar from Home Depot. I like this wood for this kind of project because you can buy it already milled and ready to go. The paint should look familiar: it's the same paint I used on the generator enclosure.

For Elizabeth, I made this treble clef mounted on a piece of maple. The clef is about 9" high. I cut it out on the scroll saw and spent quite a while sanding it but it was worth it: it came out quite nice. Elizabeth is very excited about playing her violin in the Green Mountain Youth Symphony, so this was a good gift for her.

Helen spent some time last summer singing and touring with a vocal group called Village Harmony. They spent a couple weeks in Canada and then came south to the states. She had an absolute ball and loved every minute of it. I have to confess that I did not cut out all of these letters. There are too many and I could not have done as good a job as the folks at SJA Wood Design. I have bought letters from them a few times in the past and have always been happy with their work. I stained the mounting board black before gluing on the letters. I think it came out quite well.

As always, I ended up really enjoying making and giving these gifts. I always get  a bit tense leading up to it as I feel the pressure to create something unique and beautiful for each person, but the rewards are just great. I think the kids look forward to exchanging our handmade gifts on Christmas Eve as much or more than the gifts we open on Christmas Day.

Generator Enclosure

We are lucky enough to have a small generator that can be plugged into a secondary electric panel to run the critical systems in the house: heat/hot water, water pump, refrigerator, a few lights. This allows us to be without power pretty much indefinitely without an adverse impact on the house.
The issue was, though, that we stored the generator on the porch so when we needed it, we had to move it. It's very heavy; in fact, it's really too heavy for two people to lift. When I'm around, I move it with the tractor but Sarah's pretty much up the creek when I'm not around. I built this enclosure so that we can keep the generator in the right place without having it exposed to the weather.

This photo shows how I normally start projects like this. I have a journal that I sketch, take notes, make estimates in, etc. It's very helpful. Of course, I always end up improvising a bit while I'm building, but this way at least I have the rough outline of what I'm going to do before I start.
The enclosure is made from 1/2" B/C plywood and 2x3 studs. Hardware is galvanized. I painted it with Behr (Home Depot brand) primer/paint combination. That stuff was great to work with: covered in just one coat. I've got a bundle of shingles ready to put on the lid but we really needed to get the thing in place first, so I'll do the shingles a bit later.
The goal was to match (at least for the most part) our existing trash/recycling enclosure; I'd say I was pretty much successful. The colors, shape, and size pretty much match so at least the new one doesn't stand out too much.
Not exactly the funnest project to build but very useful.

A New Handrail

We love our house a lot, but we know that it can be tricky to get around in. Recently, I sprained my ankle pretty badly and I learned first hand just how many stairs this house has! I'm sure that our parents notice it, too.
This was a quick project to add a handrail to the three steps that lead from the mudroom (where we have the downstairs bathroom) up to the main part of the house. I bought the supplies from Home Depot but will probably revisit this project. I say that because HD only had fir and oak handrails and the handrails in the rest of the house are maple; the profile of the HD handrails was different, too. But since I wanted to get this project done today, I just bought fir and will special order maple at some point so that it matches the rest of the house (yeah, right).
Had I been thinking during construction, I would have had blocking installed in the wall before the sheet rock; as it is, the studs weren't in the best locations so the railing is longer than it needs to be. The top is 36" above the stairs, which meets code. While it's a bit long, it isn't disproportionate so it looks OK.
I like the final photo because it includes not only this project but the nook desk project and a hand-made kitchen stool by my daughter! Odin adds a touch of brown for depth.

Palletize

Time for the obligatory fall firewood post. I almost always have a pile of firewood rounds lying around various parts of our land. I like to let them season for a few months so that they're easier to split. Once I start splitting them, though, I find it's best to stack them on a pallet rather than just leave them on the ground. They dry better and don't get as dirty.
This batch is from some trees I cut down earlier this year.
I don't think I'll burn it this winter since I'm still working through a batch I split and stacked in June, 2009.

Finishing a Stair Case

We've lived in our house for almost exactly four years now. There are a few things that didn't get done before we moved in and finishing the stairs down to the basement is one of them. I'm not sure what motivated me to start working on them, but I started last weekend and was able to finish them up today.

As you can see from this photo, the treads were just plywood. I took this photo after installing the trim down the sides of the stairs last weekend. When I did that, I made templates for both the tops and bottoms out of cardboard then scrap plywood. They helped a lot by giving me the opportunity to fuss with the plywood rather than the $40(each!) 1x10s I was using for the final trim. With the prep, template making, and installation, it took the better part of a day to get these installed.
I bought the rest of the supplies yesterday from the Home Depot. I used pre-cut pine treads and 1x8 pre-primed trim. I urethaned the treads outside yesterday so that they'd be ready to go today. I spent almost an hour this morning getting the materials, tools, etc. laid out before I started and boy, am I glad I did. By the time I started, everything was at hand, which made the work go much quicker than I thought it would.
Here are the steps I followed for each tread/riser pair.

1. Measured the tread and cut it to length.


2. Measured the riser and cut it to the correct length and width.


3. Drilled two pocket holes on the bottom of the riser.


4. Attached the riser to the tread with pocket screws. This basically made them into a single unit.


5. Removed the tread/riser pair and applied a healthy dose of construction adhesive to the stringers.


6. Put the tread/riser pair in place.


7. Screwed the tread to the stringers from below with two pocket screws per stringer. This really drew the tread down.


8. Nailed the riser to the stringer (from the front) with finish nails.


9. Repeat

There were 12 steps. The whole thing took about 5 hours, which I didn't think was that bad.

Here's the final product. I'm quite happy with how it came out.

A Quick Easel

Elizabeth asked me to build her an easel the other day. She wanted to set up an art studio on her room so I figured I'd give it a try. It's not very complicated. I cut a rough-cut 2x6 I had lying around into 3 pieces, cut the outer two ends at an angle (I just free handed it on the table saw) and bolted the three legs together.

Turns out, she wanted a table-top-sized easel, so she was a little surprised when I hauled this monster up to her room but she took it in stride and starting painting immediately. I guess it just goes to show how two people can talk about the same thing but at the same time can be talking about completely different things. (In the software biz, we call it agreeing on the requirements!)
Once again, this is one of those projects that I was able to do with materials I had on-hand.