Woodworking Projects

Below are some of the woodworking projects that I have been working on. Some of these have plans and some don't.

I know many sites are using Sketch-up to develop plans, but I'm still a pencil and paper kinda guy.

Serving Tray from Re-Reclaimed Pallet wood

A few years ago I picked up some very heavy duty pallets from a Heavy Equipment dealer/repair shop and made some raised garden beds. I didn't do any real prep work to the wood at that time since it was intended for outside so I wasn't sure what it was but I assumed they were oak.

After 3 years of use we just didn't have time for the garden any longer so I took them down. Many of the pieces were in pretty good shape so I brought them into my shop, stacked them up, and let them dry out for a few months.

I decided to make two serving trays from the wood. Turns out I had Maple and Oak in those pallets. The Maple had turned grey all the way through so it looked rather dingy. The Oak on the other hand has some very interesting black rust streaks throughout and I really liked it. I managed to have just enough of each wood type to make one serving tray from each.

Upholstered Ottoman “Foot stool”

My Son requested a big footstool for the basement so he and his friends can be comfortable when playing xbox. After pricing them out I decided instead to make one.

It's made from two 2x6's I had stored in my shed for a few years, a 2' x 4' piece of 1/2” plywood, some 4” foam for the top, and a yard of red tag sale upholstery fabric for the top.

As this was my first attempt at Upholstery I probably stapled, pulled staples, and re-stapled this at least 3 times before I was happy with the results.

Kitchen shelf

I installed some lower kitchen cabinets and counter top to our small kitchen a few years ago and ever since it has been a mess. It gave us a bunch of space and is great but we needed something to help organize it better.

I designed a simple shelf that would allow a standard cereal box to fit under and on top of.

I used some extra 3/8" slats I had left over from the Ottoman build and ripped them into 1" wide pieces for the slats.

Overall the shelf is 40" wide, 9" deep and 12 3/4" high.

so far, it has really helped with the organization.

Shelf for my AFG 1.0at Treadmill

I am trying to get in better shape and since Treadmills are probably the most boring form of exercise available. My wife and I decided to put a TV in front of ours. Turned out pretty good but we found out there is no where to put the Cable box, or any other components. I came up with this idea for a shelf that hangs under the main treadmill control panel. The Shelf was made entirely of scrap material I had laying around. I think the total cost for me was about $2 for the eye hooks.

Heavy Duty Brass Ice Scraper

Here in my section of western New York we can get a lot of heavy ice and frost and plastic ice scrapers don't work well at all. A few years ago I had a brass ice scraper that worked great but the brass blade was rather thin so it would bend if I used it on thick ice. After the first ice this year I decided I would try to make my own brass ice scraper only with a thicker brass blade.

I have used it a few times already and it works WONDERFULLY! The day after I made it I left work and while walking through the parking lot I heard the steady sounds of people quickly scrape, scrape, scraping with a plastic ice scrapers. I took out my brass ice scraper and one stroke made a clean path. Oh, So, nice...

Golf Club coat rack

My boss really enjoys golf. As a going away present I decided to make him one of these golf club coat racks that I have seen online. Most of them only used the club heads, but I am also using the tops of the grips for hats or umbrellas.

I picked up the golf clubs at a thrift store for $2 a piece so the project is not that expensive.

I used the heads of golf tees to cover the mounting holes and some fun-tack to hold them in as they need to be removable.

I used the heart wood from Poplar as it has a greenish tint to it and the shape is supposed to resemble a golf course. I don't play golf, so hopefully it's not too bad.

Click below to view the video.

Walnut Makeup box

I made my wife a makeup box to replace the cardboard shoe box she has been using for years. I thought I gave myself plenty of time to finish this, but with all the set backs I just managed to finish it on her birthday. It is assembled with box joints and has a sliding tray.

Click on the image below to watch the youtube video.

I also kept in the video a kickback "not the money kind" I received while cutting some thin pieces.

http://youtu.be/GSUjyjYEagk

Mudroom Bench from Construction Lumber

My kids "and wife" always leave their shoes, backpacks, bags, coats, etc, in this one section of the family room near the door leading in from the Garage. I figured since everything went there anyway, I should put a nice bench there so they can easily kick their shoes under or on the shelf to try and keep things a little more organized.

I applied 3 coats of Boiled Linseed oil and 3 coats of Johnson's paste wax for a finish.

I also plan on making a simple row of coat hooks to hang on the wall over this before this Winter.

Click the picture below to view the YouTube build video.

YouTube Video

Thought this was cute so I took a picture of some flowers my Daughter laid out on the bench

Log Cabin Playhouse for $300

One of my larger woodworking projects was building a log cabin playhouse for my kids.

I also built those sunflowers from left over scraps

$300 Playhouse

Heavy Duty play table

Here is a children's play table I made a few years ago. I put together some plans for this you can find on the details page.

Rhino Relief carving

I was trying to find an old picture and came across this. It's my first and only Relief carving. I think the wood is Ipe. It was rather stringy and hard. I probably should have picked a softer wood to start with.

One of my old bosses gave me a book about being the Rhino, to help me be a bit more assertive/aggressive. I made this for her just before leaving that department.

edit: finally found the original picture I based the carving from so I figured i'd upload it too.

www.bigdaddyoworkshop.com/woodworking-projects/Rhino.JPG?attredirects=0

Pallet wood Pirate Chest

One of the first projects I started when I got back into woodworking was a pirate chest for my son.

Pirate Chest

Here is an attempt at making half blind dovetails on a small box.

Sliding Top Box