Step by step woodyworking

Lots of us make cutting boards, but why not do something unique? Carl Letts sent me this photo of one he made. I first saw this optical illusion at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The bathroom walls are tiled like this. Its the craziest thing: all the rows of squares are perfectly straight! Hold up a ruler if you want. Or, if you look at it from an edge, it all straightens out. I guess since they are offset a bit, our eyes go buggy and cant really make sense of it. Too cool. Thanks Carl!

The springtime project ideas are rolling in! Lets get started by probably the most classic outdoor project, the Adirondack chair. Bob Egbert made these:

Have you ever crossed to a page of a Home magazine and stop for a while with your amazement on how suiting and extravagant a room looks like? That’s because these kinds of rooms are planned ones from the interior design, color motif, and of course having the right plans for furniture.

Before we move on to a new house like apartment or condo type of room, we must always prepare first what kind of ambience we would like to have on the place we are going to stay. Make a plan not thinking about the cost because if you thought about it at first, limits will be set and you are not free to express what your real plan for your house is. This time, I would like to talk about the importance of choosing the right kind of furniture.

First always remember to have a theme, try looking inside of you what is it that you really want to feel when you are inside that room. If you are a fan of black and white motif or you want to be your living room to be more futuristic or you want your house to look like a tropical or nature in style. Well these are just some examples of themes that you may choose before buying furniture. One more thing, it’s better to think for a theme together with somebody who lives with you, trust me it’s easier to think of great ideas that way.

It’s not always the price of furniture that matters. Second thing that you must learn is choosing the type of furniture you will buy. Be particular on the color, sizes, shapes and style. Do not buy a huge couch if you only have limited space in your living room, don’t pick irrelevant colors towards your theme, don’t get glass center table if your living room chairs are wooden, there are a lot of things you must consider to harmonize the ambience of your room so always be wise and think many times before you buy.

You can also put on the list of your plans for furniture on how you will position your stuff wisely. Remember this is a tricky part on making your room looks nice. Make it a point that you will not cover windows. Leave lot of free space where people can walk. Fix and if possible keep electronic wires and outlets hidden. There is a lot of stuff you can imagine to create a better room. So people, remember always that planning for furniture is very essential part of having splendid rooms.

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Mere Mortal Bill Akins sent me a video his son made. Trey not only made a book stand for his girlfriend, but made this cool video to go along with it. What a nice boyfirend.

And I love The Cars!

Lots and lots of people have been busy making Valentine hearts! Here are some more that have been posted on my Facebook page this past week.

Paul St George made this heart-shaped tea-light holder with a wood-burned rose for his wife. It kind of reminds me of my project this week!

Jason Weigles heart-in-a-heart display is made with white oak, African Mahogany, and walnut. He is going to finish it off with with a little plaque plate commemorating his wedding anniversary.

Affordable gifts for woodworkers that wont get returned!




This time of year, there are a lot of woodworking web sites and magazines featuring gift buying guides. What many of them overlook is that as woodworkers, we want to choose our own tools. While I would love to have a new table saw, Id prefer to research it myself and select the perfect one for me. I dont recommend buying tools as gifts.

It is with that in mind that I came up with my list of gifts I am certain any woodworker would love to receive and would actually use. So guys, feel free to casually leave this post open on your monitor for your wife to accidentally see while you are in another room.

1. Wood. You simply cant go wrong here. Head over to Woodcraft or another store that sells exotic or specialty lumber. Pick out an unusual board that youve never heard of and buy a short length. Your woodworker will find something cool to make with it: most likely something for you.

2. Saw Blades. We always need sharp new blades for our saws and, if your woodworking spouse is like me, he uses dull blades far longer than he should. If you are unsure what type of blade to get, just go out to the shop and measure the diameter of a table saw blade or a miter saw blade. Most likely, it will be 10" or 12" in diameter.

3. Clamps. Its an old saying that a woodworker can never have enough clamps, and it is true. Buy some clamps: any size or type. They are all useful.

4. Drill bits. We use drill bits all the time and they break and get dull. A few years ago my wife bought me a 114 piece drill and driver kit. I am still using it.

5. Forstner bits. These are large drill bits used for boring large, clean holes. I bought a set at Costco a while ago for about $50.

6. Router bits. Again, these get dull and we tend to keep using them longer than we should. You can buy individual ones, or various sized sets containing all sorts of profiles.

7. Yellow wood glue. Yep, we use it all the time and can always use more. You might also consider getting a couple of empty squeeze bottles for it.

8. Sandpaper. We spend most of our time sanding. An assorted package of sandpaper is always great to have handy. Better yet, buy some sandpaper for his random orbit or finishing sander.

And there you have it. I mean really, what could be more romantic than a four foot Brazilian Cherry board? And dont forget to visit the Mere Mortal gift shop, too!