Ever wonder what to do with nice logs that you come by when someone cuts down a tree or you find in the woods? How about hollowing it out and making a nice home for our feathered friends? Here’s how this project proceeded from start to finish.
The bottom was cross drilled with a 1-1/8″ Forstner bit and a perch was glued in place below it. The bottom has a small hole drilled in it to drain water. It will be fun seeing our new tenants in the early spring!
I had a nice piece of Walnut that was dry enough to try my hand at turning a natural edge bowl. Not just a natural edge bowl, but one that wasn’t round, instead elongated which meant that I would be turning “air” as the cut was interrupted 4 times per revolution until I was deep…
I hate to waste material left over from a project so I try to come up with an idea to use it. When I can’t think of anything, it becomes the old standby, a flower pot! I recently had drop offs from some landscaping timbers that fit into this category. Using a chop saw, the…
There are many ways to cut captive rings and specialty tools are sold to accomplish the task. I decided to make my own captive ring tool from an Allen wrench, the tricky part being the shape of the grind. I tried many different shapes without success before hitting one that worked. The various grinds were…
Preparing turning blanks at the band saw from logs can be dangerous because the log wants to roll when the blade enters the timber. I have broken a band saw blade trying to cut a hand held log and fortunately was not injured in the process. Carter Products makes a log mill that I have…
I have a very nice neighbor Tom who is stuck inside this winter because his left eye quit working. His doctor says it will return to normal but there is nothing that can be done other than let time take it’s course. I asked if he wanted to do a small project in my wood…
Wood flower pots are very nice in appearance and each year they take on a new personality depending on their contents. I wanted an 8 sided Western Red Cedar pot about a foot tall with a 12 degree taper. Consulting compound miter tables readily available on the Internet, I determined that the correct settings…
