Pieter finds that winters in Canada are ideal to retreat to his office, do some creative thinking, and follow that by the project execution in his workshop surrounded by the fine smells of wood and in a cloud of saw dust. Here are some examples of his handy work.
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![]() The original Bluenose fishing and racing schooner was the pride of the province Nova Scotia in Canada. Later on a copy was made called the Bluenose II which is now used for tourism. See the Bluenose project for more details. |
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![]() I had not done very much woodburning for 10 years, and decided to give it a try again. My woodburning skills can use some improvements as you can see on this high resolution image. I believe poplar is not the nicest wood to burn. |
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![]() In 2002 we saw this wheelbarrow in Enchanted Forest, just outside Three Valley Gap, British Columbia. I took a picture, and several years later I converted the picrture in a measured ddrawing a made the wheelbarrow. The wheel was made from plywood and had rotted away over the years. So this year I made a new wheel from leftover red oak and repainted the wheelbarrow. Coming sspring we will plant geraniums in the wheelbarrow. |
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![]() West Coast Native carving class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. Wolf looking over its shoulder with Tail on the left and paw on the right. As usual Rick had many Native stories to tell. |
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![]() ![]() "Carved" Yellow Rose (14-Feb-2017 to 3-Apr-2017; 28¾ hours; L:5¼", W:4½", H:2½") rose diameter: 3½", total weight 28 grams (1 oz) The rose is made from some leftover tupelo wood, and carved following the instructions of John Hagensick's book Carving the Rose (The Only Completely Carved Step-by-Step Instructions On Carving The Rose. Revised Edition). Most of the "carving" is done with diamond burrs or cutters using the Micro-Pro Champion Grinder Set from Mastercarver High-performance tools. Painting is done with Acrylic paints. See also the Carved Pink and Red Roses further down this page. |
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![]() West Coast Native carving class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. What makes the wolf look "tired" is the crescent in the eye and the tonque hanging out of the mouth. Another fun class where Rick guides us through the carving and painting steps while telling Native stories. |
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![]() West Coast Native carving class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The Sisiutl Plaque represents a mythological creature with two serpents (snakes with lightning strike capabilities). Often placed above doors or on houses as protection against enemies. This plaque is carved in the Kwakiutl or Kwakwaka'wakw style. |
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"Carved" Red Rose (27-Dec-2016 to 9-Feb-2017; 38¾ hours; L:5¼", W:4½", H:2½") rose diameter: 3½", total weight 30 grams (1 oz) ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Most of the "carving" is done with diamond burrs or cutters using the Micro-Pro Champion Grinder Set from Mastercarver High-performance tools. Painting is done with Liquitex Acrylic Paints. See also the Carved Pink Rose further down this page. |
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![]() ![]() After three winters working on the construction of the scale model of the Dutch windmill, I decided to do some smaller projects this winter. I decided to carve some Xmas ornaments; a challenge as this type of carving is different from the Native West Coast carving. Another challenges were finding examples and the ornaments had to be finished before Christmas. I found a unpainted carved elf I did in a carving class somewhere in 1995. I also went through all the 1995 to 2009 issues of the carving magazine Chip Chats. Selected 20 potential ornaments then narrowed it down to 8, and finally selected 5 ornaments to make. The ornaments are carved from tupelo and painted with Liquitex acrylic. |
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Soapstone Wolf medium 3D (17 to 26-Oct-2016; 5 hours; 12 cm by 8 cm by 5 cm)![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Here is where things went wrong. The wolf was smooth and clean before I applied the tung oil. I found the tung oil quite thick though. It took 6 weeks to have it dry to the touch. Upon inspection I found tthe head of the wolf not shiny while the bottom of the wolf had a thick layer of tung oil with lots of impurities included. I got quick advice from the owner of Rubble Road how to fix my problem. In the end I sanded the wolf with 320 grit to get rid of the old tung oil layer, and then sanded with 600 grit to smooth it again. This time I sprayed the wolf with a very thin layer of Varathane clear satin finish. After that had dried for a day I applied some Pledge furniture spray on a soft lint-free cloth and rubbed the wolf in a few times until I got the desired shine. |
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![]() Another carving class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The feather board is made from red cedar, rounded at the top and hollowed out at the back. The design is copied from Rick Wolcott and represents three hummingbirds. Feather boards have no cultural significance; it is a modern day way of showing native decorations. |
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![]() ![]() The Zuid Hollanse Achtkant Watermolen plan is from De Muiderkring. This eight-sided windmill is from the province of Zuid Holland for pumping water out of polders. The head can turn in order to put the sails into the wind. See the Dutch Windmill project for more details. |
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"Carved" Pink Rose (27-Oct-2015 to 8-Dec-2015; 45 hours; L:5¼", W:4½", H:2½") rose diameter: 3½"), total weight 30 grams (1 oz) The rose is made from some leftover tupelo wood, and carved following the instructions of John Hagensick's book Carving the Rose (The Only Completely Carved Step-by-Step Instructions On Carving The Rose. Revised Edition). Most of the "carving" is done with diamond burrs or cutters using the Micro-Pro Champion Grinder Set from Mastercarver High-performance tools. Painting is done with Liquitex Acrylic Paints. |
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Railing (Oct-2014; material cost Can$230.00) The stairs from our basement den to the main floor has only a railing on the right when going up. My wife has a bad right shoulder and asked me to install a railing also on the left side. Her wish is my command and so it came to pass that we now have railings on both sides of the stairs. First step was finding the studs in the wall to screw the 12 Polished Bras Handrail Brackets onto (picture 1). Next was to glue the 10 feet and 8 feet lengths of 1-5/8" X 2-1/2" solid red oak rail together, and trim and glue to top horizontal rail. All that using 3/8" round dowels. Maneuvering 18 feet of rail from the workshopshop through the den and up the stairs is an interesting exercise too. Dryfitting the rail onto the brackets and attaching the rail to the rail brackets (picture 2) was the next step, followed by custom sizing the filler pieces and glueing them under the rail was the final construction step. Note that you can never have enough clamps (picture 3). A trip back to the workshop to stained the rail in medium oak and varnish it with five coats of satin Waterborne Polycarbonate Interior Urethane Varnish matching the red oak finishes in our house. Followed with another trip from the workshop to the stairs and the final mounting on the rail brackets (picture 4). |
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Drying Rack (Jul-2014; 10 hours; open H:2", W:24", D:32"; folded H:4", W:24", D:16") A friend of us needed a custom-sized drying rack for sweaters. Folded out it needed to fit on the limited countertop space, while ideally it should be folded to a size to fit in a drawer. In the end the folded drying rack fitted on top of the dryer. I just happen to have a very nice leftover 3/4" aspen board for the sides. With some 5/8" hardwood dowels and a pair of narrow flip top hinges (typically used for card tables) the drying rack was easy to make. After gluing the dowels into the sides I also secured the joints with 1/8" dowels. After applying a soaking of a 50/50 mix of sealer and lacquer thinner the rack was protected against moisture and ready for use. |
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Duck Repair (Mar-2013) Friends of us got a stylized carved duck, but their new dog did a number on the duck. They asked if I was willing to do some repairs, and I said yes. I have never carved a duck head before. Secondly, I also noticed that, besides the damage cause by the dog, there was a flaw in the top of the head and the placement of the eyes. The original head was carved separately and easy to remove. A piece of leftover cedar from my sun mask project was just de right size to carve a new head from. The tough part was that the cedar was very hard plus it also had a knot in it. By looking at pictures I was able to carve the duck head, and because it was stylized that gave me some artistic license (freedom). I tried to patch up the tail with Super Glue and dipping it in Baking Soda. Shaping can only be done with diamond files and diamond burrs, and I soon learned that this method is only suitable for small patches and not for repairing a large duck tail. Hence plan B where I chopped off the old tail, made a big mortise and glued in a new tail. After the glue had dried I shape the new tail. Finished with final sanding, a coat of Golden Oak Danish Oil, brown shoe polish and finally an application of Mahogany Briwax while shining the duck. |
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Signs on graves of Beauty and Softie (Jan/Mar-2013; 25 hours; H:11", W:16¾", D:7/8") The two sisters Beauty (black) and Softie (grey), joined our family in Feb-1997 at the age of about 9 months. They passed away within 9 days from each other from completely different causes in Oct/Nov-2012. The grave marker layout is based on that for our previous cat Stranger that I did in 1998. The text was designed using bold Old English Text MT in MS Word 2010 at a size of 150. Then scaled it a bit to fit the grave marker. I used Honduran Mahogany, drew the cat pattern on it and cut it out with the bandsaw. Then I traced the text on the cat's body and used a chipcarving knife to cut the letters. Used some leftover material to attach a stake to the back, and applied a finish. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Carving class taught by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. Started with a pre-sawn basswood (Linden) blank. Used mainly a straight knife, a half-round gouge, a V-grove gouge, and a woodburner to create this little creature. Finished the project with dry-brush arcylic painting. A bit rushed at the end, but all in all the result was not too bad. |
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![]() ![]() Design and Red Cedar blank from my carving instructor, Rick Wolcott. The inside is hollowed out and filled with some beads. The handle was turned on a lathe from a leftover piece of hemlock. |
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![]() ![]() I copied the design from my carving instructor, Rick Wolcott, and carved the wolfman in Western red cedar under his guidance as well. With the colour differences you would not believe the wood was from a single board. I tested staining it, but that did not look right either. For colours I used Jo Sonja's Artists' Colours: Titanium White, Napthol Crimson, Cobalt Blue Hue and Carbon Black. Later the gaps between the teeth were painted black which makes the teeth standout better. |
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![]() Own design and carving of a Westcoast Native Sun Mask under the guidance of my carving instructor, Rick Wolcott. The sheer size and complexity made this a large project. See the Westcoast Native Sun Mask project for more details. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Carving class taught by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The whole process of carving the black capped chickadee from tupelo, detailing the feathers with a wood burner, inserting the eyes, painting and mounting the bird. Hopefully my next bird is much better. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Carving class taught by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The Pugwis mask is based on the story of a chief not following the required purification rituals prior to going whale hunting. Once at sea a whale smashed their boat and the chief and his helpers all drowned. That chief is now walking in the water along the beach with no chance to get on land for a proper burial. Hence the white face and wrinkles from being in the water for so long. The mask was roughed out from 8" by 8" red cedar and painted white using Jo Sonja's Artists' Colours in velvet matte Titanium White. The hair is ??? T.B.D. ??? |
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![]() A challenging but fun class under guidance of Rick Wolcott who provided the cut out red cedar blank made from 4" x 4" cedar. The ears are glued on. The bottom of the beak is attached with a piece of stiff leather. We painted with the usual Jo Sonja's Artists' Colours in velvet matte: Colony Blue, Vermillion, Titanium White and Carbon Black. |
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![]() Shelves are made from leftover ¾" red oak plywood. The sides and centre supports are made of leftover ¾" solid red oak. A bottom slat supports the weight of the wall unit, while a top slat holds the unit against the wall. The slats are anchored into the 2-by-4" wall studs with (8) 3" flooringscrews. The slats are attached to the wall unit with (10) 1½" flooring screws. All joints are biscuit joints where each joint has (3) #20 biscuits. The unit is stained medium oak and varnished with three coats of satin Acrylic Urethane Varnish. |
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![]() ![]() Another fun carving class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The true story of Marie Laveau (1794-1881), the most famous and powerful Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, gave Rick the idea for this class. Carved in red cedar and hollowed out on the back. The "hair" is ¼" dowels. After painting some light sanding gives the mask a weathered look. |
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![]() Another excellent seminar given by Janet Walker. Marquetry is the art of making pictures using different veneers and cutting free-hand style. Parquetry is the same but making geometrical patterns as can be seen from the picture; in this case a 24-point wind rose. The veener pattern is glued on a substrate. After careful sanding I applied white Shellac and then polished it with clear Briwax. Completed the project with a small wenge frame. |
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![]() ![]() Wolf Bowl (5-Jul-2010 to 4-Nov-2010; 110 hours (43 in class + 67 homework); L:25" x W:11" x H:8") ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After 110 hours of carving I decided that the wolf bowl is done. Anymore carving will ruin the surface because the wood is getting too dry for clean cuts. Considering to give it a coat of Tung Oil. |
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![]() Craved out of a single piece of 1/2" thick red oak which is very hard on the hands, but worth the effort. Sealed with Shellac and finished with natural Briwax. |
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![]() Carving done under the guidance by instructor Rick Wolcott and hosted by Diamond Willow Artisan Retreat. This Westcoast Native carving is done in Northern (Tlingit) style and made from 3/4" thick Western Red Cedar. |
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![]() ![]() The grandfather clock case is from red oak and the top of the line cable movement is the Kieninger HTU triple chime 8-day movement that plays the Westminster, Whittington and St. Michael melodies on nine full-length tubular bells. See the grandfather clock project for more details. |
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![]() ![]() Another carving class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The Bella Coola (Nuxalt) Mask is one of the four supernatural carpenters (Masmasala'niq) and made of basswood. It was the custom in days gone by that the masks were burned after their use in the dances of the Winter Ceremonials. This required that masks be made year after year and this may in part account for the great ability of the Bella Coola carvers to see the final form in the alder as they adzed out the rough shape quickly and then finished them with their crooked knives. |
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![]() ![]() A friend had a 76" by 8-3/4" counter top ontop of a wall. Certainly not something you can sit at, so I made a 87" by 20-1/2" countertop with four consoles that sits ontop of the old countertop. To match the rest of the woodwork I used red oak, gave it two coats of Watco (Danish Oil Finish) Golden Oak and gave it protection with six coats of satin Acrylic Urethane Varnish. |
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![]() Class by Mike Mahoney at Lee Valley. If you want to learn wood turning then you learn it from the best, and that is Mike Mahoney. Google for "Mike Mahoney" and you will find also a practical sharpening video on YouTube. The left bowl was my first wood turning. The second is already better and flares out at the top. For the third I got bold and made it narrower at the top. I was almost done, made a mistake, lost the top part, and it became an ugly peanut bowl. |
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![]() ![]() Another fun class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. The box was provided. We designed the top and chip craved that. At home I sealed the whole box with Shellac and polished it with clear Briwax. I covered the inside with green velvet. The box is about 2-3/4" high and 4-1/4" from side to side. |
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![]() Excellent class given by Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. I made three Wood Duck side pocket feather brooches (round), and one Blue Jay side pocket feather brooch (blue). The feathers are about 7½ cm (3") long. One Wood Duck feather was made from basswood, and the rest from tupelo. There is certainly plenty of scope for improvements, but the basis is there. |
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![]() Made from red cedar scraps, and painted using Jo Sonja's Artists' Colours. Hangs on the fishing rod of the Pinocchio at the edge of our pond. Just a quick and dirty job, but from a distance it looks remarkably real. |
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![]() Another fun carving and painting class under the guidance of Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. We made our own design. On the paddle itself is a killer whale with the triangular dorsel fin at top left and the blow hole at the middle right. On the handle is an eagle. The paddle is about 4¼ feet long |
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![]() ![]() These red oak nightstands and the dresser with mirror matches the earlier made king-size bed, and completes the master bedroom furniture replacement project. See the nightstand and dresser project for more details. |
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![]() Great seminar given by Linda Forseth at Lee Valley. Learned new technique to create a leathery look. Finished with clear BriWax to cover the front and edges. |
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![]() ![]() A fun class at Lee Valley under the enthusiastic leadership of Charles Mak. Automaton, plural automata, is more often used to describe non-electronic moving machines, especially those that have been made to resemble human or animal actions (ref. Wikipedia). When you crank the "Brain Picker" it moves the brain picker with its hands, and moves the hat, eyes and tongue. The back photo shows the mechanism how that is done. |
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![]() Another fun seminar given by Linda Forseth at Lee Valley. Learned how to texture fur, ground, grass and rock. Used watercolours for a little bit of colour, and used clear BriWax to cover the front and edges. |
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![]() ![]() Another great carving class under the guidance of Rick Wolcott. The Raven Frontlet is worn on the forehead with two side straps and one top strap. Decorated on top with long feathers and down. When bending down while dancing the down will fall out and float to the ground signifying a sign of friendship. |
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![]() Great seminar given by Linda Forseth at Lee Valley. A combination relief carving and wood burning class. The carving was done in butternut, a very nice wood to work with. The lion was wood burned for extra effect. Finished with clear BriWax to cover the front and edges. |
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![]() My second Westcoast carving class again under the fun leadership of Rick Wolcott. A 18" round frame with crescent moon and three different wolves. Learned also how to paint sparkling stars. |
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![]() Made a 10" wooden smoothing plane under the expert guidance of Doug Haslam at Lee Valley. There is nothing more satisfying than producing a beautiful thin curl of wood with a self made smoothing plane. |
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![]() My first West Coast carving class under the excellent leadership of Rick Wolcott at Lee Valley. A 10" Salish/Nootka style face surrounded by simple renditions of two ravens, a symbol of transformation. |
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![]() This red oak king-size bed is the first piece of furniture as part of the complete master bedroom furniture replacement project. See the king-size bed project for more details. |
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![]() My first brass etchings done during another excellent seminar given at Lee Valley. The design was provided by Lee Valley. The medallions are 1-1/4". I plan to make my own design, make some twenty medallions, and then use those to "sign" my woodworking projects. |
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![]() Some people have said that this garbage bin is too beautiful to use in the workshop. Sorry folks, but it is there that it is needed the most. See the garbage bin project for more details. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() My first glass etchings done during the excellent seminar given at Lee Valley. The first was a flower etched on a 4" (10 cm) octagon mirror. The second was an eagle etched on a tall narrow glass. Making the pictures was more difficult than the etching process. |
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![]() See the carving project for more details. |
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Repainted wooden shoes In Dutch: klompen
When you go to The Netherlands (Holland) and you visit Amsterdam, you will no see a single person wearing wooden shoes. However, when you go to the country side and you have a good look at the local farms then you may get lucky and see wooden shoes been worn. My wife and I, living on an acreage in Canada still use wooden shoes when we have to go out in the yard. I have a pair in my woodworking shop as they are good for safety. Wooden shoes cool in the summer, warm in the winter, good safety wear, colourful, and they attract attention in our neighbourhood. |
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![]() (Oct/Nov-2005, 33 hours). We needed some extra storage space in the laundry room. Made an exact copy of other wall cabinets in that room. The cabinets are made from 5/8" and 1/2" melamine, and the raised panel doors from red oak. The cabinets are 30" high and 12" deep, and 42" and 21" wide respectively. |
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![]() A big wish of my wife. Based on plan #151 of American Furniture Design Co. with hutch added on top. The desk is made from red oak. The desk contains several secret compartments as well. See the construction project for more details. |
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Plenty of drawers and shelving behind the doors. On top at the sides is storage for long stock of 8, 7, 6 and 5 feet on the left and 1, 2 and 3 feet on the right. Behind the cabinet is storage space for several 4 by 8 feet sheets of plywood. The old tool cabinet featured an open space with pegboard, and that open space has now been closed with two double-door cabinets and two more drawers. Unfortunately the colour difference of the MDF shows. |
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![]() See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Blue Shadow, 1778 American Navy Brig with 12 guns, scale 1:64; height 69.5 cm, length 55 cm, width 34.5 cm, Mamoli kit #MV22 (started Feb-2001, completed Jan-2004; 209 hours). See the model construction for more details. |
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![]() See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() Based on plan #7041 for an outdoor garden table from the New Yankee Workshop. That table called for teak and was 36" round and 16" high. Our table is made from red cedar with a slightly thicker table top and legs, and includes a hole in the center for the patio umbrella. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() Sjoelen is a Dutch shuffle board game. A century old, true family winter game. The objective is to shuffle the 30 discs in the four pockets at the opposite end. A more even distribution gives a higher score. The base is made from 1/8" oak plywood, the score board is from maple and the rest is solid oak. The main challenge was to find the right finish for a super smooth surface. Made 3 sjoelbakken!!! See the construction project for more pictures. |
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![]() Made from leftover cedar wood. The internal size and entrance hole was designed to entice wren, titmouse, chickadee and nuthatch, but the first year we ended up with a nest of tree swallows instead. Actually 4 different ones were made. |
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![]() ![]() This one is about 12" high. Typically made from dowels. The ones we have in the yard -- one with a rake and one with a fishing rod -- are made from 5" round fence posts and are about 30" high. My uncle Toon de Gier -- a brother of my mother -- got the idea on one of his vacation trips in Europe; Spain I believe. He later showed me one that he had made, I took the dimensions, took it to Canada and here they are. |
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![]() A note holder made from wood scraps and a quarter, hence the name "quarter pounder". Makes a nice stocking stuffer at Christmas. |
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![]() As simple as it is practical. A couple of pieces of leftover oak cleverly glued together with a free rolling ½" stainless steel ball captured inside. Et violá, a towel hanger. Excellent stocking stuffer for Christmas. See the construction project for more details. |
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![]() Made 4 of these as Christmas gifts and these instructions came with it. Half a year later I gave out the diagrams with the solution. Book, software or computer game, |
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![]() ![]() In 2015 the Blue Jay was gifted to a friend and she displayed the Blue Jay for everyone to see and admire. (Oct-2017). Our friend got a kitten who was of course very curious, ended up meeting the Blue Jay and chewed up the beak very badly. Our distraught friend told me about that, and I fixed the Blue Jay by cutting off the damaged part of the beak, gluing on a scrap piece of tupelo and re-carving and painting the new beak. |
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![]() The open space have since been closed, so have a look at the new tool cabinet. |
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![]() ![]() ![]() The third picture is taken in July 2007, clearly showing that annual maintenance cannot keep up with the harshness off the Canadian weather. A next project will be to build a new windmill. ![]() ![]() |
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