Van Vliet - Hobby Pictures of Pieter

Hobby Pictures of Pieter (12-Dec-2017)

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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Future Plans:

Re-training in doing pyrographics/woodburning (started)
Making something decorative from a nice piece of wood
Making a windmill from scrollsawed thin plywood (for a friend)
Killer whale
Carve totem pole (under consideration)
Window bench for kitchen
More carving and chip carving; ultimate goal is carving a large raptor
Boxes and furniture pieces with decorative joinery, marquetry and inlay work
Wooden puzzles and toys
Bullshit chair
Wind vane

Bas-relief of Gorilla (work in progress) (started Feb-2000, have been on the back-burner ever since)

Bluenose Schooner (1-Feb-2018 to ???; ???hours) scale 1:48, length 44" (112 cm), width 6-3/4" (17 cm), height 35-1/2" (90 cm).

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.

Picture frame with woodburned images (Dec-2017; W:17½", H;20½", edge:3½")

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.

Wheelbarrow (Nov-2017; L: 41", W:24", H:18", red cedar and red oak)

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.

West Coast Wolf Plaque (3 & 4-Jun-2017; 11 hours; W:7", H:9", red cedar)
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.

"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.

Tired Wolf Plaque (31-Mar & 1-Apr-2017; 13 hours; W:12", H:11", red cedar)
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.

Sisiutl Plaque (16 " 17-Feb-2017; 15 hours; W:23", H:5½", red cedar)
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.

"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)

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.

See also the Carved Pink Rose further down this page.

2016 Xmas Ornaments
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.

"Plumber" Santa -- Based on design/carving by Tom Blount (Chip Chats, issue 52-6, Nov-Dec 2005, page 55)

height: 2" (5 cm)

Elf -- Unfinished carving from a class I took somewhere in 1994/1995.

height: 7" (18 cm)

Beggar caricature dog -- Based on design/carving by John Raucci (Chip Chats, issue 46-5, Sep-Oct 1999, back page)

height: 6" (15 cm)

Faith, Hope and Love Angels -- Based on 9½" intarsia work by Neal Toivonen (Chip Chats, issue 56-3, May-Jun 2009, page 45)

height: 4" (10 cm)

Trio of Santas -- Based on 3D carving by John Susin (Chip Chats, issue 52-6, Nov-Dec 2005, front and back page)

height: 5½" (14 cm)

Contemplative Claus -- Based on design by Don Burgdorf (Chip Chats, issue 49-6, Nov-Dec 2002, page 20)

height: 7½" (19 cm)

Soapstone Wolf medium 3D (17 to 26-Oct-2016; 5 hours; 12 cm by 8 cm by 5 cm)

A wolf carved from soapstone. Comes as a kit from Rubble Road, Soapstone Carving Kits containing the rough sawn soapstone, a rasp, three sheets of sand paper (60, 320, 600 grit), tung oil and instructions. Rough out the soapstone with the rasp (2nd picture) in a container with water. Then wet sand with 320 and finally 600 grit sand paper. Once the soapstone is dry apply a coat of Tung oil.

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.

West Coast Native Feather (1 and 2-Oct-2016; 17½ hours; 23" by 5" by ¾")

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.

New Dutch windmill (28-Jan-2014 to 24-Jun-2016; 549½ hours) scale 1:16.7, base width 31", tower height 56", sail span 92".

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.

"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)

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).

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.

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.

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.

Squirrel (Feb-2013; 21 hours; H:8", W:3¼", D:6¼")
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.

Westcoast Native Wolf rattle (16-Apr-2012 to 4-Jul-2012; 21 hours; H:4½", W:3½", L:7½", with handle 14")
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.

Westcoast Native Wolfman (24-Nov-2011 to 6-May-2012; 58½ hours; H:27", W:14", D:1")
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.

Book Case (Jan-2012; 28 hours; W:71½", H:52¼", D:12¾") Made from ¾" thick Procore red oak plywood. Each 4ft x 8ft sheet weighs 39 kg (86 lbs) and I needed 2 sheets! The top is edged with a decorative moulding. All joints are biscuit joints where each joint has (3) #20 biscuits. The shelves can be adjusted in 1" steps. The bookcase is stained medium oak and varnished with three coats of satin Waterborne Polycarbonate Interior Urethane Varnish.

Westcoast Native Sun Mask (15-Feb-2011 to 19-Dec-2011; 200 hours; H:62", W:58", D:8")
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.

Chickadee (4, 5, 11, 12 Nov 2011; 19 hours)
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.

Pugwis Mask (27/28 May 2011, 3/4 June 2011; 24 hours; H:10½" x W:11¾" x D:7¼")
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. ???

Westcoast Native Thunderbird (11 to 13-Mar-2011; 18½ hours; excluding stand H:5¼", W:3½", L:10¼")
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.

Bookshelves (Dec 2010/Jan 2011; 25¾ hours; H:36¼", W:76¾", D:9¼", shelf depth 9", distance between shelves 11")
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.

Voodoo Queen Mask (5, 6, 12 and 13-Nov-2010; 19 hours; H:11½" x W:5½" x D:3")
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.

Parquetry (30-Oct-2010; 7 hours; H:10" x W:8")
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.

Wolf Bowl (5-Jul-2010 to 4-Nov-2010; 110 hours (43 in class + 67 homework); L:25" x W:11" x H:8")
Carving done under the guidance of instructor Rick Wolcott at the Cottage Pirouette B & B in Esquimalt, British Columbia. Started with 3 feet long logs of green elder which where split in half. The idea was to do traditional Native seal bowls, which were used to contain oil in which the dried salmon was dipped. Two of us decided to go for the more challenging wolf bowl instead. During the 5-day course we run into problems glueing extra pieces of wood on the wolf bowls for the head and tail; eventually that was solved by using underwater epoxy. Not surpising that the wolf bowl was not finished and much home work was still needed.

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.

Friendship Rings (May-2010; 3-5/8" x 2-1/2"; 9 cm x 6 cm)
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.

Double Raven Mirror Plaque (19 to 21-Mar-2010; 13 hours; 15½" by 10")
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.

Grandfather Clock (2-Nov-2009 to 14-Mar-2010; 205¼ hours; 83¾" x 24¾" x 14¼")
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.

Bella Coola (Nuxalt) Mask (16 to 24-Oct-2009; 22 hours; 9" by 7½")
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.

Countertop (Mid April to 21-May-2009; 32 hours)
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.

Turned Bowl (14-Feb-2009; 8½ hours)
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.

Chip Carved Box (5-Nov-2008; 7 hours)
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.

Feather Brooch (7 and 8-Oct-2008; 13½ hours)
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.

Rainbow trout (Jul-2008)
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.

Westcoast Native Paddle (11 to 19-Jan-2008; 22 hours)
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

Nightstand and dresser with mirror (9-Apr-2007 to 28-Jan-2008; 313½ hours)
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.

Elephants (11-Oct to 6-Nov-2007; 12 hours; height 9", width 14")
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.

Brain Picker (automaton) (22-Sep-2007; 7-1/2 hours; height 9")
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.

Woodburned gophers (10 to 31-Aug-2007; 12 hours; height 9½", width 7½")
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.

Westcoast Raven Frontlet (11 & 18-Aug-2007; 18 hours; height 6½", width 5½")
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.

Lion in Relief (5 to 26-Jul-2007; 15 hours; height 9½", width 7½")
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.

Westcoast Mirror Carving (23 to 31-Mar-2007; 22 hours; diameter 16")
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.

Smoothing plane(3-Mar-2007; 7 hours)
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.

West Coast Moon Mask (26-Jan to 3-Feb-2007; 22 hours; diameter 16")
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.

King-size Bed (29-Nov-2006 to 25-Feb-2007; 160 hours)
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.

Brass Etching (9-Nov-2006).
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.

Garbage bin (Oct-2006; 12½ hours)
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.

Glass Etching (18-Oct-2006).
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.

Cowboy business card holder (Feb/Mar-2006; 21 hours; pattern by Ralph C. Graves, Camp Verde, Arizona)

See the carving project for more details.

Repainted wooden shoes In Dutch: klompen

Repainted wooden shoes

wooden shoes detail

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.

Wooden shoes are subject to wear and at some point in time the sole gets so thin that a pebble will press through. Then it is time to replace them. Dutch tradition is that those old worn wooden shoes are repainted, hung on an outside wall or fencepost, often filled in the summer with a bit of potting soil in order to grow geraniums in them. Here a view of how we painted them.

Wall Cabinet
(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.

Roll Top Desk (started 7-Feb-2005, completed 31-May-2005; 367 hours).
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.

Exterior view

A look inside

Tool Cabinet (Jan-2005). This 8 feet wide by 7½ feet high tool storage cabinet is my own design and made from ¾" MDF. It was build in Apr-1997. Have a peek what the old tool cabinet looked like.

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.

Roller Stand (Jan-2005; 4¼ hours). With a top support bar of 32" and height adjustable from 30¼" to 51", this is the perfect tool for Pieter's workshop.

See the construction project for more details.

Gate to Vegetable Yard (Nov/Dec-2004; 61 hours). Based on the Garden Gateway plan #9061 from the New Yankee Workshop. It just so happen that the sizes on the plan matched what we needed.

See the construction project for more details.

Monster Truck (Nov-2004; 30 hours). Made from a plan in Les Neufeld's book: Tremendous Toy Trucks. The truck is 9½" long and 6½" high.

See the construction project for more details.

Three-Piece Block Puzzle (Mar-2004). A Three-Piece Block Puzzle from the book Puzzles Old & New by Jerry Slocum and Jack Botermans. Made from 1 1/2" red oak blocks. Nobody publishes how to put the three pieces together, so why should I? It took me about 30 minutes to figure it out.

School to home puzzle (Mar-2004). Based on the 1928 "The Flying Puzzle" from the book Puzzles Old & New by Jerry Slocum and Jack Botermans. Made from 5/16" red oak leftover from another project. The idea is that "Me" moves from the top left (school) to the bottom right (home) through traffic.

Red-winged blackbird (28-Feb-2004). My first marquetry project done during the excellent seminar given by Janet Walker. After the sanding I applied white Shellac and then polished it with clear Briwax. Completed the project with a small wenge frame.

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.

Bench/table (Dec-2003; 8 hours). A 18" heigh bench of 39" by 16½" for outside that can also double as a table. The bench is made from 2½" by 1½" cedar slat.

See the construction project for more details.

Winnie the Pooh (Nov/Dec-2003; 6 hours). A 12½" heigh figure with arms and legs moving when you pull on some strings. Made from some left-over ¼" plywood.

See the construction project for more details.

Laundry box (Oct-2003; 14 hours). A 21" wide by 18" deep, two compartment laundry box on casters that is 30" high.

See the construction project for more details.

Needlepoint Stand (Feb-2003; 7 hours). Made from one 8 feet board of 1" x 6" maple, with three folding arms and rotating head in which to clamp the needlepoint work.

See the construction project for more details.

Wine Rack (Dec-2002; 21 hours) 41" x 51", made from 3/4" red oak plywood. The rack is subdivide with diagonal boards creating 6 squares for 16 bottles, 7 triangles for 6 bottles, and two traingles for 3 bottles, for a total capacity of 144 bottles.

See the construction project for more details.

Spoon Rack (Dec-2002; 6 hours) It is 16" x 17", made of solid red oak, no nails just glue. It has a capacity of 3 rows of 12 tea spoons. A quick job to do someone a favour who needed it for a relative and just could not find one.

Plant cold frame (Mar-2002; 9 hours) This 8ft x 6ft x 2ft frame is made from 2" by 4" lumber. It will be used to put young plants outside under a cover of protective cloth so that the plants can adept to the outdoors before being transplanted.

CD Tray (Dec-2001; 6 hours) Some leftover ½" birch plywood, keep it simple and in no time you have 6 CD trays that store some 40 CDs each.

Patio Table (Dec-2001; 38" round, 29" high, 24 hours)
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.

Sjoelbak (Nov-2001; 15" x 78"; 18 hours)
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.

Doll Stand (Nov-2001)

Adirondack Two-seater Swing (Jan-2001). Made from cedar and based on Veritas (Lee Valley) "Adirondack Plus" porch seat plan 05L05.02. The deck was done in Jul-2001.

Flower Box (Jan-2001). Made from cedar.

Doll Highchair (Dec-2000). Just some leftover pine boards.

Bird House (Nov-2000)
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.

Yardman (Pinocchio) (Nov-2000)
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.

Patios, Pathways, Retaining Walls (1997 to 2000)

Adirondack Chair (Jan-2000). Made from cedar and based on Veritas (Lee Valley) "Adirondack Chair" plan 05L05.01.

Baby Cradle (Dec-1999). Based on the cradle plan of the New Yankee Workshop.

Quarter Pounder (Nov-1999)
A note holder made from wood scraps and a quarter, hence the name "quarter pounder". Makes a nice stocking stuffer at Christmas.

Driveway Entrance (Jul-1999). Made from 6" by 6" pressure-treated posts and two old wagon wheels which we painted with old fashioned red barn paint.

Bird Feeder (Feb-1999). Completely made from pieces of scrap leftover from other projects. Note the little sparrow waiting from me to refill the feeder.

Wishing Well (Jan-1999). Made from red cedar and pine, based on the wishing well plan 371 from U-Build. The wishing well is placed on top of the septic tank to camouflage the concrete top of the tank.

Sign on Stranger's grave (Dec-1998). Stranger was a stray cat that joined our household in Houston in 1982. She travelled with us to Holland, South Africa and Canada. Gave me a chance to try my hands on some letter carving. The cat layout is based on that of one of the pussy cats I did in 1995 (see further down).

Towel Hanger (Nov-1998; 5" long)
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.

Maze Puzzle (Nov-1998; 5" x 5" x 3")
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,
All these are too easy and too tame.
So I made you a true Black Box;
Don't get too exited, hold on to your socks.
It's not the one from a plane
That would really be too insane.
No, this one is hand made of wenge wood
And can be used whatever your mood.
The object is to get the ball from left to right,
or vice-versa depending on your sight.
Visualize yourself in a city of 6 by 6 blocks;
It's a nightmare maze worse than Fort Knox!
What's more, there are also three floors
Each of course with different corridors.
Rely on your senses and intelligence;
It is mind over matter: use patience and diligence.
The sound of the ball is often dull,
But much fuller when it hits the wall.
Did I tell you that the designer had a crooked mind?
He put in also fourteen dead ends for you to find.
Remember, there is always the fireplace
If you cannot solve the maze.

Music Box (Nov-1998). Made several of these boxes from rosewood and lacewood. The music works were bought at Lee Valley.

Office Furniture (Feb-1998)

Picnic Table (Jan-1998). Based on plan J00700 of Jer's Pattern Projects. Used 2"x6" red cedar instead of the 2"x4" as recommended in the plan. This did required some adjustments to the various sizes.

Television Corner (Dec-1997). Own design. Big enough for a bulky old fashioned TV and wide enough for the future large screen televisions. Opening for VCR and DVD player, and drawers to store cables, video tapes and DVDs.

Banana Stand (Dec-1997). Some leftover pieces of plywood and some oak fineer.

Spice Rack (Dec-1997)

Blue Jay (1997). My second carved bird.
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.

Tool Cabinet (Apr-1997). This 8 feet wide by 7½ feet heigh tool storage cabinet is my own design and made from ¾" MDF. 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 open space have since been closed, so have a look at the new tool cabinet.

Cabinet Guest Bedroom (Jan-1997)

Doll Cabinet (Sep-1996)

Ranch foreman (1996). Here I tried my hand on caricature carving under the watchfull eye of a professional carver.

Red Breasted Nuthatch (1995). My first bird carved and painted during a weekend session under the guidance of a professional carver. It still needs to mounted properly.

Pussy Cats (1995). Made from ¼" plywood. My wife found the layouts in a Dutch magazine.

Inlay Table (1994). We collected the small Delft Blue tiles when we were flying business class with KLM. We had enough to make this attractive 24 by 21 inch table.

Windmill scale 1:25, base width 20", tower height 37", vane span 61" (Oct-1993 to Jun-1994; 355 hours). The Zuid Hollanse Achtkant Watermolen plan is from De Muiderkring. This eight-sided windmill is from the province of South Holland for pumping water out of polders. The head can turn in order to put the vanes into the wind.

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.

A major repair was done, but six years later (Oct-2013) the windmill looks even worse than in 2007. This year a new scale model will be build.

Slide Sorter (1993)

Oval Table (1992)

Jewellery Box (1991). Own design. Made from tambootie, a very oily hardwood from the East side of South Africa. This wood is very difficult to get, but my South African neighbour generously donated the wood for my project.

Chuck Wagon (Mar-1991; 128 hours). A friend in Houston had one. I took measurements and pictures. Seven or eight years later I built this one.

Cutty Sark, 1869, scale 1:75; height 67 cm, length 110 cm, Billing Boats kit #564 (Jan-1989 to Nov-1990; 507 hours). Still one of my master pieces. I built the display case to keep the dust away from the model. The mirror in the back helps to appreciate the model from all angles, but it is the pits to photograph.

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Hobby Pictures of Pieter (12-Dec-2017)