How are working Christmas gifts

[davch00]

I was wondering how many of y'all are making Christmas gifts this year and if so, what are they?

I'm currently working on 3 Adirondack style patio gliders much like the one Tree Feller made a few months ago. I showed my girlfriend and she loved it and said I want one. She also said my grandparents and both of your sisters would like one, you should build some for their Christmas presents.

I thought I was ahead of the game this year as I had all the materials collected by Thanksgiving weekend but the day job is slowing me down with overtime. I hope to get some pictures within the next week or so.

[Dodgy Loner]

I'm making a rocking chair for my daughter and a bread bowl for my wife. A knife for my brother-in-law and picture frames for my brother. Probably be another item or two before it's all said and done. My day job slows down my shop time as well, but without my day job I wouldn't have a shop, so I'm not complaining :D

[Lud]

I made six sets of candle sticks as a customer wanted 3 sets.  Sent one set to the gallery.  Then the customer asked if he could take all five sets if they were'nt spoken for....... and I said,

"Take all you wan't ,   we'll make more...." 8) 8)


I love it when they slap down those Franklins! 8)

[WDH]

I am making an oak night table for a bedroom, a cherry blanket chest (see thread on this project in Woodworking Board), and a kitchen work island. 

[samandothers]

My projects are less ambitious!    I am making a yarn swift, an additional table leaf and yet to be started picture frame.  Seems the only time I take/make time to do projects is during Christmas.  I like it!

[Axe Handle Hound]

More cutting boards.  Seems as though they're the only thing anyone ever asks me to make!

 

[Tree Feller]

I'm making craft type gifts this year.

So far I've made a couple of Yahoo game boards, some duck calls, some bolt-action cartridge pens and several wine bottle stoppers.

A guy at work wants one of those patio gliders to give to his dad for Christmas but also knows it will be post-Santa before I get it built and delivered.   

[Dodgy Loner]

More cutting boards.  Seems as though they're the only thing anyone ever asks me to make!

 

Holy Moly! I can see why! That's incredible, I want one too! 8)

[Don K]

Love the cutting board!! What species of wood?

I am making 8 hickory bucksaws that break down and store in a canvas bag for all the male relatives I have. A hand turned pen, ice cream scoop and pizza cutter for my daughter. Didn't have time to make her heirloom quilt stand, shuffling that to Feb. for birthday. Gotta tighten up. Time is short. I always do this to myself. : :(

Don

[WDH]

I am running scared.  The clock is ticking........

[metalspinner]

Boxes!

Nick has more insects that need mounting so I have several "curiosity" boxes for him. 

And Zach has a comic book collection that needs a stylish storage box. I have a piece of wood I set aside years ago that is perfect for this project.

[Axe Handle Hound]

Holy Moly! I can see why! That's incredible, I want one too!
Thanks Dodgy.  It's really just a play on the grain in a single wide board.  I cut it into strips, rotate the strips 90°, and glue it back together.  Then I repeat the process cutting across the grain so I end up with an end grain up board (the one in the photo is actually an edge grain up board).  My main problem is that no one will use them once they get them!  By the way, I've been following the bread bowl thread and am interested to see your final photos.  I recognized the Roy Underhill factor in that project right away.  Always wanted to make one myself, but just haven't had the time. 

Love the cutting board!! What species of wood?
Thanks.  It's good old hard maple. 

[Axe Handle Hound]

I am running scared.  The clock is ticking........

We always knew it was Christmas Eve when we saw dad using the hair dryer to cure the varnish on his woodworking projects!   

[pineywoods]

Building the daughter a replica of an old pirate treasure chest. Gonna be close on the timing.. pics and details in the woodworking forum..

[haywire woodlot]

I am making an oak night table for a bedroom, a cherry blanket chest (see thread on this project in Woodworking Board), and a kitchen work island.

Hey Danny, I'd love to hear more about that work island. I,'m picking up my lumber from the kiln tomorrow, and that is what I 'm planing to build for our place.

The kitchen island was supposed to be done for Christmas, but there was a 3 week delay at the kiln. I have been warming up on the usual cutting boards and jewellery boxes for Christmas gifts.

[davch00]

I am running scared.  The clock is ticking........

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Besides the 3 patio gliders I have a couple of flower boxes to make.

[GeorgeK]

Awesome cutting board. I like making thse. Planning on some chairs after the first of the year. but I have also made cutting boards and a routed bowl

 

[Dodgy Loner]

By the way, I've been following the bread bowl thread and am interested to see your final photos.  I recognized the Roy Underhill factor in that project right away.  Always wanted to make one myself, but just haven't had the time.

I haven't done any more work since the last post, unfortunately. My most complicated project of the season will be the rocking chair for my daughter, so that has been consuming most of my shop time lately. I got it glued up two nights ago, so now all I have to do is some final sanding and then a finish. Oh, and then I have to process some white oaks splits and weave the seat. Should be done in a jiffy :D

Clock is ticking....

[WDH]

Hey Danny, I'd love to hear more about that work island. I,'m picking up my lumber from the kiln tomorrow, and that is what I 'm planing to build for our place.

Haywire,

Very similar to this one. 

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,58511.msg851424.html#msg851424

[jueston]

My main problem is that no one will use them once they get them!

thats the case with my gifts too, i'm making a couple cutting boards, and then i make bookmarks out of the scraps which are just some tiny rips glued up then cut thin to show all the layers. everyone loves to get them, but then never use them.

[metalspinner]

Just finished one set of boxes for my oldest boy. ;D

These we call "Curiosity boxes".  They are explained here...

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,54869.msg791709.html#msg791709

Some of the woods used are QS mahogany, redheart, canary wood, ebony, birds eye maple, QS sycamore, spalted maple, spalted beech, and purple heart.

It sure is fun mixing and matching ;D



 
 


 



 
 


 
 


 
 


 

Here you can see the plexiglass cover under the sliding lid.  The little holes on the edge of the plexi are for brads.  After he mounts a specimen, he will tack the plexi in place.



 

On the the next gift!   Tick-tock...

[Dodgy Loner]

You have some really incredible wood, ms. It's not always easy to combine different species and get the combination to look right, but you always do a fantastic job of matching the colors and the grain. Those are some beautiful boxes that will be treasured heirlooms for sure!

[SwampDonkey]

My projects are less ambitious!    I am making a yarn swift,

I have made them as well and I think TexasRanger has. There are all kinds of styles out there. Be interesting to see yours. Mine is 19th C style from Ed Worst's book on "Foot Powered Loom Weaving". He had no plans, just a photo. I researched it further off the net. My loom build thread has some pictures and a video or two.

Been making blankets and scarves. :D

[WDH]

Chris,

Beautiful boxes from beautiful wood  8).  You continue to amaze me!

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, that is a nice combination of wood in those boxes. Missed them when I posted from the first page.

Very nice job. Gotta love that birdseye.  ;D

[WDH]

That spalted sycamore is wonderful!  Did you do that on purpose or was it serendipity?

[Dodgy Loner]

Very nice job. Gotta love that birdseye.  ;D

Perhaps, given the boxes' eventual contents, we should refer to it as bugs-eye maple ???

[metalspinner]

 :D

Bugs-eye.  That's funny. :D

That spalted maple came from the firewood pile. Sheer serentipity!  The spalted beech was an attempt to spalt an 8' log, but after 2 years, I got impatient and sawed it.  Only the first 1 1/2' was spalted.   :( The sycamore came that way.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

serendipity?

say_what

[Tree Feller]

I finished up a Wahoo game board today that I'm gifting to a couple for Christmas. We played a game at another friend's house a few weeks ago and they absolutely loved it. It's good, clean, simple fun. My grandson sat in my lap and rolled the dice for me.   ;D

The board is 3/4" MDF with HP laminate on the top side and a lacquer finish on the bottom. It's edged with Walnut. I made a pattern out of 1/4" MDF a while back. I attach the pattern to the laminated board with double-stick carpet tape then use a plunge router with a collar and core box bit to cut the recesses for the marbles. This is the fourth one of these I've made.



 

[metalspinner]

I remember that game!

You need to get all of your marbles from the diagonal row to the straight row by moving clockwise, right?

[Tree Feller]

I remember that game!

You need to get all of your marbles from the diagonal row to the straight row by moving clockwise, right?

Right. You have to roll a 6 or a 1 to bring a marble out. You then move clockwise around the board. You can bring out as many marbles as you want or just work one at a time. If your roll takes you one spot past that first corner, you can go to the middle hole. If you role a 1, you bring that marble out to the inside corner nearest the "home" row...it's a big shortcut.   ;D

You can't jump your own marble and if you land on someone else's marble, they have to start over with that marble.

[WDH]

At least you have not lost your marbles  ;D.

[SwampDonkey]

Another fun board game made from wood was Crokinole. You can easy buy the wooden discs I think. My father played this over 60 years ago and you can still buy the exact same style board they used back then. I've played it on his old board as well.

Tree Feller that game sounds  a lot like Sorry, only there was a pop up bubble in the middle to role the dice. ;D

[samandothers]

I need to  be working on the gifts instead of sitting here reading! 

TICK TOCK     

[pigman]

My wife wants a new bed for Christmas. Do you think it is too late to cut a tree for that project?

[samandothers]

Nah go for it ;D

[Dan_Shade]

it depends on her imagination and/or expectations, pigman

[Lud]

MS,  those boxes are niiiice!!

So the customer who wanted 3 sets ....,  who bought 5 sets,   asked,  and was told,  that I had made four more sets of candle sticks and he wants to buy those too..

Some other folks who might expect a little  free Christmas craft are taking a back seat this year.....

You only get so many customers like this, .....(cash do talk) ;) ;)

[SwampDonkey]

Nice to be paid, has a good feeling about it. ;D

[Dodgy Loner]

I'm making a rocking chair for my daughter and a bread bowl for my wife. A knife for my brother-in-law and picture frames for my brother. Probably be another item or two before it's all said and done.

Well, I was right about the last sentence. There's always another last minute gift or two that needs giving. On Saturday night, my wife asked me to make a couple of bowls for some friends from church. A couple of hours in the shop, and I had these ready:





Can you guess the woods? One of them is a gimme. We'll see about the other

[beenthere]

Guess would be walnut and ash. But the ash guess could be a number of other woods without a better look at the end grain. Just on first blush.

[Dodgy Loner]

You're 50% right. I told ya the walnut was a gimme :D

But the ash is not correct. Looking at the picture, that's certainly what I would have guessed. But if you held it in your hand, you would have a considerably different impression. ;)

[beenthere]

Might even be catalpa.

[Dodgy Loner]

Color me impressed, beenthere. You nailed it on the second try! 8)

[beenthere]

I visualized holding it in my hand.  ;D

Pretty bowls.

[SwampDonkey]

Those are nice turnings for sure. Nice figure in the walnut. I would have said ash on the second as well, then worked my way down the list of similar woods. :D

[Dodgy Loner]

I visualized holding it in my hand.  ;D

Pretty bowls.

Did it feel a lot lighter than ash when you visualized it in your hand? :D

[beenthere]

Oh yes it did, and that helped a lot. ;)

[WDH]

Not that the catalpa is not nice (it is very nice), but the walnut is exceptionally nice!

[Tree Feller]

I've turned lots of bowls and those are two especially nice ones, DL. That Walnut is nothing less than spectacular.

FWIW, I initially guessed Walnut and Ash but when you told Beenthere he was only half right, I guessed Catalpa. The wide grain is what gave me the hint.

[Dodgy Loner]

Not that the catalpa is not nice (it is very nice), but the walnut is exceptionally nice!

Thanks Danny. You're not just saying that because you gave me the walnut, are you? :D

[SwampDonkey]

I suspected them Georgia boys were in cahoots. :D

[Lud]

The two bowls are very nice.  I could guess at the diameter and the finish but will ask for clarification instead.

The "visualize holding it in my hands"  comment is very smart.  I appreciate it because I have a habit of taking a bowl I'm turning off the lathe and holding it with my eyes closed so I can use my sense of touch to evaluate how it's evolving. 8)

[WDH]

Thanks Danny. You're not just saying that because you gave me the walnut, are you? :D

I thought that I recognized that walnut  :D.

[Dodgy Loner]

The two bowls are very nice.  I could guess at the diameter and the finish but will ask for clarification instead.
The "visualize holding it in my hands"  comment is very smart.  I appreciate it because I have a habit of taking a bowl I'm turning off the lathe and holding it with my eyes closed so I can use my sense of touch to evaluate how it's evolving.

I know what you mean about the feel. The inner and outer curves have to be fair and complement each other or the bowl doesn't feel right. The catalpa bowl feels wonderful in the hands, because it is so incredibly light. Probably not more than a couple of ounces.

The walnut bowl is not much thicker, but it is considerably heavier. They are both about 11-12" in diameter and 3" tall. The tiles are 12x12, for reference. The finish is simple - just a homemade wiping varnish (equal parts BLO, mineral spirits, and polyurethane) that I keep in a squeeze bottle and buff out for a few minutes while the lathe is running. Then I have a carnuba-based wax stick that I melt on a buff off again. It leaves a low-key sheen on most woods. The walnut got a bit shinier than most.

Here is a pic that I left out until the catalpa bowl was identified:

Thanks Danny. You're not just saying that because you gave me the walnut, are you? :D

I thought that I recognized that walnut  :D.

Yep, what's it been, 6 years since you gave me those walnut slabs? My how time flies I've been saving that blank for a while. It was sad to see it go, but it has an appreciative new home

[beenthere]

It's easy to id the wood you used when you show us both sides.  ;D

[WDH]

 :D :D