Upcoming Projects

n the next few weeks I have several projects that need to be out of the shop posthaste.

1. I have an order for several of my custom car shelves that I have been working on. This time around, I am adding some more custom elements to set them apart from the older style I used to build. Found the beautifully figured plywood back boards that I was using ten years ago, so I have begun production and should be done this week.
2. The Indy Cars that I am making for my grandsons have the bodies rough cut out and I am getting together the other pieces so I can do a complete run and quit going back and forth with them.
3. Several graduation gifts in the form of plaques will be rolling out the door by mid May.
4. And I have too many gift projects that are strewn about the shop in various forms of incompleteness. Those have been rounded up, separated out, and moved to the bench to get done.

When I get done with them, I will be adding their pictures as soon as they are complete.

Step Stool

• This was another custom piece that was requested by a customer. Designing it was a lot of fun. She wanted a step stool that she didn’t need to bend down and move. Creating the handle was a little difficult cause I wanted it to have the kind of flow where it was substantial at the top, but thinned out towards the bottom. It still had to be structurally sound though, so I couldn’t go too thin at the bottom.
• This was made out of 3/4 inch Red Oak and stained in MinWax Cherry if I am remembering correctly. Topped off with 4 coats of MinWax Polyurethane.

To make sure that it would support my clients weight…I weight tested it by standing on it and moving around the platform for an hour. I even jumped on it. At the time I weighed 285lbs., so I was pretty sure that it could withstand years of use with her weight of about 95lbs…lol

Indy Racer

• This is another favorite of my nephews and neighbors.
• This is made out of: Mahogany, Maple, Red Oak, Birch dowel and scrap Cherry
• 4 coats of MinWax Polycrylic and a 20 minute buffing to really bring out the wood tones.

This was one of the most popular car models that I have ever made. The use of contrasting wood to make the parts that should be dark eliminated the need to apply any paint.

I have started on four more for my grandsons. They have yet to have a keepsake from me and I want them to have something that they can always remember me by.

P-40

• This was made from scrounged 2x4’s from the construction of my parents house.
• I forget the measurements, but the wingspan was about 20 inches or better.
• The prop really spun and the wheels really rolled
• Painted with various acrylics and finished with four coats of MinWax Polycrylic. I use Polycrylic on all of the toys since it is not toxic when dried and can hold up to years of abuse.

This was my first model that was done on such a large scale, I had made a bi-plane earlier on that had maybe a ten inch wingspan and the body was about 7 inches long. Just the right size for little hands to pick up and play with…lol.

The last one that I had was given away two years ago to my little buddy Conner next door. He loved it and had his Dad hang it from his ceiling like it's flying. Since then, he has graduated to radio controlled planes, but he still tells me he loves it.

SleepyTime Pooh Bear

• his was made out of various small scraps of wood that I had laying around. You don’t have to worry too much about figure, when you are painting the entire piece. The wood was 3/8 of an inch thick.
• The paints used were acrylics topped with 3 coats of MinWax Polycrylic.
• I don’t remember the dimensions.

Inspiration of this piece actually came from a coloring book. I was looking for something that would fit in with decorating a nursery or a kids room that really enjoyed Winnie the Pooh.

St. Michael the Archangel

• The base is made out of a piece of mahogany and a piece of oak. Both pieces were sanded and the edges were routed over with a 1/8th round over bit.
• The scrolled figure was done in Eastern White Pine with a Puritan Pine MinWax stain.
• It stands approximately 10 inches wide and 8 inches tall.

This piece I made for my nephew as a Confirmation gift. His patron saint is Saint Michael. I didn’t like any of the wing configurations that I found so I actually used a set of dragon wings that I liked. The effect added a little bit more visceral appeal to the piece.

Bichon Frise Segment Art

• Made out of Pine scraps, this piece measured approximately 10 inches tall and 12 inches wide.
• Each segment was individually painted…the colors used were white, black and red acrylic paint.
• After the painting was done, each individual piece was glued on to a backer board.
• The piece is finished with a hanger for hanging on the wall.

This piece was another custom piece that was ordered. The lady really wanted a tribute to her Bichon Frise, so I used a picture that she had provided and developed the pattern using Adobe Photoshop.

This was a fun piece to produce since it memorializes a family pet that someone really cared a great deal about.