Jalopy

• Made out of Western Fir, Pine, Mahogany, Birch dowels and Maple this piece measures 9 1/8 inches long and 2 7/8 inches wide.
• Front end is tapered, rear end is rounded over
• Four coats of MinWax Polyurethane

I forgot all about this one. Found an intact model in a box out in the shop. This one was another favorite of the nephews and the neighborhood kids.

This one was inspired by an old car collector that we knew when we were younger. He had all sorts of old cars and after gleaning my memory for inspiration I settled on on of the cars that he had that I remembered.

Drawing it out was a lot of fun, but rounding over the rear end and narrowing the front end, really set this car off for me.

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.

Wolf

• This is a Dirk Boelman pattern that was in the magazine Scrollsaw
• It’s been awhile since I have made one, so I can’t recall what the dimensions are so let’s call it approximately 10 inches.
• It was made out of Eastern White Pine and stained with MinWax Cherry and finished with 3 coats of MinWax Polyurethane.
• The back is 1/4 inch luan and is painted with Black Acrylic and coated with 3 coats of MinWax Polycrylic.
• It’s completed with a bracket for wall hanging.

This piece was supposed to have additional decorations of feathers and beads to simulate a traditional dream catcher. I liked the finished piece so much without the decorations, that I omitted them.

This has always been a crowd favorite at the shows that I used to go to. The Wolf is just an incredibly strong subject matter and Dirk did a really great job capturing it’s essence.

50th Anniversary Plaque

• The back is made out of 1/2 inch oak plywood. The lettering is done out of 1/4 inch mahogany.
• Unfortunately, I do not remember the dimensions.
• The picture frame rails I made on my router
• The stain used on the back board and the frame was MinWax Polyurethane.

This was a special order from a dear friend of mine. I had never done anything like this so it started out as quite a challenge. Looking back on it, there is not enough contrast with the background and cross. I should have stained the cross a darker color.

Jim and Shirl are currently working on their 55th year of marriage.

Horse

• Made out of 3/4 inch Eastern White Pine this piece measures approximately 8 and 3/4 inches tall and 7 1/2 inches wide.
• It is stained with MinWax Puritan Pine and 3 coats of MinWax Polyurethane.
• The back is 1/4 inch luan and is painted with Balck acrylic paint and finished with 3 coats of MinWax Polycrylic.
• Comes complete with a wall hanging bracket.

I made this piece for a person who was very hard to make a gift for. She loves horses though, so then it took quite a bit of time finding the perfect horse pattern. When I make things for others, I work very hard in trying to match the piece to the persons tastes and likes. There were horses running, one rearing up, and several different head pieces.

I don’t know if she liked it or not, but it was one of my favorite projects to work on. When I attach a meaning to the piece I am making, it seems to make the project not only fun to do, but it will always hold a special meaning to me because of the person I created it for.

Alien Tree Hanger

• Designed to as an outdoor decoraction, in particular to be hung from a tree to swing in the breeze, this little Alien was my first all paint project.
• Made out of Scrap Pine it is painted with various acrylic paints and top coated with a whopping 8 coats of MinWax Polycrylic.
• Each coat of finish was sanded with 400 to 600 grit wet/dry sanding paper with a final buffing out with 600 grit.
• The Little Alien Swinger measures out to an approximate 16 inches tall and 10 1/4 inches wide.

This is the first whimsical project that I have ever worked on. It was a lot of fun especially experimenting with mixing the paint to achieve the correct alien skin tone that I wanted.

Cochise-Gary Browning Design

Cochise

• This is a Gary Browning design
• Made from salvaged Eastern White Pine that is 3/4 of an inch thick
• Stain used was MinWax Cherry and coated with three coats of MinWax Polyurethane
• Backer board is 1/4 inch luan painted with Black Acrylic and coated with 4 coats of of MinWax Polycrylic.
• Each coat of finish is sanded with 400-600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
• Measures approximately 11 1/2 inches tall and 10 inches wide
• Comes with a bracket for hanging it to the wall

This is one of my favorite projects. I love working with heroes from the past as subjects in my work.

Rabbit and Offspring

Rabbit with Offspring

• Made with 3/4 inch Eastern White Pine. Finished with three coats of MinWax Polyurethane.
• Back made of 1/4 inch Luan-painted with 2 coats of Black acrylic paint and finished with 4 coats of MinWax Polycrylic
• Back of the back painted with Green acrylic paint and finished with 4 coats of MinWax Polycrylic.
• Each coat of finish is sanded with 400-600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
• Measures approximately 8 3/4 inches tall and 7 1/2 inches wide
• Comes complete with a wall hanging bracket to mount it on the wall