Finishing Day

I was finally able to have my day of finishing. This is a day of minimal interruptions to put a clear coat on all the products that I have completed.

In other words it is taking:

and turning it into this:

Yes I had a little bit to do. I usually add two coats of polyurethane and each coats takes about two hours to dry. Between each coat is a sanding process and it is all hand sanding. I will be posting more detailed pictures of the projects with a little more description. The only one that will not be shown again is the middle truck with the boat on top of it. That one has been sold.

In honor of finishing day there are a couple of things that will be coming out of it. The first is that I am giving away one of my tug boats. Of course it is free if you have the correct answer first. They are small enough to ship so anyone can answer (pun not intended). Please answer on the blog. Here is the question:

What is the name (common) of the yellow wood used on this tug boat?

I know that the pictures are slightly yellow but it is a good representation of the color. If you also look at the top picture on the right side you can see it in it's natural state. This yellow wood is the accent wood and is found on the top of the body and cabin. The other wood, white in color, is alder. It came for some shelves that my grandfather made. To help you guess here are a couple of hints:
You will not find this wood at your local hardware store.
It is a very hard wood. It thrashed my bit and broke my template that I use to make these boats.

The kids furniture

The children's furniture that my wife and I made last year was fun to have displayed in our home. Here they are the units in no particular order of favorites:

The Table and Chairs

This unit is made out of solid pine and finished in a clear coat of polyurethane. There are four chairs with this table and it also comes with a leaf. It has been used at family functions. There are a few notes I will make. The table top does move because there is a leaf that goes in it. I have an idea how to lock it in place and I will add it to the table before it is delivered.

The Dry Sink

Fun little sink that lets kids use their imagination. It is made out of solid pine (except for the back is ply wood) and has a clear coat of polyurethane. This was made right handed by request of my wife. If it was up to me it would be left handed. Do not be fooled this sink will NOT hold water, however the pump does move up and down. There is plenty of stage in it. we used to keep the baby stuff we were collecting in it until some kids got into it. They used the shampoo as lotion because it smelled nice. We had a good laugh. This was also the unit I tried my luck with a tap and die set. The pump is attached with real wooden screws.

The Wood Stove

One of the more challenging pieces but it was fun. The unit is made out of solid wood (Except the back panels is plywood) and finished in polyurethane. There is a lot of little places to put things and I will even include the pan set that we have with it now. I can't say it is all there but it came from Ikea. The burners are removable and all doors and drawers work. The hutch is removable and is located by dowels. The only concern I have with it is the corners on the base and stove top are not rounded. It is not a huge issue unless if it is thrown around. I will point out that I do have a glaring mistake. When I was routing out the back center burner the bit shifted down and eventually punched through the top. The mistake is covered by the burner but it is very much visible if the burner is removed.

Random Things

Since my weekly project updates are complete I don't have an update this week, just some random things. 

While I was driving down the freeway on the work I saw truck with the advertisement "Husband for Hire". I thought this was a interesting.  It turned out to be a handyman service.  I couldn't see the rest of the ad because the bed was full of stuff.  It brightened my day.

The other random thing is about some grasshoppers I made.  I tried to make them less of a choking hazard and I do not like them.  They are originally suppose to be a pull toy so I removed the string and the antenna.  They did not turn out as well as the original ones.  I do not what to do with them so I think I am just going to give them away.  I have two of them so the first two people that want them get them.  I  am not going to post this on facebook.  One of the originals is up for sale on the right.

Time for Change

I think it is about time I changed some of the graphics and layout of my blog. On the right side are products that I am selling. These are usually duplicates because it is just as fast to make one as it is to make a few. If you are interested e-mail me for the price. And as always if I made one I can make another, so if you do not see it up for sale ask me about it and I will let you know and the price and lead times.

Have a wonderful day!

Week Ten - Done

For all intensive purposes the tractor trailer and dump trucks are complete.  I still need to do a finish sanding and glue everything together.  I do not know when I am going to put the finish on them because I usually get a bunch of toys ready to finish and spend a day finishing them.  I am excited about these projects and they came out nice.  Unfortunately there are a lot of small parts that can be broken off so they are not for toddlers.  It only took ten weeks which is not bad for working only weekends and during class.  I have several other projects that are close to being finished also.

I was also hoping to finish the candle stick holders but I ran out of time.  Maybe next week.

Interesting article

Found this on one o the blogs I follow. Found it interesting on safety and toys. The products I use are found on side bar if you are interested.

Building can be child’s play

The TV Stand

I will have to admit this is one of my more favorite projects I have designed and built. Yes this is my design and I own the drawings. Not to say that some person can not just copy it. The stand was originally designed for my sister who, I think still likes hers. My wife liked my sister's TV stand so much that she wanted one. Evidently, That meant that I had to get rid of the very first TV stand that I built. It is now at my in-law's home.

It was definitely a first design project that had it's flaws. It opened from the sides and was not very friendly to a small condo. I also underestimated the weight of DVD's and videos. The doors sag just a little even though I have a piano hinge all the way down the doors. It was also made out of 3/4" plywood so it was built like a tank.
Back to this TV stand. This is made out of solid birch and with plywood inlays. The drawers for the video's was a great idea. The only thing I did not consider when building this was game consuls. Oh well. The design is a great one. It is much more modular than the first because the drawers come out making it much lighter. I also have two side that can be used with the stand, end tables or night stands. I have learned to appreciate the value of being modular like Ikea but much more durable.

Toys are not the only thing I have built, They are the only thing that fit in our house currently.