Bark Up A Tree Woodworks's Shop News

Tale of a Jewelry Chest (Part 2)

barkupatreewoodworks — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:42:52 +0000

Well the wood has acclimated to the shop and it is time to build the jewelry chest. This chest will be constructed of Shedua and Wenge.

Shedua Lumber being planed.

I first cut the planks to rough length dimensions and then plane the rough lumber to approximate thickness with the planer. I like the lumber to be 1/16″ thicker before I glue together planks to make them wider. The 1/16″ gives me enough stock so I can run the parts through a drum sander to final thickness. Before I glue the wood together, I match the grain and color where the glue joint will be so it will be almost invisible.

Matching the grain for almost invisible glue joints.

The grain is matched! Almost invisible line.

After the sides are glued together, I run them though the drum sander to final thickness with 22o grit sandpaper on the drum. I then cut the sides and back to final dimensions. The bottom and top dadoes are next. The top dado joint is for attaching the top with wooden “buttons” so the top can expand and contract with out constriction other than stay attached to the chest.

Sides and back almost ready for the legs.

The next step is to cut slots for biscuits into the ends of the sides and back. The biscuits are used to join the sides and back to the legs. I now cut more dadoes for the drawer runners in the sides. The drawer runners will be glued into these dadoes. At this point I also drill shallow holes in the inside of the back that will hold washers for the drawer magnets to draw to.

Well that’s where we’re at for now on the project. I will have more updates very soon.

Sean

Life is Good Enough

Tale of a Jewelry Chest

barkupatreewoodworks — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:02:15 +0000

I’m starting to build another custom jewelry chest. This time I figured I’d share the process of how I build them. This chest will be built out of Shedua and Wenge. Both woods are from Africa. Most of the body will be built out of the Shedua, which has a golden hue with black streaks in it. The Wenge, which is chocolate brown in color (also smells like chocolate when working it), will be used for the legs.

Shedua and Wenge Lumber ready to be unloaded.

The Shedua boards I got for this chest have some wonderful grain patterns and they look like they could all be from the same tree. I will let this lumber acclimate in the shop and then proceed with building the chest.

Coping With My Duck Hunting Addiction

barkupatreewoodworks — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:38:45 +0000

Duck season is closed, bummer for me. I could just be depressed and mope but I figured out a really constructive, uplifting way to dwell on waterfowl. At the suggestion of my hunting partners son, I am starting to make waterfowl calls.

Batch of Pintail/Widgeon/Wood Duck Whistles

I haven’t used my lathe in years. Last time I tried using it I just chunked up a bunch of wood for the burn pile. We definitly had a lot of wood for the campfire. I was totally frustrated and moved on to make other things that didn’t involve any lathe work.

Woods Used on These Calls - Back Row (L-R) Zebrawood, Jatoba - Front Row (L-R) Curly Soft Maple, Tennessee Red Cedar, Roasted Curly Soft Maple, Monkeywood, Bloodwood, Wenge, Spalted Hard Maple

Since my hunting partner’s son put the bug in my ear, I figured I would give the lathe another try. I have been pleasantly surprised how well I have done. I started out making Pintail/Widgeon whistles. I took my time on the first couple of calls (maybe because I’m getting older and a little more patient, LOL). After awhile, the turning started to become easier (still not easy). I turned out a few whistles, learned how to tune them and use them. The finish I use is cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) with an accelerator between coats. I use a minimum of 10 coats on each call. After the finish is applied, I sand the call to 12,000 grit and then buff with plastic polish. The results are amazing.

Mancala Boards in the Works

barkupatreewoodworks — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 06:59:07 +0000

Mancala Board open and ready for play.

I have finally come up with a Mancala Board design that I really like. The board has a layered look to it. The playing pieces are pebbles I collected from gold mine tailing that were dredged from a creek in the 1800′s. The pebbles range from green to orange in color and some have some marbling.

Close-Up of pebbles

I laminated two planks if contrasting wood together, in this case Black Walnut and Curly Soft Maple. The playing side of the board is the dark Black Walnut and the bottom of the cups show the contrasting Maple. The board folds for storage and held shut by rare earth magnets. It comes with a cloth bag to protect it in your travels. I will probably have them in the online stores in a few weeks.

Mancala Board folded shut and ready for travel

Have a great week and remember Life is Good Enough!!!

Hopefully getting caught up

barkupatreewoodworks — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:48:31 +0000

A few of the Pegs & Jokers Game Sets sanded and ready for finish.

Been really busy around the shop here. I’m still trying to get caught up from Christmas. I’m really close to getting a few things that are missing on my website shop and in my online shops replenished. I’ll have most of my wood selections for the Pegs & Jokers Game Sets back and ready to go. I will also have more of the Dual Deck Cribbage Boards ready next week.

Wenge & Hard Maple Custom Jewelry Chest

Drawer for Ear Plugs

Ear Plug Drawer Showing Acrylic Holder

I just finished another Custom Jewelry Chest for an online client.This chest is constructed of Wenge and Hard Maple. Her needs were for storage for her many sets of ear plugs. The 3 drawers for the ear plugs hold a combined 120 pairs. The holders are made of clear acrylic and rest on Hard Maple runners. The fourth drawer has Maple dividers for storing other jewelry pieces. All the drawer interiors are lined with black micro-suede. The drawers are held in the case with rare earth magnets on the back of the drawers. The magnets are for just in case the chest gets tipped or while moving it, the drawers will not come tumbling out.

I’m currently building another Custom Jewelry Chest with 5 Drawers and will post pictures for it next week. Have a great week and Life is Good Enough!!!

Custom Jewelry Chest.

barkupatreewoodworks — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:45:55 +0000

I have started two custom jewelry chest. I have built this design before, but what truly makes them custom is that the customer says what they want for the interior. They can name the interior size of the drawers and the features they want in the drawers. They also choose the woods used on the all the parts.

Custom Built Wenge & Zebrawood 6 Drawer Jewelry Chest

I just finished this one now that has six drawers, with the interiors of the drawers in 5 different configurations. It had a ring roll, dividers, earring spaces adjustable dividers and open space. The bottom drawer is 2 1/2″ deep. The woods used are Wenge & Zebrawood with Ash for the drawer interiors.

One of the chest I am currently working on is being constructed of Wenge and Hard Maple. It has a four drawer configuration. Three of the four drawers will have acrylic inserts for ear plugs and the last will have wood dividers.

The other chest is my standard design using Shedua and Curly Soft Maple. It will have three drawers with Maple dividers and 2 open drawers.

I will post the process of how the chest are made in the coming days so stay tuned.

End Grain Butcher Block, The Only Way To Go!!!

barkupatreewoodworks — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:26:11 +0000

Island Cabinet with new Jatoba Butcher Block Cutting Board installed

I got it finished before Christmas and all the Christmas Eve festivities. My customers had a worn out plain-sawn hard maple cutting board. It had knife marks cutting across the grain after many years of service. I was called upon to build a new cutting board for them.

We went with Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) for the wood to be used. Jatoba is very hard and the color would match the cabinets. They also agreed to go with end grain so as to not have the same problem as they had with the previous board. I used polyurethane glue so the glue joints are water proof and the finish is walnut oil (smells great too).

Time for Some More Hole Drilling!!!

barkupatreewoodworks — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:52:32 +0000

Been awhile since I posted but I’ve been very busy. I had a great time at the shows in Redmond and Salem. I have been at a manic pace with the websites.

Cribbage boards were a big hit again this year. I thank everybody that got one from me in 2010. I will be building more very soon as most of my wood selections were sold.

Zebrawood & Wenge Dual Deck Cribbage Box

I plan on doing a lot more custom inlay boards. I will be doing more picture and themed inlay boards than I have done in the past. I have many ideas of themed boards in my head, it is just a matter of putting them on paper and later in wood. This is the way I “paint”. I have never been able to actually paint to my satisfaction. I will be doing outdoor themes into my custom cribbage boards. Every one of inlay cribbage boards are an original image and can be used for play. Truly functional art. I will be showing the process of how I do my inlay work in future post. If you have a theme or idea that you want in a board, just contact me.

Snowy Cold Weekend Show

barkupatreewoodworks — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:19:55 +0000

I did a holiday show in Redmond this weekend. It basically snowed off and on all weekend. A little snow and cold does not stop the people of Central Oregon. All three days of the show were busy.

On the way back home over the Santiam Pass was near white out conditions. The east side of the pass was very windy and I was searching for the next snow pole to see where the road was a few times. I spent about 45 miles with chains on the truck due to pulling my trailer.

My next show will be the Greens Show in Salem on December 3, 4 and 5 at the Jackman Long building on the Oregon State Fairgrounds. I hope to see everyone there.

Will the Sun Ever Come Back?

barkupatreewoodworks — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:07:14 +0000

Well here we go again. The rain switch has been turned on. That’s just the way it is here in the Northwest. Once the rain starts in October, it will rain until July 5th. I’ll have to plan my lumber yard runs around the weather radar and gamble if I have enough time between showers.

I’m a native of Oregon and I’m used to the rain, fact is I love it when it starts in the autumn. I love the big fall storms with all the rain and the leaves being blown from the trees. It’s great sitting, watching football and not feeling guilty that I should be doing work outside. But after a few months of showers and drizzle, it even gets on my nerves. Hopefully well get some of those sunny, clear, cold and crisp days this winter.