Cribbage Board Build

I’ve wanted to do something for the last 10 years with scraps of mahogany I’d salvaged from our house.   It was wainscoting from the dining room, though didn’t appear to be original from the house, so I didn’t feel too bad about not returning it to the dining room once the room was redone.   So, instead, it’s been sitting in my basement.  I’ve used small scraps over the years, but haven’t made a substantial dent in it.  You’ll see a little of the disassembly in the video.  Even after all of these years, those rails and stiles were very tight and I ended up using a circular saw to separate some of them because I couldn’t get the bond to break.
So, when I’d decided I wanted to make a couple cribbage boards as Christmas gifts, the magohany seemed like a good option.   I coupled it with some scraps of oak left over from redoing the stairs in the old house and used some old nails I’ve recovered from flooring removed from the house as well.   I painted the tips of the nails to differentiate the players, and gave them three colored sets and one natural. 
This was my first try at finger joints.  After getting the basics from YouTube, I’d decided I didn’t want to make a complex jig (one for adjustability and reuse), I needed only to get the job at hand done.   So, I built a small finger joint jig.  My first pass at the joints left them too tight to assemble and the second a little loose, but nothing which glue couldn’t fix. 
I’d thought about using a wood burner to draw the lines and other markings on the boards.   My past experience (as a kid) using  a wood burner  weren’t great.  I remember it being hard to achieve a consistent line thickness as well as a straight line.  I decided that keeping a clean board without the lines and without the risk was the best way to go.  (I did get a new wood burning tool for Christmas, so plan on replacing those old memories with some new skills.)
All and all, I’m pleased with the project.  It took far more time than I’d anticipated (when doesn’t it), but that’s fine as they were gifts.   I am glad to know a bit of our home is in their homes.

Cribbage Board closed

Cribbage Board open

JAM Furniture from Reclaimed Wood

Short video about Ben Cramp and his path to making furniture from reclaimed lumber under the name JAM Furniture.

What resonated with me is that he talks about how he enjoyed industrial design, but realized that the future of that, were he to stay in that industry, would be behind a desk.  By shifting to his own work, he can do the design and the building which he finds more fulfilling.



JAM - A SHORT FILM from Fine Rolling Media on Vimeo.

via Core 77

Great Giant Wooden Lego men

Giant Lego men

 If you don't know of Instructables.com then you need to.  It's an amazing site with instructions on creating or making a range of items.  Whether it's electronics, sewing, cooking, science experiments or interesting effects, Instructables has enough to keep you busy.

I continue to be awed and inspired by some of the makers at Instructables and this is one such project.  Not only is it Lego which is a current big hit in my house post-Christmas, it's wood.  Simon Begg execution of it is gorgeous.   He's a professional wood turner, but obviously also a talented wood crafter as well.

The men were created at a scale of 1:6.25 using Huon pine, Australian red cedar and American walnut.

Lego man waving

Simon Begg

More pictures and build instructions are available at Instructables or visit Simon's Facebook page for more of his work.

Cassette Tape table from Skierka designs Now Available

I'd previously written about this amazing cassette tape table from Jeff Skierka.It's a 30' x 47 1/4 maple, Baltic birch plywood and walnut table with a glass top.  

It's now available for purchase form Jeff's website, Jeff Skierka Designs for $4950.   From the video they've released to accompany the sale of the table, they've modified the design to use ply wood and CNC machines to do the detial work.

The video below provides some idea of the steps and labor involved in creating this table. Even if the parts are cut using a machine, the work involved in this table is immense.

"If it doesn't flip, it's not a true tape. It has to flip. It's a tape."

- Jeff Skierka 

Link Dump

• What's My Wood- The Wood Database- By Woodworkers, For Woodworkers
• Skull Nickles (Colossal)
• Accessible use of Colour in Web Design
• ADD Designer (Core 77)
• Gorgeous Detailed Hand Lettering (Visual News)

For the kids

• Deep Sea Angler Lamp Made from Recycled Objects (Colossal)
• Hermit Crab Migration video
• Send Super Awesome Sylvia to Maker Faire (Boing Boing)
• Enormous Daddy Long Legs Overtake Seattle Center Armory (Colossal)

Maple Keyboard from Oree

I love wooden products so this keyboard was a no brainer.

It's from Oree and available in maple and walnut.  For only £125GBP ($200 USD) it an be yours.

It's gorgeous, but I can't see how it works.  It appears the keys are fixed as part of the middle plank, so there's not springing mechanism to make them type.

According to Design Boom  its "bluetooth equipped portable wireless keyboard made from a single piece of premium maple and walnut. each unit is cut into three sheets to preserve the wood grain across the shell.."

Large Wooden Ball and Slab Sculptures from Holamon Studios

Excellent large wooden sculptures by Keith Holamon from Holamon Studios. These sculptures are made from the root balls and other pieces of large scrap wood.
The balls are approximately 2ft in diameter or 6 ft 3inches around (good old Pi).   While the slabs vary in size. See the videos after the jump for more examples and how the balls are made on one serious lathe.

14ft x 10f Poplar circles

Maple Ripple 2 ft in diameter

Oak Slab

 
Big Wooden Ball Project from Mike Leuis on Vimeo. Vimeo Via Found Shit

Cassette Tape table from Skierka designs

I love this table from Jeff Skierka designs.   Its a beautiful piece made from maple and walnut.   Even though the inside is somewhat hollow, at 5 inches thick, this table has to weigh a fair bit.

Description from his site:

This coffee table is a 12:1 scaled replica of a cassette tape. It is made of reclaimed maple, walnut and lucite. Dimensions are 47.25" x 30" x 5" with a 3/8" plexi top. This is a first prototype and one of a kind table. Future versions will be CNC machined out of high grade plywood with a variety of ply combinations and a glass top. This table has been an obsession of mine for 5 years! It is amazing to finally have it come to fruition. The table is completely reversible (sides A and B).  We are working to get this into production soon. Both plywood and handmade hardwood versions will be available.

Visit his site to see more designs and get put on his mailing list.