What have you made lately?

Projects

Sewing machine table — What to do with an old sewing machine that is too far gone to economically restore as a sewing machine? Well, when I came across this beat-up old Singer sewing machine in the garage attic, I immediately thought what a great little table it would make. The decorative iron base was still in good condition […]

Vintage Sewing Machine Side Table

This entry was posted in Finishing Projects Restoration on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Fully restored Mission style rocking chair — When I discovered this old rocking chair collecting dust in the attic, unused and forgotten for over 30 years, I instinctively knew it deserved better. I remembered this chair hanging around the house as a kid growing up in small town Pennsylvania. I’m not really sure where it came from – it may have been […]

Mission Style Rocking Chair

This entry was posted in Finishing Projects Restoration on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Maple floor clock — This is a floor clock, also called a longcase clock, tall-case clock, or grandfather clock (technically, I suppose it’s a grandmother rather than a grandfather clock because it’s just under 6 feet tall). I’ve dubbed this clock the “Pop Clock” in honor of my dad who built the clock many years ago (early 1980’s I […]

Pop Clock

This entry was posted in Finishing Projects Restoration on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Strawberry cage keeping the birds at bay — This bare-bones cage was created to keep the birds from devouring the yummy strawberries in our garden. In the past, we just draped chicken wire on top of the plants. This worked fairly well but it was a bit of a pain to position and remove the chicken wire and it also didn’t prevent those […]

Strawberry Cage

This entry was posted in Projects on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Red oak letter and key rack — I came across this letter and key rack in Issue #32 of Woodsmith and decided to make it the gift project for Christmas 2005. It seemed like a fairly simple “weekend” project and something that most anyone could use. Now, if I only made one of these racks, it would have indeed been a weekend […]

Letter and Key Rack

This entry was posted in Projects on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Insulated dog house — The “Sparky 1” This dog house features an insulated floor, roof, and walls, a removable roof for ease of cleaning, a cedar deck with roof, and solid construction throughout. It was made from common construction materials – including recycled cedar boards from an old deck, T1-11 exterior grade plywood, and 2″x3″ pine framing lumber. The […]

Insulated Dog House

This entry was posted in Projects on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Oak carpet trim — Here is an idea for capping off the carpeting at the top of a stairway so it won’t fray or get in the way. When the carpet guy installed the carpeting on our basement stairs, he finished by wrapping the carpeting over the top step and tacking it to a strip of oak. This worked […]

Oak Carpet Trim

This entry was posted in Projects on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Cedar bird house — This past winter I was poking around for a challenging woodworking project. Something different from anything I had done before. Something involving unusual joinery and/or cutting techniques. Something that would expand my repertoire of woodworking skills. Something I could make multiple copies of to give out as gifts, thereby incurring the good will of friends […]

Cedar Bird Houses

This entry was posted in Joinery Projects Techniques on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Bathroom vanity shelf almost doubles storage capacity — Here is an easy to build storage shelf that utilizes the wasted space inside a bathroom vanity cabinet. I’m talking about that space below the sink basin and above where all the bathroom supplies pile up on the bottom of the cabinet. The shelf assembles in place and can be made from scraps you probably […]

Bathroom Vanity Under Sink Shelf

This entry was posted in Projects on December 23, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Swiss lake marquetry scene — Looking for a little diversion from a typical woodworking project? Well, why not give marquetry a shot? If you’re not familiar with this ancient art, marquetry is all about creating a design or picture using wood veneers of varying colors and grain patterns. For example, a nature scene might use sycamore for the sky, holly […]

Getting Started in Marquetry

This entry was posted in Projects Techniques on November 26, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Joiner's mallets — A wooden joiner’s mallet is a very useful shop tool for project assembly, chiseling, inserting dowels, and general purpose pounding operations. Compared to a conventional metal hammer, it is less damaging to wood or metal surfaces, especially if the faces of the mallet are covered with leather. The relatively large face of a typical wooden mallet spreads the […]

Joiner’s Mallets

This entry was posted in Projects on July 8, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Restored garden bench — We bought this garden bench about 15 years ago from the local Lowes home improvement store. It held up fairly well for about 10 years but inevitably the oak slats on it started to rot and break apart. The finish also disintegrated over time (yes, I didn’t maintain it) and the bench took on a gray, […]

Restoring a Garden Bench

This entry was posted in Projects Restoration on July 8, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

My dad added a porch to our house back in the 1970’s and I must say he did a pretty good job overall. Especially for someone who wasn’t a professional builder or carpenter. However, there was one critical flaw in the construction: the main sill plate running across the front of the porch was made […]

When Wood Goes Bad

This entry was posted in Projects on July 4, 2014 by Bill Kovalick

Sleepy cat lounging on cat tree — After adopting a kitten from the local animal shelter, we decided to build a “cat tree” for the young mischief maker. I did a bit of Googling and came across what seemed to be a decent set of plans at CatTreePlans.com. For only $10, they offer plans for six different cat trees, all available as downloadable […]

Cat Tree

This entry was posted in Projects on June 26, 2014 by Bill Kovalick