Here’s my birdhouse, in the “shop” and on the tree.

I’ve been writing all of these articles and learning a lot about easy woodworking, but until now I had not done a project of my own. However, I recently purchased a large collection of woodworking plans from Woodworking4Home and began work on a birdhouse, a good first project. I then got the necessary materials, set up a makeshift woodshop, built the birdhouse, and got a great deal of satisfaction out of it.

I bought all of the materials I needed at a local hardware store. These included two handsaws, drillbits, a hole saw for the drill, two C clamps, nails, and the wood. I already had a hammer and electric drill. I only bought one handsaw to start with and didn’t buy the C clamps at first, but after beginning the project I found that I needed them. 

Building the birdhouse was the most fun. I followed the plan that I had from Woodworking4Home, which was very detailed and easy to follow. The project is actually intended for someone to create several kits and have a group of kids put the houses together, but I just created one kit for myself and built it. 

At first, I didn’t have any C clamps, so I was just holding the wood plank with one hand while sawing with the other. It didn’t take long for me to see that I would need the clamps or a vise to hold the wood down while I did the vigorous job of sawing. My back soon told me that the typewriter desk is a little low. I’ll have to get a higher table to work on soon. Because I used a handsaw, the edges were a little rough. I sanded them down with sandpaper, but that could only do so much. I’m already wanting a circular saw. 

After cutting the pieces out, I nailed the birdhouse together and painted it. It was great to see it come together and give it some paint to make it look pretty. It is kind of rough hewn, because it’s my first project and I used handsaws, but I’m proud of it and really did enjoy doing it. The act of creating something that will last is very satisfying.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s definitely a start. I’m now practicing what I preach on this website, and I can say that I recommend getting started with easy woodworking projects to anyone who has an interest in the craft.

Technorati Tags: birdhouse, easy woodworking

Many say that there is no loss greater than losing a child. Kris Munsch of Bonner Springs, Kansas, has dealt with that loss by co-writing a book to help others in the process with an easy woodworking project. Kris Munsch, who lost his son in a car accident, has written a book entitled “The Birdhouse Project” which is meant to help others consumed with grief by building a birdhouse, symbolizing new birth out of crisis.

Kris Munsch, a woodworking teacher at Bonner Springs High School in Kansas, lost his son, Blake, in a devastating car accident on December 23, 2005. He tells that painful story in his soon to be released book “The Birdhouse Project,” which he co-wrote with Jeff Fouquet, an English teacher at Bonner Springs High School. The book goes on to address the healing process in the reader.

The birdhouse in the book will consist of six pre-cut pieces, each of which will be given symbolism and an assigned task in the grieving process. The reader will write his or her thoughts and feelings down on the inside parts of the pieces. Then, when they are assembled, the words will be on the inside and something new will be born out of the grief. The idea is for it to represent more than just walls and a roof by getting readers to explore themselves and expose thoughts and feelings that they had not known existed. The book will come with the six pre-cut pieces for the birdhouse.

Munsch reports plans to turn “The Birdhouse Project” into a series. While the first book deals with the adult grieving process, he plans to write others for children, teens, and families, all of which will center on the birdhouse theme. He says that the project has “started to take on a life of its own.”

Kris Munsch has coped with the death of his son by creating an easy woodworking project which symbolizes new birth out of tragedy and plans to take the concept further. “The Birdhouse Project” has helped him and will help others let go and expose themselves in the walls of a birdhouse.

Technorati Tags: adult grieving process, easy woodworking, small woodworking, woodworking book

Technorati Tags: small woodworking

Technorati Tags: small woodworking, woodwork projects

The Engraver can be used for woodworking, glass, plastics, or leather. The carbide tip is used for woodworking, soft plastics and glass. It is good for fine detail work on wood. It also comes with templates to guide you in your creativity.

The Glue Gun is good for small wood projects and for adding decorative elements to wood. It comes with glitter sticks, is dual-temperature, and has a secure foot and kickstand for operating one-handed on the work surface. Besides woodwork projects, it can be used for such projects as flower arranging and scrap-booking.

The multi-tool, called the Stylus, can be used for fine detail work in woodworking or other crafts. It is lightweight, cordless, and comes with twenty-five accessories for performing different tasks such as sanding, brushing, and engraving. It also comes with storage compartments for the accessories.

The gas butane torch, knows as the Versatip, is primarily used with metal for soldering, melting, or welding, but can also be used with wood for pyrography, or wood burning. It comes with six interchangeable tips.

The Project Table is specifically designed for small-scale projects. It is one of the smallest worktables available. Although lightweight and compact, it is also high quality and can be used indoors or out.

Designed for improved ergonomics and comfort, the Dremel 300 Series multi-tool is good for woodworking projects that require precision and speed. It comes with twenty-five accessories used for such tasks as cutting, sanding, and carving. It is cord operated with a 125W motor.

These six tools in the Dremel Hobby range would be good assets to any woodworker interested in doing small woodworking projects. To read and see more about them, go to dremel.com.

Technorati Tags: easy woodworking, small woodworking, woodwork projects

Who is the typical woodworker? Most people would say an older retired man, but that stereotype may be changing these days. According to an article by Amy Bartner at indystar.com, young woodworkers such as Indianapolis’ Allison Ford are embracing crafts such as woodworking in larger numbers and selling their wares at art show “revivals” like the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange.

Allison Ford is a thirty-one year-old woman with white-framed glasses, a nose piercing, thin-legged jeans, and a love for vintage jewelry. She looks more like someone you would expect to see at a club listening to a local band than in a wood shop. But, she has whole-heartedly adopted the hobby of her grandfather. She uses his old tools and leftover scrap wood to make her jewelry: bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings. She showed and sold her work at the third annual INDIEana Handicraft Exchange in Indianapolis on June 13.

According to Eric Nolan, another artist who sold work at the show, there are a greater number of younger people getting involved in handmade crafts such as woodworking. He cites the fact that people want handmade pieces of art by local artisans and claims that more young people are sharing the practice with older people. It may also be a part of the backlash against the “cubicle culture” enforced on young workers and the obsession with computers and other electronic gadgets these days.

Young artists like Ford and Nolan call shows like the INDIEana Handicraft Exchange an art show “revival.” In it, the pieces become more handcrafted, more local, and less expensive. The INDIEana exchange has become larger every year, attracting several thousand last year and becoming biannual this year, with another show coming in early October. Similar shows are cropping up in other places such as Windsor, Ontario, and Seattle.

Ford is an example of a younger person who understands the joys that woodworking gave her grandfather and sells her work at local shows. This may be the beginning of a growing trend.

Technorati Tags: easy woodworking, small woodworking, woodwork projects

Eighteen year-old Destiny Desroches of Tilton, New Hampshire, won the 6th Annual New England Student Woodworking Design Competition with a jewelry box project. She had placed in the competition in the first three of her high school years, but this was the first time she took the grand prize. According to Casondra Marden’s online article, Desroches, her parents, and her woodworking instructor were all very excited about it.

Desroches has previously placed in the competition with a nightstand, dresser, and armoire in her freshman, sophomore, and junior years, respectively. Each of those placed in second or third. She was offered $1,500 for the armoire but declined, preferring to keep it in her room.

The jewelry box was made of real wood rather than plywood with little machinery other than small power tools. Because real wood is harder to work with, she had to enlist some of her male classmates to help her with the muscle work. She used a jig to bend the wood and create the framing and a skeleton to build the project around.

Desroches plans to pursue woodworking as a career. She started it in an elective class in eighth grade and soon fell in love with it, claiming that she feels that she was born to be a woodworker and wishes she could spend all her time in the wood shop. She plans to move from small woodworking projects to rebuilding houses in the future. She will attend Virginia Tech this fall.

With her four prize-winning projects and love of woodworking, this young woman’s future plans seem to be well grounded. If only all of us could be that sure of what to do with ourselves.

Technorati Tags: small woodworking

Etsy.com specializes in the sale of handcrafted items. It is like a specialized eBay. Woodworking is one category on the site but others include art, crochet, and glass. If you click on “Woodworking” at the site’s menu, you will see the following subcategories: accessories, bowl, box, burning, carving, clock, fretwork, furniture, home décor, housewares, inlay, jewelry, kitchen, miniature, office, outdoor, sculpture, seasonal, sign, sport, supplies, and toy.

Social networking is a good way to get the word out about your products. Facebook is a good place to start. By posting a link to your etsy.com page, you will notify all of your facebook friends of your site. Twitter is also a good resource. You can follow other members there with similar interests and hopefully some of them will also follow you. That way you can boost awareness of your products and ultimately boost sales. Creating a handmade goods blog on blogger.com is another way to get your product seen online.

Other good sales tactics you can use are adding new items, posting several photographs, and tracking your items’ popularity. It is a good idea to add a new item to your site as often as possible. Every day is ideal, but if that is not possible, try every week. You may also log on and  “renew” the items you have on your site daily, keeping them at the front of sections. You also need to post four or five pictures of the item you are selling. If it is a sign, show it in several different contexts, such as hanging on a wall and on an easel. Also show the woodwork from different angles. Customers want to know as much about what they are buying as possible. You can track the popularity of the different items you have on your site by checking for customer ratings. Etsy.com has a “hearts” rating system by which users can endorse your products. If you see that one particular woodworking item is doing very well, you may want to do similar projects.

Etsy.com offers a place for woodworkers to sell their work that can be promoted through social networking, adding new work often, various photographs, and tracking popularity. You probably won’t get by doing it, but it may be good for some extra income and the satisfaction of knowing that your work is appreciated.

Technorati Tags: easy woodworking, woodwork projects

How small can woodworking get? Well, it can’t get much smaller than peach pit carving. The small woodworking practice of peach pit carving has been done for centuries, can be done in different ways, and includes a variety of subjects.

The peach pit ( also known as peach stone) itself is composed of two parts: a hard, wood-like material on the outside (putamen), and a nut-like seed on the inside (kernel). The uncarved pit has an irregular, wrinkled surface, resembling a tiny brain. The wood-like putamen is what is carved. The kernel is sometimes removed but is never part of the finished product. The pits range in size from about 3/4 to 1 3/4 inches.

The practice of peach pit carving probably originated in China, where the peach is a symbol of longevity. The first record of it dates back nearly one thousand years to the Song dynasty. It is also known that the art of peach pit carving was very popular during China’s Ming and Qing dynasties, stretching from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries.

However, examples of peach pit carving can be found throughout the world. Apparently some people everywhere just like to sit and carve tiny objects out of peach pits.

The practice can be done with different cutting instruments and may include finishing. Some carvers use only penknives, jackknives, or pairing knives. However, professionals may use additional tools such as files, gouges, chisels, or X-Acto knives. These are essential for carving fine details into the pit. Sand paper and similar abrasives are sometimes used to shape or finish the pieces. They may also be painted or rubbed with oils to give them a lustrous finish.

There is a limitless number of objects which can be carved out of a peach pit. Two standards are baskets and monkeys, especially one biting his tail. Animals seem to be a favorite subject of many carvers, although I have also seen portraits and various symbols such as hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades also done. The only limit is the imagination and skill of the carver.

Peach pit carving is a very old practice which can be done with different materials and made into many different things. If you want to do some really small woodworking, this is definitely one option.

Technorati Tags: easy woodworking, small woodworking, woodwork projects