“Science saved my soul… from religion.”

Breadbox, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

What’s exactly the same size as an old garage-sale breadbox? A NEW breadbox. Handcrafted by yours truly to match the multi-species breadboard I did a while back.

This is a stained-poplar mailbox for my sister. Based more or less on the design of the one they’re replacing. The finish is several coats of Spaarrr Vaarrrrnish, like the pirates use. The hinges are “antique steel” from Lee Valley Tools (Link).

Ziricote Pencil Holder, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

Here’s a plain and simple little box I made for my lovely wife for her birthday. Plain and simple in terms of the woodworking maybe, but that’s because this one is all about the *wood*. It’s called Ziricote, and the grain patterns can be really amazing. Which is what I wanted to celebrate here. (As well as my wife’s birthday, of course).

With some nice red cedar left over from the Muskoka Chairs, it seemed inevitable that I would build a footstool or two… or four… it’s *possible* I may even get a fifth, or else I’ll make a couple of small planters or something….

Cedar Footstools, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

Any decent project is only as good as its plan… or hopefully better… taking my dimensions from an existing crappy old footstool (which will soon be kindling, if I have my way) I taped this detailed architectural drawing to the shop wall, so I could refer to, and deviate from, its intricacies as I went along…

The Best Laid Plans…, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

I thought at first that my design reminded me of the Android logo …but now I realize it looks more like the blockers from the original Space Invaders

Cedar Footstools, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

Screenshot from the original Space Invaders

Two More Muskoka Chairs, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

These are for my mother-in-law, delivered today. Just a quick record shot before I loaded them up to take over to her. They look pretty much exactly like the two I built for us, with one exception: I put a small curve in the arm rest support. Next time, if I build any more, I’ll probably put a curve in the front stretcher.

Last Two Pen and Pencil Sets, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

Click here to view the original size, so you can see the details in the wood grain, especially that maple burl, it’s quite awesome. Forgot these in the recent inventory photos, the last of the hand made pen and pencil sets, for now. Zebrawood and Maple Burl. Let me know if you’re interested!

These are all the hand-made pens I have left in stock at the moment — let me know if there’s anything you’d like…

Pen Inventory 20-Aug-2010-part1, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

View original size (so you can read the teeny tiny tags)

Pen Inventory 20-Aug-2010-part2, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

View original size (so you can read the teeny tiny tags)

Muskoka Chairs, with varnish, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

I finally decided to add just a single coat of marine spar varnish, thinned 50-50 with turpentine so it would soak in more, and better to protect the wood. I elected to stop there, rather than build up a “film” finish, because such a finish WOULD eventually break down in a way that would require scraping or sanding to remove, whereas the more deeply penetrated finish of the single thinned coat would be less likely to break down in an unsightly way… That’s the theory anyway… we’ll see how it goes in a year or two…

Muskoka Chairs, originally uploaded by rgdaniel.

I managed to finish these two Muskoka chairs (also called Adirondack chairs) in pretty good time. We haven’t deployed them yet, though… it’s hard to let go. I MAY still want to consider applying some kind of finish. The two chairs I built last year have weathered to a nice grey, so maybe we’ll just go with that again. Nothing lasts forever, and once you add a finish of some kind, you begin the process of DEGRADING that finish, and in two years, tops, you’ll be sanding and RE-finishing… So I’ll probably just let them be….

When I get some more of this lovely Western Red Cedar, I can start in on the next two — for an actual paying customer!