A Project for our Daughter

 Our daughter brought this damaged, small chest for me to repair.

 I've put a bottom in the broken drawer and primed the chest for painting...

 Tomorrow I'll apply the final coat of paint 
and try a couple of styles of pulls.

Cabinet 3 Complete

Prime Time

 Sanded and ready for primer.

Primed.

This Will Be Next

 Found for $2 at a garage sale on Friday.

 It's got a few rough spots.

Bench Stress

 I replaced old boards on the bench above with some other old boards.  

I sanded the top lightly trying to keep as much white paint as possible...

then put a coat of seal on it.

 

This stressed bench is about 1 1/2" shorter after I had to cut some rot off the bottom.

(It has set on the ground for about 2 years--all seasons.)

The End

 Inside - one coat of poly...

Outside - two coats poly.

Hardware attached.

The end.

Tack Box Two

Stenciled.  Sealing begun...

Tack Box

 A friend built this tack box for his daughter.

He asked me if I would stain and seal it.

 So, after sanding it, I am applying the stain he selected.

Before sealing it, I'm going to stencil the owner's name on it

and maybe a couple of horseshoes, too!

Tonight was a beautiful evening to work on this project...

garage door open, natural light, etc.

Completed and Sold

After a couple of hours in front of our house (and on a busy road), the chest of drawers sold.

It really DID turn out "handsomely" (as my wife says).

Mid-May Projects

I've put a few hours into this curbside treasure.  

There were holes to fill and drawers to repair/remake...

It's now primed and ready to be painted.

 In between rains and lawn-mowing, 

I also got this "tree-bed" (as my wife has dubbed it) finished.

Bug Box

My grandson loves looking at and learning about bugs.  The last time we were together I told him I would make him a bug cage.  I had not remembered until he came for Easter.  He reminded me that the next time I saw him I would have a bug cage.  Part of Saturday we made this bug cage.  I used some scrap wood I had.  Got some aluminum screen from the hardware store.  This was scrap they just gave me.  I stapled the screen to some plywood.  I covered the staples with small pieced of wood.  Made a circular door and fixed a square piece of thin plywood that hinges on a screw.  Then I took an old scrap strap that I took off the old high chair we found on our trip south and used it for the handle.  I forgot to take a picture so I had my daughter send me one after they returned home.  I noticed my grandson has written on it already.  He helped me do the hammering of the nails.  Not bad for a five year old.

A Little Modification....

I painted the top of this table a few months ago.  We moved it into our dining room while I was repairing a drop leaf table.  THIS table was quite large for our space.  When it came time to move it out, my wife suggested taking it apart and making a desk (or half-table) out of it.

This is the result.  I used the set of legs from the center of the original table in the back of this "half-table".  It serves our purposes well!  I may make a second "desk", paint a chair white, and see if we can sell the pair at a garage sale in a few weeks.

Look What Came in from the Rain!

I found this on a curbside today.
Warped & wet from the rain, it needs some work,
but it's a good, sturdy chest of drawers.

 The pulls are quite large & would have been worth stopping for (if nothing else)!

 It's not real clear, but there is an eagle in the center of the pull with 3 stars over it.

Watch for the finished project!

Finishing Touches

Yes!  I think this will work just fine.

Vacation-Induced Projects

This chair was lying in pieces along the road as we were heading south for our vacation.  

I've begun gluing it. 

My wife found the little footstool in a thrift store for $1.
I've taken it apart.

She'll select some fabric
and we'll decide what to do with the wooden sides...

A Vacation Project

 The slope required some unique maneuvers to apply stain to all surfaces of the trellis!

 Above:  Kiwi vine beginning to leaf out...

Vacation project.  North Carolina.

Old Paint

"I ride an old paint; I lead an old Dan
I'm off to Montan' for to throw the hooley ann
They feed in the coulees they water in the draw
Their tails're all matted their backs're all raw..."

(I have NO idea what the hooley ann is!)

She DID it again!  You can read the details HERE. 

The main thing I'm learning is that old paint has its issues...

and how to live with a few imperfections.

Another Completion!

 

Finished and beautiful!

I painted the table's  "apron" at my wife's suggestion.  It made a positive difference, I think.

 After another 4"-5" of snowfall yesterday, I spent a few minutes shoveling snow off the flat portion of our roof!  That was a "project", too!

Blizzard Aftermath

 Larry and Steve came in with their big equipment and made short work of cleaning our driveway.

#1 Snow Emergency means no traffic can be on the roads, so

in between shoveling sidewalks and sermon preparation...

 I've painted the first coat of white on the table top and chairs.

I'm pleased with the way the wood fill and paint combine to cover the grooves that had contained the rattan work in the center of the chair backs.  You'd never know the groove had been there!

Blizzard and Projects

 The rattan removed, I filled the grooves with wood fill.

 Below:  The chairs with seats removed, grooves filled, sanded and ready for primer!

Meanwhile, the predicted snow has begun (again).  3"-4" fell last night; there was a lull; and now around 4:00 p.m. it's snowing lightly.  Sounds like I'll have plenty of time for my February projects!