For woodworkers, wood carvers and sculptors, logs can present an intriguing canvas for woodworking projects. Tree trunks can be used for beams, columns, manuscripts, chainsaw-carved statues or tables and stools. Always wear safety glasses and work gloves when cutting or carving a tree stump.

Stump wood projects

Let the stump dry in the sun before using it for a wood project.

Treatment
The stump should be dry before you work on it. A freshly cut tree trunk may take several weeks to dry by itself. First, strip the bark by stripping with a sharp ax without damaging the wood beneath. Keep the floor above the ground and in direct sunlight, turning every few days to prevent moisture from rotting the wood. It is natural for the stump to crack as it dries. Cracks and holes can be filled with wood filler. Two layers of wood primer if you want to paint the stump.

Table
A dry tree stump to make a nice table. Design on an electric sander to make it top of the table with course sandpaper level and remove the chain saw or ax cuts left. Once the table is flat, change to medium sandpaper, then fine sandpaper. You can mount legs on the table using three Thrust bearings, are arranged evenly on the floor. Paint or stain the stump is finished as desired with exterior grade, or seal it with wood sealer.

Bird Bath
A stump can also serve as external device, such as an integrated bird bath use. Draw a circle in the middle of a flat stump by tying a string to a pencil and stapling the end of the string in the middle of the stump. Cut furrows in the trunk inside the circle with a circular saw about 0.5 cm apart. Then remove the wood between the cuts with a chisel. Keep cutting and chiseling until you have cut a concave dish. Treat the stump with wood sealant or cap with concrete.

Sculptures
Logs of all shapes and sizes can be used for sculpture. Large logs can be formed with a chainsaw; small, delicate works can be sculpted with wood carving chisels. Search designs be natural for the shape of the hull. Draw sketches of your design on paper, then cover the back of the paper design with charcoal and trace the design onto the wood. The strains can be left outdoors to decorate the garden, or placed serve as decorative columns, tables or shelves inside.

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10:30 PM

So concentrate on something of value, the creativity and the use of our mind is therapeutically. It provides for the separation of concerns lengthy, because the time to process the fears of normal daily activities, tasks, and the life. Building small wood projects is one of many therapeutic activities. It is an easy and inexpensive way to deal with stress, while fortunately manufacturing fun little items.

How to Build Small Wood Projects



Small wooden Project

What you need
Sketchpad
Pencil
Ruler
Tape Measure
Wood
Wood glue
Wooden brackets
Wood filler
80-, 120- and 220-grit sandpaper
Mordant
Color
Polish
Finish nails
Wood screws
Power Tools
Carpentry tools


Instructions
1. Design the project. Determine what you want to build. Sketch a rough thumbnail representation of the project.

2. From the little sketch, determine the materials that you need along with their respective amounts. Create to finish the project from start to finish in your mind.

3. Drag the project explicit. Expand on the original idea. Include in the measurements, the details and specifications, processes.

4. Collect the building materials and tools.

5. Cut the rough lumber to approximate sizes and shapes. Cut all connection details.

6. Sand the pieces to a 80-, 120- and 220-grit smoothness with an orbital sander.

7. Mount the project. Glue and clamp all joints; use finish nails and screws sparingly.

8. Gaps and nail holes with wood putty to match the types of wood used.

9.Include any aesthetic pieces and finish grinding the project by hand with 220-grit sandpaper.

10. Stain, color or finish in accordance with the original idea.

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1:23 AM

I describe below a very simple method to mill such grooves, which does not require high technology and delivers perfect results.

Since I currently do not build furniture, where do I need such a construction, I show the procedure to some remnants of beech laminated wood.


First, the groove position is marked precisely. If in this example would be the groove used for a false floor, it does not matter whether one anzeichnet the top or bottom edge. You just have to be considered only in accordance with what has been characterized in the further course.

A board with a straight edge is aligned as closely as possible to the bottom line

Just on the line you now spans a board with a straight and clean cut edge. The material thickness of the board should be more than 12mm. Something can be found as always. In this case, it is a remnant of 18mm multiplex. For exact alignment is a universal fine a position to use: The Hammer. With this, the board edge can be aligned very closely on the line. Is everything that previously only lightly tightened clamps are pulled neatly laid.


The board is fixed with clamps


The universal fine adjustment: A Hammer

At the edge of the board you now provides the einzunutende board, for example, a middle ground. A second board, as thick as the first applied to the upright floorboard and also fixed with clamps. Is the board upright slightly crooked, you push it to the second board straight.


The board is placed on the stop edge



A second board with straight edge is fixed as shown

Now is milled. The real trick is the router used. You need a trim bits with overhead ball bearings. This one drives from the board edges and so transmits the exact dimensions of the false floor on the side wall. which spanned boards serve as splinter protection and ensure a splinter edge.


A trim bits with overhead thrust ring mills the groove



The two board edges form the stop for the router



The finished milled, splinter groove

I have now several of these mills and use them very much for such things. If you have no router with appropriate length, takes you thicker, or thinner bulletin boards and balances the cutter length thus accordingly.

The results, which are achieved are so accurate that you should pre-grinding the items only roughly necessarily before milling. Otherwise, the Grooved board gets back unnecessary air.


A perfect fit



Almost too perfect

I hope this tip has been helpful to many readers.

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12:46 PM

Many machines are equipped with her, with the depth limit for the tool attachment. With hand tools, things look different.

Although there are special tools, which has an adjustable depth limitation. But it does not belong strictly to the standard equipment.
A very simple depth gauge can be produced from masking tape on each blade. Measure from the tooth tips of two locations on the blade, the depth to plunge the saw maximum. Stick the masking tape strips parallel to the tooth edge on the blade. Prevent superimposed glued Several strips that the tape is pushed away during sawing and they offer little resistance when the desired depth is reached.
An alternative is a thin Leistchen which is glued with double-sided tape directly on the blade. Disadvantage: The double-sided adhesive tape can be difficult again after the metal dissolve as the masking tape.

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4:26 AM

Here I show a method for quickly creating dovetail joints in a combined operation with hand tools and the router.


To produce dovetail joints there are two extremes: Working by hand with a saw and chisel or with the router and a device for finger joints such as the WoodRat.

The prongs manually is actually not very difficult, only the working out of the tines is relatively time consuming. It does not matter if you work only with the chisel or with a combination of Beitel and scroll saw.
In the operation described now I have used combined hand tools and router to work noticeably accelerate.



The material I have some cheap glued panels used here from the hardware store.


rough surface. At this price, of course, is to be expected not a very high-grade material, but quite useful for such experiments.

The result is a simple box or a simple chest, whereby the dimensions of the offered material yield. Since the glued panels are 80cm long, this is also the length of the box, just as there is the width of 30cm.

When side panels so come each 2 plates used for the faces two sections are sawn from 34cm length. Why this measure? Now, the material thickness of 18mm must be taken into account, because I want to use for the ground one of the glued panels on their full width.

The Swallows

First step is the production of the swallows. Here you can save time in that they are made in pairs. This is possible because the two cuts parallel to the wooden surface of both plates.

With the marking gauge the thickness of the wood is removed and is characterized at both ends.



Here it turned out that the boards are different thicknesses - not only between the individual plates but also from one side of the plate to the other. A plate is left 16.4 mm thick, but almost left 18,9mm - more than 2.5 mm difference. This I will therefore use later as a floor.



With my installation angle, the two plates are clamped to the workbench and swallows it be marked with the zinc template. The distances can be freely chosen, that is, it is done by eye everything.
All the wood is to off later, will be clearly marked to avoid careless mistakes.



With a back saw the cuts are placed - this is always cut in addition to the line drawn in the area of ​​material to be removed. So the dimension lines remain visible and the saw can be performed easily.

After all saw cuts are carried out, a rectangular wooden victim is additionally spanned 3cm flush with a cross-section of approximately 3 * at the rear of the two boards.

Now, the router is used.



In my little Makita Hand cutter I used a 12mm end mill and adjust the depth on material thickness. Switch on the machine and gradually by milling the material between the Swabians.


When this goes on 3-4mm deep layers from front to back abfräst all without pressure and vibrations. Here are the results after milling.


The zinc base is very nice uniform and smooth. Naturally at your sides a little rest stops because the end mill there is only straight edges. (Can mill a zinc mills of more than 18 mm long edges I did not)



But that's no problem. With the scroll saw these residues are removed quickly. The here and there residual ridge can be reworked with a sharp chisel.



Now repeat the whole thing again on the other side of the side pieces and the swallows are done. After almost 50 minutes, I was at your first destination.

The tines

It continues with the tines. Here, the parts can be processed only singly, since the tines are inclined backward. However, the side surfaces are perpendicular and so you can work out the spaces completely with the router.

The side panels with the swallows are placed and transferred the exact curves of the edges with the sharp pencil. The herauszufräsende material is also selected again.



Again a victim wood is clamped behind the board to increase the bearing surface for the router again. Another measure is the installation of a larger base plate at the Makita router.



In addition I have changed the square base plate from swiveling Fräskorb on the vertical hand-held food hamper. Thus, the cutter has a wider circulation and can be performed more easily horizontally. Since the cut surfaces of the teeth are perpendicular, can be dispensed with the sawing. You can deal directly with the mills gradually to the pencil lines
approach to work.
Here is the result of the milled teeth:



In the same way the other three sides are processed.

The assembly

This was followed by a first test of how well the milled swallows and tines fit. Without glue everything was assembled.



The swallows and tines sit surprisingly well at first, the connections are tight and no gaps. While projecting the prongs because of fluctuating thickness of Leimholzbretter something out, but with the plane or the belt sander that is smoothed later quickly.



The bottom of the chest is milled on the longitudinal side at about 10mm depth. This is done with the router, a 12mm cutter and mounted stop rail. An approximately 10mm deep groove is milled then in the narrow side parts with the 10mm cutter, which is performed with about 2 cm distance from the edge.



In this groove the floorboard is then used without glue. Thus the ground is securely anchored and can still work side in humidity.



Then, the tines are all glued and fixed with one hand clamps to cure the Weißleims.


A first conclusion

The use of the router while working out the prongs worked better than I thought the first. If you look at gradual approach scans you get with the freehand guided routing machine very exact swallows and especially a smooth zinc base. However, the router used must be small and portable. Here the little Makita RT0700C has proved very successful. With my midsize Festool OF1010 that would surely be already borderline.

But the experiment was worth it. The manufacturing of all zinc compounds and preparing the ground took less than 3 hours - including a short coffee break.

Turbozinken40

And what's the downside? At the end you have a lot of fine shavings all around the workbench around. Because you need a clear view of the router, you can not suck unfortunately. To wear goggles here is required!
At the end of this workshop day, therefore change of clothes and a shower is inevitable.

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3:56 AM

A long discussion in the circle because if you can run really clean, smooth cuts by hand with a handsaw led spontaneously to this post.




Smooth saw cuts with the handsaw are not rocket science. They require only three things: A sharp saw, a cutter knife and a little practice.

With a handsaw with a relatively coarse 7TPI dentition can quickly saw. So did a pencil line and losgesägt.



The cutting edges at the top are my STANLEY Sawing always quite clean, but on the bottom, the cut edges are often ragged and fragmented. Especially if you sawed long-fiber softwood.



If you can not see the back of the board agreed later, that's often not a problem. If you want the workpiece but on both sides have a smooth cut edge must proceed differently.


Start with the pencil is marked with a cutter knife. The average is around applied to the workpiece to sawing with the angle. There is no harm doing nothing, when the cutter is out with some pressure.

Saw cut is then on the drop side next to the cutting with the cutter. If there are problems when you start the saw, then simply cut a notch.

Laterally along sawing Now with a steady hand and without pressure on the cut line.

And here then is the result:



A clean saw edge without tearing - both the top and bottom of the workpiece.

And here's a hint for the computer scientists among my readers: The pre-cutting of the cutting edges can be applied when working with an electric saw. It also leads in this case to significantly finer cut edges.

Practice makes perfect

Just to remind you: Working with a handsaw can provide very good results, which are not inferior to a circular saw the simple home improvement class. For this is only a little exercise needed.

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7:18 PM