April 22nd 2013: Building a coat rack!

We have a little entrance way in our basement that I thought could use a coat rack to throw coats (obviously), hang keys, and store small items like sunglasses or drinks on top.

I used two 1x6's cut to 4' lengths and a strip of molding to hide the joint.  (I used "quarter round" molding, but any molding that looks good to you will work).  First, I joined the pieces of wood together using Kreg joints spaced about 8-12" apart and 1 1/4" Kreg square head screws and Gorilla Wood Glue.  The molding was added using a DeWalt 20 Degree cordless nailer with 1 1/4" nails.  Nail holes were filled with MinWax Wood filler and sanded smooth after drying.  I forgot to use Wood Conditioner prior to staining...I mean...I purposely skipped the MinWax Wood Conditioner so I could get that blotchy, hand-burnt look to the finish....yeah.  Anyway, I kind of like the way it turned out.  It's more than fine for the basement.  I used two leftover cans of stain that I had from other projects.  The first coat was a MinWax stain color called "Bombay Mahogany Satin", followed by a fine sanding after the stain was completely dry, and then another coat of "Antique Walnut Satin".  The brass hooks are actually called "robe" hooks and I like the way they lie flat against the wood.  At the end, I added a single brass hook for keys.

So, that's it!  Build your own coat rack in a day.

Here's a pic...

April 8th 2013: Building a cold frame!

As this is my first wood-working post, I thought that I'd share a little bit about me.  I would describe myself as a novice wood-worker.  I'm certainly not a master carpenter.  I've never had any formal training and I don't own as many tools as Norm Abrams.  So why have a blog?  Because if I can build stuff, then anyone can!

Here's a cold frame that I built...

What's a cold frame?  Good question.  It's like a mini greenhouse that's designed to extend the growing season (early Spring and late fall/early winter).  The nice thing about working with wood is that you can customize anything you want and build it how you want.  The cold frame that I designed was built around a medium sized sheet of Lexan (Home Depot) and all of the dimensions are derived from the size of the Lexan sheet that you choose.  Since my box is relatively small, I only needed two 1x8x8 cedar planks (Lowe's), two 1x2x8 cedar furring strips (Lowe's), 2 door hinges (Home Depot), and some Kreg squared-headed 1-1/4" screws.  The top is angled at about 30 degrees to catch the most sun.  I just used the lexan as a guide on how to cut the cedar because again the box is designed around the lexan sheet.  One trick was to double up the cedar plank before cutting the angled cut with a circular saw so that both sides of the box match exactly.  You need a steady hand with the circular saw in order to cut a straight line for the lexan to sit on flush.  I put my box together using a Kreg-joint jig and screws.  The bottom is made up of the left over wood scraps with some gaps that allow for soil drainage.  Since it's cedar, there's no staining or finishing required.  I lined the box with Dewitt Landscape fabric (so all of the dirt doesn't wash out the drainage gaps) and filled it up with potting soil.  Right now, I've planted some basil, lettuce, and peas.  I guess we'll see in a few weeks if the cold frame works or not!  It's currently sitting on my back deck, but at some point I might make a table for it to sit on.

Here's some more pics...