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Posted by The Kraftsman, on July 25, 2010, at 4:37 pm
Click to Download Sample PDF
It has been a long time coming, but the woodworking plans download store is finally open at the Kyserike Kraftsman!
You can now purchase (for a small fee) the plans for a selection of the original woodworking projects that I have documented here on the website. To start, the plans for the tack trunk, grooming tote, and the bandage wrap holder are available for download today! Plans for the horseshoe pits will be available for download in the very near future.
Each high quality plan includes step by step instructions, a list of material, and detailed drawings to help you create your own woodworking piece. Visit the downloadable woodworking plans page now to purchase your plans and get started!
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Posted by The Kraftsman, on June 28, 2010, at 9:40 pm
Delivery Day !
I have been working on this tack trunk on and off for over a year, but it’s finally finished and delivered to my daughter who has been patiently awaiting it’s arrival!
I used a red oak stain for the outside of the trunk, but kept the inside of the trunk stained a lighter color so that it would be easier to view the contents in low light levels. I also added multiple coats of a spar urethane as a top coat for protection from the elements.
It has been a long time coming but the end results are worth it. If you are interested in building your own trunk using this design I have plans available for download directly from the website. Visit the Downloadable Woodworking Plans page.
If you interested in seeing more photos of the finished tack trunk I’ve included a slide show below for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.
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Posted by The Kraftsman, on March 27, 2010, at 5:39 pm
It’s been quite a while since I have had a chance to devote some time to completing the tack trunk but I finally found a few spare minutes this weekend and have just about completed all the woodworking and it’s now time to start adding the finishing.
The last hurdle that I needed to solve was how to support the lid. It’s heavy, especially when you add the Bandage/Polo wrap holder. I found these shock absorber lifts for a very respectable pride at Rockler and decided to give them a try.
| Lift-O-Mat® Gas Spring Lid Support |
| Effortless opening of doors and lids! Gas springs are the ideal choice for cabinet doors and lid supports that open upward. You’ll get soft and quiet closing, plus smooth motion and stopping. Each set includes two gas springs and four mounting brackets. (Screws not included). Available in Black (Silver shown not available). See chart for more information.
Lift-O-Mat® Gas Spring Lid Support |
 |
The struts worked well for the tack trunk application helping to lift the lid into it’s open position and hold it there securely. It takes a little effort to force the lid to close so I wont be worrying about it closing on anyone’s fingers.
I added a gas strut to each side of the trunk, made sure that the strut didn’t interfere with either the sliding tray or the closing of the lid. I needed to add a 2″x3″ block in each corner of the lid to mount the strut. Here’s a shot of the assembled support.
Left Hand Side Gas Strut
Next it’s on to staining and varnishing …. Stay tuned.
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Posted by The Kraftsman, on July 10, 2009, at 10:16 pm
I’ve been asked by a few viewers to provide some more details of my backyard horseshoe pit design so tonight I took some time to enhance the sketchup model some and provide a couple of shots which include dimensions.
The first step in building the pits is to create the base. This is made from pressure treated 2″x6″ lumber as shown in the following diagram. I used 3″ exterior decking screws to secure the individual base pieces. (Click on the diagrams for a larger image).
Horseshoe Base Structure
Next the long side decking is added. Three 7 foot sections of 5/4″ decking are used for each side. Adjust the gaps between the boards so the three boards space the area that will become the throwing walkway. For the inside boards on each side I left a ridge on the support base (about 3/4″) showing so that it could be used to support the screens over the pit area.
Horseshoe Pit Long Decking
Next the shorter decking pieces are added to the front and back of the base structure again leaving a small area of the base structure that outlines the pit area exposed to support the screens. I used normal exterior decking screws to secure all decking.
Horseshoe Pit Short Decking
The backboard is a standalone piece that is comprised of 4″x4″ pressure treated posts and 5/4″ decking. The beverage holder is created using 2″x4″ pressure treated lumber. I created the complete backboard assembly, then drove the 4×4 posts into the ground behind the platform. Rather than using cement to secure the posts in the ground I decided to bolt the 4×4 posts to the base structure using 4″ lag bolts. I had to remove two of the short back pieces of decking temporarily in order to drive the lag bolts from the inside of the base structure.
Front view of the backboard
Rear view of the backboard
After the horseshoe pit assemblies where set in the ground and leveled I buried a 5 gallon bucket in the pit area to support the cemented spikes. I then covered the inside of the base structure with landscaping fabric before adding the sand to prevent weed growth.
So far after over a year the pits have held up well (except for the corner of one of them that my wife took out with the lawn tractor). If you have any comments or questions on the design feel free to leave a reply.
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Posted by The Kraftsman, on June 15, 2009, at 9:52 pm
Completed Wrap Holder ready for staining.
I finished assembling the wrap holder this past weekend, sanded it to 180 grit, and it’s now ready for staining.
The wrap holder took much more time than I initially thought it would to create mostly because I had to edge glue three 1/2″ x 6″ oak boards together to make the front and back sides the required width. I didn’t notice until after the glue-up the slight variations in the thickness of each of the boards. My planer isn’t wide enough to send the edge glued assemble through to correct the problem and it was too severe to try and clean up with a hand plane, so I ripped them in half again so they would fit through the planer. After thickness planing the four pieces to the same dimensions I once again edge glued them back together to form the front and back.
Another view of the removable wrap holder
If I were to make another one of these I would probably look at using plywood rather than trying to edge glue stock hardwood together the way I did as there is quite a lot of waste after making the cutouts in the front and back for access to the wraps.
All in all I’m happy with the results. Now I just have to get up the nerve to stain it!
