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Posted by kyserike, on January 11, 2009, at 10:19 am
I created this jewelery Box as a gift for my sister for Christmas 2008. It’s made from black walnut (like all my other family gifts) and again I used the proven Danish Oil wipe on poly finish. This was my first attempt at something so small and the difficulty with crafting at this dimension is amazing. Every little misalignment, miss-cut, or miss- measurement is magnified when you are working with a project at this scale.
If you are interested in making one of these for someone special you can find the plans here.
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Posted by kyserike, on January 11, 2009, at 10:09 am
This was a gift to my brother for Christmas 2008. I truly enjoyed creating this piece. It uses a frame and panel type of construction for the back and front that I really like and plan on using on the tack trunk that I’m currently designing and building.The Chest is made from black walnut with two coats of Danish Oil and 2 coats of wipe on poly.
If you would like to get the plans for the chest they are available at http://www.woodstore.net/crafpridtool.html
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Posted by The Kraftsman, on June 16, 2008, at 9:24 pm
Google Sketch-Up Horseshoe Pit Design
This summer we decided to create a pair of permanent horseshoe pits to use during the our gatherings. We wanted a quality set of pits that would last for years to come, wouldn’t get grass encroachment and were easy to maintain. I created the design shown in the graphic using Google Sketch-Up.
The stakes for the pits are 5/8 inch steel rods mounted in a bucket of cement that is buried in the ground. The joists for the pits are 2 x 6 inch pressure treated lumber and the decking and backboard are made from 5/4 inch pressure treated decking.
I also built some screens that protect the sand from the neighborhood cats when the pits are not in use. Included on the backside of the backboard on each pit is a shelf to hold your favorite beverage when you aren’t throwing the shoes 
There are detailed high quality woodworking plans available in the download store for the horseshoe pits. The plans contain 20 pages of step-by-step instructions, a material list, and detailed diagrams so that anyone with basic woodworking or carpentry knowledge can create their own set of horseshoe pits like these!
This plan is on sale until the end of Labor Day Weekend (09/06/2010). Create your pits in time for that end of summer barbecue!
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Posted by kyserike, on June 15, 2008, at 6:30 pm
I wanted to learn how to use Google Sketch-up to help to design and model some of my projects so I spent some time learning how to use the tool. The Fine Woodworking website has some great tutorials to get started.
Here’s a couple of shots of the design in Sketch-up. It needed to support the 4 foot by 20 foot heater level on a sloping grade of 1′ for every foot.
 Top side Sketch-Up design |
 Underside of the design |
By using Sketch-up I was able to determine very easily the exact amount of lumber that would be required and a cutlist was easily created. By using the ruler and dimensioning tools assembly was a snap and the platform came out perfect. This is a great tool which I will be using for all my projects.
It’s raining at the moment so I can’t get a picture of the finished project. I’ll attach one later.
Here’s the finished platform … or dock as my wife calls it.
Solar Heater Platform (above)
Solar Heater Platform (below)
Solar Heater Platform (3)
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Posted by kyserike, on April 1, 2008, at 12:30 pm
This was a special project that was a gift for my Mom for her 70th birthday. I started the project on January 30th (See the chronological history of the project below). Her birthday was March 19th, which didn’t leave me much time for completing the project.
I built this chest from some black walnut stock that my Dad had rough cut over 25 years ago. Finished it with Danish Oil and wipe on poly as I do all my walnut projects. Below you will find the gory details of my first major build. I enjoyed this project and learned quite few new techniques in the process. I hope you enjoy the reading.
Interested in building one of these yourself for someone special? You can find the plans here:
Lingerie And Jewelry Chest Plan
