Hand tools

My collection of hand tools is slowly growing with the addition of a wood mallet and smoothing plane. The plane was made by myself at a Lee Valley workshop. I highly recommend this class at the Calgary Lee Valley. The plane was made in one day from a few pre-fabricated pieces of red oak. The blade and chipper are supplied as well. This wood smoothing plane works well when it's
tuned up correctly.

The wood mallet is made from red oak too. I built this in one evening in my shop. There are a few small things left to do- like shape the handle some more.

There is something really fascinating about using tools that you have made yourself. A real feeling of accomplishment.

Horsepower

My niece was born yesterday in Salmon Arm, B.C. I made this horse on wheels for her.

This was my first project where I made a blank using two species of wood. In this case - walnut and maple

The mane and tail were made from hemp string.

Happy Valentines Day

This bathroom cabinet was made by me for my wife ,for a Valentine's present. It was my first cabinet that I had constructed.

Pine is the material for the shelves and sides, and tongue-and-groove cedar provided the back and panel on the door. The cabinet is 40" tall x 14 1/4 " wide x 9" deep.

Making the door was tricky. I had never made rail and stile (door)panels before so the door you see is the second and slightly mo' betta version of the door. Mounting the cabinet inside the wall between two studs allowed us to have an extra 5" of shelf depth without sacrificing space inside the bathroom.

Toy Tractor

This toy tractor was made for my nephew in Manitoba. Walnut was used for the cab and front end. Hemlock is the chassis. Tung Oil is the finish I used to seal the wood. I like using Tung oil because it really brings out the colour of the wood.

Update: I've been having problems with the wood axles. The ends are chipping off.

I installed plastic washers between the axle and wheel and between the wheel and the chassis. This did not fix the problem. I made a dually rear axle assembly that turns as a unit. I wedged the axles at the ends where they come through the outside wheel. This modification will be a lot stronger. A picture will be coming soon!