New Project?

Due to several pending projects, this one is being put on hold for a bit.

Any guesses?  Will it be bigger than a bread box?

Here we are in glue up and with all the clamps......




After letting the glue set up overnight we will start milling this to desired dimensions. I applied plenty of glue to ensure a good bond.

Here we are out of all the clamps with the edges squared and all the glue cleaned off of outer surfaces.

The outside wood strips are Dark Walnut and the center strip is Hard Maple.  It is roughly 30 inches long and 4 inches square. Don't you think the Walnut and Maple look good together?

Different position....???


Stay tuned for more updates soon.... :-)

 

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

“Annual Crawford Cribbage Championship”.......UPDATE

Just opened it, great work it looks awesome. The only minor flaw is that the slide on the back is really difficult to pull out and the metal is a little rough. I might have put a wood lip on the metal bar that followed the router edge so that you could pull on something without the sharp edge. Other than that I really like your work, the dark trim turned out wonderfully. The tournament starts tonight. You should definitely put this on your website.

Merry Christmas, Adam - Seattle, Wa

From Seattle, Washington comes this request to create a family heirloom. They wanted to start a tradition that could be carried on for years.

This is the sample layout they gave me to start out with, along with several other guidelines.
(select photos for enlarged size)

After considering all of their requests this is the layout that we ended up with.

It will be a three person board with their family crest in the center.
The dates will be lasered into the wood. and the names are placeholders for where engraved plates will be added each year with the name of that years winner.
There will be a slot routered on the back to hold the custom metal pegs, as well as a keyhole slot so it can be hung on the wall while not in use.
This family tradition will be a focal point of  family get togethers for many years to come.

The actual physical creation begins.. here is the board being glued up. The piece will be 14 inches wide and 20 inches long out of hard maple. Along each edge I have glued a 1 inch strip accent of dark walnut to add some class to it.

Here is how the boards looked coming out of glue up. The dark walnut stripes set off the maple board quite well.

The tracks have now been drilled using a Shopbot CNC routing system.and the lasering of the family crest and the tournament years are next.

Here is the board as it is being lasered. This Epilog lasering machine is amazing, turning blanks pieces of wood into stunning displays.....
 

Here is the board after lasering has been completed using the Epilog lasering maching.
The spaces below the years there will be a brass plate installed for each years winner.

This project is nearing the end.
The edges have been rounded over.
The key hole slot in the back to hang it on the wall for display has been routed, and the slot has been routered in the back to hold the custom metal pegs.
In the peg out hole I inserted a nice walnut circle to highlight the hole.

Now some hearty sanding and application of the finish.....

Poly coats has been applied....some fine sanding.....
then this nice board will be packed up and headed towards Portland, Oregon before December 22, 2009.
There it will become a part of this years family holiday tournament and others for years to come.

Best of luck to the players and the ultimate winners....I have greatly enjoyed working on this project.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Custom Lady bug Cribbage board - UPDATE

Happy New Year to you and your family. Just a quick note to say “Thank You Very Much”. The crib board was a big hit, but I think it is jinxed!!! I can’t buy a win on that thing!!! LOL!!!It was a huge hit this Christmas, and my daughter is one happy camper.

Again, Thank You.

Doug - Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Here is the photo that came with the request to create a cribbage board with this on it..

Here is the board laid out with the templates.













Here is the track drilled with the lady bug placed

Here is the finished project with the lasering done and the edge routered
This board has been shipped to Canada and is sure to be a big hit.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

40th Wedding Anniversary order ........ UPDATE

Hi
The cribbage board was A HIT....Jack was thrilled and was blown away with the workmanship. Jack was brilliant with his hands before he was hurt so he knows GREAT work. He had me wheel him around to almost every room to show the men.

Thank you for helping make "our" 40th so special for him.

Have a great holiday season.

Barb - Minnesota

This  beautiful piece of  Red oak in the form of a 4 person cribbage board will soon be headed to its new home in Massachusetts.

 It is 8 inches wide, 16 inches long and 1  1/2 inches thick. 



For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:

http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all.

Thank you for all of the orders and support provided in 2009.

May all your dreams and desires come true for you.

A couple days of rest and relaxing then back in the shop doing some major organizing and cleaning, then it's on to the next project.....

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Custom ladder for bunk beds.....

This is a project that has been on my list to do for some time, but wasn't really needed until this time of the year.




It soon will be used at all the family gatherings at their cabin in the woods.



I am sure the parents will be glad to no longer have to lift the kids up onto the top bunks..

There is something special about being allowed on the top bunk and I am sure these girls are anxious to be the first ones up the ladder.

For strength and to match the decor of the cabin it is being created out of pieces of Fir/Larch and will be given a light golden stain.

As you can see in the photo, the original ladder was one made out of metal and had seen its better days through years of use and many generations of families. I think it was an RV ladder in a previous life.

The sides have been milled and here I have routed the dado's to hold the rungs. The ladder is 78 inches tall and 13 1/2 inches wide. I cut a slight bevel on the bottom of each leg so as to give it a incline, making it a bit easier to use.

Here the rungs have been installed and have now been glued and clamped.  Once the glue sets I added some long screws into each end of the rungs for added strength.

The ladder has now been sanded and is awaiting some stain and a thick coat of polyurethane finish. There will be a pair of metal brackets attached when the new owners mount it on the bunk bed rails.

The sanding and the poly coating is completed and we are ready to get this ladder mounted.


There will be many little feet as well as probably many big feet climb this ladder.  Enjoy and be safe.....It has been a pleasure creating this for you.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

New Grizzly photo on four person Cribbage Boards

This is the provided photo we started with...Taken by Bob Chinn while hiking in Glacier National Park. We will use this photos to create two boards for this client.

Bob has graciously allowed me to use his photos on other boards I have created. (see example) and future boards I will create for display for sale at art shows and on my website.

If you have that special photo you really like, let us turn it into a custom item, which will last for generations. (Click on photos for enhanced view)


This photo has special memories to him and the person who will receive the cribbage boards as a gift.  It will be a learning experience for all because they will be learning how to play the game of cribbage, while having memories of meeting this guy in Glacier National Park.

The lasering machine will only do black and white images, so we had to convert and crop the photo for use. This is the image shape we will use on the cribbage boards,


These boards are being made out of hard maple and will have a four person track drilled on each board. The photo will be lasered in the upper left hand side of the board.

This is a closeup shot of just the lasering of the bear.  The details of the Grizzly are incredible. You almost feel like you are meeting him face to face on the trail like Bob did.




The lasering has been completed and as you can see it came out really well.  I have to lightly sand the photo and add some finish which with other boards has enhanced the photo. We will see what happens with this one.

This is a photo of the whole board.  The dark circle around the finish hole is a piece of inlaid walnut.  I think it really adds a nice touch. Now the edge will be routed and the slot on the back to hold the pegs will be created, then final sanding and these boards will be ready to be on their way.

Here is the finished two cribbage boards which will be on their way to Illinois on Monday morning. The photo really popped out nice when the finish was applied.  These boards will be treasured for many years to come.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Custom Box Style Cribbage boards

This is an order which was placed at the Hooper's show for six custom Oak box style four person cribbage boards. They will soon be on their way to eastern Montana as Christmas presents.

This is the boards cut to size and prepared for the drilling of the tracks and the pockets below for the deck of cards and the custom metal pegs which accompany each board.
The boxes are roughly 8 inches wide, 16 inches long, and around 3 inches thick.  They have been made out of Red Oak.

Here you can see the tracks have been drilled and the boxes are laid out for sanding and the several coats of poly which will be applied.

Here is one of the boards drilled with a four person track

 Here is the bottom section of the box.  It has two pockets cut into the wood to house the cards and the custom pegs.

Pieces of brown felt line these pockets.

This is a close up of the hinges used on these boxes.

This is a close up of the finger grove on the front of each box.

These boxes have been completed and are awaiting to be placed under the Christmas tree.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Custom speaker making mold.....UPDATED>>>

This project is being created to use in the building of custom stereo speakers. Once it is turned on the lathe it will assist in curling the ends of 6 inch PVC pipe when heated and pressure is applied.

It is being made out of Ash because of the hardness of the wood.  We will see if my glue joints hold up.  It is also being shipped to Kansas, lets hope the humidity doesn't cause the wood  to change too much.
Here I have angled the sides a bit to make it easier to turn  it on the lathe and to have less material to take off.

It has a 12 inch x 12 inch base and is  8 inches high. This chunk of wood is weighting in at over 20 pounds.

This photo shows  it out of glue up, placed on a faceplate and mounted on the lathe for turning.

This was a slow process because of the size and weight of this piece.  I had to swing the headstock to the outside so I could turn the large 12 inch base.
 In the beginning I had to run the lathe on the slowest speed to keep the lathe on the bench.

The turning  progressed very slowly, but as you can see is coming along quite well.  Well perhaps you can't tell because you don't know what the finished project is suppose to look like.

The center is being turned to a diameter of around 6 inches, which as you can see in the next photo is the inside dimensions  of the 6 inch PVC pipe which is used to make the speaker cones.

The PVC pipe is 6 inches Schedule 80. The bottom  of  the pipe will be heated at the bevel area and pressure will be applied from the top of the pipe causing the pvc to create a cone.  We will see if our theory works and the wood will hold up.

This piece is on its way to Kansas to be tested out.  I hope to post photos of it in action. Check back soon for updated photos.

***************************************************************
THE MOLD IN ACTION>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
***************************************************************

Here is the mold in action.... First photo shows the PVC pipe being used for speaker has been placed over a lubricated column.

Heat is applied at the bottom near the bevel....while heavy pressure is applied at the top of the pipe

Once the pipe reaches the specfic temp needed to make it pliable.. you can see the cone begins to take place.

Here is the front side of the bevel which will become the speaker cone.  The builder said he was able to put lots of pressure on it and it held up just fine.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/

Custom Bend, Oregon Cribbage board

The process has now been completed and here is the final result with the hand rubbed polyurethane applied. The beauty of the wood grain really popped out on this board. It has a very warm soft feel to it. I can envision many games being played over this board.

This request came from Seattle, Washington.  They asked me if it was possible to use this photos design and create a cribbage board for them?

My first question was do you have permission to use this logo?

The client then contacted the Bend, Oregon Chamber and got this response:

The Bend, Oregon visitor’s bureau stated that the logo with a capital N in Bend is not copyrighted, the city created it for marketing for tourism and business development.

Therefore it could be used for this purpose.
I then set out to create the 2 person track which would go around this board.

This is the MDF template which was burned on a laser machine.

Per clients request the board will be made out of cedar and is around 15 inches long, 12 inches wide and 3/4 inches thick.

The board is shaping up here with the tracks drilled and the logo lasered on to the board.

There is a custom routered slot on the back to hold the custom metal pegs which go with each cribbage board I create.

The process has now been completed and here is the final result with the hand rubbed polyurethane applied. The beauty of the wood grain really popped out on this board. It has a very warm soft feel to it. I can envision many games being played over this board.

A final finishing coat of wax has been applied and the board is ready to be on its way to its new home.

For more information about ordering your own custom board go to:
http://www.splinterswoodworks.com/