Sawdust on the Floor

Some times, I just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Like when I was helping unload some equipment that had come in from South America. The equipment was strapped down to a pallet, and to me the pallet was worth more then the equipment.

As unlikely as it was, the pallet was constructed from Bubinga. Bubinga is primarily used as a veneer for cabinetwork, furniture, and paneling. Also used for knife handles, and fancy goods, it is grown in both South America and Africa. It is also known as African rosewood or Essingang, Buvenga.

The wood was not in pristine condition, but a few passes over the jointer and then the planer gave me enough pieces to make this hall mirror.

My only out of pocket expense was for the mirror and the hanrdware. I’ll take a deal like that anytime!

It may sound strange, but I actually started this project with the trim. I knew I wanted to have a dentil molding across the top, and that I wanted to miter the corners at the end of a tooth. I tried several times to do the math, finally gave up and cut the dentil molding first.

I used a shop made jig, very similar to the jigs for cutting interlocking box joints. The jig is simply a block of wood that is screwed to your miter gauge. Then using a dado blade the first valley is machined. The jig is repositioned so that your dado blade is aligned with the second valley. You then make an indexing pin that fits snuggly into the first cut; I make mine shorter the actual cut.

Once you have the jig set up, simply cut the next valley, move the piece over to the Indexing pin, and repeat until all of the teeth are cut. I rounded the bottom edge of the dentil molding using a ¾” round over bit. Because the teeth are fragile, I made several passes. The wood must be held tightly against the router to prevent chip out. Once I had the dentil molding cut and sanded. I was able to cut the miters on both ends; the actual inside length of the dentil molding gave me the outside measurement for the top and bottom.

The Top and bottom rails are mortised into the side stiles. A 3/8” x 3/8 “ rabbit is cut into the back of the frame for the mounting the mirror. I used a Corner Chisel to clean out the corners of the rabbit. The mirror came from a local glass shop, and is held in place with glazing points.

The top is capped with a single piece of 6/4″ stock, with the top and bottoms rounded over. The bottom molding is actually two pieces of molding; both were cut using the same Ogee bit, the bottom piece however is simply a larger cut.

Strictly for a decorative touch, I cut an ogee in the interior edge of the frame, but I stopped short of the ends.

I finished the project with a mahogany stain, and several topcoats of satin Polyurethane. Because woods like Bubinga have lots of natural oils, I cleaned all joints with Acetone, before appling glue. The entire project was cleaned with Acetone, before the finish was applied.

I did not want to have any mounting hardware showing on the mirror, so I hid it. On the top, I cut a Keyhole slot using a Keyhole Router Bit. The Keyhole bit is easy to use, and makes a nice mounting slot. You will need a plunge router to use the Keyhole bit, start the router, and plunge into the wood where you want the bottom of the keyhole to be. Then holding the router at that depth, move the router up to form the slot. I would recommend that you clamp a straight edge as guide when you cut the slot.
One very important thing to also remember is this, bring the bit back to the starting hole, with the router running, then turn the router off. If you try to remove the bit with the router running, you stand a real good chance of damaging the hole you just made.

One screw into the studs at the top was not enough to hold the mirror, so there is second screw hidden under the center coat hook. I attached the mirror to the wall, using the top keyhole, then after leveling it, I attached the bottom screw.

Wooden toys 

A friend of ours came up with a wonderful gift for his son for Christmas. When his son was one, he decided that for Christmas each year he would make and give him a hand built train car. Each year the boy gets another car and when he is finally old enough to understand the gift, both father and son will have a special gift to share. I think it was a wonderful idea.

I can’t think of a better way for a parent or grandparent to pass on their love to their kids than to make them a special gift from their shop. Now I know nothing I can make can be compared to the electronic toys of today, but it shouldn’t be. Hand made gifts are in a different category and hopefully, will out last the batteries in the new toys!

If you are considering making a toy for that special kid in your life, I have found that finding just the right pieces to go with it can often be as much of a challenge as making the gift. Also, sometimes my ideas just don’t translate well to a kid, so for inspiration, I turned to this book.

Making Heirloom Toys Over 20 innovative projects will keep you amused in the shop and the kids happy in the playroom… Making Heirloom Toys

After you make your gift, be sure to make it kid friendly. Since little kids seem to want to put everything they get into their mouth, you should consider using a kid friendly paint, if your toy is going to be painted. Mythic Paint is a source for non toxic paint safe for kids, pets and the environment.

Or, if you’d rather use a more natual finish, you can use a good salad bowl finish product like General Salad Bowl Finish

If you find you are in need of wheels or wooden parts for that toy, I found a neat web based store that carries a wide variety of those parts, Cherry Tree Toys..