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Michael Makes It"I love making things. It's in my blood, and I am excited to share the processes and techniques that I have learned over the years with you. Join me as I continue my creative journey."
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My sister needed a new coffee table for a living room that would be functional as a table for eating at daily as well. We came up with the idea to have a lazy susan built right into the table surface to make the most of the space. I had previously cut and dried a bunch of branches that came down in my yard in a storm last year and I thought these would be the perfect material for this because they have a beautiful color variation and the striped look would visually highlight the spinning component of the table. This project was a lot of work, but I am really happy with how it came out and excited to share.
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Using fancy materials can be fun, but it really isn't always necessary to kick out nice looking finished pieces. I wanted to illustrate this by using cheap popsicle sticks as the main raw material to create an elegant looking desk clock. First I glued-up a block of them and then put it through our Carvey CNC Router. Not everything went as expected but the finished piece overall accomplished the overall mission. Dust Collection is a high priority in our Wood Shop because the space shared with computers and other tools. To optimize our system I wanted to put the dust collectors themselves in the basement. This has the added benefit of reducing noise, and saving space. I 3D printed connectors to make things easier and this same concept could be used through a wall or ceiling. In my shop we make scrap wood faster than anything else so I made this set of cutting boards with the goal to minimize the amount go scrap I created. I am really please with the end result and the resin really brings the "scrap" pieces to life; To be honest the epoxy cutting boards were meant as an add-on but they ended up stealing the show. This technique also maximizes how much you can get out of one glue-up, because those take a lot of time , and hands on effort. My dog's bowl was looking pretty rough so it seemed time I build her a new one. I wanted something that could handle water and generally take a beating. Resin seemed like the perfect option. I had been wanting to make a resin panel filled with scrap wood for a while so I started with that and then put the panel through the X-Carve CNC Router to form the bowl holder. I welded a base for it and then put it all together. This was a great project because it incorporated a little bit of woodworking, resin, the CNC Router, and welding. The dog loves it and it has held up to rough use very well. It seemed time I take a crack at making a classic Resin River Table. This build was a fantastic experience because it incorporated wood working, resin, and welding into one finished piece. This was also a milestone project as my first major metal build in a while. I studied public art in College and did a lot of welding back then, about 15 years ago. This project was the perfect excuse to get back to it and re-teach myself what I know. This was also my first try at using Ecopoxy. I hope you enjoy! My daughter is 11 and wanted to take a crack at her first solo woodworking project; a Maple and Paddock Cutting Board. We have made things together before but this she did all of the hands on work with only verbal pointers and guidance as needed. The Maple in this board is from our yard, her childhood home, so this will be a very special piece for her to keep and use over the years. My hopes in sharing this is to show you that the hardest part of wood working, at any level, is having the confidence to jump in and give it a try. Follow along as I make custom Wedding Table Numbers for my sister's wedding. She and her fiancé got engaged overlooking the Newport Bridge in Rhode Island and wanted to incorporate the bridge into the design; check out what we came up with. These Custom 3D Printed Wedding table numbers looked great alongside the centerpieces at the event. However, this same design would work wonderfully as a nightlight or any sort of glowing acrylic sign. It is a project that is achievable for any skill level and requires a laser cutter (like a Glowforge Laser Cutter) and a 3D printer. Once you have fresh wood sliced down into slabs it can sometimes take years before it dries to a workable moisture content. As the second part of my 3-part lumber milling series I wanted to go through the methods I have successfully used in the past to drastically cut down on the dry time; in other words this is how I dry wood fast! Let me know if you have had success with any of these or how you have found to effectively dry wood quickly. Today Michael makes a solid oak outdoor sign for our new neighbors in town, carved on our X-Carve CNC Router, with a logo and name done as a resin infill! |
Michael DenaultFather, Maker, and all around fun guy. Archives
September 2020
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