Do you enjoy making your own gifts to share at Christmas? Ever try woodworking? With a little patience, skill and the right tools, you can make keepsake gifts to share with the whole family. Get the kids in on the fun by letting them sand and paint and pound a nail or two.
In recent years, we enjoyed giving the fruits of my husband’s growing woodworking hobby as his skills (and collection of tools) increased with each holiday season. Inspiration for wood projects have come from a variety of sources. One year, my sister needed a new piano bench for a piano they found for free in the classified ads. For that project, Brian went to a piano store and measured professionally made piano benches before making one himself. Another year, Brian created his own measurements for a dollhouse shelf just like the one in the Pottery Barn catalog. Other years, Brian combined leftover wood with new purchases to create smaller projects like a chess board, various cutting boards, keepsake boxes and even toy helicopters.
Recently, Brian joined the Delaware Valley Woodworking Club in making wooden toys for children in need. By making several extras, he has quality gifts for family members too. The beauty of woodworking is that you can build on previous ideas and create increasingly beautiful pieces each year by varying wood types, finish, design, etc.
For more information, Brian consults a variety of woodworking magazines including some woodworking catalogs where he find pre-crafted plans and accessory kits for making toys, though he usually prefers his own patterns. To get the kids involved in his new hobby, Brian takes our girls to Home Depot where they offer free classes to children, usually once a month. One Saturday, they emerged with a work apron and a bird house, followed by a fire truck the next.
In Brian’s ongoing research, useful online resources include the Woodnet Forum and a site run by Mark Spagnola called The Wood Whisperer.com. Mark offers advice and tips on quality wordworking techniques including well-crafted joints, professional finishing and unique designs.
With each potential project, Brian asks himself a couple of questions: Do I have the right tools to do this job? Do I have the right skills? Do I have the time and the desire to get it done this year before Christmas? Do I have the room to make it?
One year, Brian’s sister asked him to make a cutting board from the red oak tree that fell down behind her house. Several steps and more time than usual went into getting this gift ready. To recycle the backyard wood, Brian took a section from the tree trunk and let it sit to dry out for a month or two. After splittng it and milling it into rough boards, it once again sat for months, drying out any problematic moisture that would cause warping or splitting down the road. Planing, jointing, gluing, routing and sanding were followed by a fresh finish of mineral oil and my sister-in-law enjoyed a handmade cutting board for Christmas created from wood from her own backyard. It took work but a little elbow grease goes a long way in creating special gifts that last years to come.
Prepping the wood for the cutting board took the longest time of that particular project which reminds crafters of any sort to plan ahead with more complicated projects, especially ones that require extra steps but the end result is usually worth the time and effort.
Feel free to check out Brian’s website at www.HandyguysPodcast.com, where, if you are so inclined, you can click on the link referencing downloadable plans for a backyard trellis designed to be created from a single board– easy and quick to complete for wordworkers of all skill levels. It does require access to a table saw.
In the Phoenix, November 28, 2009
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