A Wood Sign

I made this wood sign for my sister to display on her farm.

The letters are cut into a 1×8″ red oak dimensioned lumber board using a hand-held plunge router and Rockler’s 3.5″ State Park font  templates. This style includes Kerning, an attractive way to space certain letter combinations. The letters are painted black and the board is finished with shellac and several coats of polyurethane.

wood sign
Sign at the Farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

wood sign
Sign Close-up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Rockler State Park Font Kit

Drop Leaf Gate Leg Folding Oak Table

I made this gate leg drop leaf table based on a design from MLCS Industries. plans here.

A critical feature is the Rule Joint that allows the leafs to fold down but support weight when the leaf is up.  The Rule Joint also requires a special metal hinge and mortising on the table under side.  The Rule Joint was carved into the table top using a hand-held router and 2 simple router bits. The table apron is formed with mortise and tenon joints plus metal clasps (not in the plans). All wood is white oak, stained with Minwax oak and protected with multiple coats of polyurethane. I spent a lot of time flattening the top surface with a card scraper.

side view
side view: gate leg and leaf fold together precisely
leafs folded
leafs folded

 

half open
half open

 

fully open
fully open: lots of table space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strong and tough, this table is one of my most successful woodworking projects and is in daily use at my niece’s home. The MLCS plans make an attractive gate leg drop leaf table.

Woodworking Tiny Grandfather Clock

I made a number of tiny woodworking grandfather clocks like this below. The clock movement is an analog atomic movement meaning it will receive Colorado’s  WWV radio signal and keep perfect time. The main woods are quarter sawn oak and walnut.  The wood is finished with shellac, MinWax Oak Stain and polyurethane.

wood clock
Tiny Grandfather Clock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

front view
Tiny Grandfather Clock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite woodworking project website Lumberjocks