Saturday, February 27, 2016

SawSquawk Table Saw Birdhouse

Our local woodworking club had a birdhouse contest, so I made a SawSquawk Table Saw Birdhouse.  It's inspired by the SawStop table saw.  Watch to see how I made it.


The key to making this birdhouse look like a table saw was to size all of the parts down to scale.  Click here to download my cutting templates if you would like to make one yourself.

SawSquawk Birdhouse

The main structure of the birdhouse is a box with a large top.  Before assembly, you will want to cut out the slot that will be the entry for the birds and cut the miter slots in the table top.  The top is screwed on from underneath, with no glue so that it can be removed.

Top of SawSquawk Birdhouse

The rest of this project is just a matter of accessorizing the saw with all of the parts and spray painting them.  The painting takes some patience as some parts are different colors and require some masking.

Front of SawSquawk Birdhouse

I ended up winning the 1st place prize in the Yard Art category which totally made my weekend!  Thanks to Gwinnett Woodworkers for having the contest and also to Peachtree Woodworking Supply for the awesome gift card. Below are a couple of photos of all of the entries in the Yard Art and Traditional categories.  I'm already looking forward to next year!

Gwinnett Woodworkers Birdhouse Contest

Gwinnett Woodworkers Birdhouse Contest

Monday, February 15, 2016

Make a Cordless Tool Charging Station

I bought my first cordless drill and charger in 1993.  My cordless tool collection has grown a lot since then, so watch how I made a Cordless Tool Charging Station to organize them all.


I like how this cordless tool station looks more like a store display than a regular square shop cabinet.  I designed it to be build from a single 2'x4' sheet of 3/4" plywood.  The only additional piece is the logo brace at the top.  Click here to download my templates for this project.


The bottom shelf is for the battery chargers.  There is a 1" gap cut into the back of the shelf to route the power cables to to the outlet.  Two of my chargers are mounted upside down to the bottom of the shelf.

Batttery Charger Shelf

The circular saw shelf has a slot cut in it for the blade.  This allows the saw to sit flat on the shelf.  There is an 8" opening below this shelf so that the blade does not interfere with placing batteries on the charger.

Circular Saw Shelf

The drill shelf holds four drills.  My particular drills fit nicely in 1-1/2" wide slots.  You may need to measure your drills to make sure you make the slots wide enough.

Drill Shelf

The top two shelves hold a flashlight, lantern, and reciprocating saw.  The top brace with my logo on it is the only board that did not come from the sheet of plywood.  Carving the logo with the X-Carve CNC Machine was a last minute addition and I think it looks really cool.

Flashlight and Reciprocating Saw Shelf

This was a quick, easy, and fun project that adds some much needed organization to my shop.  These cordless tools were scattered everywhere, but now they have a home on the wall instead of on my work surfaces.  Thanks for checking out my project!