Make a Wooden Crown from a Log

I've had a few small cedar logs in the shop for a couple of years, but could not decide what to do with them.  When Dominic Bender announced his Challenge Tree event, I took this opportunity to transform a cedar log into a Wooden Crown!  Check out my video of this project.

Freshly cut cedar makes the shop smell great!  I'm not a fan of the powdery dust though.  Wearing a mask or respirator is a must when working with cedar.  Also, cedar is very delicate and thin pieces crack very easily under pressure.  Glue and sawdust makes for easy repairs.

The trickiest part of this project was making all of the top pieces of the crown fit together.  I used a template to cut 60 degree angles at the top of each piece.  My cuts were not perfect, but they were good enough to glue it together and cover with a wooden disc for stability.

Cedar looks very dull when it's unfinished.  My favorite thing about working with cedar is the moment when I apply the finish.  I sprayed the crown with MinWax Lacquer and the colors in the wood just exploded and the project came to life!

This was a really fun project to make and I loved being creative with adding the diamonds and finial.  Please comment and let me know what you think.  If you would like to make one of these yourself, click here to download my FREE template!  Send me a picture of your crown - I would love to see it!

Christmas Ornament

I created this fancy Christmas Ornament on my lathe for the 2014 Christmas Ornament Challenge hosted by Carl Jacobson and Alan Stratton.  I usually only turn pens, so this was definitely a new challenge for me.  Watch my video submission below.

I started by cutting 5 pieces each of red cedar and curly maple that were 2.25" wide by 4.5" long.  I glued them together, offsetting the ends by 3/4" to create a diagonal block.  To make it easier, I glued up two blocks of 5 pieces, then glued those together later.

Once the glue dried, I cut a 2"by 2" turning blank from the block on my bandsaw.  Since I would be mounting it on the lathe between centers, I cut two centered shallow grooves into the end of the blank to help the drive center get a better grip.

I used a roughing gouge to turn the blank until it was round.  Then I alternated between my roughing gouge, bowl gouge, and skew chisel to begin shaping the ornament.  As a general rule, I think things look more pleasing to the eye if they are in groups of three.  So, I turned three triangular shapes that get progressively smaller toward the tip.

On the top of the ornament, I turned three coves that mirror the three triangular shapes.  I also added a little bead at the top where I could drill a hole and tie a string for hanging.  I sanded the ornament smooth and turned both ends down to about 1/8" thick.  I stopped the lathe and cut the ornament away with a knife.

I think it turned out really good for being my first time turning a Christmas Ornament on the lathe.  Best of all, my wife loves it and she wants me to make some more!  Yippee, that means more shop time for me!  Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  

Click here to see all of the 2014 Christmas Ornament submissions!

What Is It?

I almost did not make a video for this project because it was just a simple little box, but I liked the story that surrounded it.  It gave me a chance to connect with my second largest group of viewers in the United Kingdom, and to express my appreciation to them for viewing my woodworking videos.  I find it fascinating that a small-town Georgia boy like me can end up connecting with people all over the world through a woodworking YouTube channel.  It really is a small world these days.  Plus, I like candy!

Mustang Garage Shop Sign

I was commissioned to build this sign as a gift for a Ford Mustang fan.  The backboard is made from 3/4 oak plywood and painted Ford Blue.  The mustang intarsia logo is cut from Southern Yellow Pine using a bandsaw and scroll saw.  This was a fun project that required lots of patience!

New Clown Candy Dispenser Video

My daughter Evelyn helped me make this video of our new Clown Candy Dispenser.  It's for a contest put on by Underground Woodworking and WorkshopAddict.com .  Thanks to Underground Woodworking for this neat idea for a woodworking project for kids.