Sidebar Conversation - 40k Subscribers, Drumhead Frame, Cornhole Boards, Fan Repair, Video Woodworkers Booth

I haven't done a Sidebar Conversation in over 2 months, so here's a quick shop update about something awesome that just happened, plus I follow up on my most recent projects.

This week my YouTube channel surpassed 40,000 subscribers!  Thank you all for subscribing to my channel and watching my videos.  I really appreciate it.  I look at the number of subscribers as a reflection of the content I produce, so it's a neat feeling to know that so many people appreciate what I do.  We could fill up the UConn stadium and have a party!

I was hanging out with Nick Ferry a few nights ago and he mentioned we were going to reach this big round 40k number on the same day, so congratulations to Nick as well for this accomplishment.  Check out Nick's woodworking channel and subscribe.  We both started with zero subscribers years ago and somehow ended up here.  Below is one of my favorite project videos from Nick.  His Table Saw Sled design is full of awesome ideas and he has a complete tutorial with plans available at NickFerry.com.  I got to meet Nick in person at WIA 2015 and he's a fun guy to be around.  His passion for providing great content is inspiring.

Drumhead Frame - In my last video, I framed a drumhead that my son kept from his big day marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last year.  I posted a picture of us holding it on Instagram with a GSU hashtag and it ended up on the jumbotron at the recent Georgia State football game.  Too funny!  (Now I know what hashtags can be used for.)

Cornhole Game Boards - The cornhole boards I made for my niece's wedding were a big hit.  All of the guests signed them.  Now I need to test some different clear coat products to see which one will protect the Sharpie ink without making it run.  I will be making a video of this test, so watch for that coming soon.

Fan Repair videos - Did you see all of the fan repair videos?  Matthias Wandel and John Heisz showed me how to fix my fan that was stuck.  After fixing it with 3-in-1 oil, it worked for a few days then got stuck again.  I took it apart and cleaned it up, and sprayed it with Blaster Silicone Lube and it is still spinning great.  I recommend that stuff.

Video Woodworkers Booth - The next booth will be in my hometown of Atlanta on April 1-3 at The Woodworking Show.  I would love to meet you in person if you can attend this show.  Visit VideoWoodworkers.com for updates and information on who will be there!  I'm looking forward to hanging out with Nick again at this event...I think he's going to visit my shop too!

If you are new to my channel and stumbled upon this Sidebar Conversion, please check out some of my other videos and subscribe!  I usually make fun woodworking projects on my wife's side of the garage.  Here's a picture of me with my buddy Nick, photobombed by Chop with Chris!  LOL

Framing a Drumhead from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

My son Matthew marched in the 2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Georgia State Marching Band and he was given the Macy's logo drumhead he played as a souvenir.  Watch me make a shadow box picture frame for the drumhead and see his reaction!

I never noticed before that all of the marching band drummers in the parade use drumheads with the Macy's logo on them.  That's pretty cool!  I'm so proud of my son and the GSU marching band for all of the hard work and effort that went into being a part of this legendary parade.

The drumhead is 14" in diameter and about 3/4" thick.  I made the frame pieces out of a standard pine 2x6, and they ended up being 1" wide x 1.5" thick.  This allowed just enough room for an 1/8" groove to hold the front plexiglass, and a 1/4" rabbet on the back to hold a backer board, with about 1" of space in the middle for the drumhead.

I used hot melt glue to stick the metal rim of the drumhead to the backer board.  This worked great and I think it looks nice with no visible fasteners.  Also, this method did not damage the drumhead in anyway and it can be easily removed later if needed.

I printed some 4x6 pictures from the parade and attached them with spray adhesive.  I also made a plaque on my Inventables X-Carve and attached it with hot melt glue.  I wanted the letters in the plaque to be black, so I sprayed it with black paint then removed the paint from the surface.  This method worked great.

In this video, my son shows up at the 1:50 mark.  He is the snare drummer with the beard standing right in front of the camera.  (That's him closest to the camera in the thumbnail.)

This video shows Georgia State's televised performance.  It's unbelievable how much practice, hard work, and organization goes into preparing for just a 2 minute performance.  The band practiced several months leading up to the parade.  Just the logistics of getting the whole band and all of their instruments to New York City seems daunting to me.  Thanks to COOP3R DRUMM3R for posting this video on his YouTube channel.

Congratulations to my son and the Georgia State Marching Band for a job well done.  You made us proud!  Go Panthers!