Make a Coffee Mug Rack

It's Thanksgiving here in the USA and I'm thankful that my beautiful wife parks her car outside on the driveway so I can do woodworking on her side of the garage!  Watch the video below of the Coffee Mug Rack that I made for her to show my appreciation.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here to enter the MicroJig Giveaway!

I purchased two 8-foot 1x12 pine boards from the home center for this project.  After it was completed, I had about 4 feet of 1x12 left over.  I assembled the Coffee Mug Rack using brad nails and wood glue.  Below are the basic steps to build this project.

Click here for a parts list and assembly diagram!

Step 1:  Cut two sections of 1x12 into smaller pieces so they are easier to work with.  One piece should be 23.75" and the other 26.5".

Step 2:  Cut four 1.25" wide strips from the 23.75" board for the vertical end pieces.  Cut eight 1.25" wide strips from the 26.5" board for the vertical middle pieces.

Step 3:  Cut twenty-five pieces that are 4.25" wide and 6" long for the shelves.  Cut two pieces that are 1" wide and 6" long for mounting cleats.

Step 4:  Sand all of the pieces prior to assembly.  Use 4.5" and 5.5" long spacer blocks to assemble the Coffee Mug Rack according to the picture.  Note that the height of the shelves alternates between these two sizes.  Attach mounting cleats underneath the top of the two tallest columns of shelves.

Step 5:  After the glue has dried, apply your choice of finish.  I used spray lacquer.  A spray finish would be the easiest to apply.

Step 6:  Mount the Coffee Mug Rack to two wall studs with screws or bolts.  The rack will be heavy when filled with mugs, so it is important that you mount it securely to wall studs.

Fill the rack with your favorite coffee mugs and enjoy a cup while you admire your work!

Shop Tour 2014!

Welcome to a tour of my woodworking shop!  My workshop is on my wife's side of our two-car garage.  My side of the garage has our gardening equipment plus my drum practice room.  When we bought our house, we could park both cars in the garage, but now they live outside on the driveway.  Enjoy the tour!

Make a Pencil Holder for Your Workbench!

If you are like me, you are always losing your pencils.  Here is a quick and easy Pencil Box that you can make for your workbench so that you can always find a pencil.

My pencil box is about the size of a 5" cube and it's made from a cedar fence board.  I started by cutting 45 degree bevels on both sides of the board.  Making these bevel cuts before cutting the board into the four side pieces saves time.

When cutting the four sides, I used my MicroJig Grr-Ripper as a spacer between the fence and the board to make accurate, repeatable cuts.  I pulled it away to make sure the workpiece did not get trapped, then I used it to drag the piece away from the spinning blade.

I made two passes on my table saw to cut a dado in each piece to accept a plywood bottom.  The depth of the dado is about half way into the piece. 

Before assembly, I sprayed the interior sides with lacquer being careful not to spray the glue surfaces.  I used electrical tape as a band clamp to hold the pencil holder together while the glue dried.  The electrical tape stretches and pulls the joints together tightly.

It is nice to have this Pencil Holder on my workbench so I can always find a pencil when I need one.  Now I just need to keep it filled with sharpened pencils!

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!