Tag: design

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Popular Woodworking Editors Blog: Your Guide to Butt Hinges

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Stamped vs. Extruded vs. Cast hinges • Inexpensive hinges are usually stamped out of thin steel or brass plates. • Extruded hinges are molten metal forced into a die under high pressure. They are thicker, sturdier and more expensive. • Cast bronze hinges are among the most expensive — bronze is melted and poured into a mold, resulting in a perfectly smooth surface and perfectly aligned pins. via Your Guide to Butt Hinges.   Some great information on type, countersinks and placement of butt hinges.  Check it out.   Make it safe & Keep the Rubberside down this week! Continue reading Popular Woodworking Editors Blog: Your Guide to Butt Hinges

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Check Out the Shutter Table Project on Recyclart.org

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Recyclart.org is a site dedicating to showing off recycled and salvaged projects from readers around the world.  If you’ve followed WodoshopCowboy for a while, you know I make the most of the Houston ReUse Warehouse’s offerings.  Here’s another shot at how my boys and I used louvered shutters and fence posts to create some pretty sweet little coffee tables last semester.  Check it out there or at the original post here… Remember to make it safe, keep the rubberside down this week and like WoodshopCowboy on Facebook! Continue reading Check Out the Shutter Table Project on Recyclart.org

Classroom Project, Education, Outdoor & Environmental, This Week In the ClassroomLeave a comment

This Week in the Classroom: The Poor Man’s Tripod (For Taking Panoramic Outdoor Pictures)

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My school is undergoing a little bit of construction…and by a little bit, I mean a cool of five mil of construction.  We just needed a little documentation of the facts. I’m going to use this photography stand (and yes, I walked around with my shirt like that all day)… I put a 1/4 coarse threaded bolt through a board, flipped it around and stuck it into the post.  You can see the crossbeams at the bottom giving the piece a little stability. …and the results are pretty spectacular. Make it safe & keep the rubberside down this week.  Remember … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: The Poor Man’s Tripod (For Taking Panoramic Outdoor Pictures)

This Week In the Shop2 Comments

Woodworking Plans: The Kid’s Bed Frame

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Last year, I posted a quick project: The Bed Frame.  It has since become the most searched for post on this website, garnering a little over a thousand views with no publicity.  People like to build beds. It’s taken a while, but I’ve put together a small PDF which outlines how I make my simple bed frames.  You can catch the goodness here:  The Kid’s Bed Frame Plan If you build it…send me pictures at woodshopcowboy @ gmail.com!  If you have critiques, send them to a different address…I mean, send them over too. Remember to like WoodshopCowboy on Facebook and … Continue reading Woodworking Plans: The Kid’s Bed Frame

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This Week in the Shop: Locomotive Bed

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One of the neat challenges in designing furniture (and teaching) is the need to get outside yourself in the middle of a private act.  I think putting oneself in another’s shoes, no matter the context, is one of the most civilizing things humans can do.  Because before I was a father, before I was a husband, before teacher, and before I was a craftsperson, I was a selfish, selfish toddler.  And if you ask my wife, the toddler in me isn’t that far below the surface. When I designed my Simple Bench, I had one eye on my eventual audience. … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Locomotive Bed

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This Week in the Classroom: Block Printing & Stamps

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As my students have become more competent with tools in the past few years (and cripes, does it feel weird to say years…) I’ve gotten the chance to think:  what would be really cool to do next?  What would be just flat out awesome? Here’s my answer:  wood & lino prints designed by the student, for the students work.  My summer crew churned out about 30 different wood projects and many pieces deserved something special.  In the third week, I took the plunge and bought $80 worth of tools.  We spent the next few weeks cutting as many designs as we could and experimenting … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Block Printing & Stamps

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This Week in the Classroom: Swingin’ Chalkboard Signs

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Here’s a few shots of a project build I did a few months ago.  The challenge was to build a recycling container from completely recycled materials.  I picked up some nice crepe myrtle branches and immediately saw a V shaped stand with a small basket to collect recyclable goods. To bad we never did finish it.  We got all the way to the crossbeam.  Spring break came with all the lassitude of a wilted Texas flower in August.  We never stood a chance. Eventually, I snookered a student into repainting an old cabinet door into a chalkboard sign.  Then I parked … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Swingin’ Chalkboard Signs

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This Week in the Classroom: Boomerangs and Chalkboard Slates

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Two projects really took off this summer – chalkboard slates and boomerangs.  The boomerangs, of course, took off a little bit more. Back in the fall I built a bike barn.  It’s more of a third-world shanty, but it housed the bikes and kept them sort of organized.  Either way, I picked up a large number of cedar shingles as a roofing material.  Time got away from me – I never roofed the barn.  Instead, I used the shingles to create these cool little chalkboard slates.  I used an exterior paint as primer, then covered them in green chalkboard paint. … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Boomerangs and Chalkboard Slates

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Book Review: One Block of Wood by Nina Tolstrup

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This spring, a sweet little book fell into my hands.  Nina Tolstrup, an UK designer (she owns studiomama, a design firm).  Her projects include lamps, scooters, wall planters, book ends and card holders – all out of One Block of Wood. Ms. Tolstrup’s eye for function and style dovetails nicely with her habits of simplicity.  While not every project is truly made from one piece of wood, each project involves a minimum of cuts and a maximum of flexibility.  As a woodworker, I appreciate her style – as a teacher,  I appreciate her clear directions, beautiful visuals and simple construction.  I’ve used … Continue reading Book Review: One Block of Wood by Nina Tolstrup