The newest piece to walk out of my home workshop. A dining bench up-cycled from a bed frame. If you are interested in seeing plans, drop a line to me, my contact is below. Make it safe & keep the … Continue reading This Week In the Shop: Dining Bench Made from Upcycled Bed Frame
My new “little” project obsession: try squares. These guys mark boards square. That’s it. All they do. The try, not tri, comes from the act of “trying” an angle to see if it’s square, not three, or tri. This slideshow punctuated by a few of my favorite song titles, puns and lyrics in no particular order. These tools come together quite easily. First, I rip a 2×4 into 1/4″ or 3/8″ inch thick strips. Then I flatten one side of the strip using a hand plane. After checking each strip for flatness, I rip the piece again on my … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Try Squares
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
Since I moved into my new digs in April, my shop has undergone a number of changes. I blogged about the move-in and of course I went and changed it immediately. First, a couple bright spots. Not long after I unloaded everything I realized two very important things about home ownership. One, you can put holes in whichever wall you want, where ever you want, when you want. Two, it’s expensive. But not these lights. Remember to buy the bulbs and make sure you wire’m up according to fire code. I’m a midnight rider now. My new bench looks a … Continue reading This Week in the Shop: Plywood Storage & Lights & New Workbench
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
Students with autism, people with neurological disorders and people with two eyes and ears and a brain often need a place to talk. For my students with autism, the act of conversation can be harrowing, heartwrenching and terrifying. On a … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: The Conversation Bench
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
A few shots of the shutter table project. My students & I created these (there were four completed tables) tables using up-cycled window shutters & salvaged fence posts. Finished with spar urethane. Pocket hole joinery throughout. Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Up-Cycled Shutter Coffee Table
I ended the year with an exploration of music. I used xylophones, pendulums and windchimes to explore frequency, wavelenght, pitch, volume, etc. I probably should have found a way to incorporate physical waves, but a trip to the beach was out of the question and I met disaster in my attempts at building a wave pool. We did, however, create a pretty sweet 2×4 xylophone and frame. Make it safe & keep the rubber side down this weekend. Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: 2×4 Xylophone
For the past three spring semesters (way back to my work at Citizen Schools) I have led a team of students in the design and construction of an Art Car. An Art Car, if you don’t know, is an embellished vehicle of some sort. Last year, I ran a sharkcar, the year before, a gatortruck. This year, I received permission to use the school bus. We run our car in The Houston Art Car Parade every second Saturday in May. Of course, whatever I did had to be removable. Nothing like a challenge. Over two months my students designed, cut out, painted … Continue reading This Week in the Classroom: Art Car
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