boot bench

I've been working on a boot bench since March. At least that's when I printed these plans.
http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/do-it-yourself/2007/09/boot-bench

I bought the wood in August or September, then did some cutting in October and then the bench got shelved for the previous 2 posts, among other things.

I modified the plans a bit. They tell you to buy a 36" stair tread and then cut off 1/3rd of it. Seems a bit silly to me, so I left it at 36". They also suggested using pine for the sides and base. I didn't like that idea so I went with red oak (because Home Depot offered red oak or pine stair treads) for the top and sides and pine for the base. I left the base pine because I thought it would be cool to use some leftover tile from our master bathroom project and use that instead. I figure that if we are going to put wet, snowy and dirty boots and shoes, why not make it something that a little more durable.


I got the tile idea from an art show we went to in Worthington over the summer. This guy did some awesome mosaics with mirrors and stands so I thought I could apply the mosaic idea here.


The above is where the mosaic will go.

The next step is to install filler plugs over all of the holes.

And I'm not going to paint it either. Red oak is expensive and to put paint on it would be a shame.

away in a manger

We put up our Christmas decorations Thanksgiving weekend. Amanda put up the nativity and said, "Gee, I wish we had a manger".

So last weekend I built this:


I used some leftover plywood for the base and sides and leftover masonite for the back and roof. I routered the base so the wisemen wouldn't cut their feet on the sharp edge.

garage storage solution

We needed to add some storage space to our garage to accomadate camping gear, kid stuff, strollers, tools and so on. I found an article that had some good suggestions and liked the angle bracket idea.
http://www.rd.com/easy-garage-storage-solutions/article17442.html

The angle brackets were the most expensive part. That was probably 85% of the total cost of the project. The hardest part was finding the studs in the walls. 16" on center, right? Sure.

The good news is we can still park both of our cars in the garage....for now.




Yup, that's the helicopter hung upside down in front of my parking spot.

Helicopter!!

The helicopter was finished in time for Xander's birthday and it was a hit! Here it is on it's maiden voyage. I did add a couple of handles on each side to facilitate easier access after this picture was taken and our neighbor painted a bumble bee on it and painted "The Stinger". I'll put more pictures up later with that.

THANKS MANDY FOR THE BUMBLEBEE IDEA FOR THE PAINT THEME!

As you can see in the picture below it is complete with a ceiling fan for the top propeller and 2 smaller fans for rear propellers. You have twice the turning power with 2 rear props. There is also a CB antenna for calling in backup (not needed with the flying ace pictured below).



Inside the cab we have fan switches up above and a telephone in the rear. The dash has the original steering wheels (I don't know what you call a steering wheel in a helicopter), original fuel and oil gauges, a video tracking device and another button.




A plexiglass windshield keeps the bugs out when you are traveling through hyperspace. It ain't like dustin' crops, boy!

more helicopter

This was last weekend when I started assembling the new helicopter by using the old one as a template. I borrowed my neighbors jigsaw to make all of the circular cuts and it was a lifesaver.



Our neighbors were throwing out a ceiling fan so it became the propeller.



The landing gear.


Another neighbor built a fence last year out of lattice. I used some of his broken leftover pieces for the rear tail.



I still need the rear propeller. I'm paying a coworker to fashion something for me. Hopefully he'll have that to me this week.



I started painting this weekend and put 2 coats on and realized that the plywood was going to suck all the paint up and I needed primer. So then I ran out and bought some primer and primed it. I need to put another coat on there then I'll go back to painting. It should look like a giant bumblebee when I'm done.

coffeetable

I fixed up a coffetable for Sergey. He built it last summer and the top wasn't sanded down enough so when it was stained it looked terrible. So I sanded it all down.


Xander helped too.



And put 3 or 4 coats on the top surface, 2 or 3 on everything else. It turned out pretty good.

helicopter updates

While completing the helicopter tear down I found the turbo's under the seat.

Whew! I thought they were lost! They were also there with a mighty huge mouse house. Full of dirt and poop and stink. Those boards will need replacing.


Today I spent the morning buying new parts and using my new (craigslist) table saw to make the back, top, and bottom pieces. I had to borrow my neighbors jigsaw to make the round cuts for the sides. I tried using the router for the windows in the back wall and they turned out terrible and I had to recut the back wall. A jigsaw was my only option. The sides don't match perfectly, but neither did the originals.


Tomorrow I plan on assembling the cabin and maybe build the skids.

Oh, and the only thing I was able to keep was the pvc. Plastic lasts forever, plywood doesn't. I thought I might be able to keep the steps, but I realized that even those are rotted out.

And thanks Mandy for the paint theme idea! I'll go with the bumblebee colors. I'm going to try and commission the neighbor lady to paint a tough looking bumblebee on the sides.