Flowerpot Window Box

Flowerpot Window Box

Boy, was this fun. What a great idea!

The client wanted a  window box for her plants but was unhappy with the traditional dirt filled trough seen everywhere in most neighborhoods.

Enter a plain plank board with holes sized to hold individual flowerpots.

The tricky part? If the plants struggle from various ailments they are quickly and easily removed to another location to convalesce while a healthy replacement potted plant fills the slot.

I offered to attach a faux valance style apron across the front and sides for a more traditional flower box appearance but she was content with the transparent exposed flower pot look.

Some of my best projects come from the creative minds of my customers!

Custom Built Cabinet With Shelves

Handyman Built Custom Cabinet

There was a time when it was possible to buy factory panel cabinet doors in a variety of sizes at the big box lumber store.  With these doors very basic, but stylish cabinets could be built from  a combination of cabinet grade plywood and said factory doors.

In this example the client had an odd size wall space of say, 34 3/4 inches. With two 16 x 24 cabinet doors and a plywood case sized to the aforementioned 34 3/4 inch space an inexpensive but attractive custom cabinet fit perfectly into the available space.

Carpenter Built Foot Stool

Handyman Built Footstool

 

Another basic project assembled with ordinary handtools. 

The foot stool body was cut with a  7 1/4″ circular saw out of a pine 2×12 blank from an ellipse laid out with string and two nails.

The edges were dressed with a handheld router roundover bit and decorative grooves were cut with a plain 1/4 inch router square bottom slot bit.

The legs were purchased off the shelf complete with metal attachment brackets.

The Classic Picket Fence

A Classic Stick Built Picket Fence

 

Another project from the Wayback Machine- a classic picket fence.

The homeowner was determined to have a stick built picket fence around his cottage bungalow in Historic Oakwood.

He enlisted me to assist as technical help.

I cut each diamond point picket, laid out the posts and he assembled the panels and installed all the individual sections.

A sturdy design for a fraction of the cost! 

Not available in stores!!!

Still aging gracefully some twenty years later!

Window Glazing ‘Explainer’

Handlettered by Mr. Louis Sitner formerly of Boylan-Pearce

 
From the wayback machine an actual pamphlet  from the day to explain Window Glazing.

What is window glazing?

Window glazing is the flexible putty in place around each pane of glass in your house. (Flexible in relation to the materials involved; most glazing compound feels firm to the touch) It ages gradually as the oils in the compound evaporate.

Putty properly sealed with paint can last indefinitely. Only when the seal is broken does the putty have a chance to dry up and become crusty.

Competent reglazing requires the removal of this aged putty and replacement with fresh putty. “Patch-up” glazing merely allows further moisture damage to the muntins in your window and often does not last as long as the paint work itself.

Explain the process of reglazing.

Over a period of two to three days the loose and weathered putty is removed from around each pane of glass, a linseed oil primer put down, and new putty installed.

The putty must now be allowed to ‘set ‘ for at least four days, after which it must be painted with at least one coat of high quality house paint.

A proper paint job must include a 1/16″ to 1/8″ bead of paint touching the glass that should not be removed.

I am happy to include an estimate to paint your windows as part of the glazing work upon request.

Only after the windows have been painted and the paint allowed to dry should the glass be washed with detergent.

Normal rain will not damage fresh glazing, but window detergents will remove the oils and cause premature aging.

With care and attention your windows will not only look like new, they will be like new.
Three major steps in the glazing process.

#1 #2 #3 #4

 

From left to right Sash #1 has been completely stripped of all damaged glazing.  Sash #2  has been packed with glazing compound and awaits  finish tooling with a putty knife.

Sashes #3 and #4 have been dressed to a factory equivalent surface and await  primer and top coat to complete the work.

For more Window Glazing Commentary, Information and Demonstration Videos visit the Window Glazing Archive CLICK LINK

A Very Special Baby Crib

 

Long ago and far away as friend of the Bride and Occasional Drinking Buddy of the Groom I learned after year or so of marriage they were pregnant!

Mom, as we now called the Bride, was unhappy with the commercial baby cribs available on the market.  She determined in her baby’s crib little fingers and toes would not be squished by any overlarge space between mattress and railing; balusters would be closely spaced to prevent any other mishaps of the young child variety and the overall design would be almost Shaker Style basic with no dangerous ornamentation or moving parts.

So Dad, as we now called the Groom,  dutifully ran out and purchased some very expensive furniture grade plywood and #1 Clear and Better Yellow Pine 1×4 and a mattress of the quality fit for a newborn and suggested I commence to cutting and sawing everything to size and plan because the baby would arrive in just a few short months.

And so I did.  The railing balusters were individually fitted with dowels and glued together into a solid panel. The mattress was a precision friction fit on all four sides and supported by a 3/4 inch plywood foundation.

Best of all, Dad then carefully hand sanded all surfaces and junctions and put a couple or three or four layers of clearcoat (baby safe) varnish everywhere.

It was one of my few ventures into “real furniture”.  The bouncing baby girl who spent her earliest days in this carpenter built contraption is today a comely young twenty-something lass who lives deep in the heart of Texas.

From The Wayback Machine- Window Glazing Projects!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the wayback machine- window glazing Wilson’s Outdoor Equipment probably 1988? 1987?

Understand window glazing the way I did it involved the complete removal of all loose and aged putty with sharp chisels which were resharpened two or three times during a job. That is what it took to remove up to 100 percent of the weathered putty.

New putty was dressed to Original Manufacturer’s Finish and primed and topcoated with genuine oil base exterior enamel primer and paint.

The need for a separate category of repairman was driven by painters who did not wish to learn the art of chisel work to remove old putty.

I did not paint houses and they did not use woodworking chisels to glaze windows. Nor did they wish to be bothered with the older technology of oil base paint.

Wilson’s is still there and the East side windows are in pretty good shape. The South side windows show more age from sun exposure, but still hold up well and do the job.

Labor intensive, time consuming, and completely replaced by new technology. As it should be. But it was great work while it lasted.

http://www.wilsonsoutdoorequipment.com/Default.htm

 

A different example: Completely Restored Fanlight

For more Window Glazing Commentary, Information and Demonstration Videos visit the Window Glazing Archive CLICK LINK

Radius Handrail

 

The basic radius handrail executed in redwood.

For the time it was pretty snazzy.

Nowadays this kind of stuff is made in ornamental iron.

Only in West Virginia-Corn Fed Deer

This has nothing to do with home repairs and the guy involved certainly is not what you would call “handy”, I just think it is funny as heck and post it here for others to enjoy:

Teaser Fair Use Excerpt:

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.

That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity.

A deer– no chance.

That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.

The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature
off the end of that rope.

 

LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLE

Two Track Sliding Panel Base Cabinet

Three Panel Two Track Cabinet

 

Another example of a built-to-order cabinet base made from birch plywood and clear fir trim.

Two panel doors slide on one track, the third panel door slides on a separate track behind the other two.

Interior adjustable shelves.