Les Paul Electric Guitar Repair

The guitar player in my band had a broken Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar.  The headstock was completely separated from the neck.  It had already been repaired once before, so he was ready to salvage it for parts.  I decided to use my woodworking skills to try something new and challenging, and attempted to repair the guitar myself.  This is my first experience at repairing a guitar neck.  Check out the video to see if I was successful!

Tree Limb Coat Rack

A relative sent me a picture of a Tree Limb Coat Rack and asked me if I could make one. When I get shop time, I'm usually focused on shooting my next woodworking video, but this looked like a fun project. 

I had pruned a maple tree a few months ago and the branches were still in the back yard waiting to be burned. I grabbed my cordless reciprocating saw and went to work. I cut about a dozen Y-shaped sections from the branches and took them back to the shop.  About 3 hours after seeing the initial photo, I was able to turn out this really cool Tree Limb Coat Rack!

Here are the steps I took to make this:

1. Cut the bottom of each branch so it stands up on its own without falling over.
2. Trim the protruding hanger branches to a good size for hanging coats and hats.
3. Stand the branches up on a 3/4" board and space them out.  Make sure the branches do not extend past the back edge of the board to keep them from hitting the wall.  My board was about 2.5" wide.
4. Glue and screw the branches to the board. 
5. Cut the tops of the branch pieces parallel with the bottom board.  (I used my table saw and ran the bottom board along the fence while the blade trimmed the top of each branch.)
6. Glue and screw the top board onto the branch pieces so the ends line up with the bottom board.
7. Cut two sides to fit and glue and screw them to finish the frame.

Make a Wooden Vase with a Bandsaw

This wooden vase is fun to build if you have a bandsaw.  The process is very similar to making a bandsaw box.  It's intended for artificial flower arrangements, but you could add a glass insert to hold water for real flowers if you are so inclined.

If you make your cuts carefully, you could end up with two vases from one block of wood like I did.  I made these using a Western Red Cedar 2x4 from Home Depot and some Southern Yellow Pine pallet wood.  If you like making bandsaw boxes, then you will love making a bandsaw vase too!


Watch my video of this project and if you would like to make one, download my free Bandsaw Vase Plan (PDF).  Don't forget to send me a picture...I'd love to see it!

Palletable Wine Racks

I finally got around to using the pallet I've been storing in the workshop since last Spring.  I had a special request for a pallet wine rack, so I was able to squeeze four of them out of a single 48" x 40" pallet.

Cutting apart the pallet was the easy part.  I just drew some lines where I wanted to cut and use my jig saw to cut it into the four wine racks.  I used my table saw to rip about 1" off the bottom of the front board of each one, being careful not to hit any nails.  Then I inserted some scrap plywood pieces for the bottom of each bottle section.

I cut some plywood strips for the glass hanger boards and attached them to the bottom.  I made a pattern so I could space the glass hanger slots out evenly.  The extra 1" I ripped off the front piece allows for the bottoms of the glasses to slide in.

I brushed on polyurethane to seal the wood and that gave the wine racks a nice golden color.  These were fun to make and I plan to hang one in our dining room.  I will sell the others and use that money to fill mine up!  Cheers!

 

Cedar Organizer Trays

This matching set of organizer trays is made from reclaimed cedar fence boards that were gray and weathered from being outside for about 20 years.  A few passes through the thickness planer cleaned them up nicely and made them about 1/4" thick, which is perfect for projects like this.

The overall dimensions are 12" x 16".  The front piece is 2.5" tall at the top of the arch and the back piece is 3.5".  The sides are 2" tall.  The bottom is a thin piece of plywood that sits inside grooves around the bottom of the sides.  I cut the dividers to fit and glued them in.  It is lined with self-stick felt from the craft store.

I hope the recipients of these organizer trays enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.  And, I hope the wood enjoys being inside for a change.

Nordy Rockler Video Contest Entry!

Here is my entry for the 2014 Nordy Rockler Video Contest that is being held on Facebook.  The topic this year is "How are you inspiring the future generation of woodworkers?"  If you would like to see all the entries and vote for your favorite, CLICK HERE!