Beware Of Monkeys

I had a short day today. I think I got too hot yesterday and just couldn't do much today. It is hot here in Mississippi. All of you in hot climates, be careful. I passed out in the shop last year. I'm trying to avoid that this year by drinking extra fluids, smart placement of my fans, and taking it easy when I need to.
This sign, as soon as I seen the pattern for it, made me think of my kids. So I stuck it back just for  quick and easy project on a day like today. I downloaded the pattern from Steve Goode's website, Scrollsaw Workshop.

The Birmingham Clock

I enjoy building clocks very much. This is the first one I've done in a long while, and as usual, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is made of cottonwood and mahogany and finished with shellac. It's hard to tell from the photos, but this wall hanging clock is sixteen inches wide and thirty seven inches tall. That is large for a wall hanger.
The plans for this one came from the Berry Basket Collection. You can purchase the plans here if you'd like to build it yourself. The name of the clock is The Birmingham Clock. According to the plans, it is supposed to have a clock insert in it. However, I always like to use simple clock movements and design my own wooden faces, as I done on this one.

Don't Like Cops?

Ok, so I was having a terrible day. I'm talking about one of those days that every step felt like some kind of cruel torture. I had to get to the shop and do something though. So I needed something I could do sitting in my chair.
I remembered this pattern I had downloaded from Steve Goode's website, Scrollsaw Workshop, a  long time ago. I used Inkscape to enlarge it to fourteen by seventeen inches and cut the letters into the wood using a palm router.
I think this one is just hilarious. Go look through Steve's pattern catalog. You'll find all kinds of great patterns. If you can afford it, I always ask people to donate to his site if you like and use his patterns. He keeps that site going with extremely informative videos and free patterns. He does it all in his on time and on his own dime.

Pagoda Towers

Until a couple of days ago, I had never heard of the game, pagoda towers. A lady contacted me on Facebook about making this for her. Her grandfather used to play this game with her and she'd been looking for one for a while. So I made it for her.
The stand is made out of pecan, while the blocks are made of oak. It is finished with Johnson's Paste Wax. I made this out of pieces out of my scrap bin.
The object of the game is to move the pieces, as you see them in the photo, to a different peg. When you are done, they have to be just like you see them, stacked with the largest piece on bottom, moving up to the smallest. You can use any of the pegs to move the pieces one at a time. The catch is that you can never have a piece above a piece smaller than itself. Yes, that make it a little harder than some of you were thinking, doesn't it?

Kentucky Stick Chair

This is something I have found out has been around forever, but I have only recently come across. A friend of mine that lives over in Louisiana told me about them and directed to the plans. The plans can be seen for free at the BuildEasy website, or a PDF version can be bought for five dollars. I suggested the bought plans because they are in an easier format to print and carry to the shop with you.
These are not hard to build. They only consist of three two by fours ripped into sticks and various hardware to hold them together. Once assembled, they are extremely strong, but also comfortable.

 Another great feature of these chairs is that they fold up for easy carrying and storage. I have made two of them now. One I made out of simple yellow pine and treated with Thompson's Waterseal. The other I made out of pressure treated pine. The untreated ones are quite light. The pressure treated ones do have some weight to them and may be a little on the heavy side for beach goers.

Truck Mailbox

Ever since I made a custom mailbox for our house, I'd been wanting to make a couple of different designs for sale. This is my first attempt at it. It is simply a standard mailbox with wood attached to it and painted to look like a truck.
This was one of my favorite type of projects. What I mean by that is the plans I used. I used none. I simply drew straight onto the wood I was going to cut and sort of made it up as I went along. I enjoy working that way sometimes.
I hope to do some other designs in the future. I'll have to wait and see if this one sells, or even gets any interest for that matter.