Quick Beginner projects for gifts

[BigguyZ]

So, this is my first Christmas after I've gotten into WWing, and I haven't even built anything other than my workbench (which isn't fully finished yet). So, what I'd really like to do is to make a few gifts for my family! But, what could I do that meet these criteria: Not too exprensive, Not too dificult to do, Doesn't take too long to do it, and has a general appeal (to soo speacialized), and lastly, something that I could learn to do from online resources.

Here's the toold I have at my disposal:
TS
RAS
BS (needs to be set up, but that shouldn't take too long)
SS (But it's really a piece of crap, and I don't know how to use it really)
CMS
ROS
Jet Mini Lathe
chisels (turning, standard marples)
Biscuit Jointer
Plunge router
Router in a lift (I need to build the table, but I've temporarily mounted it in the middle of a B&D workmate for now. Works OK for small projects where I don't need a fence)


Thanks for your help! This will allow me to actually get some projects under my belt, and do something nice for my family as well!

[final_t]

My two cents

Turn some pens, perfum spritzers, letter openers, etc. You can also turn some xmas tree stuff and small boxes.
Make pencil boxes for the kids - these can look great, and are simple. The sliding dovetail for the lid makes a good joinery job.
Got a coffee lover, or someone who likes Americana/Farmhouse style decorations? Handcranked coffee mill. You can knock this one out in about 5 hours or so.
Wooden clocks are also nice - either a simple plauque cut out in the shape of their state, or some other item (oval, fish, bear...)
I'd just keep it a simple and easy for you as possible, esp. if you have more than two or three people.

[BigguyZ]

How hard is it to learn to do pens?

I was thinking of bandsaw boxes too, but I don't know how diffucult they are to do.

[final_t]

How hard is it to learn to do pens?

I was thinking of bandsaw boxes too, but I don't know how diffucult they are to do.

Pens: depends on both the quality of your lathe tools and how much exp. you've got with them (spindlemaster rules). I've found that it's not terribly hard to do it, and quickly progressed from simple slimlines to more elaborite glueups and shapes. I have totally found that the finish process is where all the skill is really at.

Completly forgot about bandsawn boxes! Duh! Yea, those are easy if you've got a smaller blade and stuff. Lots of sanding, and I've managed to screw them up by forgetting to cut the back off first before cutting the drawer out! You can make them out of anything, even glued up strips of Pine. Big hit for jewlery people. I recall someone making one on here in the shape of three dolphins, so that can be done too.

[LCHIEN]

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...istmas+project

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...istmas+project

you might search for combinations of XMAS, Christmas project, present, gift, etc.
I know I and others have posted in the past but I don't have time to search them all up.

[JR]

I did some serving trays one year. They seemed to go over well and are pretty easy.

JR

[crokett]

Serving trays. Cut and/or glue up stock to the dimension you want. Chuck a core box bit in your router and use an edge guide to route the 'milk trench' around the interior. Switch to a spiral bit or straight cut but and rout out everything inside the milk trench. rout out the handles or add hardware for same. Sand and finish with food-save oil.

Cutting boards are simple and relatively quick.

Picture frames.

[RayintheUK]

How hard is it to learn to do pens?

Not very - here's a tutorial I did earlier which shows the tools required and the steps to take. HTH

Ray.

[John Hunter]

Picture frames are always a good gift.

[Wood_workur]

cut cubes of hard maple, and glue them up randomly into a cutting board. THat's what I plan to do.

[DeanKC]

Pens & Other Projects

New to this forum, but not to woodworking.

Several comments on your original post, BigGuyZ.

If SS refers to Shopsmith, my guess is that it just needs tender loving care to become the powerful tool that it's capable of being. Years of neglect will indeed turn ANY tool into a pile of dung, but most of them, if they were of any quality to begin with, can be restored to full function.

Pens are easy to learn to do. Easier if you have someone to watch once. Penn State Industries has a video available that's pretty fair. It used to be free with any order. If you have any lathe skills at all going into this project, you can do pens easily. Should take less than an hour from start to finish (pun intended) for most pen kits. You can take the slim-line kits, make the wood some other shape than slim-line--just so the clip still fits on it!-- and create a little interest for you and differences for your gift recipients. Fun stuff. Get a good, hard finish so that you don't end up with unhappy people from sticky or flakey finishes.

Another little project that can be fun is to create trivets. You can rout 'em or use your table saw (with or without dado set) to create simple trivets. You can blind rout 'em or through rout 'em. Cross hatch at 90º. If you make trivets that fit on your Jet mini (10" diameter), you could also use your router or saw to put a cross hatch on the bottom to give a really interesting pattern.

Hope it helps.
———————
DeanKC

[BigguyZ]

By SS I meant Scroll Saw. Maybe that's not the designated abbreviation?

I think I may look into doing pens. Seems like a good deal. Only issue is the startup cost with the tools. Also, I've never turned a thing in my life!

What kind of finish should I use, and how in the world would you apply it?

If I wanted to try a BS box, what size blade would I want to go with? I think I have a 1/2" blade on there now, anything smaller I would have to special order due to the saw's odd size (110"). I don't think I'd have enough time if I had to wait for a blade!

[DeanKC]

I'm new on this forum, so SS may indeed be the right abbreviation here. Owning both a SS and a SS (scroll saw or 3 and a Shopsmith), it could be confusing.

Tooling? If you have no lathe tools, and no basic supplies, yes, start up costs can be intimidating. If you look at what could be construed as ROI (return on investment) however, you might be pleasantly surprised. If you're going to make 10 pens as gifts, no, this is not a good thing. You're going to drop maybe $30 investment in tools & equipment for each pen! If you plan on creating 100 pens over a couple of years, all for gifts, you're talking a $3 investment per pen for the first 100 pens. Plus actual pen kits and blanks of course. A friend says, "Woodturning, like golf, is not for the faint of wallet."

Finishes for pens. Talk to 20 penturners and you're going to get at least 21 answers! There are a number of finishes that work well. For the newbie turner, you want to go with a commercial liquid friction polish. Behlen's Woodturner's Finish is not a bad way to go. It seems to be a little harder than some, and handles touching better than most. It's not as sensitive to hand-heat (death to shellac finishes) as most. Hut's Perfect Pen Polish is a synthetic wax based finish that also does fairly well. Lots of turners swear by it. For more experienced turners, and those who want to spend the $$, you can also finish your pens with CA glue. This one takes some experimenting and some patience to learn. Also gloves to make sure you don't stick to the work or your lathe. Buy a bottle of debonder before trying, and keep it CLOSE to the lathe. One of the rules of woodturning is never glue yourself to anything you can't lift or drag.

Bandsaw blade sizes for boxes. Depending on how small you want to get, you'll use either a 1/8" or a 1/16" blade, whatever your saw can handle. With the narrower blade, you can turn some great corners for smaller boxes. If you use the 1/16" blade, however, you may need to get special support blocks for the blade. Woodcraft offers same day shipping for orders place by 2pm. They also have Olson blades in 111" sizes down to 3/16"x10tpi. Timberwolf can provide you with blades direct from their factory. I'm told their service is stellar. Call 'em at 800-234-7297 to see what kind of turn around they can offer you. Since they are the manufacturer, they'll tell you what they have on their shelf.

Curious: what model bandsaw are you using?

Hope it helps.
———————
DeanKC

[BigguyZ]

I'm using an old 1 1/2 HP Grizzley 14" Bs with 6" riser. the manual lists a 98" blade length for the saw.

[JR]

I'm using an old 1 1/2 HP Grizzley 14" Bs with 6" riser. the manual lists a 98" blade length for the saw.

That doesn't sound right. it's usually 105" after the riser is installed. You might want to measure, just to be sure.

JR