Friday Fun Foto

Let’s take a fun trip down memory lane. The date? June 2002. Location? Corpus Christi, TX.

This was my first wood shop. Not nearly as roomy as my last one but it was workable. Our 2 car garage also double as general storage. I had to pull the tools and projects out of the garage to work on them. Working outdoors in the sun was not fun, especially in the middle of summer in Texas. And rain meant no work, period. The little table saw was my first one. I’ll tell you about Sheba in my pet share on Tuesday 2/24.

The frog house was the first project I completed using finger joints. The gizmo (or jig) to the right side of the frog house frame is a box joint jig.  This allows the user to make very precise, evenly spaced cuts on the ends of the boards making the interlocking finger joint. This project required the fingers to be 1/4″ wide.

The fingers are a bit long by design. The protruding fingers are sanded smooth after the joint is glued. This technique is much quicker than attempting to cut the fingers to the exact length.

After sanding, the corners are perfectly aligned.

Next I cut a six-sided polygon (hexagon) and made support pieces so the hexagon would appear to float in the center of the box frame.

I intentionally omitted a top support so there would be a useful seat for a frog. The back is open so the small spaces inside the frog house would seem larger. I did not want the frogs to get upset because of crowding. At this point the frog house is complete and ready for the finish coat of polyurethane.

Here is the finished project, complete with frogs and a couple of bears. The frog house was made for a friend who worked with me in the Education Department at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi.  Rebecca loved frog knick-knacks and had them scattered around her cubicle. I am glad I was able to make a home for her frogs and other critters.

Thanks for stopping by, y’all come back now.

 

 

 

 

New Addition – New Shop

If you have been following our Casa De WagginTails Facebook page you know we have a new waggin tail in the family. Say hello to MeiLing. On Facebook she was introduced as MeiSong but that did not seem to fit. MeiLing works better.

MeiLing is a 9 month old Chinese Crested who came from a breeder who is transitioning from Chinese Cresteds to Poodles. We landed in Pipe Creek, TX on Wednesday 9/26. Friday 9/28, I drove Carol to San Antonio where she met up with her sister Donna from The Happy Traills. Together they drove to Tomball, TX to pick up MeiLing.  She is cute as a button, very quiet and calm and loves to play like a puppy. And most important, she is house broken.

She loves our fur babies and is a good blend for our family. Patches our cat is cat is doing a pretty good job of teaching MeiLing how to leave cats alone. MeiLing just thinks Patches is another small dog.

Qianna will be going to her new home on Monday. Our Corpus Christi daughter & grandson are ready for a new addition to their family. Gage is old enough for added responsibility. They are coming up to Pipe Creek to visit us this weekend. We will miss Qianna but she will be going to family and is close.

Today was my first day at work. First I need to remind you what my wood shop in Corpus Christi looked like. This photo was taken a couple of weeks before out estate sale in November 2011 so things look a bit messy.

This is my new workshop. The door on the left is the intake area. Furniture to be restored comes in this door. The double door on the right is the spray room where the stripped and repaired furniture ends up for staining and finishing.  Can you make out two bay doors in that middle section? Those doors open to the workshop.

And here is an inside shot of the workshop. This is the back wall of the shop.That large thing on the let is our clamp rack. Pretty cool.

This is the front wall.  The tall  bay doors opens to the middle section of the building. The shorter bay door opens to the intake area and wood rack.

Speaking of wood rack?  Smells real nice. Walnut, Cherry, Quarter-Sawn White Oak and other goodies. Sweet!

Well, that’s it for today. Tomorrow Laura and Gage come for the weekend. Saturday is Market Days in Bandera. Looking forward to a cool time.

Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now.