Welcome

Welcome to the Workshop 3

 "Lots of frost on the shop window in March"

On March 8 of this year I posted the above photo - and right away I bet you noticed a difference concerning the weather then compared to today. As well, there is a difference to the left of the door to the shop.

Instead of two pieces of driftwood w brass items attached, there are three. The pieces of driftwood comes from the same location, i.e., The Spit, just across a small bay from the town of Comox, Vancouver Island. The new brass anchor comes from the town of Courtenay, a mile away from The Spit by water.

"There is still room for more decor beside or on the door"

"Cheers to The Spit and the men who served there during WW2"

My father trained new recruits or ratings on Navy cutters and landing craft at The Spit during the latter half of WW2 (e.g., in preparation for D-Day Normandy) and two weeks ago I returned from a useful trip to the area with driftwood and the anchor in my luggage.

Souvenirs. Mementoes. Welcome to The Workshop.

Link to Welcome to the Workshop 2

Photos GH

Five Cedar Rustic Birdhouses

New and Rescued Lumber

["Stock for four more cabins and five basic BHs"]

This batch of cedar birdhouses was first mentioned, briefly, while I was working on 7 log cabins from rescued lumber. One can see a short stack of faces (fronts and backs) sitting off to the right in the above photo. The log cabins were finished earlier in the week, and the 'five basic BHs' or rustics were finished yesterday.

Now it's time to show them off a bit:

 [Faces are new cedar fence boards. Roof slats are rescued western cedar]

 [Sides are two pieces of rescued cedar. Base is 5" x 6" scrap plywood/other]

[Front edges of roof are covered with neat, thin trim

in order to hide butt ends of roof slats]

You got off easy. When I worked on six triplexes last month I posted at least a dozen sets of photos about the process.

[The sides are attached to the outer edges of the front and back faces;

the butt ends of the sides are hidden by thin strips of cedar trim]

Where did I rescue such lovely western cedar for the roofs, sides, trim, and some bases? I will say from three separate sources, at least, and the main source was Joe Flagler, a fellow who renovated his dock in Fenelon Falls and thought of me when he heard the cost of sending old cedar to a landfill site was going to cost a great deal.

Though I paid $500 to have the old cedar shipped to my backyard, I saved Mr. Flagler at least $1,000 and have already paid for shipping with the use of only a small handful of the boards. I say, rescuing good lumber will pay dividends.

Have you rescued materials or cast-off items that paid you dividends? Tell me the story. Send a photo.

Cheers,

GH 

Link to Welcome to the Workshop 2

Photos GH

Welcome

Welcome to the Workshop (2)

One shop philosophy (it came to me while puttering at my workbench after retiring from a very busy and 32-year long career) I generally adhere to is 'go slow and enjoy the view'. Another is 'use rescued lumber whenever possible'.

Good, useful lumber can be found sitting at the curb, leaning against trees, in peoples' trash, at landfill sites and hundreds of other places. I don't find it embarrassing anymore to ask a person, "Are you throwing that lumber out?"

[I cut logs for the four sides from and old cedar fence post]

[Roof, chimney, and other trim = rescued. The wee pot is new]

My blog is just an easy-going job site where, 90% of the time, I will share photographs and a few details about sturdy, functional and sometimes funky birdhouses. Over time the 'click on HEADINGS' box - in the right-hand margin - will reveal other types of projects too. Be patient at all times because I like to work slowly and when 5PM rolls around I like to take a break and celebrate Happy Hour. You might even get an invitation.

Questions, comments and information about your own workshop and projects are always welcome.

Please link to finished projects on display at my former busy blog - Birdhouse London

Please link to Welcome (1)

Photos GH

Welcome

Welcome to the Workshop (1)

I've had a workshop in my backyard for about ten years now and have likely completed over 1,000 small- to medium-sized projects, from birdhouses to chairs and 'little free libraries', which are neither little nor free.

Many projects begin with a simple sketch and are finished once I've added enough trim to prompt me to say 'voila'.

['Full-on trim day' is coming up]

You will find photographs, some details about the steps I take concerning a project - from start to finish - and a word or two about the materials I like to use.

One shop philosophy I generally adhere to is 'go slow and enjoy the view'.

Questions and comments are always welcome.

Link to more from The Workshop, at my former busy blog.

Photos GH