Custom Fire Hall Birdhouse (Pt. 2).

Time to Add...

Several more details needed. First up...

Time to add the front porch.

Signage and wall decor coming up as well.

Please link to Custom Fire Hall Birdhouse (Pt. 1).

Photo GH

Custom Fire Hall Birdhouse (Pt. 1).

Firehall at Colbourne and St. James, London.

[Photo: Now, that's an interesting shape to try to copy!]

A firefighter is retiring soon and I've been invited to build a birdhouse that resembles his favourite hall. Hmmmmm.

My favourite hall would be one that resembles a standard birdhouse, but I'm giving the project the green light (and red lights, like the ones over the front door, as above).

Work in Progress:

Paint is dry. Time to add a roof. 

 The roof works. Time for a few more details.

More to follow.

Please link to Custom Boat House (5).

Photos GH

Little Library Taking Shape (Pt. 1).

Busy Times Ahead in the Shop.

[Photo: The base, sides and triangular faces (roof supports) are in place]

Now that the work and sales related to Gathering on the Green #1 have been completed - all tents have been folded and carted away - I can work on two solid projects during June, hoping to have both completed by the end of the month.

The 'little free library' is Ottawa bound, the lovely city already home to a GH Swap Box. 

The white pine barnboard - one inch thick - always cuts, sands and stacks up nicely. Because recent models have been very hard to load into the back of my Honda Civic, I have reduced the width and depth of the main box by 1 - 2 inches, still leaving ample height, and room enough for a shelf and loads of books to share with residents in one's 'hood.

Photos from along the way:

 The stock for the base and four sides makes a heavy load on its own.

 Shelf and door get a lot of use, so I use primer before two coats of paint.

Tongue and groove white cedar creates a durable, water-proof roof.

A long list of jobs remain - re trim, paint, signage, attaching the door - but the finish line is in sight.

More to follow.

Please link to Little Library - Ready to Roll.

Birdhouses and More for GOG1.

Taking Up Skate Boarding?

[Photo: Cedar feeder. Skate board. Cedar for a frame. Shoe stretchers.]

What do all of the above have in common? They are each at the centre of an unfinished project.... maybe.

The feeder only needs a few nails and a bit of trim. So I bet that will be ready for Saturday's sale. But the skate board(s) and the rest of those items have got me thinking outside the box. I may only have time for one extra project. What will it be? 

Stay tuned.

Finished Cedar Birdhouses -  

 Log cabins with varnished and painted roofs

 GH-Style cedar houses, each with a free birdhouse for skeeters.

Please link to Western Cedar Birdhouses for GOG1.

Photos GH

Western Cedar Birdhouses for GOG1.

Gathering on the Green is Coming Soon.

And I'll be ready with Log Cabins and GH-Style Houses (GH above).

I am participating in fewer craft sales for a variety of reasons. I am making more 'little free libraries' and 'swap boxes' and 'custom orders' - always busy with a special project - and I like going for walks and runs six days per week (The Beatles even wrote a song about it!) and I like to travel and do more research and ride my motorcycle and enjoy Key Lime ice cream in Port Bruce and I'm getting older and, and, and.... and if I follow this line of reasoning my head will explode.

That being said, finished birdhouses will drop off the end of the assembly line this week for London's Gathering on the Green, a major-league crafters' sale. I'll catch them, dust them off for a photo, then stack them on shelves in the basement, ready for GOG1 (and 2).

GH-Style: Caught and Dusted and Photographed - 

 Western cedar box with a varnished plywood roof.

Solid cedar support at back. "It will be hanging up in two minutes!"

 "Don't throw out your wooden spoons. Call me."

Please link to The Shop is Open, Already Dusty.

Photos GH.

The Shop is Open, Already Dusty.

Western Cedar Boxes Rule the Roost.

[Photo: Six log cabins should be ready for the weekend.]

One may think I have had a late start in the workshop in 2018. And one would be correct.

But it's all part of the master plan to do less wood - working and more word - working as the next few years go by. Fewer illustrious birdhouses, more informative books about my Dad's navy days and other related topics. 

That being said, I still have a half-ton of western cedar in the backyard and it's easy to make plans that don't get off the ground! So, the transition may take more than a few years : )

Western Cedar Log Cabins -

Coming Up Next - 

Six western cedar models with flat roofs - the GH-style box.

More GH-style houses can be seen here.

More photos from "along the way" and of finished projects will follow.

News at 11.

Please link to Last Projects 2017 (8)

Photos GH

Little Library - Ready to Roll.

First of 2018, Not the Last.

[Photo: These libraries are big and sturdy and heavy : )]

I'm going to have to start working out!

I have grown the libraries to their optimum size. If I grow them any bigger I won't be able to lift them or pop them into the back seat of my Honda Civic for delivery.

I'm thinking about shrinking the next model - due end of May or June - by one inch in every dimension, and will see if that helps. Otherwise, it's back to the gym for me!

Now, back to a six-pack of western cedar birdhouses.

More to follow from The Workshop.

Please link to Little Libraries in Progress (5).

Photos GH