Tag crafts

How to Make a Pen from Start to Finish

Here’s a 20-minute video of the entire pen-making process — everything from selecting the wood to preparing the blanks, through to turning the pen on the lathe, finishing it to a shine, and assembling it. Virtually none of the process…

Rubber Band Gun

Okay, let’s get some parenting concerns out of the way first: I believe that a rubber band gun is probably one of the safest ways to teach a kid a bit about gun safety, partly because it actually shoots something…

A Few Turned Pens

Here are a few pens that I made for Christmas gifts this year. (I can post them now because everyone’s received them!) Click the image for a larger view. From left to right, there are two pens turned from holly,…

A $6 Custom Branding Iron

Some woodworkers like to leave their mark on their work using a branding iron, but at roughly $190 per iron, it can really be quite an investment. I took a less expensive route, using some free software, and a genius…

Bubinga and Maple Ice Cream Scoop

I picked up several of these scoop kits at Rockler a couple weeks ago to use as Christmas gifts. I used bubinga and sugar maple, and finished it with tung oil. This handle feels the best so far — both…

How to Make a Tutu

There is an excellent tutorial posted by bethany at the Vermillion Rules blog that describes precisely how to make a little girl’s tutu with only some elastic strap, a few yards of inexpensive and easy-to-find tulle, and no sewing. (I…