Its really starting to feel like Christmastime. We set up our tree and did a bit of decorating yesterday. How are your Christmas gift projects coming along? There is still plenty of time, but dont forget shipping time if you need to mail stuff. Heres are some more ideas to get you started!
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Heres a clever book stand from Don Johnson. I love the simple, yet functional nature of it. Plus, it can easily be shipped flat.

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Small keepsake boxes make great gifts. Especially is you can find something special to put inside! Here is a 5" x 7" box made by Dan Pompe. Beautiful detailing.

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Intarsia! Love this sleigh by Randy Cosgrove. 

Randy also made this scroll sawn piece designed by Sheila Landry. If you arent familiar with Sheilas work, now is a good time to plug her web site. She is the scrollsaw queen and has tons of patterns. Check them out!

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You probably remember ????? ????????? (Nick) and his guitar a few weeks ago. Hes back with this photo-transferred gift box. Its really a great box and a fun technique.

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Mere Minutes

Finally, AJ (AJswoodshop), over on Lumberjocks noticed my new TV in my snowflake video. He was also observant enough to notice that moved my planer over to my rolling cart — which works out much better — and asked to see more in a Mere Minutes video. Well, I actually shot a video about my TV last week but decided not to post it. Well, here it is after all. 

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Around the globe on a Saturday more wooden wall maps

 A month ago I invited you to create your own wall hanging showing off where you live and post a video response.  The videos are still rolling in! Here are a few more.  (Or you can see them all on YouTube.)

Colorado. (I knew someone could get creative with a rectangle!)West Virginia.Nigeria.Georgia.Oregon.New Zealand.

Picnic tote

Next weekend, (September 1-2) is Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. It has become the unofficial start of Autumn and we tend to mark the occasion with picnics and barbecues. So I thought it would be fun to make a project that can easily be built this weekend and used next weekend.
It was a stroke of luck that a couple weeks ago, viewer Fred Wiegand send me some pictures of a neat little tote a friend of his was using while out camping. The best thing is that the design is simple enough that it can be easily modified.
I didnt really care for the elongated handle and decided to add a round hole in the back for lifting. I also thought it would be nice to add some storage for plastic utensils. But as I began building the project and playing around with these modifications, I was struck by the simplicity of what I was making and ditched those plans.

While trying to figure out a way to glue the middle panel onto the dowels, it occurred to me that it didnt need glue. In fact, it works better with a sliding center divider. That way you can press it against the napkins to keep them from blowing away.
Funny how projects often work themselves out in the shop rather than on paper. If you ever get stumped, try just diving into a project, even if its only partially figured out.
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????? ????????? (Nick) in Greece sent me pictures of a guitar he decorated with photos. Using Mod Podge is a great technique for certain projects. Definitely a custom job! Nick took the time to rub this out to a nice glossy finish.

And heres a totally cute video explaining the technique:

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Breaking down plywood

Dealing with cumbersome sheet goods is one of the least pleasant woodworking tasks, but something most of us encounter. A 4 x 8 sheet of plywood is very heavy and nearly impossible to cut on a table saw unless you have a really big set-up.
So the trick is to figure out a method to cut the sheets down to manageable sized pieces closer to the sizes needed for your project.
There are many ways to do this. Mostly you just need to figure out how to physically move the full sheet without breaking your back or worse, chipping the plywood edges! I like to cut plywood as soon as I buy it and use my truck as a workbench. After loading plywood into my truck, I rarely have to lift it again.
I then like to set up a straight-edge and make rough cuts, usually a half inch greater than I need, using a circular saw. I have also had success using a jig saw. The idea is to get the pieces small enough to square up on my table saw.
Here are the rip guides I use:
Empire Level 900 edge cutting guide
Kreg Rip-Cut
Accu-Rip
This video is my contribution to "Get Woodworking Week" over at Toms Workbench, a whole week of links and articles just for beginning woodworkers. Check it out.
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Scroll saw box and more on the redwood

Ive basically been puttering in my shop today with no clear idea of a project to make. I decided to try and make the worlds tiniest band saw box. Well, maybe no record, but its a pretty good exercise using my scroll saw, not a band saw. So I guess its technically a scroll saw box. I just finished gluing it up. Later Ill sand it and finish it. Heres the rough box:

And the drawer:

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I want to do something with this cool chunk of redwood. If you have any ideas, let me know. Have any of you carved large chunks into something? Im thinking about getting an angle grinder and giving it a shot on this.

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Wood bits

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Answering viewer questions

Mere Minutes

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