Welcome to Woodworks Made Easy

Practice any art, however well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to find out what's inside you.
--- Kurt Vonnegut

Pictures are meant to be self explanatory, and for visual clarity you may
click on each photo to enlarge. For older projects see Blog Archive. I don't specialize on a particular genre so there is quite a variety of projects for a number of different interests.

Even if you are not a woodworker but you like some or all of the projects, have your local crafts person make them for you from the ideas and photos you see here. For a particular project just click the specific title on the Blog Archive list (right side column below).

For anyone willing to learn or begin to do woodworking for the first time, please read first from the Blog Archive, "How and Where to Begin a Woodworking Hobby.

And it is not for men only. Read my note on "Women in Woodworking" from Blog Archive, April 2010.


click on each photo to enlarge


Saturday, December 10, 2022

Web Of Cards

My wife has progressively limited several of the physical activities she used to be able to do since she was diagnosed with Parkinson's. However, the occasional card game that we regularly play with two other couples is one of the few exceptions.  The name we have for it in Filipino is awkward to pronounce for native English speakers, so our seven-year-old grandson came up with an alternative name for it.  He calls it the "Web of Cards" game. He and his older brother and their parents visited us a couple of weeks ago.  We introduced the game to them and they enjoyed it. And now we call it, "Web of Cards".  But, what has woodworking got to do with it?  

I came up with a woodworking project to make playing the game a little easier for her physically even though it is pretty much a mental game. (I will touch on what we know about Parkinson's at the bottom of the blog). Now, I'll have to say that seniors, retirees and those "high rollers" in nursing homes may benefit from this because not all can comfortably handle multiple cards fanlike as I demonstrate below. And "Web of Cards" requires handling 8-13 cards at the start of each game, depending on the number of players. I count my fortunes to still be able to fan the cards like so, all throughout the game.



The game, which will be explained later, requires that each player  must play a playable card when it is his or her turn. Every now and then, with that many cards in one hand, a player inadvertently skips playing a  card and "pass" simply because he or she misses spotting a card in a hand.  Well, a card stand shown below will present the cards in clear  "panoramic" view.



I started with some leftover 2 X 4 stock lumber and flattening one edge at the jointer.


I ripped 1-1/2 X 1-1/2 workpieces



The Prototype

"High rollers" that we are, I envisioned incorporating coin receptacles for quarters, dimes and nickels.  After determining the appropriate sizes I proceeded to drill. 



With the table saw set to 15 degrees off the vertical, I cut a  saw kerf a half inch deep which will slot the cards like so (below).  Before cutting to final length, I showed it to my wife.  She decided the coin receptacles were way too fancy, yet not too helpful with maneuvering the coins in and out.  In other words, her message was, "Keep It Simple S .." (referring to the popular acronym, "KISS", the last word being six letters, not four, just to make sure no one strays into the gutter)


And so it is that I decided to make a few more for her to pick from.  Each ever so slightly different from the next one.  But I decided to finish the prototype, anyway. 

Shown below, gluing up the end caps.


Sanding ..

Below, routing the channels from two opposite sides which, critically for seniors' hands, serve as finger hold for a secure grip when moving or carrying the stand.


.. finishing with polyurethane
  



Fanning the cards might seem easy but not when trying to hold them all together while picking one card to play, and resetting without dropping any of them.  Better than setting dominoes?  Or Mahjongg even. Also known as Mah Jongg, or alternatively, Mahjong.



She now has few to choose from, including the prototype, in case she changes her mind.



Rules of the game:
1) Cards are shuffled. The dealer, picked initially as having drawn the highest card from a pile, distributes equal number of cards. For six players, remove the King, leaving 48 cards (52-4).  48/6, means each player gets eight cards.  If only four players are playing, each one gets thirteen cards, using the full deck, of course. For odd number of players, remaining cards, face down in the "kitty" will be drawn by players  who pass, one at a time, until all the kitty cards are gone.  See Rule 2 on the "Pass".

2) At the initial start, player with the six of clubs must play it face up on the table. Player to the left (in a counter clockwise rotation) may play either a five or seven of clubs or another six of the remaining three suits.  Not having any card to play means to "Pass" and pay a penalty.  Did I mention we are "high rollers"? The penalty is a dime for every pass.  And, before I forget, the ante at the beginning of each deal, is a quarter. "High rollers", you can tell, by now. 

3) All the cards must be played.  The first one to finish wins the pot.  Which by then could be a staggering $3.75, or thereabouts. Quite a windfall, even for high rollers.
4) However, if the winner ends up playing his or her last card as a six, the player gets an extra two quarters from each of the other players. This is rare because the stars and planets must line up just right for it to happen, not the least of which is having that last six by itself in his or her hand to begin with (the only way for that to happen). But, in every game, there is a strategy involved as each player must think of every possible advantage to be the first finish. 

5) Subsequently, after the first deal, the winner will serve as dealer (shuffler and distributor of the cards).  The person to the left of the dealer must play first.  That person must have a six (of any suit) to start the play. If that person does not have a six, then the rule of the "Pass" applies and therefore must pay the hefty penalty of a dime.  The game continues per the rest of the rules.

Several years ago all of us three couples started getting together with potluck lunches that typically extended all the way to dinner (there is always so much food).  What started as a July 4 potluck (first couple hosts it because their backyard and pool allows for an IMAX view of the fireworks in their city).  The second couple then decided to host a crawfish boil that would also begin with lunch and then on to dinner.  My wife and I host the Superbowl party, which also starts at lunch until kick off time at after five p.m., followed by dinner at half time.  This would include the inevitable football pool, at a "High Roller" exorbitant standard of $1 per square, all the squares divided among the total crowd of six people.  Later, we incorporated this card game to fill in the hours between lunch and dinner, after we realized there is only so much we can talk about - our lives now an open book to each other.

That is the origin of the "Web Of Cards"

Now, to the not-so-ecstatic subject of Parkinson's.  My wife does not have the external tremors that are the typical symptoms of Parkinson's, notable in Michael J. Fox, who by the way is doing an incredible job, as a high profile celebrity, of focusing the spotlight on this disease. My wife, however, has what is described as internal tremors. It comes and goes in the course of the day, everyday, when what she feels is akin to anxiety but not really. She does not exhibit the typical trembling or shaky hands or legs, which are common external symptoms of Parkinson's. The trembling is effectively inside, felt internally that is, so that if she's sitting down or just standing still, no one can tell she has Parkinson's.  However, from sitting down, she would make very short, jittery steps at first until she can walk steadily and normally, but slowly, of course. 

She has chronic pains that are associated with Parkinson's by way of muscle-skeletal spasms. Long walks are difficult to do.  Obviously, she no longer drives - something she did since her early twenties.

The good news, we might as well have one, is that Parkinson's does not seem to affect longevity and mental acuity.  While it is mostly associated with  ageing, Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with it at age 29 (now 61); so are a few other high profile personalities.  My wife's doctor told her that her oldest patient is over ninety years old and many others in their eighties.  Our dentist tells us he has a ninety year old patient who still comes for his dental needs and check ups. 

Obviously, it is a progressive malady but there are medications to alleviate the symptoms.

We're crossing our fingers and pray and remain hopeful that she will continue to enjoy the "Web of Cards".  I am happy to shuffle and deal the cards for her; her win record is right about where everyone is.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Grow Light Redux -Another Scrap Wood Project

Early this year, this  project was for an LED, full spectrum RBG - "red, blue, green", grow light. Well, there was one tiny bit of a problem. It was too low. It could not swivel.  So .. let's re-do! 

Let's increase the height, allow for a limited swivel, just so the light can be adjusted to the true vertical orientation.  Keep the arm and lamp holder, change the base, using some scrap wood, old lumber, and  some of the leftover plexiglass from an earlier project. 

Scrap from tips of raw but seasoned lumber


Even the tree barks will be used ..


..including old and faded red cedar fence planks



I was going to use the jointer; might as well run a few more boards for later use


A combination of the old scrap and bark




Drill the necessary connecting holes



Marking the 15 degree, 1/4 X 3/8 groove near four corners of the base



Bronze set up blocks make for an accurate depth and width cut on the table saw; miter gauge at 15 degrees.


The arm from the old base had to be cut, using a thin-blade Japanese saw


Smoothing the saw marks from the edge of the cut plexiglass on diamond sharpening stones



Glue up of the legs - 2 walnut, 2 plexiglass, using CA glue and spray-on hardener 


Using the same illusionary effect, at quick glance the base would seem to stand only on two legs.


 
Finished component parts; rewiring for the RBG grow lamp




The marble table came from a dear neighbor. I needed only to construct the base and legs, which was the subject of an earlier project.

Now, let me make sure the reader is aware that RBG light bulbs are commercially available, economically priced, and using only ordinary desk or free standing lampstands/holders will allow for lighting up corners for houseplants where bright light may not shine sufficiently.

However, this is a woodworking blog, so it is that the reader may be inspired to use his or her imagination to create something else.  A camera tripod, perhaps?  Or just the bottom of a shelf to hold a grow light over what's below?

 

Monday, November 7, 2022

Water Feature Anyone Can Do

Water features like the one you are about to read are much too simple to not  even try.  Whether it is as elaborately regal as the one in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas or one using a Home Depot bucket, or one in between, such as the one here, all operate with one simple principle.  A submersible pump at the bottom circulates the water up and down - coming up as either a fountain, or a water spout or a gently bubbling rivulet on the surface of  stones or slate.  At the bottom of this musing is one not-so-crazy idea worth looking into.

Anywhere from a ten-watt water pump (online choices at economy prices) to a few hundred horsepower pumps in giant fountains, will provide that hard-to-ignore but pleasing sound of water in motion.

What surprises the most is that it does not need a large volume of water in a reservoir to make this feature work.  Even a Home Depot bucket needs only 2-3 quarts of water, enough to submerge the pump, for it to work. For most home applications the ideal container could be a half wine barrel (or a whole one, if preferred) that can be purchased from most home centers. Wine barrels provide that vintage, unique look and affordability.  

The photo below is a commercial one.  A Home Depot bucket will look like that. Further below shows why this water feature is also called a "disappearing fountain".  This can definitely be a mini project, limited only by one's imagination.


 The water that seems to disappear below the stones actually re-circulates back up to the bowl through a PVC stand pipe and a small pump below.

I've discussed this feature in our home before in a prior blog but  it has to be revisited because one day it just stopped working. It was seventeen years ago when I did the project.  It means, alas, that I was then 17 years more limber than today.

After removing all the surface stones and the support grate and screen, the bottom with the rubber liner is revealed. Obviously, a bucket or other containers will not need a liner.  A wine barrel surely will.  Rubber liners can be purchased online as well.  The woodworking part is actually beneath and behind the liner, which served as the framework and support for the rubber to remain in place.  The grate is hard plastic that is also available at either home centers or water garden stores.  The grate will support a person's weight.


Below is the old pump that stopped working.

The new replacement pump (all black, left of photo) is next to the old one. 

But lo and behold when I tested the old pump in the kitchen sink, it still worked!  What happened, perhaps, was that there was just not enough water depth, which means not enough pressure "head", to prime the pump. Water depth is invisible from the top when covered with surface stones.


I had a decision to make.  Should I keep the old one?  I did. It was made in USA vs. the foreign made one (guess where?), so I stuck with the old one.



I put the grate back and started to replace the stones.


The screen provides a flat barrier to hold tiny pebbles from falling through the grate.



Well, it was all worth the back breaking effort.







There is something soothing and calming about water bubbling up over the surface stones, specially during those quiet moments.  Note: it is best that the reservoir should have water only barely above the pump.  That allows for water coming back down more space to travel for that classic water drop that reverberates in a hollow chamber.

For a sample of how the water feature looks and sounds, click the link below:   There are many others on YouTube.  

 https://nelsonwatergardens.com/disappearing-fountains/

 


Now, here is a not-so-crazy idea. Order a grate, shown below, a rubber liner and a 30-50 watt pump.  Dig a hole in your backyard to the approximate dimension  of the grate (actually, make the area slightly smaller).  Put the rubber liner, covering the bottom and sidewalls of the hole.  Install the pump, with a PVC stand pipe just barely over the grate.  Put stones on top.
YOU NOW HAVE A DISAPPEARING FOUNTAIN!!


Background story:

{I told this story before.  When we purchased the house in 2005, there was a hole in one corner of the living room. Apparently, the previous owner had the great idea of a little water feature that involved water to flow out of the top of the big stones into a tiny pond.  The idea was great except that the porous rock would get soaked that ended up wetting the floor as well.  So the previous owner decided to put dirt over the hole for plants to grow.  Without the necessary grow lights that idea too did not work.}

That was the reason why I did the water feature project.  Plus the fact that the home insurance company was adamant that the hole needed to be covered. That's the reason too that the grate must be able to support a person's weight.