Tag Archives: gift

Dalek-Human Hybrid Gun

IMG_1842Once upon a time, my friend Pete said, “You know… I don’t really give a damn about props, but if I could have one prop, it would be that Dalek machine gun from that one episode of Dr. Who.”  At least, I think that’s what he said.

20130904_042223I managed to find plans online that a clever gentleman created so that he could machine the parts from layers of MDF on his CNC machine.  I converted them into .dxf format so that I could lase them out of thinner layers of MDF and accomplish the same end.  Got them cut out on the laser, except for the pieces that were 1/2″ thick (too thick for speedy cutting on the laser).  I used the laser to quickly draw the pattern on the surface of the wood, then cut it out on the bandsaw.

Bending the MDF around the drum magazine was pretty hair-raising.  I’m just going to throw that out there.

20130905_034625Applied a trusty coat of battleship-gray to the whole thing, except for the grips.  The rear grip turned out really, really well. It was laser-cut birch ply which stained well and looked like actual grips.  The front grip, however, was made from cheap pine, had a poor grain pattern, and didn’t take stain well at all.

20130907_174244Applied some metallic rattlecan silver and gold for accents over the top of semi-gloss black.  Covered the whole thing with a coat of matte sealer (which would start to flake off weeks later).

Mom’s Keepsake Box

IMG_1282Welp, here it is.  The reason I started woodworking in general.  For Christmas, I wanted to make mom something, so I decided on a jewelry box.  I didn’t like any of the plans I found online, so I decided just to make one from scratch.  Doodled up some blueprints at work, then got down to business.

The box is Cherry with Walnut lid, base, and edge accents.  I routed a very wide groove along the sides to accommodate laser-cut panels glued to the sides.  The oval emblem on the front had two cut passes; the first pass was to cut out the emblem, and the second pass cut out an expanded oval that I could use as a template for the guide bushings on my router.

IMG_1281The lid is a Walnut frame surrounding thin Oak ply with a Rosewood veneer inlay.  I cut out and glued a mirror pane onto the underside of the lid, and added a chain to keep the lid from flopping back too far.

I also lined the inside of the box with navy blue velvet, which I did after I took the picture at the top of the post.

Lessons Learned
There’s a lot of wasted space under the drawer, and the box sits taller than I’d like.  I should have made the Walnut part of the base shorter, and eliminated the gap between the bottom of the drawer and the walnut base.  Maybe making the box wider or deeper would make it feel not so ‘tall’.

I picked up the least-intrusive handle I could find, but in hindsight I probably should have used a dresser-style hanging pull that would have sat more flush with the front of the box.

The Triskelmoon Hoard

IMG_1274I have a friend who is fond of dragons, so for my first foray into box making, I thought I’d make her a dragon-themed box.  I found a sizable assortment of vectorized dragons online and chose a few to use in the project. I also figured that this would be excellent practice for making a keepsake/jewelry box for mom.

The box is made from cheap Pine obtained at Home Depot.  The sides were shaved down to accommodate laser-cut panels that were then glued to the sides and front.

IMG_1278The lid inlay is Walnut veneer glued into a corresponding laser- etch so it sits flush with the lid.  The corner filigree work on the lid is etched, and you can plainly see that the etching is textured where the laser couldn’t quite penetrate the growth rings.

The whole thing was coated with semi-gloss polyurethane, and sanded between coats so that it feels mirror smooth.  I also glued a deep indigo velvet to the inside of the box and the inside of the lift-out tray.

Lessons Learned
How to build a box out of wood.  Using the laser to make veneer inlays.

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