Step 2: Autobots Transform

    Step two of the pallet project was all about transforming the pallet wood into something new. I had to create a proof of concept to make sure that the TV stand would come together the way I imagined. Above you can see some mini slats that came from trimming off the damaged sections of pallet wood. I used a table saw to cut them down to size. Finally the planer shaped them into same-sized mini slats.

Using some Elmer’s Wood Glue I put a few of the mini slats together and clamped them tight. It was a very foggy day in Nashville.

After the glue dried I sent the block through the planer on all sides to level it out. This is going to be the process I’ll use for the rest of the project. To give you an idea… the top of the block pictured here will be the left side of the section highlighted below.

Unfortunately it takes about 3 slats to make an inch. I’ll need about 20 inches to complete the highlighted section. After waiting 30 minutes per slat for the glue to dry I’m working on a faster method! The good news is that as I add slats the differentiation in the wood keeps looking better and better.

Step 1: The Breakdown

In the past I’ve tried to make use of old pallets. Today I finally started my long overdo TV stand project. The goal is to take apart old pallets and use the wood to create a nice “modern” piece of furniture. I’ll try my best to document the process along the way. The design was made using Google SketchUp 8(a fun little tool). Next I checked Craigslist and found a few people giving away pallets. I watched a couple of videos on YoutTube to learn how to efficiently deconstruct a pallet and harvest the wood. Taking them apart was a bit tougher than expected. Fortunately my dad owns a sledgehammer so I just bashed the shit out of them. Below you will find the rough sketch, the first crop and the first harvest.

             

Return of the Brick

I recently traveled back in time to my younger years when I went over to my friend Justin’s house to take pictures of his Legos.  For quite some time we have discuss putting together a large scale stop-motion feature film since he has such a large, high quality collecti0n.  In preparation of our stop-motion venture I decided to make some Lego Star Wars propaganda posters to practice my photography/Photoshop skillz. To the left is a rough draft of my first project. My plan is to make a set of three and have at least one be all about the Ewoks…

Forget Flowers. Forget Jewelry.

Last year I tried my best to successfully combine Mandy’s Valentine’s Day and Birthday present into one BA sewing table.  The video above is a montage of cutting, gluing, shaping and clamping the table.  My favorite section is the edge of the tabletop that I made using the router Mandy gave me for Christmas.  Click here to see some of her first sewing creations.