I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas. Most of all I hope you finished all of your Christmas Projects in the shop. I can tell you we were in a push in our shop all the way up till Christmas Morning. I keep saying I am not going to do that, but I have a hard time telling anyone I can't get it to them by Christmas.

 

But It was a great year for us in the shop and in the past couple of weeks we finished these projects and got them all out alone with a few that I don't have pictures of right now.

 

First out was this Cherry with Red Velour lining that was shipped to VA. I am hoping to get a picture from the customer as it was to hold a Civil War era pistol that he was giving as a gift. Now that is special.

 

 

Then we finished this Natural Cedar Chest that was a Christmas gift and was also shipped to a different customer in VA. I know it made it there, but I haven't heard from them as if it was okay when they removed the crate.

 

 

Then I finished up this Cherry TV stand. They had one of those hutch type TV cabinets and got a really big flat screen. They removed the top hutch but wanted to keep the bottom. I was ask to build a shelf that would hold the TV and provide room for the sound bar to slide under the TV and match the color of the old cabinet. I hope I did a good job matching this up. She liked it and that was important.

 

 

 

We finished up a Cedar Green Egg table that was picked up early Christmas Eve morning heading to a family gathering in Mississippi. Weather was not cooperating with me on this one. It rained all day several days before Christmas Eve and the humidity was up and finish was not drying like it should. I was out in the shop till 1:00 am putting the final finish on the Cedar Green Egg Table.

 

 

And while I had those in the works we were also working on this Cherry Cedar lined chest. This is going to be a toy box for a one year old and later a piece of furniture for her.

 

Here it is in the natural state finished as far as the build.

 

 

I loved this so much I almost finished it natural. But I put the Antique Cherry Dye on for a finish. If you have never used dyes, let me tell you they are great. They even spray on really good. This Cherry had lots of curly grain on the front side so it has some darker look to it. But in good light, it really pops.

 

 

 

So now that Christmas is over we are going to take a little time off from building and clean and rearrange the shop. It has shown us we need a different traffic pattern in the shop.

 

So how about the rest of you Patriot Woodworkers, what is on your agenda now that Christmas is passed? Are you playing with the new tools you got, rearranging the shop, planning your next project and just getting some between holiday rest? We here at TPW love to see all of your projects and hear all about them.

 

Please post your projects and tell us what you are working on between Christmas and New Year.

 

I'll be checking back to see those projects your finished!!

 

 

 

 

 

John, I love all the work you have here, the one that stands out  for me is your cherry blanket chest. What a wonderful piece of work, I know what you mean by leaving it natural, but ya, sometimes ya just gotta color it up! That dye is wonderful stuff for sure and easy to use. Did you use the water based dye or alcohol?

I love the skirt design you have on your chests, very classy and simple, I love the simple lines, and I can see your affection for shaker coming through loud and clear in your blanket chests.

The blanket chests strike a chord with me, I just love em, the history behind them, the stories, what folks keep in them.

Did you know the blanket chest, or the keepsake chest was the predecessor to our chest of drawers we all enjoy today? Yep that's right, back in the day the single chest was all they used, then some crazy woodworker decided to stack a another chest on the base chest, and bam, you gotta chest on chest with drawers!

Here is a great write up about that subject, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chest_of_drawers

Thanks for sharing, and oh ya! I have a little woodworking project this weekend, my son received an Estes Rocket from Santa, and it has wood fins on it (does that count?), we are going to put that together this weekend and get it launched. He has been collecting the rockets since we bought him one last year, they are fun to launch.

Going to turn a couple of gavels from the "Old Jail" beams

Going to turn a couple of gavels from the "Old Jail" beams

Now if that aint woodworking justice! How cool is that! Are they going to a particular judge in your area?

Going to turn a couple of gavels from the "Old Jail" beams

 

Now that is really cool. The old City Jail is a floor above where I work, but no wood beams there. Everything is steel.

John, I love all the work you have here, the one that stands out  for me is your cherry blanket chest. What a wonderful piece of work, I know what you mean by leaving it natural, but ya, sometimes ya just gotta color it up! That dye is wonderful stuff for sure and easy to use. Did you use the water based dye or alcohol?

I love the skirt design you have on your chests, very classy and simple, I love the simple lines, and I can see your affection for shaker coming through loud and clear in your blanket chests.

The blanket chests strike a chord with me, I just love em, the history behind them, the stories, what folks keep in them.

Did you know the blanket chest, or the keepsake chest was the predecessor to our chest of drawers we all enjoy today? Yep that's right, back in the day the single chest was all they used, then some crazy woodworker decided to stack a another chest on the base chest, and bam, you gotta chest on chest with drawers!

Here is a great write up about that subject, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chest_of_drawers

Thanks for sharing, and oh ya! I have a little woodworking project this weekend, my son received an Estes Rocket from Santa, and it has wood fins on it (does that count?), we are going to put that together this weekend and get it launched. He has been collecting the rockets since we bought him one last year, they are fun to launch.

 

 

Thanks John,

 

I used a water based dye. W.D. Lockwood is the company I got the dye from. They have been in business since 1895. I met a fifth generation woodworker in Kentucky and that was what he used. It just has this beautiful color to it. The dye on the chest is Natural Antique Cherry no 911. It runs $7.20/oz and an oz. makes two pints, but it goes a long way. I sprayed it on and it covers really nice.

 

I also sprayed General Finishes Enduro Var as the top finish. It too is water base so it helps with the drying time and being able to spray multiple coats in a short time.

Thanks John,

 

I used a water based dye. W.D. Lockwood is the company I got the dye from. They have been in business since 1895. I met a fifth generation woodworker in Kentucky and that was what he used. It just has this beautiful color to it. The dye on the chest is Natural Antique Cherry no 911. It runs $7.20/oz and an oz. makes two pints, but it goes a long way. I sprayed it on and it covers really nice.

 

I also sprayed General Finishes Enduro Var as the top finish. It too is water base so it helps with the drying time and being able to spray multiple coats in a short time.

Thanks for the info John, I'll try them out!

Now if that aint woodworking justice! How cool is that! Are they going to a particular judge in your area?

 

 

Now that is really cool. The old City Jail is a floor above where I work, but no wood beams there. Everything is steel.

 

Thanks, John and John! I still had a piece of the old beam from the cupola and thought it fitting to become a gavel (or 2). I don't think they are destined for anyone in particular. Maybe the historical society will do something with them. Another interesting and fun fact about the jail- the gallows where John Brown (the abolitionist) was hung still stands in the jail courtyard. 

I'm just loafing this weekend.  Whew, Christmas is over!

We are just enjoying the sun and warmth in Tucson. 

Picked up nine sheets of BB that was on sale and a new Tenryu combo blade that came highly recommended by a couple cabinet makers I met down here. 

Then helped my son hang 150' of rope lights above his patio. Found out I'm not used to working above my head on a ladder. I'm sore!

 

Tomorrow, we head across town to our other son's place to celebrate another Christmas as his wife (Flight attendant) had to work the last 4 days.

Tamales, prime rib, smoked salmon, I'm soooo stuffed. Saturday and Sunday will be more great food, too. They'll need to roll me out of the house.

We'll get back home Tuesday. Then five days of fasting......not!