Custom Barn Door

I built a barn door for Elisabeth and Yannick from Bourget ON.  Their barn used to have a small window, so they wanted to open it up more.  The door measures 79 1/2" tall by 41 3/4" wide, and is 2 3/4" thick! It's made of 1"x8" and 1"x12" rough shiplap pine boards from Home Depot.  

I started by building the frame using pocket hole joinery. I cut all the boards to size and sanded them to 80 grid. I then assembled the boards, dry-fit everything, made some adjustments, then glued, stapled and screwed all the pieces together.  I also sealed every crack with silicone.

I added an 18” x 23” sliding window with a screen.  The window is from Outdoor Hardware Supply out of Dover, Pennsylvania.  The heavy duty hinges are from System Equine out of Rockwood Ontario.

The door weighs north of 200 lbs., very solid.  Elisabeth and Yannick will stain the door in the spring, and Yannick will add a small concrete pad at the door's entry.

It turned out awesome! 

Stow-away Cutting Grid

I built this knock-down cutting grid for bucking down 4' x 8' sheet goods.  I used some 2" x 6" PT boards laying around in the workshop.  It's very easy to setup and tear down, and takes very little space to store it.  I made it to fit on my saw horses.  When set up, it spans 9' x 4'.

A New Track Saw!

I purchased a Makita SP6000X1 6-1/2" Plunge Cut Circular Saw with 55" rail from Busy Bee Tools.  It also comes with a 48-tooth blade.  I added another 55" guide rail so I can rip a full sheet of plywood. On my last project, I was able to make a precise 1/8" cut on an 80" long board, 2" thick!  Very accurate, very impressive.

 

Woodworking Vise for my Workbench

I added a woodworking vise to my workbench.  I bought it from Lee Valley Tools.  It has a jaw width of 9" and a maximum open size of 13".   

Designed for easy adjustment, this vise has steel spindles and large cast-iron faces.  The movable jaw has a slight inward cant to let the top of the jaw touch first as it closes.  The quick-release function is very useful for one-handed operation.  The vise also has an adjustable steel dog.

The installation was simple and straight forward, but did I mention the vise is heavy!  It sits about 1/16" below the surface of the workbench.  I also added 10" wide wooden face-plate attachments to the jaws to protect my work when using the vise.

This is an excellent quality vise.  It wasn't cheap, but it will last me a lifetime.

Live-Edge Dining Table

I made this project for a friend of mine.  The white pine dining table measures 8' long by roughly 40" wide by 2-1/2" thick.  I jointed the 5 boards together, and stained it a smoked brown colour.  Both the live-edge lumber and legs were purchased at Lowe's in Orleans, Ontario.  

Folding Adirondack Chair

I've always been intrigued by Lee Valley's Veritas "Adirondack Plus" folding chair plan, so I bought it.  The drawings are dead-on!  

I started by cutting out the patterns from the drawings and using my bandsaw, I made templates out of 1/4" hardboard for each piece. I then traced the templates onto each rough-cut board, and back to the Bandsaw again to further shape the pieces.  Using a pattern bit on my router, I then cleaned up all the pieces.

Assembled, it all fits and folds up quite nicely.  All I need to do now is stain it.

I look forward to sitting on it by the pool with a cold one!!

Live Edge Shelf

Here's a live edge walnut shelf I made for my friends Tyler and Louise.  It's in the entrance to their condo.  I finished it with Rubio Monocoat.  I custom made it to fit around their new mirror.  The top and bottom trim are also made from walnut.

Before

After

Balcony Bar!

Friends of mine wanted to install a bar on their new condo balcony.  Tyler bought the brackets online from Views Balcony Bars. For the bar base and backsplash, I used "Ipe" wood from Ottawa Deck Depot. This beautiful exotic species from South America is hard, strong and naturally resistant to rot, abrasion and weather.  

We treated the wood with "C2 Guard" for wood from Randall's of Ottawa.  The backsplash is 1 x 6 x 10' and the bar is made up of two 5/4 x 6 x 10' boards. This bar is extremely solid and will last a long time.

Party time!