Used saw blade clock

With all the cutting boards and construction I've been doing,  I had to replace my saw blades. I didn't realize how expensive they are now and there's no way I'm throwing my old blades into the recycling can.

A long time ago as an impulse buy I got a quartz clock kit while buying some supplies at the hobby store. I figures eventually I would find a nice wood round to use as a clock. I haven't yet but my used table saw blade is just right.

First I clean my used saw blade with some Prep-All to get the gunk off and give it a light sanding. I spray painted both sides with some gloss black Rustoleum. I did my smaller blade from my circular saw in tan and did a faux wood airbrush job on it because I was originally thinking of combining them to do a double saw blade two-tone clock. I liked just the simple design of the black though, the saw blades give it enough flavor.

Once the paint dried, I added the numbers included in the kit. They had a sticky paper backing but it really wasn't sticky enough so I put a drop of super glue on each number to place it. Now the 12, 3, 6, and 9 were easy because the table saw blade had 4 air holes exactly where they need to be. I eyeballed the rest from there.

I put the main clock mechanism through the hole in the middle of the saw. The only thing extra I need is a washer from my hardware bin before putting the nut on. I screw the nut on tight by using some needle nose pliers, and make sure the hanger is aligned with the 12 on the clock.

This particular kit, the hour goes on first, then the minute, then a nut, and then the second hand pushes in.

One double A battery and my clock is ticking. I set to the time and it's been 6 hours and it is still right.

DIY Compost bin

I have been trying to get up the enthusiasm to make a rolling bin with a trash can but my neighbor gave me this nice rolling plastic bin with  a lid on it like you see used by maids or prisoners for laundry.


Bilbo (my dog) got skunked again last night, the fourth time in two months ,and I have been thinking they are getting drawn by the compost I throw out in the berry patch. Besides, fertilizer can always be needed even if it takes a year.

I took off the wheels since I will use that for something else. And although you can just drill holes in the bottom and put dirt in there, I decided to cut off the whole bottom and sink it in the ground. I used a jigsaw because my boyfriend had the sawzall but actually, the plastic cut really well. I wore my respirator since plastic fumes from the heat of cutting are very bad for you. Although, like I said, it cut with no trouble so I might not have needed it.

I picked an out-of-the-way but sunny location for my compost bin. I dug a hole for it, and the ground here in Crestline is very soft and easy to dig since it is so fertilized by pine needles already.

Compost needs sun, moisture and oxygen to decompose fast. The bottom cut off should let worms and bugs help me out too.

The sunny location and the lid will keep it like a greenhouse, and I've been  told adding a cup of water when you add the already moist compost will keep it humid to decompose faster.

For oxygen, and also so rain will go in, I drilled holes in the lid, I think they are 3/8 of an inch but you could drill more of smaller ones instead.
I back-filled around my bin just  a little so nobody or animal will break an ankle but not enough so the sides come in.


When it gets a good layer of compost, I will use my shovel or pitchfork to stir it around and do that every time it gets a good layer of compost.

The other good thing about cutting off the bottom is I will be able to slide the whole thing up if I need to instead of trying to lift a heavy bin of dirt, but this is low enough I can shovel straight out of it.

Compost doesn't stink unless you are right up in it or don't have any air holes but I still put it away from my house since the gnats love it.

Butcher block cutting board

I had some leftover scrap wood from when I made my kitchen countertops. I used the very same technique on the countertops as I did on this butcher block cutting board. The only difference is I used epoxy on top of my counters and vegetable oil on the cutting board. All the wood for my countertops and this cutting board was what other people would consider scrap wood, and small lengths of 2x4s.

I first gathered all my wood that had a width of at least 1 and a half inches. It is nice to use a mix of different colored wood. You can buy butcher block of all one color. The mix makes it look high quality. I have scrap douglas fir 2x4s, redwood 2x4s from my neighbor that had rotten ends, and a few awkward pieces of walnut.

 I used my chop saw to cut the ends straight and the bad wood off. Then I set my table saw at 1 1/2 inches and ripped my 2x4s and every piece wider than this.

Now I arranged the pieces. With nice square wood it is easy but with my scrap wood, some of them did not fit tight against some so I had to keep rearranging the pieces. Also, 2x4s have rounded corners which can be used at the ends but not great in the middle.

With my pieces in place, I put pencil lines across the breaks. This is where my dowels will go to hold the cutting board together so just one in each piece, some on both sides offset is good enough. My first try at my counter, the glue was not enough so dowels or biscuits are needed.
You can choose to number your pieces here too to make things easier but I just drill one row at a time.

Find something to use as a guide to drill the holes. The holes can't be too close to the top or bottom and need to be the same on both sides for the dowel hole. Pick a drill bit slightly larger than the dowel and drill at least half the dowel width into each piece, on the ends I drill about 60/40 so I don't drill through the ends. I also rotate the drill a little to widen the entrance of the holes to have a little wiggle room when clamping.

Test all the pieces with the dowels for fit as you go.

Now use waterproof wood glue to glue a light layer on all the wood attaching to other pieces and some glue down in the holes. The glue sets up quickly so you better have checked everything for fit first.

Now use two long pieces on the ends to clamp across the whole cutting board. I used one across the width while using my other one to clamp and unclamp every row across the length to tighten the pieces together, then put both of them across the width on each end and used a hammer to get any ones that came out of place back in line.

The next day, I unclamp my piece and use my t-square to mark my cuts to get the cutting board square. I use a skill saw to cut the two ends. Then use an electric hand planer for the two other ends and both the top and bottom. It takes a while doing many shallow passes but I don't have a drum sander.  If the pieces were all the same, it would be easy, but these pieces are very uneven so I have to plane a lot off to get to the lowest piece and be straight all the way across. I router the edges with a round edge bit on both the top and bottom all the way around.

Now, I fill the gaps in my wood with colored sand. Another option is coffee grounds. With a putty knife, I push the sand into the cracks until they are full and sweep my excess back into the jar. I put a snail trail of glue over all the cracks and just use my finger to spread it across the gaps.With a wet rag, wipe down the excess.

After letting that dry, I sand everything with 400 grit sandpaper. Now it is done, and I just rub cooking oil all over it to finish it.

Wild strawberry jam

I have a patch of wild strawberry in my backyard. I have been anxiously watching the plants grow, get flowers and then tiny green berries. Then I started munching on the first red ones. Then I had enough to put in my cereal. Now it is peak season and I gathered two cups in a day. That is the perfect amount for one jar of jam.

First pick off the tops and any other twigs, etc that got in the strawberries. Now wash them.
Since wild strawberries are so tiny, there is no way to cut them, just throw in a pot while they are wet. Add sugar on top.

Turn the heat to low and let simmer until the strawberries get juicy.

Turn the heat to medium and stir until all the sugar is mixed in. Stir until the mixture in nice and bubbly.

Now stir again and leave alone, uncovered, for fifteen minutes.

Stir it when the time is up, it just be the right consistency now. Let it cool.

Add a little lemon juice to help it keep. Spoon into your jar and put the lid on. Refrigerate.

I didn't add enough extra sugar to account for the lemon juice added so mine came out not as sweet as I like my jam but you could omit the sugar and make straw-lemon jam. My boyfriend is a fan of lemons and straw-lemon jam but I eat more jam than him and I like it sweet.

The consistency of fresh home made jam is what appeals to me, over the store bought Jell-o consistency.

If you love to gather like me then you will love this quick easy recipe.

Wire wrapped rock jewelry

Wire wrapped rocks are easy and cheap to make and look like something you could find at a store. I wanted to make rock jewelry without having to solder or make molds and found a tutorial online for these same necklaces. I figured out how to do earrings too.

If you are like me, then when you see a rock that is prettier than the rest, you pick it up and put it in your pocket. I ended up with a lot of rose quartz this way.

I have a rock tumbler now, but when I started doing this I did not but still wanted shiny rocks.I pick out the rocks from my collection that are about a quarter to half dollar size that are pretty enough that I would wear them. For earrings, they need smaller rocks obviously.

I clean my rocks and use a paper towel to carry my rocks outside. With a spray can of clear gloss lacquer and a respirator on, I spray the rocks heavily and gently roll them around in the paper towel. This gives them an even coat without letting the rocks stick to the paper towel. Lacquer dries faster than other clears so you just need to roll them around a minute. Then I put them good side up and leave them for a while to let the lacquer smell air off.

At Michael's there is all sorts of jewelry making stuff. I got a set of little bins with all the jewelry making stuff  I need. It had dangling earring hooks, jump rings in two sizes, crimping beads, and lobster clasps.

Also at Michael's I bought some wire. I used just silver craft wire for the rock necklace shown but it is a little thin so I got some 16 gauge wire for the future ones. They have copper and brown wire too.

Now that you have a rock picked out-some pointy edges makes it easier to wrap, some wire, a jump ring,  needle nose pliers and a wire cutter handy, we can start.

Cut a length of wire about 8 inches long. Put it through a jump ring with two equal lengths on both sides. Now twist your wire a few times to set it.

Wrap the wires around the rock. This why you will be glad to have some jagged edges. You can wrap as few or many times as you like. Finish each side by wrapping it around the twist you made at the jump ring. Now twist the ends around and cut off the excess.  Use the needle nose pliers to tuck it the sharp ends.

Now use your needle nose pliers to grab the wire on one spot of each wrap around the rock. You have to tighten the wire.When you have the wire, twist either  up or down. This depends on the jag of the rock. If you pull one way it might slip off, and the other way will make it tight.This tightening will make a lightning pattern in the wire so you can choose to use this in the middle, at the side, or do it on the backside to not be seen. I have done two in each wire but sometimes the second pull will straighten out the first.

I know that last part was a little confusing but once you do it, it will make sense. I think this one is just embroidery floss for the string but most of mine are cord. I would like to try with leather string to get a real rustic look. There are several ways to connect the necklace, I used just adjustable knots so the necklace can fit anyone but you could use a lobster clasp and jump ring, or magnet clasps. It is up to your own preference.

Bas relief wood carving

In my last post I told you how to make a rustic modern bench. Now I will tell you about the bas relief wood carving I did on the top of it. I used to carve little animal totems out of wood with a razor blade when I was bored but this is a little different.

I got a Japanese wood carving set a long time ago and have mostly used it for carving pumpkins but the cedar I got to make the bench top is so soft I knew I had to carve something into it. My favorite animal is a beaver so I start with a pencil drawing of my beaver. When I see it drawn out I decide it needs a little more so I add some simple leaves and a branch for him to gnaw on.

Now with my first wood carving tool, just an angled chisel I dig my lines in. I make them even deeper with my smallest "V" tool. Very quickly I learned to wear gloves because the wood handles were not ergonomic.

Now I use my bigger "U" shaped tool to go with the grain outside the lines. Sometimes you have to angle about straight down to do this but you won't get any chips and it is easier to carve with the grain. I do about to two inches outside the lines.  These are the only three wood carving tools I use for this carving.

I go all around my nose, eye, ear, and the tops of my legs to carve the outside deeper so these features stand out. Sometimes I go back to the angled chisel to dig deeper and then continue with my big "U".

I use my small "V" to scratch in the fur. and put a little texture to the branch and make the veins in the leaves.

I now use a coffee ground stain to darken all my carving marks.If you don't know what this means you should. Wet coffee grounds give a nice walnut-like stain to the wood. I rub it in and then get a brush to really get the grounds into the grooves. Now brush the excess off and let it dry.

Now is the time to sand the wood. Just a little though. The low carved spots will keep the dark stain and the rest with be natural wood color and soft since this is a bench to sit on. I say only a little sanding because you might take off some of the beautiful detail that went into the wood.

It is time to put on your protection. I used log cabin clear gloss. It takes about two days to dry but gives a good gloss and UV protection. Normally I would just use water-based polyurethane since it is so nice to use and gives a sheen between semi and full gloss although it says glossy. I was almost thinking about doing epoxy to make it look super expensive but since it will be outdoors all the time and it freezes here it is not the best for my project.

Making a bench

My neighbor down the street gave me a chunk of cedar that I immediately thought "Bench". I used my handy dandy 14 inch electric chain saw to cut off the rotten end. Then sanded the bottom and made some quick legs from some old but still good 4x4s I had laying around.

 The only problem with this is that my screws are 4 inch too so I had to drill with my biggest drill bit down about an inch and a half and then use my long bit holder and screw down into the holes.

I cut my angles at 30 degrees at 17 inches to the ground. I forgot to account for the 4x4 on top I needed since the cedar is very wavy so my bench turned out a little high. My toes can touch the ground or swing.

I put the leg assembly together and then eyeballed where I wanted them on the bottom of the bench. I marked both sides with a pencil.

If you have to use more than one piece then you eyeball from the top down; the legs will stand pretty good on their own. If you have just straight planks then screw them down.

I had to use a router with just a straight bit on it to take down the high spots inside the lines I marked for the 4x4s because of the waves. Just move slowly and take off just a little at a time. On one side I had to do half the side and the other just a few spots higher than the rest. I recommend safety goggles and ear protection since routers will spit chips and can whine if you try to take off too much wood.

I test it my leg assembly in my new grooves. I now have to drill holes to attach the leg assembly to the bench. I put in two screws on each side and flip the bench to see if my legs are even. They aren't.

With a free beautiful wavy piece of wood I don't mind cutting a little more. Judging my wobble I had three legs fine and one too long so I used my chainsaw to chop the end. Then I flip it back and attach the rest of the screws.

I sanded the edges and put polyurethane on the bottom and legs of the bench.

The next day I did the top.Next blog post will be about that and you can see the finished bench after I did some bas relief wood carving into it.