Posts Tagged ‘crafts’

« Older Entries

Simple Pointers For Woodworking Projects

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

There are a number of places you can look if you are seeking help or advice on a wood working project. One of the best tips when searching for tips, is to find a retired carpenter in your neighbourhood. lots of retirees miss their job but also miss the days when there were apprentices to whom they could hand on their knowledge.

You could learn a great deal from a retired carpenter, because anyone who is retiring now would still have done a proper, old-fashioned apprenticeship, by which I mean tech college, day release from college and then work experience.

After leaving tech, gaining a diploma and finding a job, the young carpenter would do maybe a year or two in the machine shop before being allowed to go out on site to learn how to fit what he or she had made, under the care of an experienced carpenter.

That was a very rounded apprenticeship, but it all started to change in most countries in the Nineties or even in the mid-Eighties. I am not decrying ‘contemporary’ apprenticeships, yet nowadays individuals appear to become more specialized than they used to be. If you are looking for help or advice on a wood working project, look for a retiree – they will have more time anyway.

If you would like to make something, but you are inexperienced, get a wood working plan. You might think that you do not have need of one to only create a table with benches or a bird table and perhaps you do not, but it is better to get into the habit of learning how to read and decipher simple plans first, so that once you move onto harder projects, you can understand the plans.

If you are concerned about the costs, there is no need. You can get hold of fairly decent plans for wood working projects free on the Net or you can acquire really top-notch plans for only a couple of pence each, particularly if you buy a CD with thousands of different plans on it.

The difference between a good plan and a second-rate one is enormous. A good plan will advise on the sort of timber to use and the best tools to do the job well. It might even give you an idea of the degree of skill required to create the article and an notion of the price as well, although the usefulness of this aspect is eroded by time.

So, what sort of items can a novice start constructing? Well, a bird table is a good beginning place and so is a garden table with two benches. In general, all garden furniture is a decent place to start, because, let us be frank, if it is a little rough, it does not matter. It is a good way of gaining experience without attracting too much criticism.

Indoor stuff is a different kettle of fish, yet you could try a jewelery box or a wine rack. If you want to learn marquetry or inlaying, make a chess board out of timbers of two different colours, say, beech and mahogany. They look really nice!

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, wine rack plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where we have 14,000 wood working plans.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Woodworking Projects For Home Items

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

More and more individuals are turning to making household goods in their free time as a hobby. Some people make rugs or throws, others make pots and others are turning to woodwork. Wood working is a very satisfying hobby or craft. It is also therapeutic after having done your day job and when you have finished, you have something useful that you can be proud of. You could even sell it. Both men and women are turning to wood working projects for recreation.

The majority of these new weekend carpenters are not professional trades people and so they need help with a wood working project like a bench or a cabinet. This help comes most often in the guise of wood working plans. A good set of wood working plans will give a description of what to do first, an exploded diagram of the item to be made and all the necessary dimensions. These details will really help the wood working project to go smoothly.

The first thing to do, obviously, is decide what you want to make. If this is your first wood working project, do not be over bold. Do not leap right in there and pick an ornate display cabinet. The best objects to start with are a bench, a dog kennel or even a bird table. Once you have completed this job, you can progress to something more difficult with increased confidence.

So, having made up your mind on a wood working project, you should look for a set of plans for that item. You will find woodworking plans in DIY shops, hobbyists, craft shops and on the Internet. If you look online, look for a specialist in woodworking plans so that you know that they will be comprehensive in every detail

The next task is to totally familiarize yourself with the plan and the project. You will need to come to a decision which timber you want to use and how many lengths of the different sizes you will need. This information could be provided on the plan. You should order or buy in everything you need (except glass) right from the beginning. You will also require glues, nails, screws and tools. Check which tools you will need for the job and buy or borrow them. This information may be provided on the wood working project’s plans too.

When you have assembled your materials and your tools, you should ensure that the tools are in good condition. The saws and chisels should be sharp. Put a new blade in your craft knife and make sure your tape runs smoothly and that the end is not broken off. It is very irritating, once you get started, to have to stop and sort your tools out, just when you would like to use one of them.

Finally you can start. It is a fantastic feeling. Try to plan your time too. Neighbours are not going to want to listen to your power saw cutting after dark, so try to get that kind of thing done in daylight hours, you can assemble the parts quite quietly later on in the evening.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, bench woodworking plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where we have 14,000 wood working plans.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Simple Woodworking Projects – Decking

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Timber, or wood, is still the first preference for furniture and other home and garden projects like decking. However, there is a large assortment of types of timber to select from. The first alternative is whether you will use hardwood or softwood. Hardwood is a lot more expensive, but it will not rot so quickly as softwood.

Both hardwood and softwood are attractive or can be made to look beautiful with a suitable finish. Softwood normally takes more looking after, but can last just as long as hardwood, if it is sealed properly. If you want to paint the wood, then softwood is the better choice, because hardwood does not permit paint to soak in very well, but it will take staining, oiling and thin varnishing.

Once you have decided which type of timber you are going to use, you can think about which variety you want to use. If you are going to use hardwood, you have many alternatives, such as teak, mahogany or oak et cetera. If you choose softwood the most common timber used is pine. Whichever you eventually use, select each length of timber with care. You do not want warped, curved lengths of timber or lengths with an unwarranted number of knots in it. A good carpenter will inspect each length individually.

Then you will need something to hold the decking down. Nails or screws? Screws are almost certainly best because they will not come loose if the timber dries out. If you are using softwood, it will be alright to use stainless steel screws, but if you are using costly hardwood, then I would use brass screws.

You will almost certainly need three inch screws and they should be neatly countersunk, so that the screw’s head is just below the surface of the wood. You can then plug it or not. Yes with steel screws, not with brass screws, but it is really up to your personal inclination.

Prepare the area before you start. It is almost certainly best to use a concrete or slabbed base. This should be level and above the normal flow of rain water in your garden. If it does get wet, as when you wash it down, the water should fall through the boards and then flow away. You do not want it to stay under the decking so that mosquitoes can reproduce in it.

It is not difficult to lay a wooden deck, but it a good idea to obtain a set of decking plans to work by. They will ensure that you do not miss a stage. They will also give you good advice and tips about which materials to use and how to finish your deck so that it does not rot quickly.

Once you have laid your own decking according to the plans, you could put an advert in the local paper and hire your services out to neighbours and locals. Everybody loves the thought of lounging out on their deck or porch in the evening and once you become a regular customer at the builders’ merchant or lumber yard, you may meet the criteria for substantial discounts on materials, which will make your pricing more economical.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, wood furniture plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where you will find 14,000 wood working plans.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Choosing Home Decorating Materials

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

If you want to redecorate, you should be thinking about the textiles that you will use in your redecorating scheme. There are quite a few fabrics that can play a role in a redecoration project, such as carpets, some wall papers, such as flock, furnishings, cushions, lamp shades and wall hangings like tapestries and embroideries.

You can use the fabrics in these items to create a decoration theme more than any other set of items. You can buy old furniture, but it is costly, you can purchase old paintings, but they are expensive, but fabrics can be new yet still express different atmospheres for little cost. Think about the fabrics and colours that you would need to convey primitive, Eastern, Hispanic, Victorian or contemporary themes.

Let’s say that you would like to decorate your home in a Victorian style. It is the case that it would be right to have some old furniture, but what will really make the style scream ‘Victorian’ is the textiles. You have to think about Victorian houses: they were fairly large (unless you would like to live in a hovel), and they were drafty.

This meant that the textiles were heavy to hold back drafts. You could hang flock wallpaper, have heavy, lined curtains, lamp shades with tassels and weighty bedding with a real eiderdown or patchwork quilt.

The funny thing is that although Victorian textiles were very weighty, they tried to make them look very feminine, or perhaps that was why they tried to make them look more feminine. However, men provided the earnings and women ran the home in those days, so that may be why as well.

Therefore, there were lace edgings, lace trims, tassels, beading, velvet and brocade. Embroidery exam pieces can occasionally be picked up quite cheaply , but they are often handed down through families as well.

A contemporary style or theme would have lots of bright and frequently contrasting colours. An extreme variation of contemporary style is minimalist with plenty of black and white but with perhaps one splash of yellow in a corner somewhere. This style can be hard to achieve, can be unnerving, but can be dazzling too. It is reminiscent of the Sixties.

Individuals strive to recreate an Eastern or Oriental style, but you have to be wary because otherwise you will end up with something that no Easterner would recognize. A bit like Charlie Chan and western style curries. You will be told to use pictures and figurines of elephants, tigers, dragons, carp and geese or ducks. This is all very well if you would like to persuade your Western friends that you have an Oriental theme of decoration, but few Orientals would recognize it.

It is very problematic to get this theme looking authentic unless you are from the Far East or you get an Easterner in to assist you. Jades and silks could form a part of this styles along with some figurines. Be very cautious of trying to imitate a style you know nothing about.

If you are looking for stylish ideas on Stylish Home Decor, then you really must go along to our website for more free ideas on Interior Design Ideas and more.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Baby Cribs, Cots And Blankets: A Consideration

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

It is vital for everyone, even babies, to have somewhere safe and secure to sleep. I say ‘even babies’ because it is simple to think that babies are not really conscious, but closer contact makes the observer soon comprehend that babies have a sense of security. For instance, they might cry if one stranger comes near and smile if a different one comes near. A bit like animals, they have instincts.

Well, they are animals and so are we adults, so that should not come as much of a surprise either. Babies require warmth and softness and something akin to a nest. Naturally, parents have realized this for thousands of generations and the way we have dealt with that need for thousands of years is by wrapping babies up and putting them in cribs or cots.

In other words somewhere safe and secure. Even though they do not know it, they have a feeling that they are in a walled enclosure where animals cannot see them easily and they cannot fall out of either. a crib or cot allows a baby to sleep comfortably as if it is hidden from peril.

However, as they get older, they become more adventurous, which is exactly why they need ‘walls’ around them, which make them feel safe and frustrated at the same time. This is of course the time when toddlers are at their most vulnerable, because they want to explore but are not really aware of the dangers of the world. Each parent worries about their children wandering off.

Once a child can walk and scramble is the time when it has to be removed from a crib that is off the floor to a safer bed, from which they cannot climb out and fall.

These beds are often called toddlers’ beds, but now the sides have to be high enough for them not to be able to break out of – a type of pen.

Some cribs can be converted and although they might seem more expensive at first, they can be cheaper in the long run.

It is one of the most hazardous times for babies and one of the most nerve-racking times for recent parents too. Putting the toddler’s pen in the parents’ room is an easy trap to fall into, because it can make the eventual essential break moving the child from its parents’ room to the nursery all the more a problem when the time eventually comes.

However, that time will come when the child has to sleep in a room of its own either with other brothers and sisters or not, but the fact of the matter is that parents have to have their sleep as well so that they are alert enough to both earn money to support their family and be awake enough to watch over their brood.

If you are worried about child pool safety or Child Safety in general, just pop along to our web-based resource.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

« Older Entries