Tea table with ball and claw feet

I found myself needing a nice little table to display my pipe box for my ebay listing. So I decided to make one. I chose a Queen Anne tea table. It is carved from cherry wood and is "home grown" as a friend nearby cut some trees and gave me a bunch of beautiful wood.

After researching these tables, I drew up my plan. 

I love cutting cabriole legs, and carving them was alot of fun.

I drew my pattern on the wood then cut them out on my scroll saw. I make a template out of thin wood to transfer the leg pattern to the blank.

It's so fun after the last cut to "unwrap" the leg. Like finding a prize in a cracker jack. Here are all 4 legs, they came out real nice right off the saw!  I was pleased.

I used my home made tools for this project, but what was my favorite tool? I made it from a hypodermic needle!

The lip or edge on the table top was made by routing the profile on a strip of wood, then ripping it on the table saw. I use my Dremel saw for the ripping.

Then I made a jig for my little Jarmac saw to miter the ends. This jig is very accurate and everything went smoothly.

The ball and claw feet were my favorite, since I am an animal carver.

I used Michael Walton's finishing kit on the table. It is wonderful! 

Who doesn't love a puppy?

These mischievous little puppies have gotten into the puppy chow and dog biscuits! 

They are hand carved hand painted wood and of no particular scale. They range in size from 7/16" to 13/16". They are looking to be adopted. They are available in my ETSY shop
https://www.etsy.com/shop/miraclechicken

Each little puppy comes in his or her own little kibble box.

Basset Hound

                                                                                 

Beagle

Border Collie

Bulldog

Corgi

German Shepherd

Husky

Spaniel

Dalmatian

Dachshund

Yellow Lab

Comments---AWAITING MODERATION??? WHAT?

    

HUH????? I am SO sorry to everyone who commented and got the notice that your comment was awaiting moderation. I HAVE NEVER set my blog for moderation- NEVER- and since about half the comments got through, it is not consistent. I don't use the word verification either.
   A huge THANK YOU to Debora for calling this nightmare to my attention. Turns out this actually goes back to February! I would never ignore anyone, your comments are SO appreciated, it is a thrill to read them :) To have this happen is unbelievable........ So sad....I feel sick......I had no idea....
   I clicked on "comments" to check my settings, and just for the heck of it I clicked on "awaiting moderation" .....and....there they all were...... I am SOOO sorry, I so highly value each and every one of my followers and treasure your comments.  Google sure screwed this up for me......
   Thank you all for following my blog and for taking the time to comment, I will check that moderation link daily even though I do not have the moderation or verification enabled. What is the point of having settings if it does whatever it wants to anyway........

***UPDATE***

I have just read 45 comments spanning several months that I never knew I had... I am overwhelmed by all of these kind words... THANK YOU SO MUCH :)

 

Shop-made belt sander

I've built another tool. This is just a small one, a belt sander using a drill as the motor. I saw the plans in one of my "The Scale Cabinetmaker" magazines. I would have to say that these instructions were probably the most challenging to decipher (meaning it wasn't written too well in my opinion.) But having a knowledge of building tools I was able to overcome the deficiencies...and I have drills coming out of my ears :) 

This beautiful old craftsman was rescued from the trash. 

I bought the drill stand some 25+ years ago when I had the idea to make a lathe using a drill as the motor. I never got around to it, and luckily I knew where I put the stand.

I did not have to make the top hood/shield because it came with the drill stand, what luck! Oh, and the little table is from one of my bench grinders, I made a jig for sharpening, so this tool rest was up for grabs.

Here is a closer view:

This is a really cool little machine because of the tracking and tensioning systems. 

This is the belt tracking system. It consists of a bolt with flats ground on the end, and that fits into a larger sleeve. There is a pivot pin soldered in the middle. To track the belt, you just loosen the lower screw and then move the top screw in or out depending on which way the belt wants to wander. HA! It really works :)

The spring is the tensioning system. The rod is threaded with a wing nut and you tighten it for more tension on the belt. The little table "borrowed" from my grinder is fully adjustable.

I was very lucky to acquire a full set of Scale Cabinetmaker magazines in pristine condition, and I don't dare dog-ear the pages. I put bookmarks of everything I'm interested in and make copies in a binder, take it down into the shop and have a "book" of projects I want to do.

I know some of you have expressed that when I talk about tools your eyes glaze over, but this is an important part of me and my miniature business, being able to fill a need. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say. Some plans are my own, others are not. I love building tools and jigs.

Milling little boards---The Sequel

I've built another little log mill, this time for my band saw. I saw a video of a store bought version. I had a very similar idea 20 years ago for my table saw, where I built the jig with the sliding fence, pinching the log between two clamps. With that one, I'd slide the fence over to a measured increment and keep sawing 

and moving the fence. It worked and I've used it alot, but the thickness of the blade wasted alot of wood and it was hit or miss accuracy-wise. (I can get around that now, with my thickness sander.) The premise behind this jig is to cut two sides square, then use a re-saw fence to mill down the boards.

It's kinda funny because here I've got a $100.00+ beautiful Kreg re-saw fence mounted on an old 1940's band saw that was found at a flea market for dirt cheap.  And yes I had to rig it up to fit.  But anyhow....the store- bought log mill is nothing like this, I just used the premise.

This is the front of the jig. I "borrowed" a plastic bench dog from a cheap little work table, the kind that

opens up and closes flat, to use for the back clamp. I drilled a series of holes to accept clamp and even though it was cut in a grid pattern on it's face, I added some of that non-slip stuff. For the locking clamp, 

I found the perfect thing in a "box of cool junk". Junk is your friend :) (I had to cut off one side, and make the plywood clamping surface, again with that non-slip stuff )I drilled two holes in it for the knobs and another series of holes in the fence. 

This is the back of the jig. (I've gotta get to Woodcraft, I'm all out of knobs....hence the mis-matched ones here....) I made two slots in the platform for the fence to ride in.

This is the bottom, showing the miter bar. I put tiny screws in the side of the bar to micro adjust it to the miter slot so there would be no side to side play.I didn't have any T bolts so I had to use carriage bolts in the fence slots.

Here it is mounted in the miter slot of my saw, ready to go.

Last year I cut some little sassafras trees from around my electric pole. No it's not like Green Acres, I don't have to climb the pole to answer the phone :) A whole bunch of these trees have encircled the pole. It's pretty in the fall. I took a little log, cut in half and decided to use it to try out the new log mill.

I ran the log through the blade creating a flat side. This will now be turned to ride on the platform in the next step.

And here I've made the second pass creating a 90 degree square.

One side rides flat on the saw table and the other against the Kreg re-saw fence.

I adjusted the fence to about a quarter inch and ran the little log through.

I like this wood!

I got a really nice re-saw blade from a favorite woodworker supply company " Highland Woodworking" called "The Wood Slicer" They custom made it for my odd sized beautiful old band saw.

Little baby bunny with his mama

This adorable little duo is hand carved wood with every attention to detail then furred. I was inspired from a real nature photo of a baby bunny climbing up on his mama's back. I have so many sweet  bunnies in my yard this time of year. Lots of little babies.