UPcycled Sash Windows

Found these beauties at HIPPO Hardware in Portland. A truly crazy place with crazy prices. But if you can talk the talk, there is a possibility to whittle them down so they only make a 300% profit.

Beautiful original Stain Grade Fir with the oil separating from the schellac. Most old sash windows have a century of paint caked on them. Not these. Original stain and finish from the early 1900's. Cool little bumps form after the decades have expedited chemical decay--I call it Reptile skin.

The glass was solid--no cracks or chips. So it became a grease board for the office.

Some brass screws in a few beefy wall anchors and a few trim screws angled into the wall on the bottom and this thing is solid.

Phone Charging Station

I found a good use for a beautiful little slab of Walnut that was pulled out of the "to burn" bin at the wood shop.

For too long my wife was charging her phone on the windowsill, leaving the cord dangling across the wall. It bothered me. All these tools in the garage and she has to use the old windowsill? NOT ON MY WATCH! Plus I have a nice little antique phone box for mine . . ..so I felt a wee bit guilty too.

Perfect Perch

 She always likes the wood scraps I bring home from the wood shop--especially the walnut. So, a little Danish Oil, a special finish and a bit of creative mounting hardware and voila!

Operators are standing by. . . :)

I combined toggle anchors, threaded rod and a few small nuts to allow this shelf to slide out a bit so the lady on the go can take her charger with her.

Interstate Fence in N.Portland

After a few re-draws and estimations for design and materials, the client and I came up with something in their price range and my design / build wheelhouse.

3 Gates and 40 feet of area to finally enclose a lovely yard to give the client's some much deserved privacy. 

Flush cutting 1/2" dowels

My first site visit proved encouraging. They most surely needed SOMETHING there to tie in the property. The lovely green lawn abruptly ended and a mixed array of low pet fencing was the only thing preventing the dogs and kids from wandering into the neighbor's wild and neglected yard.

Time to make a wood wall

The client was very wise to paint the pressure treated posts black. This matched the hardware and will serve to protect the wood even more. It also avoids the awful contrast that Cedar and Pressure Treated lumber face after several years of sun and rain. Bright Orange, chemically stained wood and the natural grey patina of Cedar. Painting a square post is quite simple--since they need to stand alone for a few days while the concrete sets up.

What a difference

With 3 gates in the design, the wall would need to be interrupted a few times, with some tricky angles before the property line jogs to the corner of the garage. I opted to mortise in the horizontal supports on the short, angled returns, since they fed into the two large gates that can, if desired, be both opened and a car can be driven through to the detached garage.

Tricky angles, Solid lateral support.

The main entry gate was fitted with my standard magnetic catch and security bolt latch. I added a pull handle to ease the exit for the clients leaving their yard. Everyone seems to agree the force required to pull the magnet open is perfect and feels solid every time.

Building the gate in the wood shop.

JET Carpentry's standard Lap joint gate with 1/2" dowel reinforcement. Light and strong.

1" rare earth magnet set in cup ready for duty. No more annoying latches that always mis-align.

Extra security so you can lock the gate if desired.

Luna putting my work to the real test.

Porch view much improved.

Vancouver Mantel

What a difference light, paint and hitting the "refresh" button makes!

Once again, my client karma was very, very good when a lovely young couple contacted me about building a mantel around their new gas fireplace insert.

We brainstormed a bit about how far to go and what to put up there. The original built in shelf was lackluster and required a replacement. The new mantel got an electrical outlet and the windows were re-trimmed, this time with a plumb and horizontal theme!

  The panelling came down easily enough and we began to play with the proportions and deal with the a symmetry of the walls and design.

Reclaimed Fir Coffee Table

The wood came out of an attic of a 1926 Bungalow and was simply waiting to be re-born. Simple chevron pattern, a lot of sanding and finishing later and voila!

The long, black hairpin table legs really seal the deal for this design. Simple and clean. A piece of 3/16" glass cut for the top helps the soft surface survive many cups of coffee.

Clamp time

Final resting place with Glass top

Wine Cellar

This is the kind of project and client combination every carpenter dreams about. Every step of this process was a pleasure--OK not the sewer line re-rout--but everything else.

When the clients are as nice, attentive and understanding as these were, everything is possible.

They knew what they wanted, Cedar walls, cedar racks, hardwood floors. After some serious research on my end, I had a design that could work with the space under the house. Their goal was 700 bottle capacity--mostly Pinot Noir. We ended up with 770 slots.

BEFORE

After the initial framing of the structure, shoring up the plumbing, electrical and HVAC requirements and cutting in the doorway, the goal became to make an air tight, cold room. Consistent temperature (54 degrees) and constant humidity levels (60%) were paramount. The Cedar walls ironically make it look like a sauna before the wine went on the wall.

time to put some (more) wood on the walls

It became a running joke in the wood shop that I was building  a bunch of ladders for cats to climb on. The fabrication process was very, very, very repetitive. Thousands of narrow crown staples later, my modular design was ready for the big install. Because the doors were fairly narrow and low, we could not make one big rack and fit it to the wall.

One of 5 buckets necessary for 700+ bottles

and again . . . .and again . . .and again . . .

VG Fir cabinet with granite top tasting bar. Each bay can swallow 2 cases + magnums at the end

So many

Soft close drawers on one continuous Fir face frame.

Clear Western Red Cedar walls simply shine. No stain necessary.

Front Door Windows

 This was a fantastic little project. My wonderful neighbors approached me with an opportunity I simply could not refuse. They wanted 3 CRESTVIEW Door kit windows to be installed in their once plain old front door--actually it turned out to be a cool old Stanley metal / foam door. Nothing the old Jigsaw couldn't handle.

It was a challenge to get the cut just right. Lets just say layout went on, and on and on until EVERYTHING was aligned in harmony. The cutting went just fine--slow and steady with the patented Denny (Overkill)  Millner "Fan Cuts" used to great effect. This prevents the jig saw blade from binding and bending in the material when approaching your corners. 

I was very impressed with the product and the install went in very smooth. Good design, solid instructions written clearly and made in the USA (out of Austin, Texas). My only complaint was not enough dowell material was provided. But we overcame.

The home owners did a fabulous job painting and now the door not only glows on the outside, but the light coming inside really transforms the entry and adds so much warmth to the house.