How to Make the Perfect Perpetual Calendar Using Wood Scraps

 A new year—a new calendar. But, this perpetual calendar will never be out of date. Create it using Proxxon MICROMOT tools and scraps of wood.

Supplies and Tools That You'll Need:

• Seventeen 1½ x 3½" x 1/16" blanks
• One 4" x 6¾" x ¼" blank
• One 6¾" x 3" x ¾" blank
• Four 1/8" or 3/16" x 1" dowel rod pegs
• Liquid wood glue
• Acrylic paint or finishing product of  you choice
• Proxxon Table Saw FET
• Proxxon Bandsaw MBS/E
• Proxxon Disc Sander TSG 250/E
• Bench Drill Press TBM 115

Here's how to make the perpetual calendar:

1. Cut boards to size using the table saw. Refer to Perpetual Calendar Templates for sizing.
   
   
   
2. Sand the pieces using the disc sander.
   
   
   
3. Cut the slot in the base piece using the table saw. Adjust the blade height to ~¼". Adjust the angle of the table saw blade to 15°.
   
   
    
4. Remove the blade guard. Yes, I know that is it there for protection, but you won't get a full length cut with it in place. Now is the time to be sure you have no distractions. You need to be even more careful than normal. Snug the right side of the board to the longitudinal stop, and position the stop so that the first cut is centered on the base board. Make the first cut. Using the scale for the longitudinal stop, move the stop 1/8" to the left. Make the second cut. Continue alternately moving the stop and making a cut until the slot is just a pinch wider than ¼". The "pinch" allows the upright support piece to slide easily into the base. This is a side view of the resulting slot.

   

   
   
5. Using the same adjustments on the table saw, cut the corresponding angle at the bottom of  upright support.
6. Use the bandsaw to cut the dowel rod into 1" pegs.
7. Following the placement on the Perpetual Calendar Templates, drill the holes on the upright support for the hanging pegs using the bench drill press. Set the adjustable fence to assure the holes are aligned evenly along the top of the support.

   

   
   
8. Drill the holes on the hang tags. The strip of painter's tape help to align the horizontal center, and the adjustable fence aligns the vertical point.

   

   
   
9. Glue the pegs into the upright support. Set the upright into the base to accurately align the angles to be sure the pegs extend on the front side of the upright. Optionally, glue the upright into the base slot. I chose not to glue it, so the calendar can be disassembled for storage, if desired.
10. Paint or finish the pieces. I used FolkArt Milk paints for the hanging tags, upright support, and base, and vinyl for the lettering.

    

Carole

How to make a continuous calander

Merry Christmas to all of you.   Hope your all warm safe and with family and friends.

 The days have flown by, and it is soon to be another new year.  What do we need to do?   Oh yeah, we do need a new Calander, don't we?   Every year.   I have a solution, we can make a Calander to last forever and it's easy, and kind of cute.   Best of all, everyone has little piece of wood to make it with.  

Not sure if you can see the tiny little Calander in front of the books there, I should have made it bigger.  But it is a little whale.  I made it for a kid's room.   The concept of blocks for days and months can be used to make it into almost anything or any size.  Maybe even an adult something.  

Let's see how easy this is.    I used the following:   A piece of 1" thick cedar that was cut off of a fence rail in the making.  It is about 7" long and maybe 2 1/2"wide.  If your wood is a different thickness you need to multiply your measurements by that number.  (for instance, If your wood is 2" thick make the whale twice as big and the blocks cut out will be 2 x 2 instead of 1x1   The  cut out of his back would be 2 2/3 x 4. etc)  I used 1" wood because 1st of all it was there, secondly it makes the calculations easy.   Here is the pattern below that works for 1" wood.     

The whale is cut out as a whole from the 1" cedar.  I used the Proxxon mini bandsaw to do this. And to cut the 2 vertical parallel cuts (Those should be 1 1/3" deep)

Then I switched to the Proxxon mini scroll saw to make the corners on the squares as it was a little too tight for the bandsaw.   

 The top 1/3" is cut from this piece we just cut out.  This will be the pieces used for the months.   Now after you get that piece it needs to be cut into thirds so there are 3 pieces which are 1/3"  x 1/3" and 2" long. 

 I used the Proxxon mini bandsw,  BUT, that is a little close for the fingers.  I recommend using the Proxxon mini scroll saw.    Now cut the remaining rectangle in half.  This gives you (2)  1" x 1" pieces.  These will be the days.

Now it is time to sand this pretty cedar wood.  

I used the Proxxon OZI/E delta sander for most of it.  

  

I also used the Proxxon cordless belt sander.

 

And the Proxxon cordless rotary tool to drill some eyes

I sanded the parts really well and then I wrote the numbers on them.    You need to know which numbers to put on the cubes.   On the first cube put the numbers 0-5.  On the second cube put the numbers 0,1,2,6,7,8,9.  Now you can make any number from 01-31

On the long skinny pieces write you months.

If I did it again, I would glue (2) 1" thick whales together and make it twice as big.  Also make sure you get a pen that won't run when you apply finish.  Or better yet wood burn those numbers and months in.  Then stain it or paint it.  

This thing is All done.   

I picked a warm day on purpose! 

It's been fun, sure glad you visited, and give this one a try.  It's a super easy one and let the kids help with the math. 

 

Take care everyone and have an awesome New Year!

See ya all next year...........Carol

How to Make a Christmas Tree Using Four Geometric Shapes of Scrap Wood

 There are two ways to make this darling lighted Christmas tree out of scrap wood. The first way is to use one scrap wood blank the size you want the tree to be. The second way is to use four different scrap wood blanks, each cut to a different geometric shape. The size of the tree can be easily adjusted by proportionally increasing or reducing the size of the template shapes.

Supplies and Equipment:

• Scrap wood or MDF
• String of battery operated lights
• Scrap Wood Tree Templates
• Proxxon Bandsaw MBS/E
• Proxxon Disc Sander TSG 250/E
• Bench Drill Press TBM 115

Instructions for Making the Scrap Wood Christmas Tree:

1. Print your pattern from the Scrap Wood Tree Templates. I used the single tree from one blank of scrap ½" Baltic birch plywood. 
   
   
   
2. Cover one side of the blank with painter's tape. Mist the back side of the pattern with spray adhesive, and mount on the taped blank.  The painter's tape makes removal of the pattern easy without leaving any sticky residue. 
   
   
   
3. Cut out the shape using the bandsaw. Alternatively, you could use the Proxxon Scroll Saw DS 460.
   
   
   
4. Drill holes for the mini lights using the bench drill press. The size of the drill bit you select will be determined by the size of the mini lights.
   
   
   
5. Sand edges and surfaces as necessary using the Delta sander with progressively finer grits of sandpaper. I have my sander mounted in the Precision Vice FMZ, so that both hands are free.
   
6. Paint or finish as desired. I used FolkArt Home Décor Wax.
   
   
   
7. Insert the lights from the back side of the tree.
   

Carole

How to make a little wooden Christmas deer

 Hi folks,  I know you have all seen them, and they come in multiple shapes and sizes, but I am going to give you step by step instructions on how to easily make them.  Make one,or make a dozen.   You guessed it we are going to make that cute little stand-up deer.

                     

Equipment and Supplies

Piece of thin wood large enough to cut all your pattern pieces.  1/8" to 1/2" thick

Proxxon mini scroll saw.

Proxxin OZI/E delta sander

tape, pencil, carbon paper

wood sealer lacquer, varnish or paint.

Ok, let's get started on this quick, easy, kid friendly, project.

I will tell you how I did it.

1.  First thing I did was to make myself a pattern.  Simply draw a deer the size you want on paper.

The legs and antlers will go on east to west and the body will be north to south.   In other words look how it is put together.  You need little slits to slide the legs into and the antlers on.   See my drawing and you will get the picture.

  

2.  Next I transferred my pattern onto the wood I chose.  **just a note watch which way the wood grain runs and try to have the skinny legs run with the grain.   Some woods\, especially cedar will come apart at the wood grain when you cut across them on small pieces**

I used carbon paper to transfer my pattern.

3.  I used the Proxxon mini scroll saw to cut out my patterns.

4.  I sanded everything using the Proxxon OZI/E delta sander.   Love that tool.  It gets into places other sanders couldn't.

5.  Finish them off with sealer, paint, or varnish 

and they are almost done.

6.  Slip the legs into the slots.   Slip the antlers on, and they are done.  So easy you can make a dozen.  And....you can make them any size, simply draw the pattern bigger or smaller.

Here is one in cedarandaand this one is an oak veneer.  

Well, that is it.   It was fun and very quick.  I hope you enjoyed it.  It's not original but it was my drawing.    Be safe and come back.  Thanks for visiting.   Thanks, Proxxon, great company!  

till next time.......Carol

How to Make the Perfect Expandable Bookshelf Using Proxxon Tools

While browsing Amazon, I came across this expandable bookshelf, and immediately thought, "I can make that with my Proxxon tools!!" Using their pictures as a guide, I developed my own plans for a bookshelf that expands from 16" to 29" to provide a minimum of 13" and a maximum of 25¾" book space. 

I made this project from pine lumber because I wanted a rustic, farmhouse finish. The bookshelf could be made of hardwoods for a more polished look.

Here are the supplies you'll need for this expandable bookshelf:

• Eight slats measuring 15" x 1 3/8" x 5/8" (I used 1" x 2" x 8' furring strips)
• Four 8" x 8" blanks (I used a 1" x 10" x 6' pine board)
• Thirty-two 8 x 2½" wood screws
• FolkArt Milk Paint

I used these Proxxon tools to make the bookshelf:

• Proxxon Table Saw FET
• Proxxon Disc Sander TSG 250/E
• Bench Drill Press TBM 115
• Proxxon Professional Rotary Tool IBS/E

This is how I made the bookshelf:

1. Cut the furring strips and pine boards to size using the table saw.
   
   
   
2. Sand the cut ends on the disc sander. Since I was going for a rustic look, I didn't surface sand the pieces.
   
   
   
3. Drill the screw holes in the slats with the bench drill press. The holes need to be 3/8" from the cut end, and 3/8" from each side edge. Setting the adjustable fence to the correct depth for the holes, and using painter's tape to mark a guide for each side of the slat made quick work of the drilling process. You'll see in the photo that I used a piece of waste wood under the slat to minimize tear out.
   
   
   
4.  Next, install a countersink bit in the drill press, and countersink the holes on one side of the slat. Set the depth gauge on the drill press to ensure consistency.
   
   
   
5. Finish the pieces with a color wash. I chose a red/brown wash. You'll want to test the look on a scrap. Thin the paint with water—4 parts paint to 1 part water. If you want a more solid color, then use less or no water. 
   
   
   
6. Work in sections to apply the wash with a brush and immediately wipe with a rag. Let dry thoroughly. If you want more pronounced color, add more coats of the wash, following the apply/wipe procedure. 
   
   
   
7. Now we assemble the pieces. Secure one of the 8" x 8" pine boards in a worktable vise. Use a square to position one of the slats—countersunk holes up—at the end of the pine board.
   
   
   
8. Use the professional rotary tool to drill through the existing holes of the slat into the end of the pine board. Screw the slat in place.
   
   
   
9. Repeat Step 8 on the other side of the pine board.
10. Position the center slat and drill the holes into the pine board. Screw the slat in place.
11. Secure another 8" x 8" board in the table vise, and secure the slats from Steps 8, 9, and 10. Use a square to be sure the slats are accurately positioned. You'll end up with one of the sliding pieces of the bookshelf—pine board sides with three slats on the bottom.
12. Repeat Steps 7 and 8 this time positioning two slats on the pine board. These two slats slide between the three slats already secured.
13. Repeat Step 11, securing the two slats.
14. Mesh these two completed pieces together, and close the bookshelf to its most compact position. Lay the bookshelf on its front side. Attach the three remaining slats for the back the bookshelf as shown in the following picture. Green = slats. Red and blue = pine board sides.
    
    
    

Carole

How to make a silly eyeglass holder

Hello Readers, DIY'ers, and crafty people.




Now I can generally find me a pair of glasses when needed, and I know where to put them when I don't need them.  And there you go.   It is a short little afternoon project.

Today I have a little project you might call silly or fun, but honestly it helps me in my quest to finally get my act together and be organized.  Ha Ha. that will be the day.  But I still love the idea of everything having it's place in this world.  And I have made a little place for my many pairs of dollar store reading glasses.  It is really easy.  I think the kids will love it.

Equipment and supplies:

Proxxon mini scroll saw,

Proxxon OZI/E delta sander  or

Cordless mini belt sander

wood glue, 

1/2: dowel

1/2"drill bit

1" x 4" x 12: piece of scrap wood.

1/4" thick scrap wood for details.  

Plaid paints

Proxxon mini bandsaw

First thing is to draw the outline of your pattern onto your 12" piece of wood.   You can draw the details as well which will come in handy when you start to paint.

Next using the Proxxon mini bandsaw or the Proxxon mini scroll saw cut out the perimeter of your pattern.  

Next sand it well.  In the picture below I am using the Proxxon cordless mini belt sander.

On the bottom where the little statue will rest on the table I made a cut on the proxxon mini bandsaw with the table tilted slightly so that he will lean back. 

I made a small support I will glue onto the back so he will stand. Just cut out a triangle with approx. 2-3" sides.  (Something for him to lean on)  

Cut your dowel "noses" about 1 1/2" long.  I had 4 faces so I needed 4 of these.

Drill 1/2" holes approximately 1/2 way through the faces where the noses will fit.  I aimed the drill at a slight upward angle, so his nose was tipped a little.

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I used plaid paints to paint my critters.

Pop in the noses.  Use a little glue if necessary to secure them.

For added interest I cut out a few pieces using the Proxxonj mini scroll saw that will add a little dimension to my guys.  (ears for the cat, eyes for the scarecrow, mustache for the man etc)

Then glue them on.  

Put on the glasses and see how cute it is.  

 

Thanks for visiting.    Till next time.  Make something just for fun.     Carol

Thanks Proxxon.