How to make a little bee house

Well Hi everybody.   Boy has it been cold.  Nothing like a good blast of winter to make me start dreaming of spring.  I'm anxious to plant my garden but I guess since the ground is all white it might be a little early.  But I was reading about bees and how the more the merrier when it comes to the garden.  So, to encourage the little buggers, (I say that fondly), I want to make a bee house.  I read about that too.  Amazing how much reading you can do when the ice outside prevents you from leaving home.  Anyway., bee houses encourage bachelor bees to come to your garden.  These are bees that don't belong to a hive.   I never knew there was such a thing. Live and learn.  So, let's make them a home where they will be happy, and they will pollinate your garden in exchange. 

Equipment and Supplies

• wood- 1 x 4 pine or cedar board
• bamboo or reeds
• wood glue, 
• hot glue gun with glue
• Proxxon mini table saw
• Proxxon OZI//E delta sander
• Proxxon mini chop saw.
• paint (optional
• small screws

First, we are going to make the house.   It's a simple pattern. Use the pattern below to cut your pieces.  I used the Proxxon mini table saw to do most of the cutting for the structure. The table saw always cuts straight and true.

  I assembled the carcass using wood glue and clamps, then I let it dry really good and then added screws for strength.

Note- the back and bottom are inside the sides.

Next, we will dd the roof and secure it well.  By making one roof side shorter by 1/2" there is no need to miter the roof angle.  It is called a butt joint.

Then we want to fill up the front with anything bees will be able to lodge in.  I used bamboo, because I had some.  Anything that will leave spaces a bee can get in should work.   I used the proxxon mini chop saw to cut my little tubes to length which was 3"   I needed a whole bunch of them (30-40) to fill up the house, so I made a little "stop" so I didn't have to measure each one. (see below), I used hot glue to secure them to the frame,

I couldn't resist decorating the top a little bit.

To mount the bee house, I added a thin wooden slat to the back which is long enough to nail to a fence post or tree.    

All done!   Come on spring and come on bees!

Thanks for visiting, come back soon for more!

Thanks Proxxon, I am loving your tools!  Carol W.

Let's make something using the Proxxon long neck angle grinder.

 Welcome to the New Year.  Christmas is over and we have some time on our hands.  I thought today we could try to make something using the Proxxon  long neck angle grinder.   I have used this tool in parts of many projects, but never really dedicated a project to it.   Let's see what we can do.

Equipment and supplies

6-12" piece of 2x 4 lumber cut off

Proxxon long neck angle grinder

pencil, paint, 

wood sealer

Proxxon mini bandsaw

Proxxon mini torch if ya got one.

optional backing board.

Dust mask and eye protection  (NOT OPTIONAL)  This makes a lot of very fine dust,   Not good for lungs!!

I am going to tell you how I made it and give you a few hints, but you will see, the creative touch is in your hands as you fashion your new keyholder or whatever you choose to make.

1st I drew a rough sketch of what I was aiming for.  I chose to do a small owl,

I put the Proxxon smooth cutting disk with tungsten carbide burrs onto my Proxxon long neck angle grinder to do the work of grinding on this 2x 4. but first I got rid of a lot of my excess wood using the Proxxon mini bandsaw.  

Next, using the Proxxon long neck angle grinder shape this piece of wood into the owl it wants to become.   I started with the face.   The eyes are lower than the beak and nose so I ground those away leaving the nose high

I used the proxxon mini bandsaw again to cut out some wood under his chin.  and began rounding his belly  

Beware- the long neck angle grinder is a carnivore and would love to have a little meat!!   Keep your holding hand out of the direction of the wheel spin,,,just in case.  Occasionally it grabs hold of the wood and will travel in that direction!!)

Keep refining the owl shape, nice round tummy, slightly curved tail, etc.   I used the edge of the grinder to define some little wings.

Lastly, rough up his feathers.  Best done again using the edge of the grinder wheel.  A nice photo of an owl would be very helpful showing feather directions and such.

  I added some paint, then ground some more.  Until I was satisfied.

I decided to put him on a board and glue a small branch where his feet would be and add some cup hooks to hold keys.   Create it your way.   This doesn't take long and is a world of fun.  Just be careful.

                                                      Thanks visitors for spending a little time with me.   This was a quick, easy project, and trust me. you will amaze yourself as you give birth to something out of that piece of old junk cut off 2 x 4.  I found this project to be really, really, satisfying.  

Thanks Proxxon.... I will be using your wonderful tool a lot more often!

see ya'all next time.............Carol W.  

How to make a little shelf

 Hi out there.   Still being practical, I have a easy peasy project today.   Little organization projects can help you keep your wrrkshop neat.   Today let's make a little shelf because I need somewhere to put my glue so I can find it.  I wull be using Proxxon tools.

This can all be made out of one piece of 1 x 6" board.  I mainly am going to use my Proxxon mini table saw and my OZI/E delta sander and new cordless Proxxon mini belt sander.

First i want to cut my (U chose a 16" piece of fence board) on the Proxxon mini table saw.  Using the fence, I measure 4 inches from the fence to the saw blade and lock the fence.

This wood is too thin to simply glue them together, so I am going to make a groove to fit the2 pieces together.   This is easy to do again on the Proxxon mini table saw  I make my first cut 1/2" from the edge of the larger piece.  Remember to set the blade height at 2/3 the height of the board, so in this case at 1/4"

After the first cut I nudge the fence just a tiny bit outward and make another cut.  Look the groove has begun.  I do these 3 or 4 more times until I have the width of the groove the same size as the edge of the other piece of wood.  Now this wood can slip into the groove and this will hold it better than a "butt joint"

Convienetly, the Proxxon cordless mini belt sander is 1/2" and I can use it to smooth and sand my new groove.

next add glue to the groove and place the other piece of wood into the groove.  Make sure it sits at 90 degrees while the glue sets.

I used the Proxxon cordless rotary tool to make pilot holed from the back into the wood after the glue dried to reinforce the bond.  

A couple more pilot holes where i will screw it into the wall.    Now to find a place.

  

Here is a good place, on the back of the door.   Now I will always find my glue.  

Thanks Proxxon tool company.   and thank you all for visiting.        Carol