Picture Frames

I have done lots of picture frames in the past...many of them in the style I like to call "shadow box" style. I have had these posters from the Flemington Speedway Historical Society for a while now and have always intended to mount at least one in a frame to add to my bar room collection. Being that it would go into the bar room, the style and make up of the frame was already decided for me since I had a number out there already...all in the same style...that being made of red oak with walnut inlay in the face of the frames and in the shadow box style.

Since I had three of these posters, I thought that hell, I could make three frames just as easy as one and I could do something with the other two. I decided to give one to my racing buddy Sparky and I would donate the other one to an annual chinese auction that is held at the New Egypt Speedway on a night called the "Friends of Mike Night" a night dedicated to the memory of a former speedway fan that died way to early. The proceeds of the auction, as well as many other revenue streams all goes toward the nights racing division purses. I thought it a worthy cause.

The poster involves the Flemington Speedway all time top ten modified divisions winningest drivers.

Antique Hoosier Cabinet

A fellow co-worker approached me about refurbishing an old kitchen Hoosier cabinet that he and his wife owned, but were hesitant to attempt to completely redo themselves. So, I took on the job and the piece of furniture was in pretty good condition structure-wise and all it really needed was to have new doors fabricated, the entire surface sanded down and repainted, a new tambour door added, new casters, some minor repairs here and there and just some general TLC to bring it back to life. I also fabricated a slide out drawer for inside the lower portion.

I was thrilled to find that I could order the same exact hardware that was on the piece and I again was thrilled when the owners wanted it to be painted the same color because it really appeared to me to be an old time color.

I found it odd that the tambour door was slid into the unit from the front....this allowing the entrance points to be quite obvious. I have always seen them put into units from the back, therefore hiding any extra notches or slots to allow for the thing to be installed. I really think that this piece of furniture was originally not painted since it was all red oak underneath, but it would have been a bear to try to remove every last bit of paint from the piece since oak has such deep pores in its surface makeup....it would have bordered on the impossible to completely clean it up.

The project was an enjoyable one to work through...I have never really restored an antique before, so it added another thing that I have accomplished in my shop.

Heart shaped jewelry box

This is the most recent item to come out of my woodworking shop. It's a red oak heart shaped jewelry box that I made for someone who is special to me who just so happened to mention that she loves hearts. I took the idea and ran with it. I found a nice project, if I remember correctly, via one of my woodworking forums that I frequent and modified the project to my own liking. I actually downsized it a bit and then went to work and what you see is what I ended up with. I actually screwed up a first attempt at the project and had to scrap it. The barrel hinges gave me fits and there is definitely a learning curve on how to locate them on a project such as this. The actual project needed to have a jig or two made to complete it, but in actual time, it wasn't all that lengthy in fabrication once the jigs were made. The velvet lining is a pillow type cushion that I hand sewed to fit the interior of the box. I hope she likes it!