Watson Mill – circle library, part 3

Continuing work on the circle library. With the ladder moved to the front wall, I now have 8 3/4″ of library wall space not including the two vertical end boards that will close it on the sides. I marked the final position of the center circle. This gives me a bit of shelf space to the right but allows me more room on the left to play. The left will be more visible anyway. To build the shelves, I cut 1/8″ wide channels in the plywood wall using the Dremel Trio.

Since I didn’t trust the wall edges to be straight, I used a fence board clamped in place.

You can plunge cut with the Trio, which is a great feature. You can start anywhere along your line.

The bit made a channel slightly too narrow, so I tapped the fence board with a rubber mallet for a second run, widening the final channel to the proper width needed to fit the 1/8″ shelves.

The top channel is rough because there was something catching the bit in the wood and it was close to the edge. Once the ceiling is in, I will add trim to enclose the top space to keep it from being a dust-catcher space that’s difficult to clean, so the rough cut didn’t matter much. These might not be square to the floor or ceiling after the build is in place, but they are reasonably parallel to one another.

The channels provide a sturdy hold for each shelf cut from 1/8″ basswood. I started with 1″ wide basswood strips and cut them down to end up with a roughly 3/4″ deep shelf.  I hand cut the angles around the circle supports. Not easy.

The two end boards are slightly deeper than the shelves. For the top, I cut a piece of 1/4″ strip wood for stability for the eventual final trim. I still need to cut the support piece for the bottom of the circle, but I am tapped out for the night. :D

The space under the bottom shelf will be enclosed by trim or baseboard in the end, and I left a bit of clearance on the bottom for flooring thickness.

Next up, covering the plywood back between the shelves and cutting the mirror for the center.

Categories: Watson Mill
May 21, 2017 | 0 comments

Watson Mill – circle library, part 2

Continuing work on the circle library. The wood veneer buckled on the outer surfaces of the circle supports. I didn’t have enough to redo both circles, so I redid only the smaller one. I hope once the books are in place it won’t show. I also will have straight shelves abutting the large circle, so that might help, too.

The original inspiration had 18 dividers, but my version has only eight for balance and fit. I used scrap wood to try out the look first.

I made angled dividers to match the original. I covered the sides of the angled inserts with peel and stick wood that I had left over from the Model T Van build. I used additional adhesive just to make sure the bonds will hold over time. I again used the Elmer’s stainable wood glue. To finish the front edges, I cut shapes from 1/32″ basswood to match the laser cut circles.

I think this is a good approximation of the original. :]

Next up, the long straight shelves.

Categories: Watson Mill
May 20, 2017 | 0 comments

Walnut Bay Light – vintage photo

I finally gave FotoSketcher a try – it’s a software a Greenleaf forum member showed us not too long ago. You can make drawings, paintings, etc. from your regular photos. I took a photo of Walnut Bay Light and played with the settings. I love the vintage photo effect. :]

Categories: Art and paintings, Walnut Bay Light
May 19, 2017 | 0 comments

Mod Flowers rug – intro and prep

Many years ago, I ran across a rug called Parasols by Thomas Paul and printed it on regular paper to see how it would look in a miniature scene (here in the Newport).

Although the paper printout photographs beautifully, I wanted to create something that looked more realistic in real life. I tried a specialty velour paper. The colors still weren’t as deep at they had been on the regular paper printout, but the texture was lovely.

I thought stitching the rug would be a good way to more accurately recreate the design.  I would be certain to end up with the right coloration since I could match the embroidery floss to the paper printout.

I found a great site called pic2point (now defunct) where you can convert an image to a needlepoint pattern for free. The site created a pdf of the pattern, and I started stitching on 24 ct Congress Cloth. It was a lot of work, approximately 60 hours worth, and I wish I could say I loved it in the end. Needlepoint on a lower count fabric can look choppy, especially when there are a lot of curves to the design. The background also showed through more than I liked, and I ended up with more of an oval than a circle once I cut the rug from the cloth and turned the edges under.

This was all before I had done a miniature rug in French knots, which are such a great scale texture in miniature. I decided to make a new rug and used a transfer pen and tracing paper method using Aunt Martha’s Tracing Paper and a blue fine tip transfer pen from Sublime Stitching (as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases). I bought blue and black pens but used blue in this instance, because black lines can be hard to cover when stitching with white floss.

I took the velour paper printout and taped it to a sheet of non-transfer tracing paper. I taped the paper to the window in the afternoon light and traced the design using a fine point Sharpie.

I then flipped the Sharpie traced image over and traced it with the blue transfer pen onto the iron-on transfer paper. Having had ink shifting issues in the past, I taped the paper to the muslin fabric before ironing. The transfer ink didn’t spread very much if at all.

This is 3.5 hours of stitching.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
May 16, 2017 | 0 comments

The Scale Cabinetmaker

The Scale Cabinetmaker was a periodical printed from 1976 – 1996 on fine miniature making. I’ve perused the occasional volume here and there, but there are 80 issues in total so collecting them one at a time seemed rather daunting. You can find them in digital form from Dorsett Publications, but I prefer the physical booklets. As luck would have it, during one of the online shows there was a gal selling her mother’s estate. Included was a large selection of The Scale Cabinetmaker booklets. She was asking a good price, so I bought the lot. I found a smaller lot of 10 booklets on eBay, so I now have 61 of the 80 volumes. :] I still hope to collect the remaining 19.

I set out making a list of the projects that I wanted to try and noting the volumes with general instruction. I admit many of the projects are either over my head or are from eras I don’t plan to build. However, there is a wealth of information on techniques and tools as well as plenty of items I do want to make. The metal fire screen, jeweler’s saw and drill press classes opened up the possibilities as well. More things make sense to me now, so the classes more than pay for themselves. :]

I bought a triangular architect’s scale since most of the drawings are in full size measurements, though they do list the thicknesses of materials to be used. I understand the appeal of true to life measurements, but it will be a learning experience for me. It is great training for taking other real life projects and transferring them to mini. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Of course, the project that really appeals to me is a double black diamond. It’s a combination wardrobe, desk and Murphy bed. I never do things halfway. :D

But, I shall start with smaller projects like a coffee table and magazine rack to get a feel for the scale measurements and instruction. Then I can move on to the Big Cheese.

Categories: Books and media
May 12, 2017 | 0 comments