How to do it

My local grocery store has a section where you can donate books for charity. The proceeds go to the local food pantry. Most of the books donated are novels or paperback romance books but now and then you find a gem.

I love the hardcover do-it-yourself books from the 50's and 60's. The exploded view drawings and graphics are great and there's loads of ideas for projects. A few days ago I was there and checked out the books and found ten books by Mechanix Illustrated titled How-to-do-it. There's 20 volumes in the set. These books are fantastic, not only do they give you a sense of nostalgia but there are so many cool projects to build inside them. I got some some great books and I've helped the local food pantry, it doesn't get better than that. I have volumes 10 - 20.
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Best
Steve

Flea Market Finds and Music

In episode four of the show I made a cigar box guitar. They are a blast to make. I've since made a few more. Two of them I installed pickups in to amplify them.
This morning my wife and son and I were rummaging around a flea market when I saw a hand made cigar box guitar. I love these things. They are easily made with a few simple parts and a few hand tools, and they sound great'
I've included some images of the few I've made and the one I saw at the flea market.

If you've never made a CBG ( cigar box guitar ) give it a try, you'll have a blast. You can find instructions on the internet or watch episode four of The garage with Steve Butler on youtube. All of the music featured in episode four is played on a cigar box guitar by musician and cigar box guitar maker Mike Snowden. You'll be amazed at how it sounds.

The closest thing to a genesis event for the cigar box as an invention per se happened between 1863 and 1865. As the Civil War was nearing its end, In 1863 the sale of cigars in boxes and barrels of 1,000 was made illegal.
Second-The Federal Revenue Act passed into law that the number of cigars in a box be restricted to 25, 50, 100. 250 and 500. Primarily these two regulations affected the size and shape of the cigar box – important because it somewhat presciently restricted the cigar box to a size suitable for reuse in a stringed instrument.

Cigar boxes could not be reused to sell goods again once the tax seal was broken. Since they were made primarily out of wood, they earned a place as fuel for burning to warm the house and heat the stove. A few survived to store scraps of paper or sewing items.

In the late 1800’s the cigar box was used as stringed instrument to teach children until they became proficient enough to move to a more advanced instrument. Stringed instruments such as a guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele and a violin were all made using cigar boxes. The primary wood used in making a cigar box is mahogany, a perfect wood for instruments because of its acoustic qualities. The advent of big box stores such as Wal-Mart made it feasible for lower income families to afford an instrument. Before stores such as Wal-Mart and Targets lower income and rural families made their own instruments. The cigar box guitar found its way out of being a child’s instrument to being a serious instrument used by blues musicians, a favorite instruments to the early delta blues artist because it actually works and sounds well.

I made these cigar box guitars much like how they were made over 100 a years ago. The only difference is the contemporary tuning pegs. The guitars consist of a guitar box, a 1” x 2” piece of wood for the neck and fretboard and a bolt used for the bridge. There are only three strings on a cigar box guitar. They are tuned to open tunings such as G, A, and D, common blues guitar tunings. I love how resourceful people can be and these guitars are true to that character. I think about how the first person must have felt after he made one of these guitars, strung it up and listened to the sweet sound it made.
They are still used by many delta blues musicians today. They have a unique sound. The three strings are meant to be tuned in an open tuning and played with a slide. The most popular tuning is the open ‘G’ tuning (G, D, and G). Others are ‘A’ (A, E, A), and the Hawaiian A6 tuning (A, E, F#)

As always- Thanks for following.
Best
Steve

Stiletto Kitsch

If you love all things kitsch then you have to love these chairs.
I saw a pair of stiletto chairs at the local flea market today.
As a furniture maker I could never make a chair that has so much WOW factor as these high heel beauties . These are crazy'
I wish I had the space ( nerve ) to buy them and give them a home.
I'd love to see the look on peoples faces when they'd walk in the room.
As always- thanks for following
Best
Steve

Mike's Kitchen

I hope you had a great FOURTH'''
We just got back from a trip to Toronto last evening. We were there for unfortunate reasons but it's always great to see family and friends. We stayed at my brother's place. His kitchen is the first kitchen I did. The cabinet doors and frames are made out of solid oak. The doors are made up of stiles and rails with a raised panel field. I set up a small work sight on his back deck and built the kitchen on site. It was easier than running back and forth for a measurement. Even with measured drawings you can still make a mistake. After all of these years they are still hanging on the frames by the original hinges. Not bad'
As always- Thanks for following
Best
Steve

Nails, Screws, and Baby Food

Hey'
Remember the days when every basement or garage shop had baby jars filled with a variety of screws and nails of different sizes?
I recently had a plastic cabinet with small drawers in it break. The contents spilled all over the shop floor. It took me hours to sort through the mess. I forgot I had the nails and screws. I saw a bunch of baby jars attached to a makeshift lazy susan at an antique store.

I started saving all of the pickle and relish jars we used and mounted them under the shelves in my shop. I screwed the lids to the underside and filled the jars with the assortment of nails and screws. Now I can see what I have. The process made me feel good. Why did we stop doing this? Maybe there's a small chance of breaking one of the glass jars but I love how they are so visible. I feel a little nostalgic'
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Best
Steve

Snow shoe chair

I love rummaging through thrift and antique stores. I get great ideas for projects at these places and at times you see something that just makes you smile. Attached are images of a folding chair made out of an old snow shoe. The snow shoe and the chair are made out of ash. The maker did a great job of blending all of the parts.
I can only imagine the smile they had on their face when the project was finished and they sat in the chair. It made me smile looking at it'
Best
Steve

Dad

I like to keep this page for my work and leave personal feelings and opinions out of it but some things just need to be said.
I struggle now and then about what I should post. We are shooting a new episode soon so I'll have plenty of images of the newest project to post.

If there is a message behind the show it's a simple one. " Be creative, make something, and have fun" Don't be intimidated by not having all of the bells and whistles, or thinking you can't do it.
Skill level doesn't matter, just try and have fun doing it.
I talk a lot about spending time building and making projects with our kids. A few nails, a couple scrap pieces of wood and you have a boat, an airplane or a racecar. They have fantastic imaginations and can turn an old paper towel roll into a spaceship, half an hour out of a day can turn into a lifetime of memories.

Attached are a couple of images of racecars my son and I built out of a couple of pieces of wood found in the scrap bin. We bought the wheels and stickers. He painted them.

I don't ever want to sound like I'm standing on a podium spewing out my opinions so I apologize if I offend anyone. I don't claim to be the best Dad in the world. Finding the time to play or build something can be difficult, we all lead busy lives and have bills to pay. It's easier to buy a toy rather than make one. It's not about the object or toy though. It's about the time.
I lost my Father this week so I'm reflective. I can't remember what he bought for me, but I can remember the time spent with him.
Thanks as always for following.
Best
Steve

Liesls studio bench

Now and then my wife Liesl and I get asked to teach workshops out of our studios.
She's a jeweler specializing in sterling silver jewelry of her own design.www.lcarlsonjewelry.blogspot.com. I recently built her a small workbench to accommodate two students. The bench frame is made up out of 2" x 6" spruce bolted to the wall at one end. The center post is made up of small pieces nailed together to form a frame that holds newspapers for the wood stove. I made two drawers out of 3/4" thick pine that I simply glued and nailed together.

I ran a bead of glue along the bottom of the pine pieces and glued them to a piece of masonite/hardboard I used for the bottom. The bottom length and width extends beyond the drawer size to act as the drawer runners. The drawers are light duty so this technique works well. I drilled a hole into the drawer bottom and then used a cork to plug it. The students saw pieces of silver above the drawer so collecting the dust is important. The dust is swept through the hole and collected in a jar that will then be sent out and evaluated.

My wife redeems the cash value for materials or tools.
The top of the bench is made out of a piece of 3/4" plywood that I covered with a piece of tempered masonite/hardboard. When the hardboard gets worn out I can simply take the screws out and replace it with a new piece, preserving the life of the plywood bench top.

Glen

I met my good friend Glen when he enrolled in a table making class I was teaching. The class taught students how to do woodworking joinery appropriate in making a table, such as mortise and tenon joinery and how to cut tapers for the legs. Glen built a wonderful sofa table. Recently Glen converted an old pine bookcase into a beautiful chest for his daughter. The chest is held together with box/finger joints that Glen cut using a router.

Nice work Glen'

Bird on a wire

Any artisan/craftsperson/artist, whatever title you'd like to use, will tell you that the part of the job they dislike the most is self promotion. We would rather be in our environments doing what it is we do. The difference between being a starving artist and a successful artist is that side of the business we dislike, self promotion. So it is with humble humility ( is there such a thing ) that I ask you to read the press release on Rhode Island PBS blog. The show premieres on Saturday, July 5th at 2:30 PM. I saw the schedule and am incredibly excited. The show is scheduled between two woodworking greats, Scott Phillip's American Woodshop and Roy Underhill's Woodwright Shop. I can't believe the opportunity Rhode Island PBS has provided me. Please check out the blog link below and read the press release and as always.
Thanks for following and watching.
Best
Steve
www.rhodeislandpbs.blogspot.com

I love building outdoor furniture. The whole idea behind outdoor furniture is to sit, relax, be with family, entertain with friends, enjoy the sunshine and warmth and just be outdoors.
We've had a lot of rain lately but I finally found a window of opportunity to give all of our outdoor furniture a coat of water seal.

My favorite place to be is outside on our deck. It's small but its our little oasis. I love to sit in a chair I made with my own hands and eat at the table I made. You might recognize the two seater table in the attached image. It's from episode ten, Dinner for Two, or the planter box from episode eleven. There's no better feeling or sense of accomplishment. Outdoor furniture doesn't have to be complicated, it's meant to serve a purpose. If you've never built a picnic table then give it a try, most home centers have a set of plans, and some for free. You'll get hours of satisfaction building it and you'll feel a sense of pride every time you sit at it.
Building materials for it are inexpensive and if you're thrifty you can probably get free material from craigslist or freecycle.

A few years ago we lived in rural New Jersey, a town called Layton. It's located in the scenic Delaware Water Gap Recreation area. We lived in a beautiful old home from the 18oo's that had a wonderful wrap around porch. I made a swing for the porch. My wife and I would sit in and take in the awesome view. The swing now hangs between two trees in our backyard, reminding us of that special time and place. If you're familiar with the Georgia based rockabilly band Hot Rod Walt and The Psycho Devilles then you know that Walt Richards aka: Hot Rod Walt is from that great area. If you're not familiar with them you should be, they're awesome' Check them out at www.pychodevilles.com. Walt and the band generously provided all of the music for episode ten, Dinner for Two.

Give it a try''' There are all kinds of books online or at your local library about how to build outdoor furniture. Incorporate the help of your family and create some memories. Attached are some images of the swing and a very rudimentary rustic outdoor table.

Speaking of memories. If you Northerners find yourself complaining about the rain or the heat, just look at the attached image I took looking out my window this winter.
Build, create, and have fun outdoors' Send me a picture of what you make,' I'll post it on the 'Viewers Gallery' page of the website.
Thanks for following
Best
Steve

Book for the birds

In an earlier post I talked about making birdhouses. If you're so inclined to make one I suggest trying to track down a book titled 'Build it better yourself' by the Roedale Press. There are all sorts of books out there on building and designing a birdhouse but this book is my favorite'
It has pages of traditional birdhouses to build as well as other outdoor garden and agricultural projects such as a wheelbarrow, a
pig pen, a chicken coop and a variety of low tech greenhouses.
This is a great book. I'm sure you can track one down online for pennies.
Create, build and have fun'
Best
Steve

For the birds

Lately our backyard has been busy with a lot of bird activity . The air is full of chatter and music of a variety of birds. I know this has nothing to do with the show but it has everything to do with low tech woodworking on a dime. Earlier this year my son and I rummaged through the scrap bin and spent a rainy day inside making bird houses. We were gearing up for summer and now it has paid off. All of the bird houses we made are occupied.
Bird houses are a simple yet very rewarding and gratifying project to make. They don't have to be complicated or opulent. They can be made out of solid wood, plywood or even out of found objects. You can use recycled, repurposed parts and materials. In the end you've created an awesome habitat for the birds and you've spent quality time with your child who has learned something as well. It doesn't get any better than that. Here are a few images of the simple bird houses that surround our yard. Enjoy'

Pyramid Power

Quite some time ago I made a pair of pyramid shaped candles. The bases are made out of layers of MDF I glued together to make a solid block approximately five inches square. I then drilled two 1 1/2 inch holes and inserted hollow aluminum tubing into the holes.

I tilted the table base of my bandsaw and set the fence in order to cut the bases to the desired shaped. I painted the bases primary colors, removing the aluminum before I did. I polished the aluminum tubing and placed some small tea candles into the space.

Thanks for following 

Best
Steve

Fathers Day

I hope all of you Dads out there had a great Fathers Day.

I have a new sign for my shop space'

It's awesome'

Silk Screen

Many years ago ( well more than ten ) I made this room divider. The frame of the divider is made out of cherry. The panels in each divider are made out of two layers of silk screen fabric spaced an 1 3/4 " apart. The two fabrics togethershimmers like shark skin creating a moire effect. The panels spin on solid brass rods and the three dividers move with homemade brass hinges I created. The feet are made out of cast bronze.
I might create something similar for the show.
Thanks again for following
Best
Steve

A Dramatic Evolution

I've been very fortunate to have had my work published in a few books and magazines. My work can be seen in Lark Books 500 series 500 Chairs and 500 Tables.
When I was the department head of the wood studio at Peters Valley Craft Center I wrote an article for American Woodturner magazine that eventually found its way into the American Association of Woodturners 25th anniversary book titled 'Woodturning Today', A Dramatic Evolution.
I hope my work can inspire others.
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Best
Steve

I have many woodworking how-to and design books on the shelves of my bookcase that I turn to when I need some help with a project. There are also some books on the shelves that I have because they inspire me and just make me feel good. 
reusing and repurposing materials and objects is popular today, so much so that it's been given a trendy new term to define it 'upcycling'. People have been doing this forever, especially those folks who went through the depression era. I love giving new life to old material. I like to see life in cast off objects.

There are a few books that inspire me. Some of these are 'The Uncommon Life of Common Objects', essays on design and the everyday by Akiko Busch. I love the poems of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda in a collection titled 'Odes to Common Things' and a light hearted good read is a book by editor in chief of MAKE magazine Mark Frauenfelder 'Made by Hand', Searching for meaning in a throwaway world. At times the world can feel heavy and weighty, these books remind me to pause, remember what's important and why it is I do what I do.

Shelves complete

Today I dropped off the shelves to the library.

This was a simple project but I always appreciate the work.  Every little bit helps pay the bills.

I flushed trimmed the solid wood edges with a hand plane.  I use a 1/4" bit in the laminate trimmer attached with a straight edge to rout out the shallow shelf pin grooves.

Carved chest

This past weekend my wife was working at the Worcester Art Museum.

My son and I went through the museum before picking her up.

Sitting in the hallway against a wall was this great highly carved wooden chest or trunk.  It had no lid so I  looked inside and saw the great early tongue and groove joints that held it together.

The not so glamorous side of furniture making. No matter what you do in life you still have to pay your bills. Today I made a quick set of shelves for the local public library. The library often ask me to repair or rebuild things for them. The jobs don't pay much but every little bit helps. I'm grateful for the work and they have supported me and the show along the way. Last year my wife and I exhibited our work there in an exhibition called 'Co- Habitat'.

The shelves are made out of plywood. I cut a groove into the underside of the shelves and glued in a strip of 3/4" plywood to help stabilize the board and strengthen it so it doesn't buckle under the weight of books. I glued on a 1/4" strip of solid wood to the front edge of the plywood. I used a simple butt/rub joint and glued the strips to the edge. Blue painters tape help hold the strips in place. If you don't have a bench vise simply clamp a clamp ( in this case a wooden screw clamp ) to your workbench. It works well. I'll cut and trim the pieces to size and give them a top coat.
Nothing glamorous but every little bit helps. That and it's good to be part of your community.