Looking at the pile of lumber that takes up the rear driveway and a good part of the garage I wonder to myself where should I start and a little voice in my head says, “At the beginning of course!” Taking on a project of this magnitude can be overwhelming but so long as it’s done in stages it will be managable without too much cause to worry. The plans state that if you cannot follow the instructions then it’s best to hire a professional contractor to build it for you. This no doubt is very sound advice because you do have childrens safety to concern yourself with, be them your own or other peoples children. I’m one of those very cautious type individuals who will always over analyze and in this case over build to ensure that everything is correct, so I think in this case this sort of construction is ideal for me. It may take more than the suggested 20 hours to construct but does it really matter how much time it takes to build, safety is the number one priority.
The week after buying all the lumber much time was spent deciding on the final elements and I finally decided that I would forego building the ladder and opt for the gangplank ramp instead. This I felt would be a more fun item and with having the rock wall anyway, it already gave a climb-in entrance. Now with a clear course of action I was looking forward to the weekend to start the cutting of the sections. (Continued)
The one thing about shopping online is, once paid for by your credit card you tend to forget about the item until it arrives, it’s not the instant gratification that you get when compared to shopping in the mall. So once I placed the order and downloaded the plans, received the conformation email I didn’t think anymore about it, afterall it was anywhere from 4 to 14 days for all the hardware to arrive. My main concern was to absorb the information provided and get some sort of cutting plan together. That order date was April 21st, a Saturday, I knew the order would not be processed until Monday when business started again.
I had already downloaded the plans and I was looking forward to the delivery of all the hardware. Just to show how quick the order went through the first package arrives on Friday 27th and the first box of goodies is the Monkey Bar dowels and Mega Top Tarp, no bolts. I was a little concerned at first, as I thought, this is an addition to the main swingset, the hardware should be with it so I immediately fired off an email asking if this was normal practice. I received an email back the following Monday, 30th April reassuring me, as I was ordering all the extras all the hardware would come together. It didn’t really matter as before I got to the email the package with all the hardware had already arrived together with the swings, trapeze, grab handles and the rest of the goodies. The only outstanding items was the slide itself and the rope ladder. (Continued)
In my previous post I shared with you the thinking behind the madness in wanting to build the Jungle Gym for my children and all the components that I was going to purchase, anyway the deed is done and I have downloaded the build plans from Detailed Play Systems. This will suppliment the real booklet that will come with the delivery of the hardware, even so this is exactly the same as the booklet but printed off by me. A total of 94 pages in all, giving me a total overview of the scope of the work that I have decided to take on.
The plans actually cover the building of the Jungle Fort, Swingset, Monkey Bars, Sand Box, Ladder, Ramp, Rockwall and Tube Tunnel leaving the plans for the Picnic Table as a seperate item that will eventually come with the table tarp and hardware. Browsing quickly over the plans it is evident that it is well put together and providing that the instructions are followed there should be minimal problems. For me the first thing to do is tally up the amount of lumber that I need in total and buy it all at once so as not to get distracted as I go through the cutting list. (Continued)
In my previous post I was quite excited about selecting the components for the swing set for the backyard and after down loading the catalog I sat down with the family to decide what we would go with. The first reaction was to go for the Jungle Fort Swing Set plus Tower but after marking out the space in the yard it proved to be so big that we just could not accommodate such a structure.
The one thing we did decide on is, we would have to have as a minimum a swing set that replaces the one that I was feeling a little uneasy about. So with that in mind the first part of the order was selecting the Jungle Fort Swing Set.
With the Jungle Fort Swing Set you get to choose the color of the roof tarp and with our son his favorite color is green and you’ve guessed it he wanted the tarp to be solid green, not green and yellow that we could have had, but solid green. The one good thing about having solid green is it shouldn’t stand out too much, it will blend in with the rest of the garden especially with the roof line being so high. Homeowner associations can be so finicky when it comes to garden structures even if it is for children. The next choice we had was with the two belt swings that come with the kit, that was an easy choice as well, green and blue, as Jack’s sister likes blue so that was easy as well. I was thinking to myself that we will need to have some of the other colors available, just to give the whole structure a little pizzazz so we’ll have to have red and yellow in the mix. (Continued)
I don’t know if it’s just my age but children these days seem to be ever increasingly active. In our back yard we have an outdoor swing set that was generously given to us by our neighbor, who’s children had grown too big for it. For me this was the perfect interim until I could get around to purchasing one of our own. I remember him saying that the frame would appear to lift slightly when the swings were in full flight. I did not pay too much attention to this because our kids are only little. To make sure I pounded in stakes, 12 inches into the ground and screwed them to the main frame to prevent this happening, anyway our Jack who’s only five is rocking this frame work to the extent that the bolts are creaking at every joint. Now this is not a major concern at this point but he’s a strong lad, hand over hand across the monkey bars and somersaults on the trapeze swing. It’s only a matter of time before this apparatus cracks under the strain.
Feeling a little under pressure to remedy the situation the hunt was on to find a suitable replacement but as you can imagine there are a lot of companies and products available. The full kits were OK but didn’t lend themselves to any kind of customization and I wanted to provide a long term replacement rather than something that was good for only a couple of years, another issue was the quality and size of the lumber used in the kits. I was looking for a product that was virtually indestructible with commercial quality but for the homeowner. (Continued)
I’ve had several requests as of late from the few visitors that I have and their main question is; “What type of timber would I recommend for carving?” This leads me to think of all the exotic timbers that are available, then again, most of the people who are asking are novices starting out themselves. Exotic timbers always spring to mind as you dream of all the cool carvings that you can do, the various streaks of color and unique colors that adorn the more expensive woods, but getting back to reality, why spend hard earned cash on a timber that is more than likely to be difficult to carve. Sure this type of wood will produce memorable and eye-catching carvings but why place additional pressure on yourself when first starting out.
To me the most important aspect of carving is to first learn the tools that you have chosen to be your companion and the easiest way is to use a timber that can be readily purchased at a Home Depot, Lowes or a DIY store. There you can get good quality lumber without it being limited in availability, for instance, Select Pine is knot free, soft enough so that it carves like butter with a sharp tool and priced so that it doesn’t matter if the carving is not quite up to speed. With this type of wood you are not struggling with a hardness issue and can concentrate on the design and the carving, knowing that you can control the tool without excess pressure. Yes, I know this is a soft timber but to gain experience with sharp carving chisels and gouges the last thing needed is an extremely hard timber like Walnut to debut your carving skills!
With the Select Pine, care still has to be taken so that it doesn’t tear when excessive amounts of material are taken away. It will split, so carve with the grain when you can and use fine sandpaper to finalize. What can be better for your self esteem than a successful first carving. (Continued)
Here we are in March and a post has been a long time a coming and I thought I would start off again with the basic conception on how would you start carving. Many people like the idea or the romance of producing their own carved forms be it for display in their own home or as a gift, but where do you start and what on, especially when you are a complete novice. Many of the carving books that you buy are filled with generic shapes, or projects, that will leave you with very little satisfaction after going through the process, a meaningless exercise. The anticipation of producing a good carved piece for the person who is new to this form of expression often betters their skill level, meaning, the project taken on is often far too complex, so it is doubly important to start off on the right path. The energy is there in the first instance so we don’t want to burst that initial enthusiasm with choosing the wrong project.
A meaningful project will stimulate the mind and keep the interest there even when the going gets tough, whereas if it were only an exercise it is so easy to move on to the next topic.
I know you’re eager to get started and you have already purchased the carving book, wanting to tear into the first design offered but sit back and think. Carvings are not just about trinkets that adorn your curio cabinet, they can be functional objects like cabinet handles or wardrobe handles. I know most people have walk-in closets these days but children rooms often still have the free standing cabinets and many of these handles can be replaced with a more organic shape than the regular round knob or the u shaped handle. Kitchen cabinet handles lend theirselves to be replaced with carved handles of fruit, vegetables or flowers to give a more country feel. These are small carvings that are functional and will give you self satisfaction on an everyday basis plus a learning curve into the durability of your carving. A reminder of how to better it the next time. (Continued)
Saturday, December 30, 2006
As we stare 2006 in the face, now is the time to reflect and contemplate what changes will make a difference for the coming year, 2007.
For me 2006 has been one of the busiest years that I can remember for a long time. My involvement in the automotive industry as Sculpting Manager has left little free time this year to fully immerse myself into my hobby of carving Welsh Lovespoons so the output has been significantly down, even the partially carved spoons that I have spoken about languish in the garage craving for attention. So, in an effort to bring a perspective to this coming year end, what is the plan for the New Year.
I tend to plan BIG, but then I remember I have two children under the age of five which instantly deflates the grandeur of the scheme leaving me with a few scrapes of an idea that I would like to accomplish, therefore let’s plot it out for all to see. (Continued)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Another year is coming to an end and as you all well know this is the time of year to look for bargains. These deals are not just exclusively for clothes or home goods but it generally applies to everything that is sold.
In one of my recent emails I find that Woodcraft are selling carving tools at a good discount and with this company they guarantee to ship them out the same day as ordered providing the order is received by 2pm EST.
The first set of carving tools that caught my eye were a set of six, a Henry Taylor starter set. These fine tools are made with hand forged blades and beech wood handles, not the general inferior quality blades that you associate with a beginners set. They are razor sharp so they are good to go straight from the box. Yes, they come in a storage box, not just loose items. The curves on the blades supplied are relatively small but will work great on small relief carvings, ideal for carving small lovespoons or ornaments. The total length for the Henry Taylor carving tools is eight inches so they won’t be too cumbersome for detail carving and should nestle nicely in the palm of your hand. The price for this set is discounted by 30% which for me is a pretty good saving. (Continued)
