Even Small Wood Can be A Lot of Fun

Sure, bigger is better, blah bla bla. But we know how to treat these special little jewels! Oh yea. I really enjoy daydreaming while I stroke that sweet part with some 120 grit sandpaper. Sometimes it can take up to an hour of stroking to get it to come out right but when it does, it's a beautiful thing. Small parts like these are just as deliriously enjoyable as the big ones plus they are just all-around fun to play with! Don't diss the little wood and let it rot away! Go ahead. Get it out of your little shed and play with it! The results could amaze you and your friends. Now where's my 60 grit... (click pics to enlarge, use your back button to return) After building a deck, there were a bunch of short 2x4's left over, so I used them for garden edging. The pressure treated material is perfect for burying in the dirt and according to the manufacturers the wood has a forty year lifespan under ground. To make these, all you need is a jigsaw (sabre saw) although a band saw will make the cuts much more quickly and accurately. Start with a piece of paper (thicker is better) to make a template. 2x4's are really just 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches, so mark off 3-1/2" and fold the paper on the line. Lay a ruler or other straight edge on the line and bend the paper up. Fold it over to make a good crease. Place the edge of the paper on the crease you just made and fold again as shown. Draw half of the design centred on the crease, just like you did when making hearts for Valentine's day in kindergarten. This will be a "self indexing" template and in the following not so well done photos, you will see why I didn't simply start with a piece of paper the same width as the 2x4. The jig consists of two parts: the design area and the indexing tab. Cut away the section of paper adjacent the design area. The part of paper (in the background) behind the scissors will become the indexing tab. Cut the folded design area on the lines. Unfold the paper and trim about an inch from the crease as shown. Here's the jig in action. Notice how the tab, or flap wraps around the 2x4 and perfectly indexes, or places the design area relative to the work piece. Trace around the template, then follow the cutting sequence outlined below. In the trade, cuts such as these are called "stop cuts." These cuts are always made first, so that the next cut will free the the waste easily. Here, the outer edge of the tulip motif is being cut. Notice that I'm not allowing the saw blade to exit the material and here's the reason: If one tries to start a cut at an acute angle with reciprocating tools like jigsaws and sawzalls, the blade will deflect laterally causing it to enter the material out of square. It is also the nature of a saw blade to stay in it's kerf, so if it starts out out of square, the whole cut will be out. The next cuts free the waste. Cutting the top of the tulip. So, that's it. One down and ? to go! We hope you have fun with this and come up with your own designs, too! Use caution when handling pressure treated materials. Wear gloves and/or wash your hands. Don't breathe the dust. The EPA has an update on the hazards of pressure treated wood here. Glossary: Jig - a positioning devise, usually shop-made, that either places a work piece or tool in such a position that only one outcome is possible. For instance, a hinge mortice jig will only let the router move in a defined area, thus the only outcome is a perfect hinge mortice. Sawzall - Brand name of a reciprocating saw. (pic) Kerf - The space created by the saw. Once a cut is started, the saw's kerf becomes long enough to give the blade lateral support. Once the saw blade has that support, it will tend to stay on the track it was started in. The wider the blade, the more it will stay in a straight line. You that have table saws know how important it is to have the fence *parallel to the blade. On the other hand, narrow blades can easily cut in circles. *I like my fence to very slightly pinch the work. It helps keep the work against the fence.