What is the last thing you made? (pics pls)

@jimw incredible again. Would love to see some pics of the process. I can't even work out how you'd start. Presumably the different woods are glued together before carving? But knowing how to do it so, e.g. the plover's ring is in the right place must take some doing?

I've had the sewing machine out. Made a frame bag for my Occam:

Also made a bodge-tastic base for a footstool (there'll be a cushion on top) out of some scraps of chipboard (which were a quid a piece in IKEA's bargain corner circa 2009 that served as shelves in several of my student houses, two of my own houses and later the garage) and ply, pocket hole screwed, with some chip foam underlay that our kitchen floor came packed in glued and staples on, and some cheap fabric stapled over that.

Thanks @thenorthwind

Yes the blocks are made up from individual pieces. The one for the plover has 14 individual components and took me six hours or so to make before I started shaping. The legs are fabricated from bronze wire and again there are four parts to each side

the beak is laminated from maple veneer and added later

The one for the bullfinch

The bike bag looks great- presumably fairly water-resistant?

Jimw - love the build method and the bronze legs remind me of my (brass jointed) frame building. Would you consider commissions / making one to sell? We have a Nuthatch that visits the garden which needs replicating.....

Mick_r

I have made a couple  pieces on commission, but so far only to people whom I know locally. The trouble is that each piece takes me between 30 and 40 hours, so they are not inexpensive if you consider that  at the minimum wage plus materials….. Many people consider that too much for something that is quite small.

I fully understand - I could never make frames as a viable venture and I'd have the added worry of liability. The only one exception was the one I made for a friend's daughter where he did all the cleanup filing etc. Very proud of that one as she went on to race the CX worlds last weekend 🙂

Thanks @jimw, really interesting to see the process. I'm not surprised to hear how long it takes (if anything, I'd have guessed more) but the results are... just incredible.

I never treat my frame bags as fully waterproof, but both the face fabric and lining are PU coated and the zip is waterproof, so it should be reasonably water resistant. I haven't sealed the seams though.

Curved bench for a boot room (I'm working for the man now 😐)

Lovely stuff again @kayak23. Even continued the grain around the seat curve!

It's about the only grain I'll get now I've got a job. Otherwise, mdf 😐

Sorry to hear it kayak23, but it should be a bit more financially rewarding. Can you continue the fun/artisnal stuff as a sideline?

Yes, they're very open to you doing your own thing after hours so I could possibly be very selective with commissions.

Whether I'll have the energy is another thing! 😬

Hmmm, came on to add a picture but the edit icons have all gone. Worked yesterday?

@welshfarmer, I found if you click the "text" tab then click back on the "visual" tab they appear

I am not seeing any tabs any longer. Nothing. But apparently if you go back and Edit a post they miraculously reappear. I shall try that now.

Yep, there they are. If I come back in and edit my post the format mcontrol panel reappears. Most wierd. So anyway, back to the thread. When I bought a pair of leather seats from a Merc to fit in the front of my T5 from Ebay about 5 years ago, the seller insisted I also took the rear seats too. I have had in mind to knock up a "sofa" to go int he man cave since then. However, I have only just finished building my new man cave so I have no knocked up a frame and the resulting sofa is now ready. It needs to be taken apart for paint and finishing but it is extremely comfy and I am quite happy how it came out. The legs used to be part of the roll cage on my old land Rover, so bonus points for recyling 😉  I will post another pic when it is painted and up on the mezzanine.

I made this possible.

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A friend asked me last October if I could get the Council to allow us to create a 4X track, so I did.
Not as well crafted as lots of the things on this thread but if it turns out even half as good as Southampton Bike Park, I will be proud of it.

We are starting with a disused BMX track that has been left untended for the last 5-10 years. It will have the track surface cleared to rideable dirt, the jumps and rollers rebuilt to be properly rideable and I am applying for funding to get a fleet of loan bikes for intro and training programmes.
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Puffin in Walnut, maple and sapele, the base is cherry

I am happy with the form but the surface finish not quite as hoped

The puffin looks amazing!

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You make some fantastic shelves and then don't use the Dewey Decimal system to arrange the books...............

I made a kiridashi style knife, using bits of my sensei's old worn out shinai as handle

https://flic.kr/p/2pDPx3j

I finally had a crack at converting my old steel frame 1993 26" MTB to disc brakes. Just a bit of CAD (cardboard aided design), some 4mm bar and a bit of mig welding. I have now tidied it up a lot and linished all the welds amd painted. Looks a bit rough on pics but is better in real life and more than happy with final result. Back also done.

Top bodge but I’d bet a strawberry and cream chuppa chup that you’ll begin to see stress marks on the fork leg before too long, at least I hope you see them with running quick releases.

First doors for my son’s wardrobe / toy cupboard. Rattled up from reclaimed scaffolding boards that I’ve cleaned, blasted, sanded and wire brushed. They may be somewhat overbuilt 🤦🏻‍♂️

Made a bike rack, well bought some bits and 3D printed some others.

Made a wee adapter to attach Blackburn plugger to frame (has now been revised and uses cable ties now)

A quick link holder

A wedge for top tube mounted garmin so i can see it a bit easier and a spatula for removing sealant out of a tyre (no pictures though)

I finally got round to using a turning blank of Indian Rosewood someone gave me as a secret santa c.8 years ago?

I made a couple of traditional sail making tools - a stitch heaver (had a short length of bronze rod in my toolbox)  and an 8" fid.

Mick_r got me thinking about Nuthatches. I have not used wood stain much in my work but thought it might make a useful subject for an experiment. It has mostly come out as I wanted but I realised after the event with a bit of research maple isn’t necessarily the best timber to take up the dye evenly especially if there is a joint in the block.

other timbers used are Cherry for the body, Walnut for the eye band and beak and Yew for the base

I've stopped paying my subs (boo! hiss!) so I don't get a like button any more, but you can be sure I would be hammering on it for the Puffin and the Nuthatch.

I like the rosewood bits, too, but will be having nightmares about @Welshfarmer's welded forks. High carbon steel bike frames don't usually take well to welding. If they don't crack straight away, I'm worried that the welds will be as brittle as glass. Hope I'm wrong... :-/

That's sick (nuthatch) 👏

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Finally got the workbench together in my new workshop.
Could have been a bit tidier and hidden the screws and still have a couple of bits to finish.
But it's good to finally have some space to do stuff.

It's still very much a work in progress, but I'm pleased with how this retaining wall is going so far.  All work done by hand, single-handedly (the dog likes to think she's helping).

Once the remainder of the wall is complete (this weekend hopefully) I'll be lifting the old patio and leveling it all out ready for new slabs over a much larger area.  Then the undulating lawn will be dug over, leveled and re-turfed - if I survive that long!!! 😀

A "before" picture from another angle, showing the area being worked.

(the dog likes to think she’s helping).

She is!

*spaniel shown for scale.

There was the use of hammers, red hot metal an anvil and a qualified blacksmith when I assisted in the manufacture of this.

Of all the amazing gifts the absolutely lovely MrsAmbrose has given me, the forging day ranks in the top three. It was just such a wonderful day, making metal change into the shapes you wanted. I made a few hooks and a little hanging rail. Magic.

I've just strung this up for the first time. I need to leave it for a week, or so to settle down before I set it up and see if I can make it play nicely.

August 2023

Now

That’s fantastic

That is lovely @tillydog

@tillydog That's some real talent, kudos.

That is stunning Tillydog 🙂👏

Okay, maybe this isn't quite up there with Jim's birds or Tillys guitar but I give you:

Stealth Attack Giraffe

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man that guitar is breathtaking. lovely thing