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Wooden Art Crates

A request came in for some bespoke wooden stacking crates.   I was shown pictures of old wine crates and army issue ammunition boxes, with the customer looking for a mix between the two.

The function of the crates were for storage and transportation of art materials, for delivering art workshops at different locations. They needed to be able to be distributed in the boot of a car, and then be stacked in a relatively small footprint when stored.  

When on location, the desire was to spread trays of equipment from within the crates for attendees to access on the courses.

I chose to build with CLS (Canadian Lumber Standard) timber as the corners have already been ‘eased’ for use in construction situations.

The crate holding the trays did not require a solid base, instead using supporting battens for the trays to rest upon.

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Garden chair re-fit

Some garden chairs had naturally come to the end of their 12yr life, with the plastic sling seat becoming brittle and ripping due to Ultraviolet light deterioration.   The steel chair frames, were still in reasonably good shape. 

With a bit of thought, a re-design, a few stainless steel screws, a tin of paint, and wood ripped from 3” x 2” CLS timber, the project began.

 The chair on the left is a surviving chair.. looking rather tired after 12 years sitting in a garden exposed to the elements.

The chair in the middle is part finished, the frame was dis-assembled, re-painted, and re-assembled, I secured the seat slats using stainless steel self tapping pan head screws and the screw holes were finished with wooden plugs glued into the screw holes.

The chair on the right is fully finished, sanded down and stained with weatherproof treatment.

The paint used was a weather resistant smooth metal black paint.

Once complete, the homeowner took joy being seated beside a chiminea with its warm and mellow glow, along with drinks on their deck.

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Paper folders

I had a request to make some ‘bone’ folders. Traditionally these are made from bone, but are often made from wood or plastic.

A bone folder is a dull-edged hand tool used to fold and crease material in crafts such as bookbinding or card making, it may also be used for burnishing a ‘rub on’.

A requirement for about twenty were needed for children’s crafting workshops.   A top quality bone version wasn’t required, so I machined and hand finished these from scrap timber I had in my workshop.   I have since been informed that they work well, and the children have had great fun creating their own handmade books.