Category: Gifts

  • JOY Yard Signs

    After almost ten years after making the first two sets of JOY yard signs, Stephen requested another joint effort to create two more sets. One of these sets would go to Andrew and Megan, and the other set would go home with Stephen, as a surprise early present to Katie. The plan was to finish…

  • Mary’s Mesquite Log

    Mary was saddened when a sudden Arizona storm blew down a mesquite tree in her yard. Not long ago, Mary’s husband Boyd had passed away, and that particular mesquite had always been his favorite tree. As Mary’s friend, Deb asked me if they sent me a log from Mary’s fallen tree, would I be able…

  • Smartphone Amplifiers

    Inspired by the walnut inlaid amplifier that Kyle made for Beth for last year’s Christmas name exchange, I decided to make a simplified design, taking advantage of the lessons learned from Kyle’s build. I also took advantage of a piece of 2″ thick white ash left over from Kyle’s Platform Bed build. One of the…

  • Score Four

    A fond childhood memory was sitting at the kitchen table, usually in the wintertime, and playing game after game of Score Four. I think we only ever played by the basic rules, and as soon as someone won by getting four of their color beads in any straight row, the game was over and we’d…

  • Christmas Projects 2021

    Some of the ideas for this year’s small Christmas projects were inspired by special pieces of wood already in the shop. Other ideas came from woodworking magazines, offhand comments by others, and even a meme from the world of cryptocurrency. Rustic Bud Vases These pieces were made from a dried butternut bowl blank from a…

  • Kyle’s Coaster Holder

    On a recent visit to Rio Verde, Arizona, Jeff and Debbie took us to the cool town of Cave Creek. The main thoroughfare is lined with unique shops, art galleries, restaurants and even a shop called The Town Dump, a quirky gift shop that, sadly, has closed after 42 years in business. Lucky for us,…

  • Kyle’s Knife Block

    Kyle brought his set of kitchen knives over to sharpen them with my diamond plate and water stones. The knives were in great shape but his original knife block was water-marked and starting to delaminate a bit. It was in the fall, so I had plenty of time to draw up a design and have…

  • Cherry Box Restoration

    An old cherry box, one of many made by my dad, Bill Mahan, back in the day. Still solid, time had taken it’s toll, warping the box and lid so they no longer lined up or closed. After some jointer and table saw work and quite a bit of sanding, the sides of the box…

  • Diane’s Seed Box

    A gift for our friend, Diane, this seed box incorporated several small-project techniques that are relatively new to the Marietta Wood Works shop. Resawing stock provided 1/2″ and 1/4″ thick components in keeping with the scale of the overall project. Temporary painter’s tape hinges did a good job keeping components aligned during glue up and…

  • Katie’s Scrabble Box

    The duel challenges of Katie’s Scrabble Box were to create a custom storage box for an existing Scrabble set, and to incorporate some CNC artwork into the project. Using hard maple and birch plywood, I decided to insert a machined maple medallion into the birch top. Taking dimensions from the Scrabble game components, the detailed…