"It's just a Hobby"

These are some of the woodworking projects I have made. As you can see it's mostly toys and a few fretwork pieces. I don't do woodworking for profit. "It's just a hobby." I just build things that look fun and interesting.

(click on a thumbnail picture to see a larger picture of the piece)

	WWJD Question Mark: The WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) braclets are very popular in South Carolina. I designed this question mark for my nephews and nieces who wear the braclets continually.
	Oregon Horse: A friend in Oregon sent me some samples of Alder wood, included were the precut parts for this cute horse. I just drilled a few holes, did some sanding, and buffed and waxed it for the finish. The legs are attached to dowels and are positionable. The horse stands approximately 6" tall and is roughly 7 3/4" long.
	Shaker Stool: I saw this stool at a friend's house. My wife thought it would be nice if I made a pair for our house. I took measurements from our friend's stool. Here's a picture of both stools. I now have a pattern for the stool available.
	Oak Cross: My Brother-in-law asked me to make a cross out of oak to be used in processions at their church. The cross is made from a solid piece of 3/4" oak. The rings were cut out with a scrollsaw. The groves (darker areas) were cut using a dremel tool. The pole for the cross comes apart in sections which are connected by brass inserts and screws. The base is made of layers of oak cut in an oval. The cross can be placed in the stand while on the pole or directly in the base.
	Toddler Town Car: I made this toy as a 1996 Christmas present for my cousin's daughter. The car is made of oak with ping pong balls inside the wheels. Here's another picture. The plans I used were by Better Homes and Gardens. I ordered the plans from Meisel Hardware Specialties (1-800-441-9870). The pattern was item #W1243. I also got the hardware kit #1027 which included the axles and a 3" lazy susan.
	Carousel: This piece is a combination of a carousel pattern from Wood's Favorite Toys You Can Make and horses from Patterns and Projects for the Scroll Saw by StackPole Books. It is one of the most played with toys I have made. Equally popular with young and old.
	Frog Pull-along: One of these toys was bought by some friends while in Germany. The tongue clacks up and down as it's pulled along. A cute toy. You can now see the pattern for the Frog online. (47k .gif)
	12 Wheel Pull Toy: I Saw the design for this some where and just built it from plans I schetched out. you can pull it over books or feet. It can reverse direction by pulling it back over top of itself. It can be stacked in layers (see group photo above) and pulled making each layer of wheels spin in an opposite direction.
	Whale Spinning Toy: The pattern for this toy came from How to Make Animated Toys by David Wakefield. See if you can get the whale to the far end without it doing an additional flip once it reaches the end. It's almost as addictive as the horse carousel above.
	Train Puzzle: Sorry I can't remember right now where I got the pattern for this one. Two things to consider if you plan on making this puzzle: 1) Make sure your scroll saw blade is perfectly perpendicular to the saw table and 2) Don't use Maple. It's a pain to cut.
	Fretwork Ship: The first piece I did that I think really qualifies as fretwork.
	Seals at the Circus Puzzle: This is a very popular toy with my 3 year old niece. Each time she visits she does this puzzle over and over again. I thought I'd never get all those little pieces sanded.
	Elephants at the Circus Puzzle: Second in the series of the animals at the circus. My niece liked the seals so much I thought I'd try this one.
	Pullman Rail Road Car: This is another toy from How to Make Animated Toys by David Wakefield. The men push the bar up and down as the toy moves along.
	Fretwork Gamecock: This piece as requested by one of my cousins for Christmas. I had to develop the pattern myself. It actually turned out better than I thought it would.
	Climbing Frog: This frog is from a collection of patterns called The Great American Novelty Package. Pull the strings to make the frog climb.
	Dinosaur Puzzles: These little three piece dinosaur puzzles are more challenging if you take them all apart and mix up the pieces. I made these about half the size suggested in the pattern book.
	Caterpillar Pull-along: I call this one "nutty caterpillar" Because I made the body from walnut and the wheels of pecan. This was the first project I tried to make out of walnut. Here's another picture (from above).
	Angel Christmas Ornament: This is an original design I drew for our 1995 Christmas card. The two angels play their trumpets above Bethelehem which is wrapped in a bow. The star over Bethelehem is shaped like a cross. The actual size of this piece is about 2 inches tall (much smaller than it appears). I had originally planned to cut bunches of these to give to friends at Christmas. The time involved changed my mind. I ended up making reindeers instead.

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