Alright today on Repairs101 I�m going to
show you a bunch of really easy Do It Yourself projects that almost anyone can do on any
budget that make really great cost effective gifts.
You know, I�ve made a lot of boxes as gifts for people over the years and they�re generally
really well received. I make them using mitre joints, dado joints, simple butt joints, elaborate
mortise and tenons � you know, whatever. Here�s a box I made but instead of a lid
I strung a hanger across the top and drilled a three quarter inch hole for a songbird�s
nesting site. If you don�t like birds you can stick a thermometer or a clock in it.
I pretty much always use recycled or reclaimed materials.
I like to carve dug-out boxes in all kinds of shapes � use your creativity. This one
has a snug fitting step on the lid that holds it secure. You can get a nice set of brass
hinges for about five bucks or improvise like I did with this brass hinge pin.
This is an end piece of a mahogany handrail that I think will make a really nice low-profile
jewellery box. So mark out your dug-out section� set the
depth on your drill press or mark the bit with a bit of tape.
I actually ran out of time before I could finish this box but here�s yet another dug-out
box I made a while back. I actually didn�t make this coaster set
but I�ve got a pretty good idea how it was done.
You normally see long flat Cribbage Boards with two sets of sixty or a hundred and twenty
holes. Instead I took this scrap of mahogany and made a nice Delta pattern to leapfrog
your pegs around. Throw in a deck of playing cards and it�s starting to look like a pretty
good gift. Now this is my tool caddy that I cut out of
a six by six western red cedar post that used to support my rear porch.
If you can get your hands on some Mammoth or Mastodon Ivory at a local lapidary shop
� you�ll find it works beautifully with rasps and rifflers and it can be wet sanded
down to a really fine polish. Now I�ve found hair jewellery is a big hit
with women who wear their hair long. But it takes a special kind of girl to wear a hair
clip made from a Macintosh LC575. Work glue in well with a scraper until the
wood is completely saturated and use clamps to create this cutting board that I made from
some old teak scraps that I rescued from the dumpster.
Wipe excess glue off with a damp rag so you don�t have to scrape and sand it off the
next day. Here I mark it on two sides so I can follow
the line with the blade exactly. A little mineral oil and it�s ready for use
in the shop or in the kitchen. Alright thanks for watching and don�t forget
to subscribe!