Bewildered

SWMBO had a large mirror with a metal frame that she didn't like. A few days ago, she asked me to make her a new wooden frame.

Requirement was for something that looked as though it was made 150 years ago by somebody living in a bush shanty, who had only an axe and a chisel and no woodworking skills. This was the result:

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was delighted with the it, (complete with bent rusty nails.) Oldest daughter saw it and now wants one too ....... amazing ...... I have a shed full of woodworking tools and machinery, yet this is what they want. : )

Bewildered in Oz

Reply to
diggerop
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Now WHOA there pardner! You're not coming in here expecting some kind of answer for this "bewildered" condition you're describing, are you?

Reply to
Steve Turner

You didn't hand-forge the nails?

Reply to
Dave Balderstone

I stared and stared... Is it cherry? Maybe I'm not looking at it at the right angle? To your credit, you were successful in meeting the requirements specification--and the mirror is still in one piece too! : )

Bill

Reply to
Bill

My dad once made a table for my mom, but had a hard time getting a finish on it he liked. He was halfway through stripping yet another attempt off when my mom saw it and said "That's PERFECT! Just like that!"

Reply to
DJ Delorie

Red Green would be proud of you.

Where is the duct tape and baling wire?

LOL

Reply to
Lee Michaels

Interesting.

Reply to
Robatoy

If you have even a very inexpensive wet saw, you can make a very creative mirror "frame" using marble or slate. In our mountain cabin, we had an entry that really needed a nice mirror. At Home Depot, I purchased a 24 X 36" plate glass mirror (no bevel) and glued it to the wall of the entry way, using 8d nails into the drywall beneath the mirror to support it until the glue dried.

The following day, I bought and ripped some slate floor tile that matched the colors of a fireplace in an adjoining room. I ripped the 12" slate tiles into 1", 2" and 3" pieces and then began surrounding the mirror with them, cut to random lengths. I began with the 1" surrounding the mirror, using Liquid Nails as the adhesive and straight pins to hold the slate pieces onto the drywall until the Liquid Nails set. Making sure no seams were the same, I then moved to the 2" pieces using the same technique, followed by the 3" ones. That gave me a 6" surround, which looked just fine.

No attempt was made to grout any gaps and the slightly rustic look of the irregular seams was perfect for what I wanted to do.

Reply to
Nonny

explain the strange behaviour of these woman critturs.

diggerop

Reply to
diggerop

I have no idea what the wood is. It was transit protection for a telecommunications cable drum. It's predominantly sapwood, *very* light, splits easily, quite soft.

The fragile appearance is an illusion, the frame is a lot more robust than it appears, - triangular 3 ply backing gussets on the joints, screwed and glued. I cheated on the rebate for the mirror, - used a router.

It was an interesting experience taking care to make something deliberately rough. More work involved in that than doing it properly.

diggerop

Reply to
diggerop

Shhyeeah. Like one of *those* exists! :-)

Reply to
Steve Turner

Can't help you with the wimmin part, but that would sell by the hundreds at craft fairs here in Texas.

There's riches in niches, and money where you least expect it. :)

Reply to
Swingman

On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:08:13 -0600, the infamous Steve Turner scrawled the following:

I usually get slapped for the things I whisper to women.

-- "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." -- Thomas Jefferson

Reply to
Larry Jaques

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