Indy Made Market Facebook Event Page
There are several local Indy makers participating in this spring virtual market. Shop from the comfort of your home by visiting the #IndyMadeMarket link above. You can head directly to my virtual shop in the link below.
It is already February! So far it has been a busy 2017 here at JoeBcrafts.
At the tail end of 2016, I was approached by Canvas Paintings By Katie about producing the sign boards for her parties. I made some pre-production samples for the owner to review. It was decided that there would be two different sizes offered as well as two different stains. So right after Christmas I got to work on the initial order. 80 boards were produced that week. Parties started to book and it quickly became apparent that a lot more boards were going to need to be made. Throughout January I made trips to Lowes (or HomeDepot when I cleaned out Lowes of the size I needed) for lumber to maintain an inventory of finished boards ready to become signs. Once January was over, I had made 234 sign boards which was enough to stretch 90 yds on a football field. Here is a picture of the signs created at one of the parties.
My process of making the sign boards:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOk54FFZKE8[/embedyt]
In addition to the large quantity of sign boards, I found some time to make some more items to sell on Etsy.
I made some new tablet and cellphone stands using various species of the wood I have milled into lumber.
Keychains of wood were also created just before Christmas.
The art canvas drying rack I built in November got filled to capacity and the owner requested another one as well as one for a friend. While at my shop they also decided that they wanted to have a rack similar to my wood sign board rack.
Though I was busy with projects for others, I did find time to make something for my own home. At a wood sign party I experimented with using a painter’s drop cloth canvas as the medium for the vinyl stencil. It came out well and so I decided it needed to have a frame. Black Walnut was the wood of choice.
There are more sign boards to make, more items to make to sell on Etsy, commissioned projects, home projects, my day job, and life in general. Here’s to a busy 2017!
JoeBcrafts Etsy Shop
JoeBcrafts on Facebook
JoeBcrafts on YouTube
JoeBcrafts
This Black Walnut Jewelry Box was cut out of a single piece of wood. The lid has curled slightly due to material being removed and stressed in the wood relieved. It has wooden hinges that were made from another piece of this wood with brass finish pins. The finish on the box is mineral oil and wax to give it a natural color and feel. The interior of the Black Walnut Jewelry Box is lined with a heavy black felt. This box is perfect for holding earring cards and other thin items.
It is almost Christmas 2016, and JoeBcrafts is going to give one lucky person a Christmas gift. If you are a resident of the continental US, simply like the JoeBcrafts Facebook post that this article will be referenced in. On Christmas Day I will select the winner by generating a random number and matching that to the list of likes. I will contact the winner for their address and ship the Black Walnut Jewelry Box (my daughter’s earrings not included) to them before the new year.
Check out my Etsy shop for other items I have made.
There are some new Black Walnut items for sale in the JoeBcrafts Etsy Shop. Some items are solely made of the rich brown Black Walnut heartwood. Other items have Black Walnut paired with Ash. A couple have it all; dark live edge, light sapwood, and rich brown heartwood.
This Black Walnut item is made from a 13″ wide slab. The slab had a substantial crack and bowing. I cut the slab down the middle and used these two pieces as the sides. The wine saddles are also made from a piece that had live edge. The orientation of the pieces creates an item with two characters. From one side the wine rack is rustic with live edge, cracks, and spalting.
The other side brings only rich brown heartwood and a more modern feel.
A 12″ wide slab works well as a serving board. Pile on the meats, cheeses, or other delectable foods it is robust enough to take it. While perfect for its function, it also has a form worthy of display on its own. The ends of the board are cut with an angle to match the live edge sides. Continuing the trapezoid/pyramid theme are the feet. They are tapered at the same angle as the ends.
Black Walnut and Ash are paired together on this item.
Share a bottle of wine with a special someone. The first conversation can be about the lovely wooden thing that held the glasses and wine. Maybe later the conversation can turn to what is within the next item.
Like a walnut, there is something delicious inside. This item has a lot of the rich brown Black Walnut heartwood with just a hint of the light sapwood. That special someone is sure to almost be as excited about the box as the ring or other trinket within.
These are just a taste of the decadent Black Walnut items that currently are available in JoeBcrafts Etsy Shop. New items are added regularly, be sure to check in often.
Over Memorial Day weekend I was able to get several pieces of former firewood turned into Black Walnut lumber on my bandsaw mill. These pieces were “scheduled” to be chopped into firewood by one of my friends. I realized that these pieces of wood weren’t simply more ash that had been killed by Emerald Ash Borer, and so I rescued them from becoming simply firewood.
I milled the 14″ round x 2 ft sections into 1-1/2″ to 2″ thick slabs along with a couple 4″x4″ solid walnut blocks.
The first things I have made with them are a couple trivets. One trivet is solid Black Walnut.
The other trivet is a combination of Black Walnut, Mulberry, and Ash. All 3 woods were milled using my homemade bandsaw mill.
There will be more items made from this lumber. Be sure to check out my Etsy storefront.
I am a Mechanical Engineer and in my spare time I like to do woodworking projects. They might be small trinkets, furniture, or other things that someone needs. Creating things has always been something I enjoy. As a kid I played with Lego, Tinkertoy, and built things from scrap pieces of wood. There were plenty of tools in the garage since my dad was a Mechanical Engineer, had a go-karting hobby, and is a DIY handyman. At first I only got to play with the handsaw and hammer, but as I got older I was allowed to use the power tools. I helped dad build decks, build a 3 car detached garage, and many other home improvement projects. There is just something about being able to point at something and say “I made that.”
For my own home, I have built several pieces of furniture. My first pieces were a pair of end tables and a sofa table. I then built an entertainment center. When my kids were in the Thomas the Train phase, I built them a table for the train set. Now it is used as a Lego table. The in-laws have a couple furniture pieces. My most recent furniture pieces are the 4 kitchen table chairs. I even created a pattern for and sewed the slip covers. Being a Woodworker is my passion, but I believe that everyone should be a Renaissance Man. I can do something of a lot of different things.
This site is a place to display these projects as well as being a portal to my Etsy shop where you can purchase some of these creations.
There is a link to that shop at the top of this webpage as well as right here: JoeBcrafts on Etsy.
Welcome to JoeBcrafts!
Thanks for stopping by.
Joe B
JoeBcrafts.com got created today. Up to this point, the only web presence was on Etsy. For now, Etsy will still be the primary storefront. This site will be used to tie Etsy, YouTube, and other outlets together.
