Lion’s Head Lighthouse UPDATE
Tiny Lighthouse Meets Giant Birdhouse
The problem was, I was reluctant to leave the replica-ish Lion’s Head Lighthouse I recently built outside all winter (although that was kind of the point, to cover the ugly wellhead in the front garden). So I thought I’d build something way easier that I wouldn’t feel so protective about. Hence the big-ass birdhouse. However, I now love them both equally and don’t want to risk either of them outside all winter. But if I had to rebuild one of them because it collapsed from all the snow getting shoveled onto it, the birdhouse would be the quickest to replace, so I guess that’s settled…
Lion’s Head Lighthouse
Awl Done
Yarn Buddy
At my wife’s suggestion, I made this yarn buddy. I used some pine I had lying around, thinking it was just going to be a prototype, but it worked out well enough that I may not need to do another one.
Getting the Lazy Susan bearing perfectly aligned is not a trivial matter, but the two discs are perfectly concentric… in this position… As it rotates, there’s a little tiny bit of an eccentric wobble, but that’s just part of its charm. The centre spindle is friction fit and can be removed for packing the yarn buddy in a suitcase and taking him on a trip.
Bell’s Final Resting Box
Painted Muskoka Chairs and Footstools
This is the last of the painted outdoor furniture projects for the time being. A third footstool has not aged well, and will need to be replaced (new project!) but the two that match these two chairs were fine, so the set is complete. Again, they were (and still are, under the opaque stain) made of lovely Western Red Cedar, but the years outside take their toll, and they needed a refresh. Finishing outdoor projects is a lively topic of discussion in woodworking circles, with preferences ranging from a bulletproof Epifanes or Marine Spar Varnish finish, to an annual clean, sand, and oil regime, to nothing at all (naturally weathered gray, eventually). The latter has some appeal, until you factor in that you’d probably want to wash and sand them every year or two anyway, so not much extra work to reapply a finish at that point.
Here’s how they looked in their original glory, having been outside for all of five minutes at this point.
Painted Chairs
The smaller outdoor chairs have been painted “Bluenose” blue. The larger Muskoka chairs need a few touchups, but then we’re done painting furniture I think… I would not even consider painting Western Red Cedar right away, it’s a gorgeous wood that should be celebrated (see originals below ) but after seven years outside, they needed serious rehab, and this was a fun way to give them new life. Full credit for the paint job goes to Lynda, I just did the grunt work of power washing and sanding them.