arkwood

Kanji Picture Frame

2011-10-03T11:30:00.001+01:00

A picture frame for my mother-in-law, it's carved with my daughters name in Kanji (my wife is Japanese) with her birthdate and weight. The frame is handmade.

Just for fun

2011-10-03T11:27:00.002+01:00

Thor's not so mighty wooden mallet.

Carved Celtic Knot

2011-10-03T11:25:00.001+01:00

A celtic cross pattern deep carved into pine, I really like the effect of this, will coat in polyurethane and polish up :)

Bedroom Plaques

2011-10-01T19:18:00.000+01:00

Here are a couple of plaques I made Friday. Both are fairly simple. They are both for childrens bedroom doors. I repainted the skull and crossbones as originally it looked to polished, and I wanted it to look a bit rougher, so I tried to make sure that brush strokes showed and paint coverage was not perfect.

2011-09-29T11:45:00.001+01:00

I have been busy with my new daughter but am now back on track for building and creating things :) Here are some of the items I have made recently.

Another Dovecote

Small Plaques

Personalised signs with handprints

Personalised gift box

A shop sign for Allcocks Outdoor Store

A Mondrian birdhouse for a very nice lady in Australia

Mayan calendar carved in acrylic

Sign for a friends Japanese Tea House

A large post

Acrylic mantle piece decoration

Twig Frame and interesting leaf

2010-12-18T01:23:00.000Z

Twig and plant fibre frame.

The framed leaf had a trail eaten in it that looked similar to Japanese kanji for the word Ka which means to transform or change.

Cat Bird Table

2010-12-18T01:13:00.000Z

One of the only things I have built from someone else's plans, it was a request though so i had to do it.

Apparently the cat does not scare real birds away, but in my mind it could give them a false sense of security.

Blue and White, the new Black for birds

2010-12-18T01:08:00.000Z

Dovecote

2010-06-27T11:26:00.000+01:00

My first Dovecote. Quite pleased with this, it stands 2.74 metres tall (9ft). These are usually pole sunk and concreted, but the gentleman who asked for this wanted it to have a bird table style stand, this would normally not be strong enough but the central pole will be fixed into a ground stake to add stability in windy conditions.

Police Box circa 1960's

2010-05-31T20:44:00.000+01:00

A Birdhouse in the shape of a British Police Box, requested by a friend WHO really likes seeing one of these on TV :) its definitely not a Time And Relative Dimensions In Space :)

Millenium Falcon Birdhouse

2010-04-17T22:59:00.000+01:00

Millenium Falcon Birdhouse made for a good friend in the USA :)

Greenman Birdhouse

2010-04-07T18:23:00.000+01:00

Heres my first attempt at a greenman birdhouse.

Pyrography on reclaimed cedar, with a 28mm entrance hole.

Rock Chick Bird House

2010-02-22T23:54:00.001Z

The ultimate hangout for the Rock Chick :)

This baby cranks up to 11.

I could not resist the temptation to do a guitar shaped birdhouse any longer so here it is, spacious inside, awesome outside.

New Picture Frame

2010-02-15T20:38:00.000Z

I decided to be a bit odd with this frame, though strangely I think it works.

Native American Inspired Bird House

2010-02-08T20:05:00.001Z

This birdhouse was created to show my appreciation of Native American art.

The image was influenced by an picture I saw on a war shield and I felt it would make an excellent image for a bird house.

I burnt the image onto the wood with my Piranha Pyrography machine and then used acrylic paint to add colour.

This is one of the few things I have made that I am actually quite proud of. Hope you like it.

Micro Table

2010-01-27T22:01:00.000Z

I do like these mini bird tables, this one has a base of about 5"x5".

I just need to add some silicon sealer to the centre joint to stop any water leakage onto the table and its all set to go.

Another Football Shield Bird House

2010-01-27T21:54:00.000Z

Another requested bird house, this one with the Wolverhampton Wanderers logo,

28mm entrance hole for blue and great tits.

Here you can see the incline of the roof and the vent holes under the eaves.

These holes are essential to keep down the build up of bacteria in bird houses, though most people who make bird houses do not seem to include them.

Wood Spirit

2010-01-14T17:39:00.000Z

Almost complete Wood Spirit just the eyes to improve.

Valentine Bird House

2010-01-07T22:49:00.000Z

Ok the next event is Valentines Day so I thought I would add some embellishments to a bird house, the entry hole surround is a shaped piece of hardwood, cut and sanded to the obligatory heart shape with a 25mm entry hole for small birds.

The side pegs hold the flap closed (obviously) and the flap is hinged making cleaning easier (apparently bird houses do need cleaning out after the nesting season to encourage nesting again and to make sure the environment in the box stays healthy).

There is a vent shaft at front and rear top and water expulsion holes scattered around on the base (important to stop fungal growth). Also on the inner side of the front flap there are ridges cut into the wood (what I like to call Chick Assist) to aid chicks in climbing out of te box when it comes time for their first flight, again this is an important but often overloked feature.

Handmade Christmas Gifts

2009-12-24T19:46:00.000Z

Here are some gifts I have made for Christmas, I really like how the incense burner has turned out.

Not to my own personal tastes but quite effective I think, the pattern was taken from an excellent scrollsaw website http://scrollsawworkshop.blogspot.com/ and the site owner Steve produces some amazing work.

Football Shield Bird House

2009-12-11T15:55:00.001Z

Bird House for a Sheffield Wednesday Fan, I am not really into football myself but I do like the shield shape of the Bird House. I may use this shape again :)

Man of Wood

2009-12-03T09:39:00.000Z

Here is my attempt at carving a mans face. I am not satisfied with the eyes but for a first attempt its not "terrible".

Mini Bird Table

2009-12-03T09:35:00.000Z

Heres a mini bird table designed to go on top of a cut off branch on a tree, as requested by one of my friends.

Mondrian Bird Boxes

2009-11-28T13:12:00.001Z

Two bird houses with a distinct Mondrian style paint job, I like the finished product and surprisingly the colours seem to make no difference to birds looking for a home, so good all round :)

Robin Boxes

2009-11-25T19:30:00.000Z

Here are a couple of Robin boxes, by their nature this style of box is quite mundane so I decided to try and add a bit of fun to them by burning little logos onto the front.

Is it a Bee Hive or a Bird House?

2009-11-25T19:27:00.001Z

Here is a little bee hive style bird box I created while wondering what to do next,

there are some bees pyrographed into the front (just visible in the photo), the side is hinged and lifts up for easy cleaning, the entrance hole is 25mm making it ideal for birds of the tit species.

Another Bird Table

2009-11-25T19:23:00.001Z

Here you can see a nice but simple bird table. I burnt the wood with a blow torch to give the colour and grain effect that you can see.

The top is removable allowing feed to be put inside.

Here it is with the stand.

Bird Table

2009-11-23T21:31:00.000Z

A bird table with a slighlty unusual roof design, I just liked the idea of a curved roof and it worked out better than I expected. I have also burnt leaf shapes around the side of the table just to make it more visually pleasing.

Hieroglyphic frame

2009-11-23T21:22:00.001Z

A picture frame with pyrogaphy hieroglyphics made to commemorate a good man who sadly passed away.

Map of Japan Clock

2009-11-23T21:10:00.000Z

I have recently bought a scroll saw and decided to try it out, and this Map of Japan clock was the first result, I have yet to decide a color scheme (it looks a bit dull at the moment). the map is cut from chipboard which gave a nice texture.

Mexican Pine Style Picture Frames

2009-11-23T21:05:00.000Z

Two picture frames requested by a friend, he wanted a Mexican Pine style frame but could not find any so asked me to make some for him. After some research I decided on the two styles you see above, these were cut from timber square poles and I cut the recesses for the glass and pictures on a router table. Finally I added the black hardware to give that Mexican Pine furniture look, happily he was very pleased with the outcome.

Birdhouse 1

2009-11-23T20:34:00.001Z

My first bird house, made completely from recycled wood. All joints are screwed and glued for extra strength. The roof is hinged to allow cleaning access, there are drainage holes in the bottom and vent holes just under the lip of the roof as recommended by the RSPB. Also below the entrance hole I have cut grooves to make it easier for the chicks to climb up when they are ready to leave the roost.