"Nonny" wrote in message
...
Rather than seeking ideas for myself, I just want to share a few
things I've made in my shop over the years as gifts at Christmas
to friends, neighbors and employees. Perhaps others will join
in with their own projects and maybe it'll inspire some of the
woodworkers with shops and scrap material to get to sawing.

The first thing I'll mention used some of the smallest pieces of
scrap: a tiny birdfeeder. The project involved ripping walnut
scraps into 3/16" thick widths, then giving them a swipe across
the table sander to smooth up both sides. Thickness was not
critical. The base of the feeder was about 1-1/2" long by 1"
wide. There were four "posts" supporting a roof made of the
same material. The posts were simply more of the 3/16" or so
material ripped square and were about 3/4" to 1" long, beveled
to a 45 degree angle on one end and the other end square. The
roof was a gable-type joined at the peak at a 90 degree angle
and there were gable ends. It was a bit longer than the base
and each side was around 1" or so wide. The gable ends
concealed where the upper part of the posts joined the roof.

The entire thing was held together with drops of glue- there was
no joinery or fasteners involved.

The "trick" for this gift was that before I added the post and
roof to the base, I drove 4-5 carpet tacks vertically into the
platform, or base. The roof sheltered them, once glued in
place. I did no finishing of the tiny feeder. (In some European
countries, it is called a Bird Platform)

When I boxed it to give as gifts, I added in a card, sealed in
an envelope. On the outside was written: Open only after you
have tried to guess what this is." Inside was a card saying,
"Merry Christmas from Nonny. This is a "Tacks Shelter."

An alternative to the birdfeeder/tax shelter was a mosquito
feeder. This was a piece of 1" material (3/4" planed) 3/4"
long. It was mounted on a 3/16" dowel, about 5" long and mounted
to a base. The piece of wood was mounted as a diamond shape and
not as a square shape to the dowel. I then used the very
thinnest material I had- usually ripped and then sanded to make
a little roof that overlay the upper pieces of the top. A hole
was drilled into one of the faces. It, also, was given as a
gift to visitors.


Per request, a photo was posted to the binaries group.

--
Nonny

You cannot make a stupid kid smart by
handing him a diploma. Schools need standards
to measure the amount of education actually
absorbed by children. Don't sacrifice the smart
kids to make the dumb ones feel good about themselves.