Tag: woodworking

Wagon Window

~ George Crawford ~ 7 Comments

Finally getting back to the wagon with longer days and less going on.  Over the weekend I started the new window for the wagon door.  The old one was a place-holder to get it out on the road (as are the other windows).  Now I want to rebuild the whole door.

The frame being built.  It is clamped to the work table to keep it rigid and prevent it from racking out of square.

Detail of how the frames cross and interlock.  I have never made a window like this so this is what I came up with.

Holding the frames fast while the glue dries.

Flipped over and given a final sanding.

Getting a few coats of Cabot’s Spar Varnish for good measure.

Fitted with three types of glass; wavy clear, hammered clear, and red with a lot of break-up.  The widow will be fitted into a frame (pre-hung) so that it can be removed entirely for repair or replacement of the door.  More to come soon.

The rest of the Vardo build can still be found here (https://paleotool.wordpress.com/plans-projects-and-patterns/the-vardo/).

Snow Goggles

~ George Crawford ~ 1 Comment

Here are some Inuit style snow goggles carved from juniper (Eastern Red Cedar).  I have made a few pair in the past but keep giving them away.  It is much more difficult to get a good fit on the face than most people imagine.  They need to fit well, be comfortable, and allow good visibility without touching the eyelashes or other moving parts around the eye.  I am currently copying another, more intricate pair from Boas’s Central Eskimo.  A truly great ethnography, full of images and very well written.Small carving projects like this are a great way to utilize scraps from the wood pile.

Porch and Rack

~ George Crawford ~ 8 Comments

A photo of the new “porch”.  I didn’t really need more sticking out in the back but it will serve as a bumper and handy surface I’m sure.

And a drying rack over the stove area.  The hooks will be useful for lanterns, tools, cookware, and wet socks.

With such limited space (about 50 sq. ft.) pegs, hooks, and little storage bins tucked away in all the furniture make all the difference.  Click either photo to get to the rest of the vardo photos.

The Devil in the Details

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

The hearth area is starting to feel more organized as shelves and hooks find their place and uses.  The shelf above the stove is primarily a lantern spot with enough room to put a second next to it.  Not visible from this angle is the divider in the plate holder that can either hold a cutting board or more plates.  The lower right area is sized to hold olive oil bottles or tea tins.

This is a small bedside container for keeping wallet, glasses, keys or a book.  I think as the wagon gets more use, there will be many more small additions like this.

Sheep Wagon

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A friend spotted this nice little sheep wagon in Payson, Arizona recently.  It’s for sale for $6000 and appears to be in good shape.  Canvas cover looks fairly new.  It would be a decent cowboy camp if you had horses or burros.

Running gear looks decent from the photo.

Side boxes and steel wheels.

Large rear window and kitchen box under the bed.

Rustic, but with a lot of great potential.

Lantern Shelf

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

After long thought and lots of head-scratching I think I figured out a decent way to hold a lantern on a shelf in the wagon. 

I found some old steel brackets and installed the shelf over the stove.  This fits the newer “Blizzard” lanterns with the large tanks so I think all of my lanterns will fit.

I put a brass insert in the shelf and carved a small knob to fit.  Please excuse the messy workbench.  Of course, the rest of the vardo build is here: Vardo Page.

Horn tooting

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

I am excited to say that I did indeed win the Grand Prize from Instructables and Popular Mechanics in the woodworking contest for my vardo/wagon.  I have to admit that it is not the finest woodworking I’ve ever done, but is possibly the most complex and required the most consideration of layout, weight, and durability.  Anyway, thanks to the committee and voters who made this happen.  There may be some photos in an upcoming magazine issue.

(I eagerly await the tools that come as part of the prize.  There are more plans afoot.)

Some new vardo pictures

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

I put up a few pictures of the nearly finished vardo.  Of course, there are many little things I still plan to do and add, the basic wagon is livable now.  I hope to eventually find a smaller stove to fit as this one could easily get too hot for the space it’s in.

Also, I published my first Instructable and received some excellent feedback.  I tried to put the Vardo build in a sensible order and post it where it can be easily found for a long time.  Here’s the link to the “How to Build the Gyspy Wagon”. If you have an Instructable account, you can vote for the best woodworking project.  I would appreciate a good vote as I could use the tools being given away.