A diversion from my dollshouse story

I know I was telling you all about the dolls house I am building, but sometimes I take a break and do other things instead.  This time I have been trying out the new machines I bought earlier last year, during my overseas holiday.  I already had a disc sander and a table saw that I hadn't used much, but I wrote about it in the instalment: Getting Technical.  Back then I made a sliding table for my sawing machine.  I have also bought a thicknesser and it works a treat.  So I managed to lay my hands on some finely grained wood which I then put through my thicknesser to make it 2mm thick, the thickness I needed for my projects. 

My handy little machine in action

I wanted to make some wooden furniture and looked through my magazines for something that wouldn't be too hard to start with.  I found an old fashioned ironing board and a the very chair I would be able to use in my 50s house that I plan to build in the future.  It is a chair that converts to a little stepladder.  We used to have one like it when I grew up in the 50s and I have one right now, but a more luxury one which, in this case, is called a library chair.

The ironing board I changed a bit from the project in the magazine to make ik look more like the one my mother had.  The kitchen chair I had to make twice, because the first time I was 1 degree out with the hind legs.  That made them shorter, because they spread wider outwards, so I had to make the front leg shorter and also the back rest, because when you move it over to create the stepladder it sits on the floor.  Anyway, it was still usable, so I kept it, but made another one the correct way.

Since I wanted to use templates to get the degrees correct I decided to make a few kits to be used for a workshop at our miniature club.  All in all I had an enjoyable time and got to know my machines a bit better. :-)

The ironing board and two chairs, one of which is converted into a step ladder

Ironing board folded away

Both chairs together

The kitchen chair as a chair

The same chair as a step ladder

Sorry, I had published too soon (pressed the wrong button again!) and hadn't uploaded all my pictures yet.  Also I would like to welcome a number of new followers.  Unfortunately the list keeps coming up with different names all the time, so I am not too sure who the last newcomers were, but I wish you all a warm welcome and also a happy new year.

Getting technical

I was going to make some more articles besides the bread and needed small pieces of wood and dowel.  As I still want to hang on to all my fingers, and the normal size push sticks won't do for this kind of work, I decided I wanted to make a sliding table for my table saw first.  Full size push sticks are too big for the small pieces I need and making them any smaller is no good, because they become as flimsy as match sticks.  In my files on my computer I had a copy of an article in an earlier dolls house magazine which described how to go about it.  It was distributed in our online miniature group a long time ago and I knew it would come in handy one day...  The instructions were very clear, hence easy to follow.

The following pictures show you what I am talking about:

I have marked the place where the saw blade appears through the front very clearly so that I won't put any fingers across that area

I also needed to mark the 'front' since the sliding parts fit only one way on the table saw

Here I am cutting a piece of dowel.  It's so much easier if you slide the table across instead of the pieces of wood you want to cut.

So, that out of the way I could get on with my job.  Again I needed the help from our online group, because I was in need of printies.  They had to be authentic and in Dutch as well.  We're a great group of friends, longstanding I might add, and help is always near.  I received the prints in no time and thus I could make "beschuiten" and "ontbijtkoek": two kinds of bakery items that almost every Dutch person has grown up with. 

The easiest way was to have the right size of wood and dowel to cover with the paper wrappers and this is what I produced:

"Ontbijtkoek" and "Beschuit"

The roll of rusks is of a smaller size then they are nowadays, because the delivery cart is from way back as well.  You don't see them on the streets any more, nor have we seen them for nearly fifty years if I remember well.  So, now my cart is full and all I am waiting for is the hinges to finish it all off.

The hinges is all I am waiting for now

In the comments on my last posting Rosamargarita reminded me of a trick that I had quite forgotten: to use clear wood glue and saw dust to fill and repair the little hole in the lid.  I have already thanked her and have tried to make the repairs.  I don't know for sure if it worked until I have re-varnished the lid, but will let you know how I went.

Then it's time to welcome a new follower yet again. :-)  This time it's someone I know very well: Wilma from the Netherlands and although she doesn't have a blog I do know she has a website: Wilmatuurtjes.  It's in Dutch only, but I am sure you won't need words when you see the pictures.  And of course a warm welcome to you too ,Wilma.

That's all for now.  I guess my next update will be when the hinges arrive.  I might have said that in my last posting, but that's all I am waiting for right now.  See you then.