Project: Picture Clipboard - Part 2

We left off in the last post with the project barely even started. In this post, we go through the rest of the steps to finish the Photo Clipboard project, just in time to give it to my sister for Christmas.

When I had rough cut the planks into smaller boards, I apparently did not cut them square (odd, since I used a speed square to guide the cuts...) so I had to line up the boards, mark a line, and cut off some excess.

Once I trimmed off the excess, I had to fine tune the cut and also smooth the end grain, so I got to try out my new low-angle block plane.

Mounting the 'photo clipboards' to the wall was something I had considered early on, I could have used a lot of different methods, I had it narrowed down to a keyhole plate, or one of those sawtooth hangers.

After mounting the keyhole hangers, and doing a test-hang, the clipboards hung a bit crooked - so in retrospect, I should have chosen the sawtooth hangers instead. But it was fun installing the keyholes and practising my chisel skills.

The planks needed to be roughed up a bit, since the corners and edges were too square and uniform. My sister wanted the rustic / well-worn look, so I got out my sander, some 60-grit paper, and went to town.

It's difficult to remember to take photos as you work, especially when sanding or painting, but I tried my best. After I had sanded the boards, I used my Shop-Vac to clean the dust off of the wood, in preparation for staining.

In order to get a nice deep tone, I left the stain on for 20 minutes before rubbing off any excess. The stain, clearcoat, and paste wax are all Minwax, so each stage of the finish would be compatible, producing a good end result. I've heard many times it's a good idea to stick to one manufacturer when finishing. (It's not a hard rule, but I seem to get good results this way)

Now that the stain is applied, I put on the satin finish clearcoat, which was fairly straightforward, I put on one coat a bit too heavy which caused drips - since I'm still not too skilled with applying finish I haven't found the best way to avoid drips yet. No big deal, I can scrape and sand afterwards.

While the clearcoat dries, I opted to modify the clips. Since the clips didn't lay totally flat, I cut one side of the clips off, which wasn't totally necessary, but I wanted to see how it would turn out. After the first clip was cut, I tested it out - it seemed to sit better than the un-cut ones, so I did the rest.

(Above - a quick jig helped me cut the bulldog clips)

(Above: The modified clip next to the unmodified clip)

The clearcoat was finally dry - I could start assembly of the clipboards. The keyhole mounts were the first thing I installed, and then I moved on to the sanding stage.

With the clearcoat dry - the finish was dull and rough to the touch. I wanted to use multiple coats, but I was running out of time, so I stuck with one. (It was a real heavy first coat, so it would be good enough)

The boards needed a sanding, I put some 320 grit onto my random orbit sander. Sure, I could have done this by hand, but this would be faster since I was in a bit of a time crunch.

(Above: Before sanding, after sanding)

With the sanding done, the boards were nice and smooth, but also very dull. To complete the finish, I hand-rubbed in some paste wax with some 0000 grade steel wool. I have to say, this was the most tedious and time-consuming step of the whole process. In the end though, it was well worth it because the finish turned out really nice.

(Above: Smooth as silk, but still not too shiny)

Final assembly could begin since the finish is all taken care of. Now because I had cut off a portion from the bulldog clips, they didn't sit in a way where I could get my screwdriver though. I solved that by putting something between the clip to align the faces so I can get my screwdriver in.

Lastly, because the boards sit a bit crooked when hung, I solved that issue by sticking some non-slip pads to the back of the board. After installing them, I did a test hang again - they worked like a charm.

Another project finished, and just in time for Christmas! My sister seemed to like them, and now she can showcase her child's artwork for years to come.

(Above: Finished, hung, and a sample included with the new gifts)

This build was a lot of fun, and deriving inspiration from one idea and making changes to make that idea your own is part of what makes 'making' a fun process. Stay tuned for more posts and more projects!

-Nelson

Project: Picture Clipboard - Part 1

My sister had sent me a link asking if I was able to make this "photo clipboard" that she found on a DIY blog. Her intention would be to use it to display her sons artwork around her house.

After thinking about it and how I would make it, I set out and tried to source materials. The toughest thing to find out of the project was the bulldog clips. Most of the hobby stores or places where you would assume you could find them around town did not sell them. But I managed to find some eventually.

The backer board was easy enough. I was planning to use some reclaimed wood (or up-cycled, since that's also technically what it would be) but in this case I found a nice pine board at a local big box store, and it wasn't too expensive. The figure was really nice, and there were no knots, which is why I went with it.

The construction is straightforward. I was cutting up a 2 x 12 for another project, and since I had my tools out I cut up the pine 1 x 12 as well. I cut it into 14"-ish long pieces, which left me a tiny bit extra for scrap/maybe some other project.

After I cut the board down, I put a piece of standard letter paper back onto the board, centered it, and clipped the bulldog clips to the paper - this helped me align where the clips would mount. I marked the location of the clips with an awl, and drilled some small pilot holes.

(Above: Opted for a #6 x 5/8" screw)

(Above: Pilot holes help prevent splitting, even in soft wood)

There was a good reason for using that size of screw - so my screwdriver could fit through the holes in the bulldog clip to drive the screw. If I had gone for another size screw, I would have had a heck of a time getting a good purchase on the head of the screw to drive it. I could have used nails, but I tend to avoid them.

Once I had the bulldog clips mounted, I could slip in a piece of paper to get a good idea of how it would look. The paper centers nicely, and the clips sit fairly flush to the wood. I might consider cutting off one side of the bulldog clip - to make it more of a true 'clipboard style' - but I'm not certain I'll do that yet.

Since everything fit fairly well, it was time to focus my attention on the wood again. My sister likes the whole 'rustic' thing, so I figure I'll give that a go. I wanted to treat the edges with a 1/4" roundover bit in my router, but that would be too clean and uniform.

But that's all for now, I'll finish it off in the next article!

Project: Reclaimed Barnwood Desk - Building the Legs + Finale!

This is it folks, the final build post and this project is finished! But what did it take to get there?

For the base/legs of the desk, I discussed a few options with my girlfriend and we landed on the somewhat popular iron/steel pipe legs. I had seen them used in a few places and always liked how it was a marriage of hard and soft, metal and wood, light and dark, and I was curious how it would work out, and what the technical aspects were to making it happen.

To start, I needed the pipes, unions, nipples, flanges, etc... the tricky part was deciding between 1/2" and 3/4". Due to pricing and availability of materials, the obvious choice was 1/2". After a trip to Home Depot, I had most of the materials needed to get started.

With a portion of the legs roughed up, I could get some more measurements and plan for the additional pipe I would need to purchase.

For some reason I had thought that the folks at Home Depot had the facilities to cut custom length pipe and even thread it. Boy was I wrong. They did not, so I had to buy the closest approximate lengths of pipe. I was kind of furious at this point, since I didn't plan for this.

After getting the pipes, and some time with the tape measure, I sketched out the general plan and finalized lengths and required cuts. Six pipes needed cutting, which wasn't too bad - all things considered. Knowing what I know now, I would have mounted the inserts to the underside of the desk after the fact.

With a cut list done, I made use of my Dad's workspace. It's older than me I think. But it has a sturdy bench, and an even sturdier vise. This was perfect for the work I had ahead of me.

So with a coarse hacksaw blade, and loads of blade tension, I began to make all my cuts - which was a lot of work as I suspected. I could have used a sawzall and a metal cutting blade, but that's likely to cause a lot of inaccuracy.

Six pipes cut, and it's on to getting some new threads cut. This started with de-burring the pipes - and I would later find out that I would have to file into the ends of the pipes quite a bit to get the thread cutter started.

The pipe threading was interesting, had a tough learning curve, and I had to break out the serious tools... which my Dad luckily had. I swear that man owns every tool imaginable.

The pipes started to slip when I was using the bench vise - and surprise, my Dad owned a pipefitters stand, which had better clamping and leverage for the work ahead of me.

After a lot of trial and error (and even more cursing, and sore muscles) I had the new threads cut and cleaned up. But as you can see, I had excess file marks on the pipes, which looked terrible.

Since the coating on the pipes were inconsistent from one manufacturer to the next, I chose to sand off the coating for all the pipes, and clean up the file marks I had made. This proved to be a very long and messy and strenuous job.

The end result on the other hand, was some decent looking pipe. But now they were too bright.

And now it was time to test fit the assembly of the legs and how they would fit to the table flange plates. I had to remove the table flange plates to get it all assembled and mounted, but it all fit!

Of course, now I had two issues... first - the pipes definitely were too bright, second - the table is a bit too tall... almost 2 inches too tall.

After showing the desk to my girlfriend - she was happy with the height, and the color of the legs - so I can keep things as they are. Now it's a matter of finishing up a couple small details.

The metal flanges are a bit rough, and can scratch flooring if they are left as-is. So that is one item that needs to be sorted out before final delivery. Another issue is the pipes might loosen over time, which could cause a serious wobble. I want the desk to feel solid, so this is also something I will need to figure out.

For the flanges that touch the floor, I searched Home Depot for some felt padding. I found sheets of it that would require cutting, which would not be ideal. My girlfriends keen eye found some 3" diameter round felt pads. We walked them over to the plumbing aisle and confirmed they fit the flanges - they did - so that was an easy purchase. One final item on the shopping list was some Loc-tite red.

Installing the felt pads to the flanges was a simple affair. I cleaned off any residue from the metal with some solvent, then heated up the flanges and felt pads with a hair dryer - and stuck the pads on.

(Above: Talk about luck, that fit is perfect)

And the final step - taking apart the whole desk frame - and treating all the threads to some Loc-tite. I treated almost all the threads to the Red Loc-tite, so they wouldn't move - however I wanted the feet to be a bit adjustable in case the floor isn't level, and the back bar/brace would need to be removable as well. In this case I would use Blue Loc-tite on those threads.

Once everything was secure, the desk could be brought over to my girlfriends place, reassembled, and enjoyed. I designed it in a way where it could be easily packed and transported - like Ikea but not as flimsy as most of the things from Ikea.

(Above: Packed flat and ready to transport)

Getting the desk to my girlfriends place was a simple affair, then I unpacked it and put it together. I used a "90" (ish) degree adapter on my drill to feed the mounting 1/4-#20 screws in most of the way, and I gave them a final tightening by hand afterwards.

(Above: I used a drill because I'm lazy)

And here is the desk all set up and in it's final resting spot. The floor was very out of level since it's a basement suite, but the great thing about using pipe and flange legs - they're adjustable, so I was able to get the desk leveled up easily.

(Above: Cat inspected - cat approved)

Thanks for following along, I hope you enjoyed reading about this as much as I enjoyed building it.

On to the next project!