Disc Golf Shoulder Strap Bag

The yank side of our abritandayank team is an avid disc golfer and always on the hunt for more ways to improve his game. In the spirit of up-cycling he used an old waxy canvas bag to fix up a new shoulder strap style bag. It required some sewing and a fair bit of guess work but this is the basic pattern used below and final product up above.

Shrink Pots

This project is a little different from the previous posts. We attended a short craft lesson on making shrink pots.  We were taught how to use a small freshly cut birch log to make hollow pot out of. The same process can be adapted to make pots of all sizes.

First a small pilot hole is drilled about as long as we want the pot to be. Then a spoon auger is used to  roughly hollow out most of the log.

  

After it is hollowed we cut the log down to the desired length of our pots.

 The next steps are harder to describe and require a lot of shaping with a very sharp carving knife.  In general the idea is to hollow it out leaving a consistent thickness all the way around.

Next we traced the end we wanted to be our "bottom" onto the harder wood that would become that base as the log drys and shrinks around it.

A small tapered lip inside the pot and along the edge of the "bottom" helps it to sit in place while the pot shrinks around it to keep it all sturdy.

Outdoor Pallet Bed

When the summer comes with warm weather and those everlasting daytime hours all we want to do is spend every minute outdoors. With the birds singing, flowers in bloom, and fireflies lighting up the nights we decided that it was time to make one of those hanging beds we see on Pinterest. There could not be an easier pallet project.

We used two 4x4 ft pallets in mediocre shape. From there all it took was three 8ft 2"x4" timbers to attach and support the the pallets.  For strength and appearance we slipped the timbers through the inside of the pallets and screwed them to the thicker pallet supports. The hardest part for us was to find a tree and branch we trusted to support it.  Then it became a matter of hanging the rather heavy bed and keeping it level.  Later on we found a plywood board that wedged into the planks to create a bit of a backrest and a couple old fitness mats to make a comfy mattress. Now dress it up to look nice and tie up a net if the mosquitos are bad in your area.

Beer and Wine Bottle Glass and Candle

 

We read a lot of different ways to cut old beer and wine bottles into cups but after trying them out this method is by far the best and least likely to shatter.  After a bit of practice we have about 80% success without the glass cracking which is pretty darn good.  Minor cracking at the rim is fixable. If a crack travels down the glass then i suggest abandoning that one because it will only get worse and even the sanding could break it. Thicker glasses do work better if they are etched well.

First we used a thinnish piece of wood to fasten our glass etcher to the work bench.  The workbench has an adjustable gap to let various bottle sizes to sit nicely. From here we would determine where we want to score the bottle and line that up with the etcher and then screw in a block at the base of the bottle to hold it still and level while we rotate it.

Glass Etcher (Red Arrow)      Scored line on bottle (Green Arrow)

Now you rotate the bottle with just enough pressure to scratch the glass, too much could punch a small hole through. Once the etched line is all the way around the bottle you are ready for the next step. Boil a pot of water and get the tap water running as cold as you can. Then pour the hot water slowly on the etched line of the bottle rotating it all the way around to make a complete circle or two. Then do the same with the cold and keep alternating until you hear or feel a faint crack.  If done just right the bottle will split without any effort if not then a very light tap with something hard will do the trick.  Small pieces of glass may flake off the rim so we would advise glasses for this step.  We usually have a bucket of water just below the glass so when the bottle separates it doesn't smash.

When the bottle has separated and you have a mostly level split you can begin the sanding. By hand this is a LONG and painful process.  With a simple electric sander or attachment for a drill it becomes a breeze. We sanded down 5 bottles in about an hour. The sand paper does get used up quickly though so make sure to keep using new pieces and it will go much quicker. Use a medium to fine grit as a rough grit may actually make divots in the rim or break the glass. Also be careful not to sand the label down(another hand sanding risk) unless you want that type of worn effect. Look at the photo below to see a partially sanded label.

Wine bottles work well also

These glasses make great crafty glasses though they work well as candles also.  I melted the bottom of old candles in a old pot and poured it slowly and in small amounts.  Let it cool completely in between pouring or else the candle will develop holes on the inside.

 

Pallet Coffee Table

After the finishing the Pallet Planter and Wall there were a few more pallets left over and a couple ideas we had in mind.  First was a much needed coffee table to accompany the sofas in the conservatory. We measured the dimensions we needed and cut the Pallet to shape. It was 4 planks wide on the pallets we had which worked out to keep the block supports at each corner.  We then carefully pried the inside 2 planks off and 2 more from another pallet. so that we could fill any gaps left in our coffee table top.  As long as you select your pallet carefully with no splits in the wood and then pry it apart slowly the planks will remain in good enough shape to reuse.  Before the final structure was assembled we sanded.  We sanded all the exposed surfaces until they were smooth to the touch and without splinters(120 grit). The less exposed surfaces under the table were sanded much less and left a bit more raw but still without splinters.

We wanted to hide the screws attaching the leg to the table so we first drilled a small indent using a countersink bit and then a pilot hole for the screw.  The head of the screw then sat neatly within the countersink hole.  We put 4 screws into each leg; 2 on both of the sides hidden under the table. Make sure your screws are long enough to reach when attached on an angle though. We tried a couple before finding the right length.

It took us some time to find the right legs.  Ideally we wanted untreated timber that matched the width of a single plank.  Being an up-cycle project we a had a hard time finding that lying around so we decided to buy a cheap fence post to suit our needs. 

With the legs in place and all pieces sanded to the desired smoothness we attached the last planks to complete our tabletop. Each plank was left about 2 mm apart for even spacing and a slightly more rustic look.  Instead of using the preexisting nail holes in the boards we drilled our own and set in gold 1 1/2 inch screws until the head is flush or slightly below the top. pre-drilling is very important so as not to split the planks.

The only thing left was to protect our new project.  We tried several different beeswax stains on the bottom surface which were left over from other projects and eventually decided on the Georgian Medium Oak pictured below. For this project we spent under 20£ on sandpaper, gold finish screws, and the fencepost for the legs.

Pallet Planter and Wall

We started this project with a dirt wall held loosely up by stone slabs and roots. The functional garden in front is productive but not much to look at…. yet.  First we got ahold of some nice looking untreated pallets. Try any large store, lumbar yard, or industrial building for free pallets. Don’t pay for a pallet! In our case we found a farmer more than happy to unload a few.

We then decided what height we wanted the pallet wall to be and cut 2 planks-length off of each pallet (we ended up using the leftover bits later on). Using a couple stakes, a string and a spirit level we set up a level line to eyeball how straight our wall was going to be. Now for the leg work- dig a trench to set the pallet at least one plank width into the ground for support. We added 3 foot long stakes at the front and back of each joint for aesthetic look and to ensure the walls strength.

 Just before we added each pallet to our growing wall we stapled landscaping fabric(weed block) to create a hammock like net that can hold dirt and plants in each plank to make our wall a vertical garden as well. From the front you cannot see the fabric to add to the vertical garden effect. In addition we did cover the back of each pallet in a larger section of the fabric to hold back the loose dirt being held up by the wall and to avoid and weeds slipping into our pallet garden.

As the pallets were then set into place at the correct height we nailed each piece together. This project was mainly about upcycling and making the most out of what we had available. We ended up deciding not to paint or stain our new wall but did rub a healthy layer of dirt over it for that nice weathered look.  Now you get to pick out some of your favorite plants to add to you new garden.  It is amazing just how much more space you will now have to fill with plants!

As an afterthought we used those leftover pallet pieces to complete the look with a smaller row of herb planters in front of the already present garden. We couldn’t be happier with the way this turned out and are looking forward to seeing it all in action next spring!

And Voila!