Tom Silva Instagram – This project challenged me the whole way but I think it turned out pretty great in the end. What do you think?
I always try to make a gift for the homeowners when we complete a This Old House project. This piece a gift for the #thisoldhouseipswich homeowners.
I started with an old 8×8 carrying beam that was removed from the home during the renovation. I had the idea to turn it into a lidded container that they could use and display in their kitchen.
The beam had some significant cracks that I filled with a black putty epoxy to keep it from breaking apart and to add some visual interest to the finished piece. Once the epoxy dried I added extra support by taping around the circumference of the piece.
This was a tricky project because I only had my mini lathe and limited tools available. The hollowing out process was particularly challenging — getting a tool in deep enough to tackle the end grain. It flew off the lathe a couple times while I was working on it so I decided to remove a portion of the top to make it a little shallower and easier to access.
I used a hand saw because I didn’t want the top edge to be square/straight. I thought it would be interesting for the lid to sit level on the inside lip of the container while the top edge was irregular.
I turned the lid from a piece of the old flooring board that I believe was pumpkin pine. The knob for the lid was turned from a scrap piece of purple heart I had on hand. | Posted on 19/Apr/2023 22:56:47
