bird house for the fair

Don't ya hate to plane down expensive wood to the desired thickness. What a waste of good, expensive wood. Occasionally I have to plane down three quarter red oak to one quarter thickness. Breaks my heart cause that stuff is expensive. Soft wood is getting expensive too. Birch plywood isn't cheap either. Ooff Da.
 
...Occasionally I have to plane down three quarter red oak to one quarter thickness. Breaks my heart cause that stuff is expensive. Soft wood is getting expensive too. Birch plywood isn't cheap either. Ooff Da.

That's where a bandsaw really shines! With a decently tuned saw, and a good blade, you can make that ¾" piece into a quarter inch and a three-eighths piece, and have wood for two nice projects. I hardly ever take more than and eighth off of anything whithout using the bandsaw.

Another alternative, if the stock isn't too wide, is a Japanese ripsaw (Ryoba). The pull stroke cut makes it easier to follow a line, and the kerf is amazingly small.

Either way, you can cut your wasted wood by a huge amount.
 
that's what i did with the walnut and birch squares for the chess board jim, planed the boards flat (they were really rough), then ripped them down the thin side, then planed to thickness.
 
got a little more done on the birdhouse. i sanded and glued up the box part of it, and held off on the roof for a bit. as it sits now, it has been sanded, the roof glued on, and the oil applied. the shellac will start tomorrow.
 

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