Candy Dispenser Project

My inspiration for this weekend’s project came to me on Friday while I was at work.  Like most “good” offices, mine has an area that everyone goes to for a “treat” (usually something sweet) throughout the day.  However I noticed our “treat manager” (Janelle) would often put the treats away at end of day likely out of fear that the treats could attract rodents and bugs after hours.  So I decided this weekend’s project with my daughters would be to make candy dispensers.

I have made many different variations of candy dispensers since I began woodworking as a hobby.  The version below is probably my second favorite version.  My favorite version requires 4” x 4” lumber for the body of the dispenser, which I did not have.  So I decided to make a version that used 1 ½” x 3” lumber.  The reason I like the 4” x 4” version a little better is because it includes a slide with a hole through it and a spout which places the candy directly into your hand.  But since I had no 4” x 4” lumber and didn’t feel like gluing wood together the night before, I decided to make the version that uses 1 ½” x 3” lumber.

For the 1 ½” x 3” body of the candy dispenser I took some scrap 2” x 4” (1 ½” x 3 ½” planed) lumber I had laying around and ripped them down to the proper 3” width.  I then cut the length to 3”.  This left me with 1 ½” x 3” x 3” pieces for the body of the candy dispenser.  Next I made multiple passes, adjusting my table saw fence along the way to cut the 1 ¼” groove into the center of the body of the candy dispenser.  A dado blade on a table saw or a groove router bit on a router could be used to cut the groove as well, however I didn’t feel like taking the time to setup either one.

After the body of the candy dispenser was complete, I cut used some ¾” thick lumber to cut the ¾” x  4” x 4” top and bottom of the candy dispenser.  I then drilled a 1 ½” hole in the center of the top 4” x 4” piece using a spade bit.  Next I took some 1” thick lumber and made the 1” x 1 ¼” x 8” slide.  After I had the slide cut, I again made multiple passes on my table saw, adjusting the fence along the way to make the 1 ¼” groove.
Once I had all the parts cut, I used my router to make a nice edge on the 4” x 4” top and bottom.  I then sanded the parts before assembling everything.  I recruited my oldest daughter to help spread the glue to glue it all together.  I also used my finishing nailer to lightly nail the pieces together to prevent movement while the glue dried.

We then went inside the house to finish the project by screwing the lids of canning jars to the top of the candy dispenser.  A special thanks to Kelly at Rosewood Markets for supplying me with some canning jars.  Once the lids were attached, I filled the jar with candy and screwed it onto the dispenser.  This dispenser works well to dispense candy such as M&M’s (Regular and/or Peanut), Reese’s Pieces, jelly beans, gum balls, runts, and Sweetheart candies, etc.  I’m still not sure if it is the dispenser or the candy that my daughters thoroughly enjoyed.

Photo Update:  Below is a picture of the candy dispenser I did for my place of work (Penn State Hershey Medical Center).

Birdhouse x 2 Project

This weekend I had several ideas for projects to work on with my little helpers (daughters Ryley and Farryn).  Unfortunately most of my project ideas weren’t possible this weekend because my lumber stash is getting a bit low and I wasn’t able to replenish it yet.   So with that said I did a little “googling” to locate “kid approved” woodworking projects.  As I did this my sidekick Ryley spoke up and said, “Let’s make that daddy, I want to make a birdhouse.”  I said, “Ok, but we will have to make two, one for each of you to decorate.”  So with that it was decided, we would be making birdhouses this weekend.

I was able locate a lot of different woodworking plans online, but I wanted a plan that included a way to view the bird’s eggs.  I just thought it would be great to have some sort of hinged lid so my girls can take a peek at the bird’s eggs.  So I decided in the end to make my own blueprints using a free open source software program called Google Sketch up.  I definitely recommend Google Sketch up.  It is a great CAD program to use for designing and remodeling.  Google Sketch up takes a bit to get use to, but once you learn and understand how to use the tools, it is actually fairly easy and fun to use.  There are a lot of great video tutorials to help you to master the tools.  I especially fell in love with the push/pull tool, a real time saver.  Be sure to take a moment to look at the Google Sketch up screen shot of my birdhouse blueprint above.

Now that we had our woodworking plans for our birdhouse it was time to begin building.  We began by ripping the boards to proper width.  After that we cut the boards to proper length.  About half way through the project I realized that we were going to be short a board to use for the side of the second birdhouse.  No worries I just did some quick adjustments to our plans and informed the girls that the smaller birdhouse is Farryn’s because she is the little sister, and the big birdhouse is Ryley’s because she is the big sister.

After all the pieces were cut, I grabbed my 1 ¾” hole drill bit and drilled the holes for the birdhouses, and yes the 1 ¾” hole drill bit is the same one I purchased a few weeks ago for the K-cup Holder project (see previous post).  The girls enjoyed looking through the holes, pretending as if we were playing a game of peek-a-boo.

Next, I used my air nailer to assemble the birdhouses.  Then I used my router with a 1/4 inch round over bit to make the hole smoother for the bird to enter/exit the birdhouse.  We then sanded the birdhouses before heading inside for much needed baths.

After the girls much needed baths, we finished the birdhouses by attaching the flip-up roofs using hinges I had laying around from past projects.  The girls thoroughly enjoyed opening and closing the flip-up roofs, often pretending to be talking to a make-believe little birdie.  Next we will paint the birdhouses and then hang them outside.  I can’t wait to see their excitement when birds move into their birdhouses.  It will be a great moment to see.

Update!

Below are photos of the birdhouses after we painted them and hung them outside.

Making Grandma’s Interior Shutters and Daddy’s Cubicle Bulletin/Picture Board

Originally this weekend’s project was going to be to finish making my daughters Marble Racer.  However I lacked the required lumber to do so.  So we instead decided to make the interior shutters Grandma (my mom) has been asking for since last Christmas.

The dimensions required for each of Grandma’s shutters were 9 ¼” x 31”.  Four (4) shutters would be needed in order to cover Grandma’s window.  To make the shutters I purchased four (4) ¾” thick x 9 ¼” wide (10” original unplanned) pine boards.  I purchased 4’ pine boards even though I only needed 31” length.   I used the extra length to temporarily tack fast a guide strip of wood so I could run my router along the guide strip to make a long straight line V-shaped line.  The V-shaped lines gives the interior shutters a look and feel similar to raised panels, but without the woodworking headache.  Once the routing was done, I then cut the pine boards to the proper length of 31”.  Cutting the pine boards to the proper length of 31” after routing made it possible for me to cut off the nail/tack holes made from the temporary guide strip, thus no marks left on the finished project.

The four (4) shutters are now finished, at least my part is, Grandma has to paint them yet.  After she paints them, I will use both decorative and plain hinges to install them.  Check back at a later date for a picture of the finished project.

Another project we did this week was making a device for my cubicle at work (Hershey Medical Center, Technology Educator).  I wanted to make something that would make it possible for me to hang my framed degrees up.  For those of us that have cubicle walls, you can relate to the fact that hanging a framed degree/photo isn’t possible without messing up your employers cubicles.  So I came up with the below design.  It is two (2) pine boards 9 ¼” x 40” and one (1) pine board 2 ¼” x 40” (center board).  Nail the pine boards in the shape of an upside down “U” and slip over the cubicle wall.  Tada!  Now you and your cubicle neighbor have a solid board to hang framed degrees/photos from.  Stain or paint it to your liking.  You can also go to Michael’s or any craft supply store and purchase some cork board material to add to it as well, which is what I did.

Photo Update:  Below is a picture of the finished interior shutters.

Under-the-Counter K-cup Holder Project

If you have a household anything like mine, your Keurig coffee maker is one of your prize possessions.  Sure the coffee is great and always fresh, but finding the space to store all those K-cups can sure be a hassle.  I looked in stores and online and wasn’t able to find anything that suited me.  So I decided that making an Under-the-Counter K-cup Holder would be my next project, with the help of my two daughters of course.

The project started out well.  I say this because I realized I didn’t have a 1 ¾” inch drill bit, which I would need in order to make the holes to hold the K-cups.  This was a good thing; I love it when a project gives me an excuse to purchase new tools.

Once I had all my materials, I measured the underside of our kitchen cabinet in order to determine the appropriate size.  I then drew a grid on my board to mark where the holes would go for the K-cups.  I drew a line every 2 ½” inches both vertically and horizontally.  Placing the drill bit where the lines intersected in order to drill the 1 ¾” holes, leaving about a ½” between the drilled holes after the 1/4” round over router bit is applied.

For the most part the design is pretty simple, a board with holes in it and hinges, however it was also necessary to add a front/face board so the holder would fit flush and accommodate the magnets.

My daughters enjoyed watching me drill the multiple holes.  Ryley kept asking daddy, “Why are you making tires?”  I had to agree with her imagination, the scrap from the hole drill bit did look like tires to an automobile.  Needless to say, it was at this point my original project was interrupted in order to effectively use my scrap to make primitive car and truck toys using the scrap (tires).

After we finished working for the day, we locked up my shop and went into our house.  For the remainder of the day my daughters played with their new primitive toys.  Truly amazing, all the money spent on toys and they were content playing with scrap lumber primitive cars and trucks.

A few days later I would have paint out in order to imprint footprints on the stool we did two weeks ago (see previous post).  So before putting the paint away, we decided to paint the primitive cars and trucks.