Cherry Wood Wall Shelf - How to Build a Good Product to Sell in Craft Stores and Craft Shows

The need for variety of products to be displayed in booths both in craft stores and crafts shows is one of the most important factors to be successful in the craft business. But intermingled throughout all the different products must be one main simple to build product that will be the base of your business. You need a product that will sell many times over to many people browsing through your booth. It is the many different products that keep your customers in your booth but it is the one item that produces many sales that keep you in business.

One great project that fits this requirement is the cherry wood wall shelf. This shelf usually is a one tier decorative shelf with wood brackets. Some of the reasons this item is a great product are:

*The shelf consists of only four (4) parts- There is a top shelf with a groove cut for plates, a pair of decorative brackets, a back-plate spanning between the brackets and a pair of metal hangers.

*Made with Cherry as a wood choice- The reason for using cherry is for ease of finishing. Cherry wood can be finished with Danish oil and that's it. A coat of furniture wax can be applied if desired but not required.

*This product can be sold very competitively- The need to have a product that people will walk through and buy at the spur of the moment is very important. A family browsing through a craft show on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon usually will not pay a large amount of money for spur of the moment items. A simple shelf can usually sell for $20.00 - $30.00 and can be discounted as the end of the show approaches.

*The cost of materials and production time is favorable for craft show items- The cost of materials should be between $7.00 - $11.00 and production time is about 1-1/2 hours per shelf.

Building this product is rather simple and the steps can be batched together to produce volume. In order to get the most value for the money we are using rough cut lumber for our project. Following are the steps needed to complete this item:

*Cut the top to your desired length, usually 18" to 36" is normal. The width should be 6".

*Cut a 8" x 8" piece for the pair of brackets.

*Cut a back-plate piece approximately 5" wide x about 4" shorter in length than the top.

*Run all pieces through a planer and then a joiner to create a smooth face, back and square edges.

*Sand all pieces down to a smooth finish using an orbital sander.

*Take the top and rout a round over edge on one side and two ends of the top side of the top.

*Cut a plate groove on the top of the top shelf about 3/4" in from the back. This groove can run completely from end to end or start and stop approximately 1" in from either end.

*Cut the brackets from the 8" x 8" piece. Each bracket should be 6" tall and 5" wide. The front end of each bracket should be a "S" shape to form a decorative bracket. This can be cut with a jig or band saw.
*Rout a round over or cove on each side of the front end of each bracket following the "S" shape to add more flair to your project.

*Next take the back-place piece and rout a bead on the top and bottom of the face. You can also cut out a design such as hearts on the face. There are several ways to decorate the back-plate piece and it is best to look through some craft magazines to find a design you like.

*Hand sand all piece to a fine smooth finish.

*On the outside face of each bracket drill a hole and counter bore where the brackets are to be attached to the back-plate. Screw the brackets to the back-place and add plugs to the holes in the brackets. Cut and sand off the plugs with fine sandpaper using an orbital sander.

*Align and mark where the brackets/back-plate piece will attached to the top. Drill and counter bore through the top of the top shelf. Attach the bracket/back-plate piece to the top and plug the holes. Cut plugs and sand smooth with an orbital sander.

*Do one final hand sanding of the assembled shelf and use tack cloth to remove all dust.

*Finish piece by applying a generous coating of Danish Oil and wipe down. Allow to dry and if desired rub down with a coat of furniture wax.

*Attach metal hangers to back of shelf to complete the item.

In order to produce enough quantity you should cut enough material to produce around 20 to 30 shelves. As you follow through the steps make sure all the material is completed before moving to the next step. Don't make one shelf at a time. Also mix up the sizes of the shelves so you have a few 18", 24", 30" and 36" shelves when you have completed all the steps.

My name is Ernie Sharpe and I hope this article has been helpful. If you would like to read more of my woodworking lenses please click here for my bio page on squidoo.com. I also invite you to visit my site: http://www.woodworkinginretirement.info for more project plans to build in your workshop.

Goat on the Green/ Swallow Tail

"Goat on the Green" is an Irish jig. i THINK i may have made up those bowings myself, but i'm not sure.. they're written in on my sheet music in pencil so if i didn't then perhaps it was my once-teacher/friend.. or she might have suggested it "Swallow Tail" is also an Irish jig i'm not sure if the transition is smooth enough--i just came up with it so it may need more work



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkkN13uFfSw&hl=en

SAW VI Pumpkin STYLE

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com I got a great idea to use a jig saw to carve a pumpkin for Halloween 2009. It did a good job. Didn't take long at all. I used a drill to start a hole to put the saw in. If I can get more pumpkins I'm going to blow one up. It was a bit messy, but the tools cleaned up quite nice afterwards.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swckA94-cU0&hl=en

Sure Fire Bank Fishing Technique for Steelhead

OK so I have been talking a lot about fly fishing lately so I thought I would change subjects and talk about some of the techniques that I use when I am bank fishing.

I know a lot of hard core Fly Fisherman will have a fit to hear that I do still use a spinning real for catching fish but I just love fishing of any kind.

Taking many of my less experienced friends and some for first time Steelhead fishing I have found a way to get them hooked into a fish without much coaching. This technique is simple to learn and if done properly losing gear is at a minimum. This is great for the first timers or the less experience because it lets them spend more time fishing and less time tying up rigging's. This system is also very productive if done properly and I have caught quite a few steelhead using this method myself.

Using a slip bobber or float is one of the easiest ways to take steelhead that I have found for the bank fisherman this method is also used by boaters since it is so productive. With the slip bobber you are able to adjust the depth of your jig or bait so that it drifts just off the bottom of the river. I have seen this method used by fishermen fishing off of a jetty or pier and they too had very good success while using this method.

One of the best place to use this method is in a slow flowing section of the river the depth of the hole is not important since you are able to adjust the depth of the jig easily. As long as the current is slow enough to allow the jig or bait to drift naturally and the depth remains constant at least through a portion of the hole it should be a good place to try this method.

Knowing where the steelhead like to lay is the key to this system as with any fishing technique, and the easiest way to find this out is to watch where others are fishing if any are around. Once you learn how to read a river you will be able to use this technique in a number of spots, learning how to read a river will come with time. If you are new to the sport most fisherman will be glad to give you some pointers just be courteous when joining your fellow fishermen on the river.

When you find that place where you are going to fish the technique is simple cast upstream from where you are standing watch the corky once your line hits the water. Make sure the corky is on top of your float if it's not you may have to give your line a sharp short jerk to get your jig to flow freely through your float. Let your float drift naturally through the hole and keep up the slack in your line. Most of the time when a fish hits your jig your float will go under, however watch your float closely and if it should make any unnatural movement set the hook.

Items Required:

Slip bobber

Barrel swivel

Jig

Egg Sinker

Corky

Bobber Stop

Setting up your line:

1st slip on the bobber stop then bead and run it up the line about 5 feet or so

2nd Thread on the corky

3rd Thread on your float

4th Thread on the Egg Sinker

5th Now tie one end of your swivel to the end of your line. (I like to use the double cinch knot)

6th Take your jig and tie it to your leader which should be between 12 to 18 inches long.
The leader should be lighter then you're main line.

7th Tie the jig and leader to your swivel.

Once you have this tied up set the depth you want your lure or bait at and you are ready to start fishing

http://www.steelhead-gear.com for all your fishing needs

Ice Fishing Teaser

This is a quick teaser from a 4 hour ice fishing trip to Antero Res in CO. We'll be covering all aspects of ice fishing including the spots, fish and gear you'll want to know about. Remember to check out our radio show during ice months for updates on conditions and techniques. Ceck the schedule at www.milehighsports.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlH8KgU1pl4&hl=en

Octopus Floods Aquarium

Santa Monica, (CA) February 26, 2009 - When Santa Monica Pier Aquarium staff member Aaron Kind showed up early to work on Thursday morning, it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong. "The first thing I noticed was that there was water everywhere," said Kind. He quickly traced the source of the problem to the Aquarium's recently renovated Kids' Corner tanks and was able to shut off the flow of water. Emergency phone calls were made to Aquarium staff and everyone assembled quickly to get the marine education center back into working order before a school bus arrived with 60 students for a 9:30 am field trip. Aquarist Brianne Emhiser was still asleep on her day off when her phone rang at 7:10 am Emhiser was one of the first staff to respond and traced the source of the problem to the Aquarium's small two-spotted octopus. "Our best guess is that the octopus, who is incredibly gregarious and curious, tugged on a valve in her tank last night causing a steady stream of water to overflow out of the tank. We're estimating we lost a few hundred gallons of sea water onto the Aquarium floor," Emhiser said.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne9m6cLEUYc&hl=en

Ice Fishing - Down Below

Early ice fishing action down below.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM9iAKVARAU&hl=en