Workshop whimsy - Christmas decorations

You can make each of these three gift projects in a few hours

Before cutting out the tie, gue on 1-inch cotton backing tape to hold the pieces together. When glue dries, cut along the pattern, sand the wood's edges, and seal.They're totes for a gardener or car personUse glue and finishing nails to secure Santa's arms, beard, and legs, and the reindeer's neck, head, and antlers. Cut pieces of the half-round for Santa's boots and for trim on the hat. Glue on three 1inch drawer pulls (for both noses and for the pompon on the hat) and four wooden screw caps (for eyes), Change paint color to distinguish reindeer parts from Santa.Time for woodworking is a precious commodity over the holidays, so we designed some gift and decoration projects that can each be built in a few hours. They include a blocky-bodied Santa riding a reindeer, animal-shaped cribbage boards, and more practical organizers for garden tools or car-care supplies. They require only average woodworking skills (although a few power tools will help).The most difficult part of building these totems is cutting out the head shapes; a band saw is the ideal tool. If you don't have access to one, you can cut Santa's head with a handsaw, or start the angel's by cutting off the corners and rounding the end of the block with a rasp or shaper. (For an easier project, look at the Santa head in the small inset photograph above right. Essentially a cube of 4-by-4 stock, it has a 7-inch-long 2-by-2 arm glued to one side, and a beard made from slices of halfround molding.)The bow tie sports polka dots cut from doweling. Start by drawing the bow shape on a piece of 1/2-inch-thick mahogany (or any dark hardwood) that's slightly larger than the 2-1/4-inch-high, 5-1/2-inch-long tie. Then randomly drill 3/8-inch holes through the wood inside the outline. Cut and glue short lengths of 3/8-inch hardwood dowel into the holes. Cut them flush, and finish the tie with a shaper, rasp, and sander. Seal with clear varnish or polyrethane.Angel or Santa starts with a 4-by-42. ORGANIZED SNAIL OR TRUCK1. HOLIDAY TOTEMSDraw a full-size pattern; extend the bottom, side, and center lines beyond the tie shape to use as a guide when cutting. Set up a repeat pattern for the stripes and arrange the pieces on the pattern. Completely cover the pattern with wood, marking where the tie's "knot" should appear. At this point the stripes change direction. Draw a horizontal line at the bottom of the knot, cut across these pieces, and reverse their direction.Snail. For this garden tote, you need a 2by 4-foot piece of 1/2-inch plywood. Note that the center piece has a handle at its top and a 1/2- by 4-inch vertical slot for a cross-lap joint near one end. Cut a complementary slot in the spacer.The candle-toting angel and the pointytopped Santa astride his reindeer are both cut from lengths of 4-by-4. For Santa, the wedge-shaped leftovers become parts for his arms, legs, and beard. Make additional details for both figures from short pieces of pine 1-by-6 and 1-by-8, 3/4-inchdiameter half-round molding, glued-on decorative wooden plugs (designed to cover countersunk screws), and round wooden drawer pulls.To assemble the caddies, you'll also need wood glue, 1-1/4-inch (3d) finishing nails, a nail set, wood putty, sandpaper, and paint (both primer and enamel). The specific materials for each wood-working project are listed at right.To make the 20-inch-tall Santa, you'll also need an additional 6-inch-long block of 4-by-4. The diagram below shows how you start by cutting a wedge off each side of the top (cut wedges down later to make the 2-1/2-inch-wide arms). Make similar cuts on the short block (B), and cut one of those wedges in half lengthwise to make the legs.Supplies for each organizerSilhouettes of a giant snail or a tiny pickup form tbe ends of these handy caddies. Use a saber or band saw to cut out the shapes and the connecting bottoms and sides. The only other tools you'll require are an electric drill, a hammer, and finishing tools.Truck. Cut from an 8-foot-long clear pine 1-by-12, the truck also requires two 14inch lengths of 1/2-inch dowel for axles. Cut eight 5-inch-diameter circles for wheels and drill ,/2-inch holes through the centers. Glue pairs of wheel shapes together, with the holes aligned. Sand wheels to even them. We added wooden letters and a pull rope to the front, a me handle to the cab roof.Cut out shapes with a saber or band sawThey don't crawl, slither, or swim, but these lizard, snake, and whale shapes still serve a purpose: they're unlikely, oversize cribbage boards. Built for good looks as well as games, the hardwood boards offer a little visual break from sometimes slow play. When not being used, they can decorate a wall.The next cuts on block A angle from the center of the ridge on top. These wedges will become Santa's beard and the reindeer's head. Cut the reindeer's neck from the remainder of block B, the antlers and hands from a piece of 1-by-6.

Start by cutting out the shapes with a saber or band saw. To position the 3/8inch-deep, 1/4-inch-diameter holes, make a paper template for two rows (1 inch apart), each with 5 holes (1/2 inch apart on center). Mark the template 6 times along each edge of lizard or whale (on snake, trace single rows along sides), then 2 more times for score-keeping areas. Drill holes. Pegs are 1-1/2-inch lengths of 1/4-inch dowel. Sand and slightly round the boards' edges, then paint or stain and seal the wood. (We used a semitransparent white stain for the lizard, blue shoe polish to color tbe upper part of tbe whale.)