Drawing Your Own Woodworking Plans

If you are like me, I'm constantly finding things to build in my wood Daredevil Wood working is by far one of the most rewarding hobbies I know of and I can release a weeks worth of stress in one evening in the shop.

And the watchmen the internet you will find a wealth of project plans free to whoever wants to download them. But sometimes there are projects I'm wanting to build that can't be found over the net. My solution is to create my own plans from whatever research I've done on the subject I want to build. One of my professions is that of drafter. A drafter (used to be called draftsman) is someone who draws mechanical and architectural plans professionally, so at least I'm qualified to do the task.

One of the things I wasn't able to find plans for was a water wheel. I own a farm and wanted to pump water from my spring to the barn without installing an electric pump. So I researched online to get all the facts, decided what size wheel would work in my spring, and started making a prototype drawing. After a few days drawing was able to come up with not only the water wheel but the braces and stand and also the pump frame to mount on the bottom of the stream.

From these drawings I was able to also build cut sheets for each part of the wheel and then start fabricating. Within a day or two I had a functional water wheel. After you build a concept drawing, you can dissect the drawing to come up with all the parts and their dimensions. That's by far better than using the old trial and error method many attempt in the shop. 1964 Topps baseball cards the wheel works fantastic by the way.

Tim Davis has created a very complete course on learning to draw mechanical drawings in a CAD program at http://draftingservice.us/m101/index.htm And if you want a free copy of the waterwheel plans and a drafting table plan, go to http://www.parsonscorner.org/pcimunity/showthread.php?tid=676

Valentines Day Crafts For Kids

Valentines Day used to be a day for young couples to express their feelings to each other through handwritten notes and gifts such as roses and chocolates. Today Valentines Day is Watchmen just Archie comics romance but a good opportunity to show our appreciation to the people around us. You can share your love Vac-U-Form creativity with your child through different Valentine's Day crafts projects that can be offered as gifts to the grandparents, friends or teachers. Most people consider the personalized Valentine crafts as the best gift one can receive so here are a few ideas that will help you bring out the artist or craftsperson in you and your child.

A house filled with love

Age: 3+

What you need:
- Construction paper in different colours
- Glue
- A picture of your child

Instructions:
- Help your child cut the construction paper in a square (8"x 8")
- Cut the roof of the house in a triangle.
- Cut little squares for the windows of the house.
- Glue the roof and the windows on the square.
- Cut a little "door" in the square and glue your child's picture inside the house.
- Write a message inside the door.

Handmade Cards

Age: 1+

What you need:
- Finger paints
- Your child's hand
- Thicker paper
- Ribbon

Instructions:
- If you child is very young, paint his/her hand(s) with red colour then press it in the center of the thick paper.
- Draw the flower steam and some leafs
- With your child's fingers, colour the sides of the paper with a different colour. Don't worry if the paint smudges: the card will be even nicer.
- Punch two holes on one side of the card and attach the ribbon making a nice bow.
- Write a message on the back of the card or if your child is older, help him write his name.

Edible Valentine's Day Treats

Age: 3+

What you need:
- 1 cup dark chocolate
- 1 cup white chocolate
- 4 teaspoons of vegetable oil
- Strawberries, pretzels, angel food cake, etc.

Instructions:
- Microwave the chocolate in separate bowls until softened, steering from time to time until chocolate is smooth (1 to 3 minutes)
- Remove from microwave and add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to each chocolate bowl.
- Under your supervision, let your child dip pretzels, strawberries or other fruits in the melted chocolate.

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