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The Editors Mailbox

Father's Day Gifts You Can Build

Ed Pirnik, Senior Web Producer

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With Father's Day fast on our heels, it's time to turn out some gifts for dad. Learn how to build four small projects like this two-sided picture frame by Christian Becksvoort.

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I admit it. I'm a bad son. Every year, I completely forget about both Mother's Day and Father's Day. Well, it's not that I forget about them, it's just that I don't remember I've got to do something until only a few days before the big day. If you're in the same boat I'm in, fret not. I've compiled a simple, short list of projects that would make great gifts for dad in 2010. From something as simple, yet elegant, as a bookmark--to a beautiful picture frame (do yourself a favor and slap a photo of yourself in there before delivery) with two faces, these projects are sure to please.

The Humble Bookmark

I think Alan Bradstreet has something akin to a dream job. Humble? Simple? Maybe, but he's his own boss, lives in beautiful Maine, gets to work wood every day, and produces something simple, beautiful, and well-loved by thousands-upon-thousands of people. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: the beautiful bookmark.

Made from hardwood scraps, the bookmarks measure in at about 7-in. x 1 3/16-in. You can easily produce a stack of these in an afternoon.

	If you're starting from scraps that have already been surfaced, it's simply a matter of resawing and handplaning your blanks down to a thickness of about 1/16-in.
	Next, stack your bookmarks together and crosscut them to length. Bradstreet built a miniature crosscut sled for cutting the blanks to length one stack at a time. He keeps an eye out for even tiny imperfections in the wood.
	You'll need to trace the silhouette of whatever object it is you wish to cut into your bookmarks. Now it's just a matter of cutting the entire stack at once on the scrollsaw. Once you've cut out your silhouette, sand the sides and corners of the bookmarks while they're still stacked together as one block.
	For finishing, use linseed oil. If you really want to get crafty, you can go the same rout of Bradstreet, who devised a clever tool made from plastic coffee can lids to literally squeegee the excess oil off the wood.

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