Still Here after 10 years

 It's been a tough year all around. I haven't posted in many months...sorry about that. I've had health and family problems...too many to mention. I'm slowly getting back on my feet. I'm working on a stained glass project to get things started for the New Year. It's a four panel sunflower that will be placed in a huge hole that I made between the dimly lit entryway and the brightly lit home theater. Oh did I mention I installed a home theater. Well that's another story. I needed a diversion from my stress and depression I was drowning in. The movies have been a great way to escape reality and Erika and I look forward to movie night each week. Amazon Prime Video is a wonderful thing! Back to the hole in the wall. Yeah it's big and it required some major bracing to keep the house from falling down...just kidding. The hole is about 6 feet by 4 feet. Stay tuned and I'll post some pictures. I just wanted to make a quick post to show that we're still around. Oh yeah, we've been in Japan for 10 years this past October. I wanted to post a bunch of remodeling pictures, but life got in the way. Oh well, what will be will be.

Peacock Stained Glass Project is Finished!

I wrote this post with the intention of sharing some thoughts about what to do with a glass after it's finished. In this case, I made a glass with no place to go. I guess I could have made a frame for it and called it done, but

I chose another route. Erika and I wanted to make something special with this piece. Believe it or not, this is the second time I made this peacock! The first time I made this was in 2002. We were in California and we had a really nice window above the front door that was begging for stained glass. I used copper foil to construct the piece.

Unfortunately, the airline I was working for decided to consolidate. We had to move to Seattle and sell our home. The new owners would only buy the house if we left our stained glass windows. I figured the glasses belonged there and it would have been a real pain to relocate them. So, after 20 years I decided to make another peacock, but this time I constructed the piece in lead. I never liked the face of the original peacock so I redrew it to look more like the real thing. I also added eyes that I painted to give it a more realistic look. So, on with the story.

We decided the best place for the new glass was in the stairwell. The wall needed a makeover. The paint was fading and the wall looked pretty shabby. We wanted something dramatic. Between the vibrant colors of the new paint and the shutters I think we accomplished our goal. Alrighty then...

The best place to start (I figured) was on the wall that would not be seen. I could make a big mess and nobody would know. The back side of the glass is where the wall is part of a narrow passageway on the second floor. A small window facing outside is conveniently placed to give the stained glass some illumination. I carefully measured and cut the hole. I made sure there were no water pipes in the wall beforehand. Only a small electrical wire needed some attention.

Here the wall has been marked making sure the hole would be in the proper position from the front (viewing side).

The hole was cut in the sheetrock. I tried not to remove any excess material as that would require a repair later (more work). Yes, the wall has cross bracing. I probably couldn't have chosen a more difficult wall to make a hole in. All of this bracing will require additional support after it's removed...headache! I removed the back side of the framing making sure everything was supported BEFORE I removed it. Sorry, no pictures of the framing. It's pretty boring stuff anyway and it took a lot of time to do.

It was time to remove the front support framing after everything was secured and stable. To accomplish that, a scaffold needed to be made. The hole is about 10 feet off the first floor. I made a scaffold that was simple and strong from leftover wood used in the remodel. As a matter of fact, the entire project (shutters, trim, scaffold, framing, etc.) was made from reused lumber. This required some extra steps to prepare the wood such as nail removal and planing the wood to size. Somehow I felt more satisfied with the result by using wood that didn't go to waste.

A very simple yet strong and stable scaffold. It only took six screws to hold it together!

After the scaffold was installed it was time to cut a big hole.

It was a little tricky to get the back hole to line up with the front hole. Lots of measuring and double checking.

A carpenters square was very useful to keep things "square". I wanted to keep the cutout drywall piece intact. This was going to be used as a template for the shutters and trim.

After cutting out the drywall, I proceeded to remove the rest of the framing. I added more bracing and supports to make the structure stronger than original. Curved framing is a real pain. To keep things close to the size of the stained glass was even harder. This step took the most time and required lots of patience and measuring. A small shelf was added to create the look of a window.

Here you can see the wall cabinets I made a few years ago. If you are interested, I wrote a post about the construction of those cabinets in an earlier post. 

Sorry about the sideways view...I used a piece of thin scrap plywood to make a template of the stained glass. This is a critical step! It's very important to make sure this template fits the hole in the wall. If it doesn't, you need to redo the hole. I made sure the template had enough gap (1/8") for rubber spacers. I like to mount the window on rubber spacers just in case of an earthquake or expansion/ contraction of the lumber. Since this is a log home the walls tend to move a little during summer and winter. Take your time and get this right! The glass is heavy and you don't want to be taking it in and out because of an error in measuring. Once I was sure everything fit properly it was time to make some shutters.

Again, these shutters were made from some scrap cherry wood that was used to trim the upstairs doors. Too bad I had to cover the cherry with paint. Nothing special with the construction. The shutters are only going to be viewed from one side. This allowed me to be a little sloppy with the assembly. However, the shutters are very strong and could be used for the real thing. I had to remind myself these were for decoration only. I spent way too much time making these.

I don't have those fancy router bits for making the face inserts in the panels. I ended up using the router bits I do have and filling with epoxy. Lots of creative sanding too. Did I say I spent way too much time making these shutters?

The slats sit in a channel I routed. Make sure you paint this BEFORE you assemble. It's difficult to paint otherwise. I know from experience with the air conditioner covers I made a few years ago. Just search the blog for that post.

I routed a lip for the face panel to rest in. Yeah, these panels sure took a lot of time...

more pictures of the routed channel for the slats.

Speaking of slats, I used this piece of scrap lumber for the slats. Nothing a table saw and band saw couldn't handle.

Here's the jig I had to make for the face plates. I learned the hard way that you can't do a good job routering curves without a proper jig. My first attempt was a disaster. After a lot of epoxy repairs I made the jig and fixed my careless mistakes. Boy, did this take way too much time.

All's well that ends well. Finished face plate ready for primer.

Here's one of the router bits I used. Speaking of tools...it's hard to believe how many power tools I used for this project. Not counting the stained glass tools, let's see: two different routers with several bits, tablesaw, compound miter saw, bandsaw, reciprocating saw, planer, drills, orbital sander, bench sander, oscillating sander, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Remember that piece of drywall I needed for a template? It worked perfectly for making the trim. 

Before you glue, draw your cut lines and take the piece to another tool...a scrollsaw.

Glue the pieces together. I wanted an edge that matched the existing trim around the house. Time to use the router again.

After some finish sanding the pieces were ready for primer and paint, but first...

make sure the pieces fit!

After the paint dried, it was time to install the slats for the shutters. I chose to install the slats facing down (Erika said it looked better). I know the slats should be facing up since it is the back of the shutter, but this is supposed to be art and no one is supposed to notice.

After a little math, I determined an even spacing. Place all the slats in first BEFORE gluing or you'll never get the last couple of slats in!

The finished shutters. Did I say this took way too much time?!

The finished trim with shelf.

Ready for the big install. Woo Hoo!!!

Meanwhile back at the wall... I installed a flexible moulding on one side to hold the stained glass in place. The other side just had a couple of screws to hold the glass in place. I did this just in case I needed to remove the panel at a later time for repairs.

This moulding wasn't available in Japan, so I had to have my mom ship it from the states. Thank you, mom. After some primer and paint, the next step was final assembly. I sure hope everything fits and we don't crack the glass trying to install it.

Here's the trim and shutters going in. I attached the shutters first before installing the whole thing on the wall. I also predrilled the mounting holes in the wall and trim to help make the installation go smoother.

Ta da! Piece of cake. Oh I forgot to mention that the wall was painted before the shutters were installed. What do you think of the blue? We love it!

No more curved stained glass projects. Too much work for an old man.

These are the "H" hinges I used for the shutters. I guess it's showtime. Bring on the peacock. Let's wrap this up!

It fits!!!!!

It really fits! Never had a doubt...hah!

Well, that's about it. I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe you learned something like..."Man, I'll never do that!" 

I promised Erika I would do some small glass projects before starting my last and biggest project (stay tuned for that). For the moment I'll be doing some stuff in copper foil for a mirror we have in the entry area.

I just drew this today. It will be attached to the mirror. We had one of these in California that we sold with the house. So, it's time to make a (better) replacement. Please stay tuned for that. Cheers!