the middle of the night as trees crashed down around us. We had made no preparations. I heard the roar of a waterfall as it cascaded into my basement. First I hurriedly ran all our camping gear upstairs (cook stove, lantern, etc.), then valuables were cleared from the first floor. After just 20 minutes it became eerily quiet... the basement was full... no more roar of water. I was about out of time. Anything remaining on the first floor was stacked on countertops and tables. Next, I ran outside and tied up the boat, it was already floating away, and we might need it to escape later. I wore a rock climbing harness to do this safely in the waist deep moving water. After the flood there was mud everywhere. The remnants of an old deck was left in my yard by the flood. I salvaged the old decking and used it to make a temporary side walk to keep us out of the mud as we cleaned up. I got old fire hose the fire department had culled out for free and screwed it to the boards... so in my case we really could roll up the sidewalk at night. I later made several more of these walkways, using pallet grade white oak. This was published as a tip for staying clean at muddy construction sites, but it was inspired by disaster: http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/tips/...

With a few scraps of wood, glue and nails, I have fixed my problem! I made a simple toaster tray to "catch my crumbs"! And let me tell you, it has been wonderful! NO MORE CRUMBS EVERYWHERE!!!

Check out my tutorial, and rid your life, counter, cupboard, whatever...of crumbs!

these tools by the wrong name. Click on the pictures to find out what job's these two do. For more info visit: http://www.sowanddipity.com/a-shovel-and-a-s... #Gardening

i bought Ipe, Tiger Wood, and Ceder for this project and hand rubbed 3 coats of oil for the finish. I know the sun will destroy the look within a few months, so she is going to be high maintenance with a sand and oil every year.

A few tip's:

-S.A. hardwoods are very dense! This allows a thinner material to span a longer gap with less deflection. For this project, the top is made out of 1 x 4 material.

-One of the many nick names for Ipe is "iron wood" it will sink in water, and it has helped to make this top more than i can handle alone. This also requires pre-drilling for fasteners.

-The end cuts are sealed immediately after cutting with Ipe wax to prevent checking

-The miters all received 2 - 10mm x 50mm Festool Sipo Mahogany Tenons, wiped with alcohol, glued with titebond 3, and clamped for a few hours to dry. This is not a DIY machine, but may be substituted with the use of biscuits, splines, or dowels.

-Wear a mask when cutting and sanding!! Many carpenters catch an upper respiratory infection when building S.A. decks. This has been argued that it is due to the water and bacteria in that wood we are not used to, others say it's just because the dust is much finer. regardless of who is right, wear a mask or use dust extraction.

-Order extra! This is not stock lumber, infact i had to pay freight to get these pieces trucked to my house from the online merchant. I had a few pieces that were bowed just enough that i couldn't use them... better to have too much than not enough on a special order build...

-Learn your finishes! My first two coats were with Messmers UV Plus. his really brings out the grain and contrast within the woods... makes it come alive. I wouldn't do more than 2 coats of a toner, my final coat was the Festool SurFix exterior oil blend worked into the surface.

know, is that most home improvement centers stock 1/2" hardwood stock now (rather than the 1x material that is 3/4" thick). For instance, half inch thick poplar is about as strong as 3/4" pine, takes paint better, and will give your project a more refined look. The 1x4's on the other hand have a rather bulky look, and take up more space (so, if space is dear--which is usually why the project is undertaken--look for thinner stock).

The last spice rack I built only cost about $8.00 in materials (the cans of spray primer and spray paint cost more than the wood), even though I used the slightly more expensive 1/2" poplar stocked at the local Home Depot. Also, instead of leaving the lumber square, I added decorative ends to match the corbels already in the kitchen. Always look for ways to make what you build fit the style of the home. I just used a jig saw to add these simple details and then sanded the jig saw cuts smooth.

Small pieces like this actually require no nails, screws, or other fasteners, just clamps and glue. Clamps may seem expensive, but can be used for a lifetime (I used them again last week to build no-fastener bird feeders with some kids on MLK day). Of course you can always use fasteners instead of clamps or use them both.

The spice racks I built are small enough to be used in the space between the cabinet and the window (they are only the depth of the window casing), so you don't need much room for this kind of project.

One last tip for spice racks, if well placed, the retaining rail will allow the names of tall spice containers to be read above the rail and short spices should have labels that can be seen below the rail.