See what some guy made for a 2X4

[Larry Browning]

I stumbled across this and thought I would share it with the creek.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/4874

I tried to not make this a link but it kept doing it! Every time I try to remove it it just comes back.

[Jason Scott]

wow, I've got so much to learn

[Bryan Berguson]

There was a little clip in either Wood Magazine or American Woodworker a few years ago about a group of woodworkers that have a contest (every year I think) to see what they build out of a 2x4x8. It is simply amazing! I know there was beautiful jewerly chest about 18 inches high and a clipper ship I believe. Just stunning work out of ONE stick of wood. Those guys are good!

Bryan

[Phil Thien]

The phrase "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" comes to mind, but these guys are the exceptions that prove the rule. But I wonder if the ever step back after a project, look at it, and think, "darn, I should have used some exotic wood because this thing belongs in a fine arts museum."

[Matt Meiser]

Amazing. I think I've spent 100x what he would have spent to build a table myself.

I've seen 2x4's well suited for making legs like that at my local Borg. :D

[Tom Veatch]

...
I tried to not make this a link but it kept doing it! ....

When you are composing the post, if you'll page down to the "Additional Options" there's a checkbox "Automatically parse links in text". If you uncheck that box, then the forum software shouldn't automatically parse the text into a link when you submit the message.

(If I figured it out correctly, the text below won't be a link)

www.testlink.com

[Greg Funk]

Amazing humbling work.


I tried to not make this a link but it kept doing it! Every time I try to remove it it just comes back.
Why do you want to disable the link?

[Bob Antoniewicz]

Thanks for pointing it out.

That would be impressive in hardwood.

It's absolutely stunning in pine.

[Bruce Benjamin]

I used a 2x4 mounted to the wall in my garage/shop to hold some hooks for extension cords. I guess I've got a ways to go...At least it's level!;):rolleyes:

Bruce

[Ron Dunn]

I wonder how long it will last? Hopefully for a VERY long time, because that is a real work of art and craft.

[Mike Cutler]

There was a little clip in either Wood Magazine or American Woodworker a few years ago about a group of woodworkers that have a contest (every year I think) to see what they build out of a 2x4x8. It is simply amazing! I know there was beautiful jewerly chest about 18 inches high and a clipper ship I believe. Just stunning work out of ONE stick of wood. Those guys are good!

Bryan

That has been done on two forums I've been part of. it's amazing what has been built.
The rules were pretty simple. Build somethig out of one single 2x4, and nothing else. I always imagined those guys spending hours at the local Home Depot going through the 2x4 piles looking for that "one board".

There was usually some form of a small prize and bragging rights at the end of the contest.
The work was judged by a panel of forum moderators and other folks, not involved in the contest.
It could easily be done here. There is some serious, serious talent on this board.

[Keith Starosta]

Unreal!!! :eek:

Here is Ryan's response to an inquiry on how he achieved the flowing lines...

I laughed at the line that I put in bold. ;)



In the actual building part? A few days….interspersed with time in and out of the forms, building the forms, modifying the forms, soaking, etc. etc.

It was getting the wood to bend that took a huge amount of time…like somewhere around 60-70 hours :(

Yes, steam did it. I put this up a few posts, but here it is again:

Soak with 50/50 glycol/distilled water, part bend, dry, re-soak in 1/25 epoxy/acetone, then steam under pressure. Pressure steamin was the only way I could get it hot enough once the epoxy was saturated.

All in all, not something I will ever do again…but a huge learning experience :)


- Keith

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It is just wood. You can dress it and get a rather lovely piece of lumber. You can re-saw it to obtain a different face of you don't prefer the flat sawn face.
It's just wood.

[John Schreiber]

He says he couldn't find a good piece of lumber at the home center, so he pulled one out of his basement wall. That's dedication.

[keith ouellette]

Out of curiosity I did some practice things with 2x6's. One thing was to glue up a flat panel. It has spent a year in the closet in the air conditioned home and was made straight from the home depot lumber racks.

This is it un sanded and un finished. It has bowed a little in the middle but I think that was due to me placing all the growth rings facing the same direction.

[jason lambert]

Wow!!!!!!!!

[Dirk Lewis]

It is just wood. You can dress it and get a rather lovely piece of lumber. You can re-saw it to obtain a different face of you don't prefer the flat sawn face.
It's just wood.

:confused:

[Larry Browning]

Amazing humbling work.


Why do you want to disable the link?
I thought it was a violation of TOS to post a link to another forum.

[Mike Spanbauer]

I also recall someone here on SMC making a LARGE round box out of a single 2x4. It resembled a hat box, but was MUCH larger (on the order of 30" tall by 30" in diameter.)

It did win the contest that he entered it in.

Resawing consumed like 50% of the original 2x4 iirc.

These are excellent projects, no doubt and a serious challenge for anyone testing their skills.

mike

[Rich Schneider]

It is just wood. You can dress it and get a rather lovely piece of lumber.

Yes you can...I entered the contest as well and I was quite surprised by 1) how much wood can be extracted from a 2x4 with some planning, and 2) just how nice pine actually can be

It made me appreciate just how much lumber I probably waste and gave me some more ideas on how to utilize some of my exotic and figured lumber even more efficiently than I had in the past....

The red color is actually much brighter than the way it looks in the pictures..more toward the color of a nice deep red like Bloodwood
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rschnei3/2by4_case_photo_1_small.JPG

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rschnei3/2by4_case_photo_2a_small.JPG

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rschnei3/2by4_case_photo_4_small.JPG