X-wing Hangar

Usually things go wrong when you and your friends get excited over the same things. This time I purchased the x-wing game of fantasy flight games. All was well until my friend Sander started liking the game (almost 20 seconds after the original purchase), then it went bad. He purchased a ton of stuff and for gaming's sake I couldn't stay behind.

Sitting back after a game Sander came up with the idea to make a transport case for the models. A few sleepless nights and the design was there, based on this picture:

I included a drawer below the hangar floor to carry all the movement dials and flight stands. As soon as I get my hands on some transparent blue acrylic sheet, the forcefield will also be in place.

Below you'll find some pictures of the build. Sander did the paintjob (phew!) in return for an empire hangar, which will be next as soon as I get inspired.

Art fair "Leeuwer Cantorij"

Today I participated in an art fair (my first) in my place of birth. I think it's very special that of 32 participants there were, besides me, 3 of my childhood friends showing their art.
This morning it was rainy so I brought a lot of assembly work in case no one showed up. Glad to say I only got to assemble 1 piece; the crowd was huge thanks to the lovely weather. The pieces below were sold before they were assembled, which is very nice but also a bit sad as I can't enjoy them myself for very long. A big thanks to the volunteers who organised this fair and to those who showed interest in my work!

Please take a look at my friends work at www.frankstoks.nl

Bye! Mark.

Recycled coffee tables

My wife picked up these two coffee tables somewhere at a flea market in 1994,

paying $ 1.
Back then, we painted these 70's style dark-stained oak tables black to match our student interior. While tyding up our house this week we came across these battlescarred tables which have become obsolete.

Before returning to work next week I really needed to do a (small) project to end my vacation in style. To the workshop!

First I stripped the paint and sanded them, keeping some light woodstain to accentuate the grain. My son helped stripping the paint and earned a whopping €0,20.

The tabletop was so worn down it had to go, opening up a great opportunity to make one from scratch.

I started out with some 6mm oak parquet which has been lying around the house for years. I glued 2 tabletops and clamped them between two boards to keep them level.

Next, I cut 2 different mummy designs with my laser cutter. (why a mummy? you can find it in a previous post)

Originally, the mummies sat in an uncomfortable position on their knees, stressing their agony I guess. For these tables, I rotated them to make it look like they were sitting, which I think is nicer for a friendly coffee table.

I glued a sheet of MDF to the back of the oak to give it some support.

Cut to size and sanded flat the tabletop revealed exactly the intended image, which is also nice for once.

The contrast between the grained oak and the plain MDF which I used for the inlay creates a nice effect; not much color variation but only structure.

To make sure the MDF would withstand future abuse I spray painted the tabletop 8 times.

I am very pleased with the end result, now I have to go and find a place to put them.

Bye! Mark.