How to make a simple first aid cabinet out of solid wood

 

Tools and materials:

Table saw

Block plane

Cordless Impact Driver

Cordless drill

Random orbit sander

Air compressor, nail and staple gun kit

Chisel set

Jointer planer

Flush trim saw

In this video I make a wooden first aid cabinet out of spruce wood. For this project I used mostly reclaimed materials I found in the garbage.

I begun by making the main body of the cabinet. I cut my timber to size and then made half lap joints to connect the sides. I used glue and nails to keep the pieces together. 

For the back I used scrap pieces of MDF from an old bookcase. 

I made the French cleat system at 45 degrees to hang the cabinet on the wall. 

Once the body was ready I started working on the door of the cabinet. I planed and joined the pieces. Then I selected the grain pattern I wanted and glued the pieces together. This was reclaimed material so it had a lot of character. 

I then glued two braces on the door to keep the panel from warping. 

I made the cross for the front and added the hinges.

Finally I finished my cabinet with two coats of water based satin varnish. I lightly sanded between coats.

And that was it. My cabinet was ready. See you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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Making a beech mallet - Woodturning

 

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Buffing kit

Wood turning tools set

Chuck kit

Tormek T8 Sharpening System

Tormek Woodturner’s Kit

Wire Burning Kit

Chisel set

Table saw

Jointer planer

Forstner bit set

In this video I make a wooden carpenter's mallet out of beech wood. Beech is cheap but really hard. So it's an ideal wood for that kind of project. 

I begun by preparing my mallet’s head. I cut a piece of wood in half, jointed the two pieces and then glued them together.

I then squared my block. At this point it was easier to drill the hole for the handle. 

Next I mounted the piece between centres on the lathe and turned it. 

This was mostly skew work. To clean the end grain I used a bowl gouge. 

I like to leave a little bit of excess wood so I can later on get rid of the tailstock marks. I removed the excess wood with a sharp chisel and my random orbit sander. 

Next I turned my handle. I first shaped the tenon and then continued on the rest of the piece. I also added some sweat lines with my wire burning tool. 

Finally I glued the handle on the head and buffed my mallet with carnauba wax.

My mallet came out really nice. But that was it, see you soon with a new project video. 

 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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Rose Geraniums Are Drinks' Stars

KITCHEN GARDEN

Rose Geranium 

Scientific name: Pelargonium graveolens

Family: Geraniaceae

Rose geranium leaves (photo Corinne Mossati)

 

Recentaly I talked with Corinne Mossati on Real World Gardener radio show, about rose geraniums.

Personally I’m a fan of scented plants whether it’s the flowers or the leaves.
I just love to inhale their perfume either by sniffing the flowers or touching the leaves.

This next plant, the rose geranium, is not just your ordinary scented geranium because of its many uses.

Sure you can get by just inhaling the perfume after crushing the leaves but why not think about it’s culinary uses, especially in festive drinks. 

First let's talk about the plant.

Rose geraniums are quick growing especially in the warmest months of the year.

Expect this to be a small bush of 1-2-1.5meters with leaves that are soft to the touch, slight hairy and deeply incised as pictured on the right. 

Rose geraniums grow best in full sun but can tolerate part shade. Also frost and drought tolerant.

Rose Geranium spritzer (photo Corinne Mossati)

Keep pruning the leaves to make your rose geranium plant into a tidy compact form, otherwise it will tend to flop over and sprawl a bit.

Don't throw away the cuttings or prunings as all geraniums root easily and quickly. 

Just cut a piece or stem of about 5cm long, first removing the bottom two-thirds of leaves. Pop this piece into seed raising mix in a small pot or you can even place cuttings in water.

Rooted cuttings soon grow into plants that make great gifts to give to friends.

But don't waste those leaves, because what better way to use them, than making a rose geranium syrup to pour over ice-cream or a rose geranium spritzer.

Start off with making a rose geranium syrup.

All you need is 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of chopped rose geranium leaves.

I'm talking with Corinne Mossati, founder and editor of Gourmantic Garden and Cocktails and Bars  Corinne has provided the links to the recipes below.

Rose Geranium Syrup recipe http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/rose-geranium-syrup-recipe/

Rose Geranium Spritzer http://www.cocktailsandbars.com/rose-geranium-spritzer/

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast.



If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

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Indian Cooking Class in Spice It Up

 SPICE IT UP

Indian Cooking Class

Forget those jar sauces and ready- made pastes that you can buy in supermarkets.
If you want a real curry, you’ll need to make it yourself but aren’t they complicated?

Well they can be but that’s why you need an Indian cooking class.

• Ian's spice kit is named after Christine Manfield's new cookbook called 'Indian Cooking Class.'

If you're a bit daunted by Indian recipes then would be chefs would find this very useful.
In this segment Ian takes us through what some of the most often used spices are in Indian cooking and why they are so important to Indian cuisine. 

Some of these are:

Ajowan seed

Methi or Fenugreek leaves.

Panch phora- a spice blend

Chaat masala is a spice blend containing cumin, black salt, fennel seed, amchur or green mango powder, and garam masala-(fennel,caraway, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper) and Asafeotida..

Gunpowder spice blend.

• I have now tried the 'butter chicken recipe twice for this book and give a 5 star rating. As good as if not better than restaurant butter chicken.

You start off making a roux with chick pea powder and canola oil

Then marinate chicken pieces in a spice blend that is made from a ginger/garlic paste, kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, sea salt flakes, methi, and cardamom ground. Add the spices to yoghurt and coat the chicken, then marinate for at least 4 hours.

Butter Chicken-photos M Cannopn

Let’s find out more by listening to the podcast

I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

Well now you know what some of those weird sounding spices are that are used in Indian curries.

You don’t have to buy the book and the spice kit, but it’s a way to kickstart your armchair journey to the spices and curries of India.

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

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