(upbeat country music) - Hello, welcome to The American Woodshop.

I'm Suzy Phillips - And I'm Scott Phillips.

- And actually, we're at my shop today, and we're building a fun sleigh.

- And we'll do a corkscrew willow balustrade, which is spectacular.

So, don't go anywhere!

- [Narrator] The American Woodshop with Scott Phillips is brought to you by - Woodcraft.

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- Check this out.

I've always wanted to build a sleigh for some yard art for the holidays and a little reindeer.

So, I did it.

You only need a few basic tools.

- Okay.

And it's 3/4" plywood, outdoor grade, painted to perfection and plenty for stout for that holiday photo.

But first we're going to get to corkscrew willow balustrades in her barn.

So, let's get busy.

- Let's go.

- Creating a corkscrew willow staircase and old twigs.

It's a little bit like a puzzle, and just picking the right piece and going one at a time.

And I've got a trustee assistant up here, that's helping me get all the angles right.

How's that looking from up there Scott?

- Needs to drop down just a hair like that.

And what I'm looking for is code.

Because, man, building inspectors, they're going to have a ball with this.

Ha ha ha.

But as long as a 4" ball cannot pass through an opening, it's to code.

So, we'll get it done.

- This one might need to go over just a little.

- Well, swing your end out.

Swing your end down.

There you go.

- There you go.

- Okay.

And I just use the Sharpie marker to score in the line off the bottom of the handrail here which is just a 2 x 6.

And now I've gotten lines and it's over to the band saw.

You do one at a time, because you have to weave these together.

And boy, this is - It's solid.

- So solid.

- I love it.

Ha ha.

- What do you think of Suzy's layout?

We're slowly filling in all the wall spaces, after it was insulated with barn wood.

No powder post beetles.

You know about that.

We showed you what to look for, and now, we're going to use a bench top band saw.

This is a mighty saw.

10" throat capacity here.

Heavy duty.

It gets the job done.

Now, there's double marks.

I know I'm going by the second or lower mark on both of these.

And as long as I have a good solid foundation to the surface of the table saw, and keep this work piece basically parallel to the table or the ground, I'm in good shape there.

So, I'm going to lock that column in place with just the right clearance.

That controls the blade better.

And I can do the same thing over here.

That looks really good.

So I've planned the cut.

Now, whatever you do be sure to work safely.

Read, understand and follow all the instructions that come with the tools and products you use.

And we're going to make that cut.

So, and this is secured to a bench top.

So, let's make that cut.

(saw cutting wood) And carefully, reaching behind the blade, not in front of the blade, take that scrap away.

I want it supported on two sides here as I make that cut.

(saw cutting wood) - All right, that looks pretty good.

You can see those nice angle cuts.

Let's do the test fit.

- This is where Scott gets nervous.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

What do you think?

- I think it looks good.

- Okay.

It pays to get lucky.

- Yup.

- And I want 2" long coarse square drive screws.

Coarse, because that goes into this pine railing a little bit better than a fine thread would go.

And this will get screwed down below.

Draw it all tight.

- All right, let's - Bring it on - Get this one marked and cut it - Okay.

Let's swing that around a bit.

Okay.

So I'll get this marked.

Off to the band saw.

Next cuts.

And we repeat this process until it goes all the way up.

- Yeah.

Can't wait to see how it's all going to turn out.

-Looking good.

-Yeah.

-Looking good.

-Yeah.

(saw cutting wood) (saw cutting wood) (saw cutting wood) - All right.

We're getting ready to place the next one.

We got it all cut.

Always do a test fit.

And Scott's going to secure this one down here at the bottom.

(driving screw into the wood) - And man, those self tapping screws.

They're there to stay.

That will get a screw as well.

- Yup.

- But let's get that one done.

- All right.

Looks good.

- Okay.

- Here you go.

I'll hold it down here, and you get it placed up there and we'll get the proper spacing.

Gotta always double check yourself on that.

- Okay.

What do you think?

- It looks good down here.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- I'm going to secure it.

And we'll repeat this process all the way up.

- Yup.

- Okay.

And it definitely is awkward, which is why you don't see more of these railings.

- That's why I let him do that part.

- But, it's well worth the effort.

- Yes.

You got to branch out sometimes.

(laughing) - That was kind of bad, but I couldn't resist.

- We'll get this done.

- Okay.

- Every woodshop needs a welcome sign.

And to cut this out I've just got 3/4".

It's a plastic material, easily paintable.

And I just cut out all the letters on the band saw.

It's super easy.

Goes fast, and I've got it all traced out here.

I've got my band saw all set up.

I'm using a 3/8" four tooth blade, and I've got the marks and we'll cut off the corners first.

And then I'll do the inside of the circle.

Make sure you have your safety glasses and your dust mask.

All right, let's do this.

(saw cutting wood) - And make sure to always keep your work piece firmly on the table.

(saw cutting wood) - Okay.

Just about done, and then we can do the inside.

All right.

Here we go.

(saw cutting wood) - Just take your time, follow the lines, and keep your hands out of the plane of the blade too.

That way you don't have to worry about ever getting in a bind.

- There you go.

(saw cutting wood) - Okay.

Turn it off.

And once that blade has stopped, I'll release this and then pull this up, and then the inside just lifts out just like that.

Let's see.

I can get that out of there now.

There you go.

Oh, it's all done.

- Every sleigh needs a reindeer.

And I just drew that one up.

I thought he was kind of cool.

It's 3/4" plywood, which is what I'm cutting the sleigh out of.

- Right.

- So, if you sit that over there.

- Will do.

- And I made a template of my sleigh out of quarter-inch plywood, and I have traced the pattern out on here.

And I'll just cut it out with the jigsaw.

I'd do the band saw, but for big projects like this, I need cordless and I need a jigsaw.

So, I've got a wider blade just to do the bigger straighter cuts.

And then I've got the small scrolling blade, which has higher TPI.

And that really gets in these curves to make a nice curve.

So, I will set that down here.

I'll start cutting out the the main part and just keep going.

I've got this up on some two by fours.

So I don't have to worry about the blade getting my bench, it's up off the top.

So I'm going to start making the cuts.

(saw cutting wood) (saw cutting wood) - Make sure to keep it firmly flat on your work surface.

Just take your time.

Just let that blade take the sawdust out.

And I love that this jigsaw has great variable speed.

You can slow it down if you want, pick it up.

I've got it at full power.

And it's great having it cordless.

So I don't have to worry about a cord getting in my way.

And then I can just stop, back it out, and keep on going!

(saw cutting wood) (saw cutting wood) (saw cutting wood) (saw cutting wood) - Okay for the runner on the sleigh, I decided to do stars and trees.

You can pick any pattern you want.

You can do some scroll work, but since I kind of did detailed scroll work on the outside, I figured be fun to do a little pattern.

Just you can use a stencil, free hand, whatever you want.

And I made each square six by eight inches, and I just used a little quilting square and a pencil and drew that out.

I've got them all cut out except for the star.

I did pilot holes to put my blade through that.

I'm using a scrolling blade, real small.

I think this one's 20 TPI.

So, let's get to work on that and here we go.

So, I'll cut out the star and I'm just going to do all these cuts, just so it'll drop out.

and have fine points since it's a star.

- Here we go.

The first one.

Stop there.

Just go and pick it up.

Right there.

And that one falls out.

And then you just keep working along.

Got that one and I love this deep jig, because it has a nice blower.

It gets all the sawdust out of your way and a light.

It really is a great little tool.

There you go.

Switch sides.

[saw cutting] This fine blade really loves to get right in there.

You can stop it, switch hands if you need to.

- Oh, it got stuck on itself.

There we go.

All right.

So, I'll finish getting this cut out, and then we can get onto the rest of the assembly.

All right.

We got it all cut out.

Just a little light sanding and we're ready to go.

I just got a little sandpaper on a sanding block.

- [Suzy] I'm going to knock off the edges and it'll be time to paint.

(sanding) - All right.

Now's the fun part, painting it, and really making the sleigh come alive.

And I first painted the whole thing red, which I'll show you, doing that, in just a second.

And then the bottom half I taped off.

And then I just sanded off the red that I had painted to kind of give it that old world feel.

And then I did a little gold over it.

And then the little filigree here.

Just used the stencil and then just free hand the edges.

- A little of this, a little of that, off to the races she goes.

- And there you go.

Yeah.

And then I'm just using a roller - Now one second.

- to paint.

Oh yeah.

- See where the blue tape is that we'll get cleats made out of white oak because it's very durable outside 2" long course of brass bronze mix fasteners.

That way they won't corrode.

And here, here, here, and here, and the reason you can't paint this, we're going to lay a bead of glue down, and then use those screws to hold it in place like a clamp, but away you go.

- All right.

- And I just found a really bright holiday red and just roll it on there.

And I'll do a couple coats and super easy, and just make sure you do a great top coat to take care of it while it's outside, if you have it outside.

- And right here, a good bead of glue, wood to wood.

And now with these fasteners, you want to make sure that they don't go all the way through.

Because after your wife has worked on this, that would be a longer conversation.

- Bad.

- Okay.

And we have screws going through the bottom that will latch on to the southern yellow pine right here, kiln dried.

And you can use outdoor oil on that for a nice effect.

So, we'll get this done and join everything together and take a look at the Suzy Phillips holiday sleigh.

- Yeah.

Let's take a ride.

(laughing) - All right, well, this is about 15 years old, and it's really aged and weathered well, but now that you made that nice new chair, I think mine needs a little help.

So, I'm using a beautiful Tuscan red, same as on the barn doors.

I really love it.

And I think it's just going to bring this two person bench back alive.

- Okay.

Now you're brushing and rolling that on.

And I was overruled.

She said the wood in this Adirondack chair that we made on the show last week is just too pretty, that we have to put exterior 450 on it.

And I don't disagree with that.

- No, it's awesome.

Look at that coming alive.

- Yeah.

Look at the colors.

And with water-based exterior paints they go on, they have a light milky color to them.

Takes them about two days to go crystal clear.

And these have UV blockers in them.

Meaning.

Hey, here's a quiz.

What destroys a finish on furniture?

You go, is it rain?

Is it cold?

Main thing is ultraviolet light.

So, if the finish doesn't have ultraviolet blockers in it, it's not going to hold up.

It's going to break down, especially a film finish like this.

But, once this is on here, it's really going to do the job.

And this is super durable.

I'll get three, four years out of this.

But with all outdoor furniture, wood, that is.

What's your best finish?

Can't beat paint because of the pigments in it, and holds up to ultraviolet light.

And these doors with that Tuscan red have really been super durable.

So, could not be more happy with it.

- See?

Look how pretty that looks.

- Oh, it's awesome.

- Yeah.

- It's worth doing it right, Suzy.

- That's for sure.

And this is looking good too.

- Okay.

We'll get a look at these when these are all done.

- Giving it a new life.

- That is pretty.

- Yeah.

- Oh, by the way, wood selections key.

What's the most durable outdoor wood that grows in North America?

Well, I'm a forester wood technology guy.

And I can tell you from experience, if you go with white oak, if you go with cedars, they are very durable, if they do one thing.

Dry out between wet cycles.

Once they get wet and you have ground contact, that can really lead to finish failure.

So where you put your furniture is key.

It needs to be able to dry out between cycles.

So there are some great tips for you on restoring furniture and it's coming to life.

It's looking really good.

So look at that grain come to life with exterior 450, great exterior finish with UV blockers.

Which one's going to be more durable?

Well, they're both made out of very durable woods.

That's 15 years old, white oak and bald Cyprus.

This one on show 2810, one show back.

That's Easter red cedar, western cedar, white oak bald Cyprus, and the two legs are southern yellow pine, old southern yellow pine.

So, good stuff.

So, I'm done.

I don't know what Suzy's delay is.

- It's soaking up the paint.

- Well, that's true.

It really needed that TLC.

- It did.

That it did.

- All fasteners on exterior grade anything, should be stainless steel or galvanized.

So that's very important.

Otherwise, you're going to get stains where you can't go stain grade.

Where you see the natural beauty of the wood, you have to go paint grade, but still, Suzy that really is looking great.

- Thank you.

- Double seat Adirondack from years ago and then this new Adirondack and this is a great plan from a magazine.

And it's perfect.

Super comfortable.

There you have it on restoration.

Take care of that outdoor furniture.

- All right, we'll do the last few screws.

And we got her all put together.

- Two inches is perfect because it doesn't come all the way through which would be a travesty.

There you go.

Easy.

You don't strip it.

- Nope.

- There we go.

And I have one down here, and let's see what the dogs think.

Let's set it down.

Easy does it.

Here's the reveal.

It's got some weight to it.

You better be holding on to There we go.

Good job.

- There we go.

- Look at that.

Look at that.

- All right.

- Now outside for the test ride.

- All right, let's go.

- Well that's how the sleigh comes together.

Now let's head to the woods to learn how to prune trees correctly and then see what you can do with it on a balustrade.

Boy, nicely done, Suzy.

- Thanks.

- That's just grand.

- Thanks.

- Whatever you do plant trees, trees, trees, trees, more trees, please.

And then take care of them.

This is called timber stand improvement.

And what that means is I'm pruning.

When's the best time to prune trees?

When the leaves are off.

Okay?

And then you can seal it with pruning spray.

But the first thing you do is you cut off a big part of it.

So you don't have a bunch of weight where you're cutting.

That's a Japanese razor saw to do that.

And then this undercut is the first cut you make next to the tree, flush to the bark, and you do that so the bark doesn't peel up.

Then you can use a heavy duty saw like this.

Coarse set tooth to take off the lion's share of it.

Not going into the bark like that.

And now I can prune off, trim off the rest of this.

And then that will end up getting sealed with pruning spray.

So, wait until the leaves are off or in the spring before the leaves come out and prune up the trees then.

And, you'll have friends for life.

One mature tree generates enough oxygen for one person every day.

And I think it's a great idea to plant whenever you can.

So get out there, plant some trees.

If you don't have a place to plant it, talk to the local forestry service or the soil service and volunteer your time.

Because they're doing that right and left, and you can make a big impact without having to spend any money.

Just volunteer a bit of time.

Okay.

Forestry 101, take care of the timber.

- I love it.

I love the way it all came together, Scott.

It's really just like I envisioned.

And I loved the post here at the end.

This was from the willow branch that got struck by lightning.

So that's kind of fun to have that in there.

- It's grand, Suzy.

- But these are all... - It was her vision really.

- Pretty strong.

They're in there to stay.

- And it wasn't easy to do, but it's worth it.

I mean.

- Completely worth it.

I love it.

- Look at that.

It's just spectacular.

It invites you up to the loft.

And you'll have to see that some other time.

So remember, in your woodshop, do things with recycled wood, head to the woods, prune up the trees, timber stand improvement, and then save those limbs because - That's right.

- Hey, it's full of possibilities.

- Absolutely, you never know where you'll use it.

- Okay.

Well, won't you join us next week for more great ideas from The American Woodshop and Suzy's Barn Shop.

- There you go.

See ya.

- See ya.

- Woodcraft.

Since 1928, providing traditional and modern woodworking tools and supplies to generations of craftsmen.

Woodcraft.

Helping you make wood work.

- Pro tools for tool pros.

(upbeat drumming music) RIKON tools.

- Woodcraft magazine projects, plans and web links designed to help you make wood work.

- PS Wood.

Home of Timber Wolf Swedish Silicon Steel band saw blades and super sharp scroll saw blades.

- A bed to sleep on.

A table to share meals.

A house that feels like a home.

The Furniture Bank of Central Ohio.

Providing furniture to neighbors in need.

- For more information on tips behind The American Woodshop and watch free episodes 24-7 check us out online and like us on Facebook.

(upbeat country music)