This week I built a custom shelf for my little brother’s helmet! Then we get to meet Brad from Project Build Stuff! But first, It’s time for a Maker Break!
Hey guys! Welcome back to Maker Break, where we share our favorite maker videos of the week, and challenge ourselves to build a project of our own! First off, Happy 4th of July! This week, Sarah took a turn in the shop to make something special for her brother. Here’s how it went.
This Week’s Project!
A couple weeks ago my little brother Zach sent me a link to this video, where Chaos Causes built a simple but elegant helmet stand. Well, he sent the link, and a small bribe to make him one. Of all my brother’s Zach is the one I can never seem to say no to, but I wanted to make it more… well.. Zach.
This is Zach’s helmet. ‘Merica bruh. And seeing as it’s the 4th of July, I set out to incorporate a theme based on the works of Betsy Ross.
I had Rob help me mock up a design in sketchup. It evolved into a pennant shape, where we used some quarter inch plywood to cut out a star and stripes for the side, and added a couple traditional coat hooks to make it more functional.
To cut the larger pieces I used a pre-milled 1×12. These are NOT cheap, but since like a lot of you, we don’t have a jointer or planer, this was the best option I had for getting things straight and accurate.
We measured out our pieces and used our circular saw to cut our 20 degree angles. This would make the two pieces join together nicely at the top, while giving me the angle I wanted for the shelf.
Next we had to cut the triangle supports, which turned out to be a lot of… well.. Math. This might have been easier with a table saw sled, but Rob hasn’t built one yet, so we did some careful marking, and used the circular saw, which actually worked great. You just need to be patient!
We held it all together with glue and screws, specifically using pocket hole screws to secure all the parts to the shelf. I also cutout a small shelf for Zach’s gloves, and attached it with pocket holes as well.
After that, I grabbed a quarter inch piece of plywood, and the circular saw to cutout the angles I needed for the stripes, and then the table saw to get nice straight strips. After cutting them to size on the miter saw, I had the stripes ready to go.
Then it was on to the stars. For these I printed out a star to the size I wanted, cut it out, and then used it to draw the stars accurately on the plywood. Then we cut them out with a jig saw, sanded them up, and boom. Stars!
Finally, I wanted to use two different stains to give the star and stripes a bit of contract. I used a dark walnut on them, and decided the back and top shelf would look good darker as well. I put a clear stain on the pennants, and let it dry over night.
The next morning, I glued the stars and stripes in place, and added a peg to keep his helmet from sliding off. And that’s it! Now my brother can hang his helmet with pride, and I can go on being the world’s best big sister.
Meet A Maker – Brad from Project Build Stuff
This week we got to meet Brad from Project Build Stuff! Don’t miss the interview in the video above! Then check out and subscribe to his channels!
Our Favorite Maker Videos of the Week!
Ok it’s time for a few of our favorite maker videos of the week. My first one comes from Johnny Builds, who built an impossible Origami folding door based on a design he found on Instagram. Look at that thing! So perfectly and impossibly complex! I love it.
Who wants to make a leather bag, but doesn’t want to stitch? Jimmy DiResta is always a great source for outside the box maker inspiration, and this week he pulled an idea out of his own Inventions and Evil Intentions book, and made this amazing leather bag, held completely with rivets.
And finally, Zach, not my brother, from Workshop edits shared this awesome build of a White oak and Steel kitchen table. Dang that’s pretty. We cannot wait to learn metalworking.
