Western General Store

I was asked by a woman to make a boot top cross using the boots of her friend's deceased father. I had never made one but wanted to do this, so I accepted. I decided to experiment, so using 2 pair of my husband's boots, I got to work and also made a tutorial for this blog. I found a piece of old plywood and drew out a cross with each leg being 4 inches wide. The plywood was 15 3/4" wide and I made the height 23". After it was cut out on the band saw, I realized the plywood needed to be thicker for tacks and trim, but now I had a cross template. I cut a new cross out of 1/2" plywood. I cut the boot tops off. I marked a center line on each leg of the plywood cross and marked an arrow where the center of the boot top would be placed. I measured past the arrows for the correct size of leather for the center of the cross. I used black scrap leather, cut it to fit and glued it on. 1/4" x 3/4" cedar trim was glued and nailed to the edge. Next time the trim sho...

  A friend of mine made this coaster set and box for me. Very cute, and some may want to go this route, but it gave me an idea to make one western style. Here are the wood pieces for the box. Four sides of mahogany, or any wood you have on hand, and a plywood base. There are two pieces 5 3/4" x 2 3/8" x 1/2" and two pieces 6 3/4" x 2 3/8" x 1/2". The bottom piece is 5 3/4" x 5 3/4". The box is glued together, and brad nailed to secure. I cut a piece for a lid and glued a smaller piece to the underside to fit inside the box. The lid dimensions are 6 3/4" x 6 3/4" x 1/4" and the smaller piece is about 5 5/8" x 5 5/8". I glued hair-on cowhide around the box. I glued cowhide to the top of the lid. I painted the bottom of the lid and the bottom and inside of the box black. I spray painted a steer drawer pull oil rubbed bronze and mounted it to the top of the lid. I placed a strip of leather 1" wide around the box and nai...

This Cast Iron Star Stirrup was on the website, but I have not been able to find anymore. So, I decided to make one out of wood. I placed the stirrup on plywood and traced it to make a template. I traced the star section and cleaned up the lines before I cut it out on a scroll saw. Once the templates are made, I can trace this pattern onto any wood I choose. This is cut from mahogany. When I glued and screwed it together, it broke apart. I cut another one from oak and glued it together. I used a brad nail gun to secure it. I spray painted it with a textured paint. I made another one and stained it to show the wood grain. I used epoxy on this one, which seems to work better. These Star Stirrups will make great western home décor accents!

I saw a picture on the internet of a horseshoe and spur that held a drapery rod. I thought, we've got horseshoes and spurs, so why not put them together and make this! Since I don't weld, I had to be creative. With the drill press, I drilled a hole at the bottom of the Large Horseshoe and used the grinder to smooth down a place for the spur. This spur was used in a previous project for a curtain tie back. I cut off the strap holder on one side with a hack saw and smoothed it down with a grinder, then drilled a hole with the drill press. The size of the hole depends on what size screw you're going to use. I inserted a screw, put a nut on the back, and spray painted it black. You could use this for a gun rack, hat hook, coat hook, or bridle hook. I think it looks great! Add the spur curtain tie back and you have a set! This would look great in a western themed bedroom or great room!

I found 2 scrap pieces of 1/2" birch plywood in the shop to make a wooden towel holder. On the scroll saw I cut slots to fit the pieces together. Here are the finished pieces. I traced the inside of the Small Horseshoes and cut the holes. I recut the top a little fancier, stained the pieces, nailed the horseshoes on with carpet tacks, and added the Pewter Star Tacks . Here are the pieces fitted together. A Western style towel holder for your décor. This photo shot is in the kitchen but this would more likely reside in the bathroom.