Making simple wooden blocks

davros wrote:

All of you pros will think this is a silly question but I know nothing about woodwork and don't know where to begin.

I want to attractively display some small objects. Rather than just lay them all out on a shelf, I'd like to arrange some nice wooden blocks on the shelves first, then place the objects on those. It would vary the height of the display and add visual interest.

First, where would I get some small pieces of decent quality wood? Second, how should I finish them off? I suppose rounded edges would be nice but I don't know if that can be done with hand tools. Varnish, oil? If I had all of the one type of wood, could I still make the blocks look different, dark, light...?

All tips gratefully received!

Hi Davros,

If I am picking up on this correctly, I think you are lookin for wooden bases placed along a wall shelf, and onto these bases you intend to place your objects.

Depending on the size of the blocks you require, I would imagine that they would be no bigger than about 6-8 inches long, and maybe no more than 6 inches wide. An ideal source of these blocks would be a joinery. They would have a large supply of offcuts in various timbers. These would be planed all around , and would require very little finishing, before varnising.

You would more than likely get these for taking away, or maybe a very small charge.

You should get a good selection of colours, from light coloured pine, to deep coloured mahogany, so you should not have to colour any at all. Ash, oak, mahogany, teak, pine, sycamore, maple, cherry, give a different range of colours, and different grain patterns will have a nice visual effect.

You could round the edges of the blocks, with the use of a small router, mounted in a bench, and move the block around the cutter, or alternatively, clamp the piece in a vise , and move the router around the piece. A small cheap router for less than 45 euros, with bits are sometimes available in aldi.
If you intend to use a router, then please post again, and we will give you more specific help in relation to the safety aspects involved with small items.

The easiest finish for such blocks, would be danish oil, several coats wiped on with a soft clean cloth.

Hopefully i have got the correct idea, of what you are looking for.

kadman