My Builds Are Mostly For Fun

In the process of woodworking, it's common to have wood waste, mistakes, and reclaimed wood from old projects. These things are made from a desire to make something from nothing, to create space in my shop and to have some fun. All of the items you see in this section of my website are made from old swingsets, playhouses and spare parts from my custom playset and treehouse projects.​

Eastern Red Cedar Clipboards

It's unlikely that you have never used a clipboard in your life and the choices of clipboard materials available are less than desirable. Skinny wisp of particle board or see thru plastic clipboards are the most common and lack any type of quality, tactile satisfaction, not to mention the lack of support.
My first clipboard was made from a single piece of 1" x 12" eastern red cedar and it was great, but it spoiled me for normal clipboards. My next generation clipboard utilized cut-offs from other projects that were prepped and glued together to make a thicker more durable clipboard that was not only functional but looked great. These days there are several types and styles floating around my shop and sizes are regular long, landscape long, wine list, mini, mini-landscape and super-size engineers.
​These clipboards and more are available at OtterWorksUSA.com

Purchase one of my Cedar Clipboards at Otter's Workshop!

Redwood Mailbox Cover

Several years ago there was an ugly black mailbox on top of an equally ugly black pole in front of my home. The flag was broke and the mailbox sat askew on the pole. It was so ugly it was disrespected by birds who poo'd on it because of it's ugliness.
There were nice mailboxes in my hood and having the talent to build something nice, it seemed like a good project for me. My first thought was to dip into my scrap pile and build a new wooden mailbox, however a regulation size metal box offered more protection for my mail so a combination of wood and the existing mailbox was simply going to be the best solution. This mailbox cover was made from cut-offs of my ​rolling shop chair, 1/4' rope from an old clothesline and some American creativity.
DIY Plans are in the works and will hopefully be released soon.

Purchase one of my Redwood or Cedar Mailbox covers at Otter's Workshop!

We all need an outlet.  That's why I created..
The Re-Psychler ! 
The Most Ultimate Aggression Therapy/Aluminum Can Recycling Tool Ever Made!

The Re-Psychler ! ​

How does it work? It’s easy, pretend a can is your pain and recycle it! ​This all wood mallet will flatten a can like a pancake faster than your broken heart can stop beating. Stomping cans with your heel is tiresome, but smashing them with the Re-Psychler satisfies like nothing else. What’s the ultimate goal? As funny as it sounds,  I want to bring peace and a cleaner earth through violence. Someone tick you off? Crush a can. Rest assured, you’ll feel better. Does your life suck? Smash a can and feel better because you’re recycling. Did your girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other dump on your emotions? Show them you’re smashing, crush a can and love the Earth.

Purchase a  Re-Pschyler at Otter's Workshop and Recycle Your Emotions!

Birdhouses and Planter Baskets

Everything here was created from wood waste. There is so much wood fencing at the dump, it has it's own section and it's easy to make a birdhouse with a single 6' fence picket. A Boy Scout Troop could earn a million woodworking merit badges just using old fence pickets. Free your mind and build with what you find.
These projects are easy, If they were hard, they would not be here. Okay, to be honest, the octagon baskets are a pain. They are easy to look at, but to make a nice one from scrap will test your patience. One day Uncle Jack will tell you the story of how he shot a brad nail into his thumb while making these sweet baskets. Beware the brad nailer and softwoods! 

A note from The Jack Otter: 
Over the years I’ve made many of these planter boxes for family and friends and now Otter’s Workshop is proud to be offering them for everyone to enjoy. Old redwood playsets are used to make this very fine planter box and after we build a couple of prototypes and refine the design we will post them for sale. The planter box you purchase will come in pre-assembled panels and will require a very simple assembly process and in minutes will be ready to use.
The planter box shown in the bottom row is the second prototype and it’s looking pretty good. This one does not have an interior shelf or bottom panel, it’s just a nice container for your potted plant. Let us know if you would like the interior base or shelf and we will work that into the design. We’ll be posting updates until it's time to release for general sale. Check back soon.

Eastern Red Cedar Garden Shed

My wood shop has a fair amount of space and is organized to maximize a limited area, but it is a wood shop and for my use it is not a place for garden tools, supplies or chemicals. This unique garden shed was made using scrap pieces from the ​Tribe Family treehouse, old playset parts, a junker shed and a gas grill.

My design for this garden shed was based on the concept of being able to convert it into a do-it-yourself plan. The front and  back panels were made as one piece walls with the side pieces as add-ons. This enables me to easily remove the sides and replace with wider walls so this 18" shed can be 4', 6' or 8' deep. The roof is a one piece unit that can be removed with four bolts and easily be taken apart and converted to a fit a deeper shed.

My Redwood and Pine Desk

This unique desk with a return and 3-drawer cabinet was made from reclaimed pine and redwood. Most of the wood was found on trash day in front of a house that was being remodeled and throw away material picked at Lowe's for $.25-1.00. The 1' x 12" pine most likely came from a closet or pantry and had a painted surface. Leftover 6" x 6" redwood from a previous playground project was used for the legs (turned them on my 70's model ShopSmith) and reclaimed redwood from warranty parts of old swing sets for the outer skin of the cabinet. The inner frame of the cabinet still has some of the original paint on it. The geckos chasing frogs for drawer pulls was a special order item and still make me laugh when I see them. It's meant to be an island shape to take me away when I write.

George's Cat House

I have a free range country cat. In between naps, he hunts for rodents and grazes from his food bowl whenever he wants. Originally, George had a small platform in the tree for his food to keep my dog from devouring his food.
Patting myself on the back for my simple solution was a waste of time. It turns out Blackbirds and Cardinals like cat food more than my greedy dog. Living in a country setting, I tried discharging a shotgun to scare them away, but within minutes they would be back, 100's of them doing the Conga as they made their way to the cat food buffet. The owl proved useless.
This was my solution. A screened in treehouse cat house. The opening has a slit in the screen and George is able to push right in and enjoy his grub, bird free.

Rolling Shop Tables

What you need in a garage shop or wood shop is a great table or bench to work from. There are several rolling tables in my shop and they sure make working life easier. All of the tables are made to the same height as my table saw and roll on 2" casters. This makes them easy to use as extensions for my table saw and planer or side benches for my chop saw. It's also convenient to join the tables for large projects or string three of them together to work with lumber over 20' long. If being a great table that also provides a nice stacking area wasn't enough, you can even use one as a wood dolly to transport large amounts of lumber from from one area to the next. Like all things here, old playsets and recycled materials were used for the legs, framing and braces and the only thing purchased was the plywood and the casters. DIY Shop Table Plans are in the works and will hopefully be released soon at OtterWorks USA.

Usable Furniture from Wood Pallets

These are a few of my first wood projects for indoor use. At this period in my building career building anything besides swingsets was ambitious, but my philosophy was, "If you can think it, you can build it". My shop was a two car garage packed with the normal stuff you might find in any household, hardly any of it meant for wood working, and a stockpile of wood pallet pieces and playset parts culled from repair or removal projects. One of the trials that go along with using reclaimed wood is you have to reverse engineer the design and build from the longest piece of scrap. Building something that creates a new life for your recycled material requires a real need and the passion to see it through completion. These projects are great examples of what can be made with a circular saw, a square, some basic hand tools, rock solid determination and some common sense.