This door bell cover is made from Quarter Sawn White Oak with Greene and Green Ebony screw covers.
Because the cover with the square holes is thin it acts like a sound board.
I made this a little while ago and I think it was the 3rd project I ever built.
The old cover was made of plastic in the 1970’s style. To make the square sound holes I used a 1/2” square mortise bit from one of those sets that attach to your drill press and enlarged the holes to 1” by moving it around until it was 1”. I tried using a chisel. Because the wood is 3/16”thick, after a few hits with the chisel it cracked. The old door bell mechanism worked so I installed it in the case.
Here’s some rough plans I drew. If your interested in building one and can’t read them I can help you with that.
Sometimes the simple forms, and uncomplicated builds make for the absolute coolest projects. That is a huge improvement over a plastiky box any day, no matter the decor. Nice build James.
Thats a great idea! I have a plastic one hanging in our house that should be changed to wood. You did a wonderful job on this. It may be a small thing, but I like that you left that little knot on the front of this, sometimes wood comes with those little things, and they can be celebrated instead of hiding them.
-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams
Was that "grain" planned to resemble the door knob?
Here’s some rough plans I drew. If your interested in building one and can’t read them I can help you with that.
Missing from the plans, however, I can't read imperial... you gotta get into SketchUp (or one of the other drawing packages)... they have a built in imperial/metric translator.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Tinnman. In the story of this door bell cover I mentioned I was attempting to cut the the face plate with a chisel and it cracked. It was a perfect piece w/great rays. The one with the knot was a left over when I resawed the original piece. If you think the knot is visible you should see it on the reverse side of the piece.
I ordered one of those square mortise kits from Grizzly that attach to your drill press. Because I’d be cutting a lot of square holes I bought a Powermatic machine.
This was the last piece of QSWO I had left over from a medicine cabinet I build.
You right sometimes the little imperfections add to the project’s unique appeal.
Thanks Ducky. It’s really the Keebler Elf House. I can’t see that small knot from where it’s hanging in the stair well. It’s all about the knot I guess. 😊 stop looking at it. And yes it’s grain.
