delnorter
Hero Member
Here’s a little project I put together for my wife recently. It started while I was at the mouth of the Smith River looking for black sand drifts to sluice for small gold.
This is a shot of the mouth of the river where it enters the ocean.
While looking for blacks sands I noticed a tremendous amount of flat rocks. All the rocks along this shore line are flat and round in profile. A result of the tidal ocean waters and the river doing double duty scouring these rock with sand.
I collected a bucket of rather small flat rocks intending to do “something” with them
When I got home I remembered a shelf my wife wanted in a particular location that I’d been putting off for some time. Well, I was looking at the bucket of rocks and though, hmm, how about a rock shelf.
I put together a frame of very dry pine with an old scrap of quality plywood for the back and laid out the rocks. I screwed and glued the wooden parts and got a very tight and rigid box. Below is the box and the first layout of rocks to randomly chose from.
I first anchored the rocks with a stong epoxy, then mortared them in place with a sand based mortar, one side at a time. I let each side dry/cure before doing the next side. Time consuming, but much else to do while waiting.
After a couple on and off project days, I finished the setting of rocks, then put a clear sealer coat over the rocks and made a frame from some scrap molding. My wife painted the molding a color she liked (I wanted a driftwood frame) and I set it into the wall between studs.
A fun project, but now others in the family want one. Hmmmm!
Mike
This is a shot of the mouth of the river where it enters the ocean.
While looking for blacks sands I noticed a tremendous amount of flat rocks. All the rocks along this shore line are flat and round in profile. A result of the tidal ocean waters and the river doing double duty scouring these rock with sand.
I collected a bucket of rather small flat rocks intending to do “something” with them
When I got home I remembered a shelf my wife wanted in a particular location that I’d been putting off for some time. Well, I was looking at the bucket of rocks and though, hmm, how about a rock shelf.I put together a frame of very dry pine with an old scrap of quality plywood for the back and laid out the rocks. I screwed and glued the wooden parts and got a very tight and rigid box. Below is the box and the first layout of rocks to randomly chose from.
I first anchored the rocks with a stong epoxy, then mortared them in place with a sand based mortar, one side at a time. I let each side dry/cure before doing the next side. Time consuming, but much else to do while waiting.
After a couple on and off project days, I finished the setting of rocks, then put a clear sealer coat over the rocks and made a frame from some scrap molding. My wife painted the molding a color she liked (I wanted a driftwood frame) and I set it into the wall between studs.
A fun project, but now others in the family want one. Hmmmm!
Mike
