Intermediate Project Guide
Intermediate Woodworking Project Guide
Once you have a few beginner projects under your belt it's time to step up you game. You may not be ready to try a large scale project yet, but it is a good to to get some valuable experience by trying some project that take some skill, but aren't so difficult that you can't finish them in a reasonable amount of time.Log Furniture - Modern Tools Make the Hard Part Easy
As Scott Sullivan of Lumberjack Tools is fond of saying, building rustic log furniture is something that the whole family can enjoy. But we often wonder if people really understand how easy it is to get started with this time-honored craft. Relying almost solely on a single, straightforward joinery method, making log furniture is something that just about anyone can pick up with a few hours practice. And with modern tools and equipment (stuff that our pioneer for-bearers would have done just about anything to get their hands on) the process is fast and not in the least physically taxing.
How to Build a Bookcase: Step-by-Step Woodworking Plans
Basically consisting of three plywood boxes fitted with a hardwood face frame, this piece looks built-in because it spans from wall to wall, and is trimmed with molding at the ceiling and floor. I used 3/4-in. birch plywood for the cases, 4/4 sustainably harvested African mahogany for the face frames and 3/4-in. mahogany plywood for the sides surrounding the doorway. With moderate skills and some patience, it wouldn't be hard to make this project fit any space.
There's a lot of wood out in the world free for the taking -- in dumpsters, back alleys, vacant lots, abandoned buildings, recycling yards, and architectural salvage centers. Most wood, if free from rot, is just as strong, durable, and good to use as new wood, once you sand off the weathering.
How to Make a Bookcase Out of an Old Dresser
I always seem to find dressers missing their drawers being thrown out for garbage. It seems like such a waste to throw away perfectly good wood. Turning a dresser into a bookcase is a relatively simple DIY project; most of the hard work is completed for you since the dresser makes the frame of the bookcase.
This page is all about Dados, since there are more than eighty of the little suckers to cut. The trick is to keep them all in line to make this projects lines pop out at you.
Four Ways to Build a Tavern Table
We used to have a table just like this one that was great for playing cards or board games with our two kids. Unfortunately, I sold that table and have always regretted it. So when we finished out a couple new basement rooms for the kids, building a new game table was first on my list.
A workbench is an essential tool in hand woodworking. This project is presented in an easy to follow step-by-step illustrated format.
Just recently I have figured out how to build this table with self-storing leaves using the same robust mechanical system that is the foundation of this table design. The only other version of this table that I am aware of that can perform this action uses cables and springs for the mechanism, which is not very robust. I look forward to implementing this design concept in the next version of the table.
How to Build Your Own Backyard Deck
Even though I only bought my first cordless drill about 3 or 4 years ago, I just finished building my own backyard deck. It was the most ambitious home improvement project I've taken on myself and it wasn't as hard and I thought it would be. In the end, I saved about half the cost of the deck compared to professional rates I was quoted, and I had my deck in just a matter of days instead of having to wait weeks for a crew to have the time to build it for me.
Build an outdoor loveseat for your yard
This bench is an eye-catching piece of outdoor furniture that can comfortably accommodate two people. The design's curves are whimsical, while the seat is slightly dished for comfort. All parts are conveniently made from standard thicknesses of lumber, but for long-term durability, there isn't a nail or screw anywhere. Dowel joinery is used throughout.One design feature that makes this bench efficient to build is the similar leg and back support assemblies. Each is made of three layers of 1x6 lumber, and each layer is also made of three separate pieces of wood. Why this design? Together they make it easy to form open mortise-and-tenon joints that interlock to create strong joinery.
Before moving off to college I wanted to build something that would be suitable as a kitchen table and double as my desk for studying. It needed to be sturdy and robust enough to last through college and for the years to come, yet I did not want to build a piece of furniture that would require four guys and a moving truck to move it up a flight of stairs. Using mortise and tenon joints in combination with inexpensive kerf-mounted corner brackets, I was able to build an attractive and rigid table that can be disassemble and rebuilt all by myself.
My architect friends Lorenzo Bini and Roberta Pezzulla made this little project for a very young and dynamic client: Lorenzo’s 6-month-old goddaughter. They wanted to make a box that the child could use her whole life to store small, personal, precious things. So they created the UnaBox, taking inspiration from an Indian box (by an anonymous designer) that had an obscure opening system with 2 pivoting lids. The box’s dimensions are based on the golden ratio, and it allows access only to patient and curious people; many adults have tried to open it and failed. Here’s how to build one yourself.
Router template guides fit into the base of your router and direct it along the edge of a template. They can be used to accurately rout the edge of your stock to a specific shape, to rout cavities and mortises, or even to accurately bore positioned holes. They're especially useful when making several parts that all need to be the same size, or when working with a complex shape.
I had wanted to build a sturdy workbench for some time but was put off by the cost and complexity of a traditional hardwood bench. I knew that such benches derive much of their strength and rigidity from the mortises and tenons that join the framework, and I wondered if there was a way to combine this joinery with the inherent strength, rigidity, and dimensional accuracy of plywood. The design I created has a base of laminated sections of plywood and a top of plywood and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). An advantage of this design is that the piece can be built without a planer or jointer, perfect for someone just getting started in woodworking. For under $250 including a vise, I have a bench with the rigidity I desired without breaking the bank.
Step-By-Step Fit a huge work area into a small space with this folding workbench
Here’s a workspace that’s huge and accessible from all sides yet folds up and stows away easily. If you don’t have room for a full-size permanent workbench but really need space to spread things out, this workbench is it. It opens to a solid 4 x 7-ft. surface with both wings up, yet closes and rolls into a small 4-ft. x 18-in. spot in a corner of the room. It’s a perfect workspace for the garage or basement. It’s also a great surface for making repairs, working on hobbies, cutting sewing patterns, wrapping gifts, folding laundry, doing stained glass crafts or even just holding a mechanic’s parts.
A picnic table is a project you can buy all the material for and build in a day. Relatively simple and straight forward you can build a table that will last for decades. The table I will describe here is a large one, 28" wide (table top) and 8 ft long. It has benches attached to the table and is stable and strong. Certainly you can modify these plans to meet your needs. I have one that has a top that is 4 ft square based on the same design.
I don't know how many times I have been asked about a plan for this table. It has been a few. As I reported a few years back, the table is based on one found in a book called How to Make Classic American Furniture, which was written in 1986 by James Clapper. I am sure the book is out of print so, after the most recent email about the plan, I decided to write one up. I searched my bookshelves for that book because I was very concerned about copyright violation. As it turns out, there is no such table in that book but rather my table was loosely based on a combination of a drop leaf dining table and a bench that are both found in that book.
If you own a table saw, you know it works great for ripping long pieces. But did you know that you can crosscut wide pieces with the same ease and accuracy? All it takes is a table saw sled. A table saw sled rides in the miter gauge slots and has a fence that's mounted exactly 90 degrees to the blade, enabling accurate square cuts. We'll show you how to build a sled using a 42-in. square sheet of 1/2-in. plywood.
This wall-mounted storage cabinet is designed with simple joints and attractive, classic details. You can make it in just a few hours with a table saw and a drill. CDs, kids’ books, craft supplies, household tools—everyone’s got a collection of something they need to store. And we’ve got just the cabinet for the job. We designed it with simple joints and details so you can assemble it in a morning, even if you don’t have any cabinet-building experience.
Building A Workbench: A Personal Journey
The design of a woodworker's workbench is a very personal choice. This article is to help show how and why I built mine, and hopefully to help you as you make your own choices. It was hard for me to decide, from all the great options, on the types of workbenches to build, with its vises, hold-downs, and dog-holes. And there are many great workbench styles out there.
