Making wooden spoons is similar to making cutting boards: they both seem to be projects that every woodworker will eventually attempt. Typically, spoons are hollowed out and shaped using carving knives and chisels, but I used my power tools instead. I also opted for non-traditional spoon shapes, making and acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. The wood is […]
One “problem area” in my house is a space on the floor that shoes seem to gather. Of course, I should just put them in the closet, but it is just so much handier having them free from such confines! I think a good compromise is a shoe rack, which allows easy accessibility to my […]
There are a lot of different methods for storing and displaying jewelry, and they all make great gift ideas. This week I challenged myself to make an oak and acrylic jewelry hanger as a Valentines gift for my wife. I had an idea of how I wanted to make it, but didn’t draw up any […]
This week I tried my hand at making a classic soldier Christmas nutcracker. Ultimately it turned out okay, but wow, this was very challenging! I began by designing lathe turning templates for the various pieces. I am so glad I took the time to do this because it sped up the turning process and allowed me to […]
If you have a scroll saw, this is a fun project with endless creative possibilities. Combining three scroll-sawed panels into one shadowbox gives a wonderful sense of depth to the scene and an LED strip in the back gives the scene a sunset glow. If you are really ambitious, you could attach one side of the shadowbox with screws […]
Here’s a cute project to kick off the holiday season! This mailbox would be fun for kids to send letters to Santa, or you can get creative and come up with other uses for it! Either way it’s a fairly simple project. The only tricky part is cutting the bevels to create the curved top. […]
I’m a real fan of minimalist designs. Strangely, finding simplicity and minimalism can be very challenging. It’s almost as if humans have an instinct to look for complicated solutions even though the simplest ones are almost always more efficient and elegant. Such was the case here. I wanted to create a stand for a bud […]
A few years ago I made a buying guide with gift ideas for woodworkers and I thought it was time to revisit it. As before, I don’t recommend giving tools to woodworkers. When we need a new tool, most of us spend a lot of time researching the options and finding the best fit for […]
The easiest method for creating sliding lids is to simply cut grooves in the sides of the box, like I did for this wine box. A more elegant method is to fit the lid using a sliding dovetail which allows the top and sides to be flush. But don’t let the “d word” scare you: dovetail […]
Toys are fun projects to make any time of year, but especially for the holidays! I made this modular toy truck system with a single 2×4 board. It would be a fun project to expand on, building new trailers and accessories. A short dowel peg joins the components to the truck. I started by gluing […]
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