Projects

Two-bottle wine tote made from wormy cherry
To help pass those slow winter months after the holiday season, I decided to make some wine totes (aka caddies) using some cherry lumber stored for many years in the family barn in PA. The wood was well seasoned and appeared to be in good condition.  However, after surface planing, instead of finding nice clear material, I […]

Wormy Cherry Wine Tote

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From basswood blank to carved owl
After receiving a wood carving kit for Christmas, I decided to usher in the new year with a carving project. As a relative neophyte with only one other carving project under my belt, I spent a bit of time online looking for a suitable beginner’s project and I eventually found plans for a “3-to-5 minute owl” at […]

New Years Carved Owl

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Woodshop storage cabinet 4
For a number of years, I stored screws, bolts, and nails in a corner of my shop using a bunch of plastic bins mounted on horizontal plastic rails. This worked well enough in that the hardware was always close at hand but I got tired of all the dust that eventually coated everything. Not only […]

Woodshop Storage Cabinet

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Shelf deflectometer in woodshop 5
I call this apparatus a shelf deflectometer. It’s used to measure shelf deflection or sag in order to test various shelf construction and loading parameters. (I would call it a “sagometer” but there’s already a device by that name used to measure sag in electrical power lines). The impetus for building it was to facilitate […]

Shelf Deflectometer

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Step 2: cut half piece of sandpaper in half
The 1-2 method Here’s a simple jig for cutting 9″ x 11″ sheets of sandpaper into fourths for use with a 1/4 sheet palm sander. It makes quick work out of a potentially tedious task thanks to two spacer blocks: one for cutting the sandpaper in half and another for cutting the halves in half […]

Sandpaper Cutting Jig

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Homemade leg leveler
What to do when you need to level a woodshop table but don’t have any levelers handy? You make them from scratch. That was the situation I found myself in when I built a new outfeed table for my table saw. Because my shop floor was not quite level (are they ever?), I needed a […]

DIY Woodshop Leg Levelers

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Fold down outfeed table 1
Introducing table saw outfeed table v2, a slimmed down, simplified version of its predecessor. It features a relatively small footprint (24″ x 32″), miter slots, and the ability to fold down when the removable legs are removed. It also provides clearance for the back support mechanism of the rip fence. The version one outfeed table […]

Fold Down Table Saw Outfeed Table

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Quick and inexpensive table top fastener
If you’re looking for an alternative to metal table hold-down fasteners, or don’t have any fasteners readily available, consider making your own using some scrap wood and a biscuit joiner. I made a number of such fasteners for a cherry coffee+end table project and was fairly pleased with the results. They keep the table top […]

DIY Table Top Fasteners

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Restored turtle top table
I came across this turtle top table while cleaning out the attic in the home where I grew up. I remember my mom working on the table many years ago – she had partially stripped off the finish as the first step in reviving the table but didn’t get around to finishing the job. Eventually, […]

Restoring a Turtle Top Table

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Sycamore display case made from a single board
While at the lumber yard picking out some wood for a bygone project, I came across some sycamore with an awesome grain pattern that really caught my attention. On impulse, I bought a single board of the sycamore figuring that I would find something to make from it. After watching it collect dust in my […]

Sycamore Display Case

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Student desk with bookshelf unit and matching chest of drawers
This desk was inspired by a plan in Issue #62 of Woodsmith magazine. It’s a fairly simple design, consisting of a three drawer pedestal, a top writing surface and side panel. The desk is lightweight, relatively small (24″ x 48″ by 29″ high), and has a clean, contemporary look to it (some might even say […]

Student Desk

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Poplar step stool with anti-tip bars
This step stool was built to replace an older model that was starting to show its age. It’s made from yellow poplar and features retractable anti-tip bars that slide out when needed and slide back in for more compact storage. The basic design of the stool came from a plan that is available as a […]

Step Stool

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This rather unassuming chunk of wood represents the initial stages of an abstract wood sculpture that is being crafted by my friend Rich. The wood came from a white oak tree that had been cut down 3-5 years previously and had been slowly air drying in a garage since then. My involvement with the project […]

Wood Sculpture

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Science kiosk
  This unusual looking structure is an educational kiosk that will be used at science fairs to assist students in learning about the Sun and the planets in our solar system. It was designed by one Dr. Leonard who enlisted my woodshop and woodworking skills to help build the beast. In it’s finished form (not […]

Science Kiosk

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