I made this Fire Pit Bench in an afternoon.  It’s a great real life project, that beginners and advanced beginners can make.  The bench is sturdy and since there is a great space underneath it for firewood it’s practical too.  I also really liked the look and I’m considering make a few more.  Outdoor cedar benches always look so nice, and with a little treatment can last a long time.

I found the plan for this in a book I picked up: Black & Decker Outdoor Wood Furnishings You can get it for pretty cheap at amazon.  I’ve seen the same plan published in other Black & Decker books too.  If you haven’t checked out some of Black & Decker’s woodworking books there definitely a great investment.  I’ve created many projects, and been inspired to build other things based on their plans.

For a detailed look at how I built this, and a video you can check out my blog entery over at: www.woodlogger.com

If you’re looking for an easy to build hummingbird feeder this one is perfect.  I made this hummingbird feeder in only a few hours.  I got the plan from a book written by A.J. Hamler.  A.J. is a an excellent woodworker and his book:  Easy to Build Birdhouses - A Natural Approach is a fun one.  I’ve made several projects from this book and I wrote a book review where I have more information if your interested.  The tubes for the feeder you can find in pet stores in the pet bird feeder section.  I wanted to make a few of these so I ordered mine off of Amazon.  The little feeder tubes at the end I ordered online, but I’ve seen these in bird stores too.

For a detailed look at how I built this, and a video you can check out my blog entery over at: www.woodlogger.com

I made this Marble Tic-Tac-Toe Game in just a few hours.  It’s a great beginner project, and it was really fun to make.  I’ve made a few game pieces now and there quickly becoming some of my favorite projects.  First off there usually quick to make.  Secondly EVERYONE wants one.  Lastly, there just fun.  Your kids, and grand kids will definitely want one.

A nice feature on this board is that the end opens up to store all of the marbles when there not being used.  You won’t Lose Your Marbles with this

board!

For a little extra help with this project I also have a Project Plan and Material List along with a video of how I made this at my site: www.woodlogger.com

Materials

Not a lot for this one.  I used a single board that I was able to pickup at Lowe’s.

(1)  2” x 6” x 4’ – I used untreated pine.

Milling & Assembly

I cross-cut all of my blocks with a table saw.  I cut a few extras to give away as gifts.

After finding where my grid lines would be; I used my router table with a V-Groove bit.  I only went just deep enough to achieve a clean line.

After I cut my grid lines.  I then drew an X in each block to find the center point for each square.  You could really just eye-ball this, but if you want to get a consistent look this is an easy way to ensure that.

Next up was cutting a hole to store the marbles.  Depending on the width of your marbles you may need to adjust the width and depth for your board.  I needed to go 3” deep for mine

I cleaned up all of the grooves and marble holes with sand paper.

I made an end piece out of a scrap piece of wood.  I rounded it over with a 1/4” round over bit to give it a cleaner look.  I attached the end piece by first pre-drilling my wood, and then attaching it with a wood screw.

Finishing

To finish this, I sanded the whole piece using medium and then a fine grit sandpaper.  I stained my board with a dark mahogany stain.

This really was a great project! To see more pictures, plans, and videos of how I made this check out my other entry over at: www.woodlogger.com

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I’ve always loved bagels, and my wife enjoys baking bread occasionally in our bread maker.  So I had this idea(not entirely original) to make a box that would allow us to cut both more easily.  I made this bagel – bread Slicer slicer from a single oak board, but I suppose any hard wood would do just fine.  If you decide to finish this make sure you use a food safe finish.  I used a product called Salad Bowl Finish, but there are certainly others out there.  This is a great beginner project if you’re new to woodworking.  It’s also a great one afternoon type of project as well.

For this project I also have a short video and free project plan over at my blog site at: www.woodlogger.com

Materials

Not a lot for this one.  I used a single board that I was able to pickup at Lowe’s.

•  1/2” x 6” x 4’ – Oak Board (I used Oak, but any hardwood should do)

Milling & Assembly

I was able to cut all of the boards used in my project with a table saw.  There are only four sides to this box, and nothing complex about this.

For cutting the rounded sides I first taped my side boards together using painters tape.  I used the Quick Corners Set marking tool to help with that.  After that I flipped over the boards and marked out my slot cuts for the knife to pass through.  I inset it in 1 inch and then cut a total of 6 slots every 1/2 inch.

To cut off the rounded areas I used a band saw.  I also used my band saw to cut the slots into the boards.  I had to make two passes for each slot to get the desired width needed for the knife to pass through.

For Assembly I glued up all of my sides using a waterproof glue.  I then clamped it  up and finished it off with a few brads for extra support.

Finishing

To finish this, I sanded all of my boards using a medium and then fine grit sandpaper.  To seal the boards I used a food safe finish called Salad Bowl Finish I applied five coats to mine to ensure it will be protected for years to come.

I’ve wanted to make a game board of some sort for a while now, but I wasn’t really sure where to start.  I made a cube in a cube awhile back, it wasn’t really a game, more of a puzzler but it was a lot of fun.  This time I wanted to make something that I could play with my kids around the table.  So I decided to make a marble game board.  Why..? Well, because it’s fun.  I used an old marble game board as a template and then used my plunge router with a guide bushing, and 3/8” Core Box router bit.  I suppose if I had a larger drill press I could have just used that, but the plunge router worked out.

If you want to see more pics and a video of how I made this check out my blog entry over at: www.woodlogger.com


I also put up a listing of free project plans that you might find useful. It’s at: http://www.woodlogger.com/project_plans/

Materials

Not a lot for this one.  I actually had a scrap board that was edge glued up.  If I was making one from scratch I would have used simple pine and cut it to length and edge glue it up.

•  3/4” x 6” x 6’ Pine Board (cut down and edge glued to width)

Milling

For the board I used a plunge router with a 3/8” core box router bit.  I used a guide bushing attached to my router base plate.

For the lumber I was able to use a scrap piece of edge glued board.  I used 3/4” thick board as that is what I had.  I think 1/2” would have been a good fit for this as well.

I used my plunge router with my template and make quick work of all the holes needed for my game board.  I set my depth to approx. 1/4” in-depth

After all of my holes were completed on my board, I sanded my game board using a 100 and 150 grit sand paper.

Here is the completed board.  The whole project took only about 1-2 hours to complete.

Finishing
To finish this, I sanded the board down using 100, and 150 grit paper.  Then I sprayed it with a basic lacquer.  I’ll also paint this with some basic colors that match up to the marble colors.  This should give the board more character and add to the enjoyment of the game.

To see more pics and a video on this project check out my blog entry over at: www.woodlogger.com

I found a free plan recently on the wood magazine site for a battery organizer.  I also have a list of free project plan sites.  This project is really simple and useful.  After completing mine I hung it on a pegboard in my garage.  You can make this is a few hours and it only requires a small amount material.  I was able to find some clear acrylic at a hobby store for cheap. If you make one I’d love to hear about it.

Enjoy….!

Materials
For the lumber on this I was lucky and had some scrap hardwood that I was able to use.  For the rest of the project I was able to build this with only one board.  I made mine out of pine.  For the front of the project I picked up some plexi-glass from a hobby store and cut it down to size using my table saw.

•  1” x 3” x 8’ Board (you might be able to squeak this out with a 6’ board, but it’ll be close)
•  1/4” x 1’ x 1’ piece of hardwood (will cut down to less than 1 foot)
•  1/8” x 7” x 8” plexi-glass

Milling & Assembly

After cutting all of my boards according to the plan.  I cut a slot on each end board to allow the battery to come out easily.  For mine I used a 2” forstner bit on my drill press.  It worked pretty well, but you could certainly used a band saw, scroll saw, etc. to get this done.

Next was the glue up.  For this I made sure that I had my back and bottom already cut.  I used the back as a guide to line up my battery slots.  However, since I didn’t want any glue to make its way to the back board I covered it with wax paper.

I worked my way through each board by gluing and then shooting brad nails into the bottom.  I could have used screws for this, but since all board stock was only 1/2” I decided brads were the way to go.

After gluing and putting in brads on the bottom shelf, I then clamped up the rest of the dividers until the glue set up.

After everything was glued up, I attached the front of the organizer with a clear plexiglass that I cut to size on my table saw.  Before inserting the screws I pre-drilled all of my holes using a 7/64” drill bit.  I used #6 – 1/2” screws to secure the front.  The plan originally called for #8 screws, but my plexiglass was cracking a little too much and I decided to go with #6.

After attaching the front I then attached the back by using glue and brads.  Attaching the brads was easier as I had pre-marked where the battery dividers were on the back of the backer board.

Here it is.  The completed project.  This really is a pretty easy one.  You can build this in a few hours.  I completed mine by drilling holes in the top of the back board and hung it on a peg board in my garage.
&nbsp: Finishing
 
Not a lot to finishing this (this one is going in the garage folks).  In fact I chose to just sand lightly the sides and back, and not apply any finish.

For more information on this project or others, as well as videos on projects, check out my site over at: www.woodlogger.com
 

Recently, I saw a video that someone posted from a local woodworking club that I belong to in Indiana .  It showed how to make a cube in a cube.  At first glance I thought how the heck did someone do that?  It must have been whittled.  Turns out, it’s a really simple trick with a drill press and about 2 minutes of chisel work.  You can make this cube in just a couple of hours.  The next question you may ask is, “what the heck is this thing”?  It’s not a toy, and not quite art?  My best classification is it’s a puzzler.  Both of my kids kept trying to figure out how I got that cube inside the other cube.  Needless to say I had to make two of them.  So if you’re looking for a nice little project here is one to check out. Oh, and if you want to see more pics, a video, and other information on how I made this check out my main entry over at: www.woodlogger.com  Enjoy….!

Materials
For the lumber on this one I was able to pick up a scrap piece of untreated 4×4 in a bargain bin at my local Menard’s.  The board was a little dinged up, but as I needed to trim it down to a 3×3 cube  it worked out really well.

• (1)  3” x 4” x 6’ Pine Board trimmed down to 3”x3”x3”

Milling & Assembly

It all starts with a block of wood.  To get started I cut a scrap piece of 4×4 wood down to a 3×3 cube.  If you make this take you’re time you’ll want to get this as close to true as possible.

After you have your block the first step is to find the true center of one side.  This is easy enough by just drawing an X across the surface.  Again if you make this you’ll want to really make sure this is on the mark.

Next up I used a 2” Forstner bit and setup a stop block on my drill press.  I only drilled into the piece about a 1/4”.  This is done so that you can determine what the depth will eventually be.  I set the speed on my drill press to the slowest speed it could go.

After the initial drill take a ruler and line it up with the edge of two lines left from your initial X.  This line will determine the depth of your drill press into the work piece.  You’ll want to set your drill press for a little less than the length.  I set mine at about 1/8” shy of the length.  At this point you’ll also want to mark a small x in 1 corner of each side.  This is done as a guide for when you’re at the drill press to drill in a consistent manner on each side.

With your drill depth set, the next step is to drill into each side of the cube.  You’ll actually start to see the cube inside after a couple passes.

After you have drilled into all six sides of your cube you’ll see the cube inside the cube.  It will still be attached to each of the corners of the inside cube.

With a sharp chisel lightly tap away each corner from the cube.  You’ll hear it snap or click as you do each side.

Finishing

When it came to finishing this one I used a medium grit sandpaper inside and out of the cube.  Sanding wasn’t too bad, but you have to dig into the cube with some sand paper and go at it.  I then used a lighter grit and broke all the corners by sanding them.  After that I applied a stain and sealer to protect it.

If you’re looking for an easy weekend project.  A Pizza Peel, or Baker’s Peel is an excellent project to tackle.  My wife asked me to make one of these awhile back and this turned out to be a great little project.  To gather inspiration for this; I Googled pizza peel and quickly found out there were quite a few folks who have made these.  The basic design of the peel was to edge join three boards made out of maple.  I also needed to plane my boards down to a thickness of 3/8”.  I don’t have a sizer planer, so I used my joiner planer to get this done.  It’s a bit of a pain to resize boards this way, but this was a pretty small project so it wasn’t too bad.  After I re-sized my boards I cut the outside boards to a length of 5-1/2” x 14” and the inside board was cut to a size of 2” x 20”.  The handle was cut to a length of 2” x 6”.

If you want to see more about this project, check out my post over at www.woodlogger.com

Materials
Not a lot for this one.  I was able to pickup both of the boards I used for this at a local hardware store.  You could easily make two or even three of these at the same time for just a slightly longer maple board.

• (1)  3/4” x 6” x 6’ Maple Board
• (1)  3/4” x 2”’ x 4’ Walnut Board(I only used about a 6” length for the handle)

Milling & Assembly

I started by planing the maple stock down to 3/8”.  A thickness planer is the way to go if you have one, but you can still get it done with a planer joiner.

Next up was rough cutting the lumber.  The pizza peel consists of 3 boards edge joined.  The outside boards are cut to a length of 5-1/2” x 14” and the inside board was cut to a size of 2” x 20”.

After cutting the maple boards to length, next up was the walnut handle.  For the handle I cut one end at a 45 degree angle.  The size of the handle is 2” x 6”.

For glue up I taped a piece of wax paper to my bench.  This will help the project from being a mess.

For glue up I used a water proof glue.  Clamping things up was pretty easy.  I used a scrap piece of wood to protect the sides.

For the handle I used the same water proof glue and clamped it up as shown.

For the corners of the peel I used a quick corner jig.

I used the same jig for the handle to get a rounded look.

Next up was cutting the rounded ends off the peel and the handle.  I used my bandsaw for that.

I also drilled a hole into the handle.  I think was more for form than function, as I don’t see hanging this up, but it does add to the character of the piece.

To get the beveled end of the peel I used a power sander.  I really thought this was going to be the hardest part of this project, but it really was a snap.  I was able to get a pretty sharp point and it was balanced on both sides pretty well.

Finishing
To finish the peel, I sanded it using a standard low grit, and moved my way up to a 220 grit.  I also broke the edges of the peel with sandpaper and gave it a round over look.  To finish it I used a product called salad bowl finish.  It’s supposed to be safe for wood that comes into contact with food.  I applied five coats to the peel.

This was really a fun little project that can be done in a weekend. If you want to see more pics and video of how I made this check out my site over at www.woodlogger.com

I hate sawdust! It is by far my biggest nemesis when I’m woodworking.  I hate it!  I’ve installed some VERY basic sawdust removal tubes in some of my power tools.  It’s great for the big dust, but the kind I HATE the most is the really fine powdery sawdust.  It coats everything.  This sawdust is the sawdust that gets kicked up when you’re doing some heavy-duty sanding.  Alas, I have finally decided to make a sanding table to help reduce this.  The basic design is just a box.  It measures:  5” in height x 23-1/2” long x 17-1/2” wide. As always checkout my site over at www.woodlogger.com to see more pics and videos of this project.

Materials

For the lumber I used 3/4” Plywood.  I had enough scrap pieces to put the whole thing together.  If you were buying new it would require nothing more than a 2’ x 4’ piece of plywood.  For the top I used a 1/4” tempered pegboard that I picked up at Lowe’s.  The top will be cut down to 17-1/2×23” and placed into the top of the box that will have a 1/4” rabbit cut into it.  Although I lucky enough to use scrap for most of my lumber, I still could have easily built this entire project for under $30.

• (1)  3/4” x 2’ x 4’ Plywood
• (1)  1/4” x 2’ x 2’ Pegboard
• (1)  Universal Dust Port (I got mine from Amazon)
• (1)  3/4'' Universal Rubber Bumpers (I got mine from Amazon)

Milling & Assembly

I started by cutting the top of the sanding table.  I used 3/16” thick pegboard.  In hindsight I think I would have preferred 1/4” thick pegboard.  The table has just a little bit of give to it.  I think that extra 1/16” would have shored it up.  I cut the pegboard 17-1/2” x 23” using my tablesaw.

Next up was the sides of the box.  I was lucky enough to have scrap plywood to finish this project.  I cut all of the sides to a width of 5” first so it would be consistent.  Then I cut the sides to a finished length of 5” x 23-1/2” and the front and back to a finished length of 5” x 17-1/2”

For the joints of the boards I cut a rabbit joint on the two side boards.  I cut a 1/2” wide x 3/16” (the width of the pegboard) deep rabbit.  After I finished the top of the boards, I then went back and cut another rabbit joint that was 3/4” wide and x 1/2” deep.  This will allow the front and back boards to fit into the sides to make a solid joint.  I used my router table to cut the deep end of the rabbit and finished the width on my table saw.

After I had all of my sides cut, I then cut a hole for the dust collector port to be attached too.  The width of the port I’m using is 2”.  I could have simply used a jigsaw to cut this opening.  I had a 1-1/2” Forstner bit and I figured that was big enough.

To hold the box together I used wood glue along all of the joints.

To help make the joints even stronger I used (3) 1-1/4” screws on all the sides of the box.

After the box was together, I then cut a baffle.  The baffle is really important to the air flow of the table.  First it reduces the amount of space that has to be suctioned in half thus creating a higher suction.  Secondly it helps to distribute the air flow across the top of the table evenly.

To make the baffle I custom cut the length and width to box.  I went from the top of back to the bottom of the front to get my length.  You’ll want to make this a little snug as you need to get this as air tight as possible from the bottom and sides.To help make this more air tight I ran a thick bead of glue along the sides of the baffle.  If I had some caulking it would have been better, but this seems to work pretty well too.

I attached the top of the table by pre-drilling all of my holes into the top.  I then slightly countersunk a 1” screw in all four sides of the table.

To help reduce the table from sliding around I installed a 3/4'' Universal Rubber Bumpers on all four sides of the table.

I installed the Universal Dust Port over the hole that I cut previously.

Finishing

Not a lot to finishing this one.  I did attach rubber bumpers to the bottom of the box.  That’s really a must as any sander is going to vibrate this box like crazy.

Also I made a bench dog cleat hybrid that I could insert into the table.  I can use this to help keep objects steady as their being sanded.

I saw one of these awhile back and thought what a cool thing to make.  I actually bought my dad one for Christmas last year, and decided to make one on my own.  I looked at a few different plans to get some ideas, and for the most part I followed a plan that I saw in the book:  Bird-Friendly Nest Boxes and Feeders: 12 Easy-To-Build Designs that Attract Birds to Your Yard I made a few changes to the dimensions on mine.  Plus I wanted to attach suction cups to the back of the house so that I could attach to a window.    The clear plastic is sized at 5×7 so you can find it in most stores that sell picture frames.  I had some plastic sheets that I had leftover from a previous project.  I was able to cut mine down to size using my tablesaw.  I’m really not sure if there is a “best practice” way of cutting plastic sheets, but it worked pretty well for me.

This really was a great little project that can be done in a weekend.  If you follow the plan from the book it shows hanging the feeder in a traditional fashion, but I thought putting this on my daughters window might be fun (and educational) for her.  Although after completing this one it means I will probably have to make another one for my son’s window.  If you make one of these I would love to hear from you. As always checkout my site over at www.woodlogger.com to see more pics and videos of this project.

Materials

For the lumber I used Cedar that I purchased from Lowe’s.  I was able to do the whole thing using only 1 board.  For the back I used a scrap piece of plexiglass that I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  The opening is 5”x7”  so you can find a pre-cut piece pretty easily at most stores.  I used an exterior rated glue with all my joints(except the bottom).  To hang the house I attached 4 suction cups to back.  My house will hang from a window.  I was able to build the entire project for under $25.

• (1) 1” x 8” x 6’ Cedar Board
• (1) 5” x 7” plexiglass - back
• (4) Suction Cups with screws

Milling & Assembly

To start on this project I cut all of my pieces according to the plan.  I then cut the sides of the house with a 45° edge for the roof line.  Then I cut a 1/8” deep groove 1/4” in from the side.After that I cut the front of the house at a 45° angle to create the roof line.

After cutting the roof lines on the front of the house I then drilled an entry hole.  I used a 1-1/4” fostner bit for this.For the back of the house I cut a scrap piece of plexiglass down a 5”x7” size.

When I started the assembly I started by attaching the sides to the bottom of the house using 1-1/4” screws.  I didn’t apply any glue so that I could remove it in the future to clean it out.After I attached the sides to the bottom I simply slid the back into the grooves.

For the front of the house I used exterior rated glue.  I also tacked the front down using brads.

After everything was assembled I drilled five holes in the bottom of the house.  This is for drainage in case any water gets inside.  In hind sight I should have drilled the holes before final assembly.

Finishing

I made this house of cedar so it’ll age just fine outside.  I attached suction cups that had screws with them.  I bought a kit for that and it attached very securely to my window.

Check out my posting at www.woodlogger.com to see more about this project.

My wife(and daughter) had been hitting me up to build a new bed for my daughter. She also has really wanted me to build a new dresser. Apparently girls have lots of clothes..! So I decided to build a bed for my daughter that would have drawers under it to allow for clothes storage. I looked around at several designs and decided to go with a bed designed by Jeff Devlin.  Jeff contributes project plans on his website and also for Kreg Tools.  He’s also the host of a few shows on DIY. If you want to check out the plans for this, there over at the Kreg -  Devlin Twin Bed Also, you can check more pics at my other site over at: www.woodlogger.com
 
 

The bed uses lots of pocket holes for the joints. The best part of it though is the drawers it has underneath it.  Also with using pocket holes for all of the joinery the bed came together quickly.
 

What a difference the face frame makes to the bed.  Nothing too tricky for this part.  Just really need to make sure cuts are precise and square!  Everything is coming together nicely so far.  Over 260 pocket holes at this point.  I should buy some stock in Kreg.

The drawers were pretty simple to make.  I made them out of plywood with a hardwood bottom.  I used pocket holes for all of the joinery on these.

For the face of the drawers I used pocket holes to anchor the two boards together, and then sanded and finish cut to length.

I used my new Kreg drawer mount Jig to mount the drawers onto the bed.  What a great little jig that is, a real-time saver.

Next up was the foot and head board. Nothing too complicated on this, but it required that I cut grooves to hold the bead board that was used. So what is one of the dumbest things you can do wrong when cutting a groove into the end of a board on a tablesaw?  Well as I found out, not using a feather board to keep constant pressure on the board. Here is an example of a what happens when you don’t use a feather board and things go a little crazy.

Here is an example of how it should work.

Twin bed is finished, and it turned out pretty nice. My daughter was jumping and down when she saw it.  If you’re looking for a twin bed project this was a pretty easy one to do.  Nothing to complicated about it. If you want to see more pics and links to items I used check out my other post over at: www.woodlogger.com

A few weeks back I built a new workbench.  I have an excellent plan that I recommend from Amazon.com (Basic Workbench and 6 Ways to Beef it Up: Downloadable Woodworking Plan).  It includes six different upgrades to the bench.  I really liked the drawers upgrade that is in the plan and I decided to build those and attach to my bench.  If you want to see more information on what it took to make the workbench and drawers check out my other post over at: woodlogger.com.

  Materials
For lumber, I purchased everything I needed at Lowe’s.  The plan called for using MDF for the frame of the shelf.  I’ve only used MDF a couple of times and I’ve never been happy with it.  I wanted to give it another shot, but my opinion still stands.  It’s cheap and easy to handle, but everything about it just feels like Extremely Heavy thick cardboard.  It dings easy, doesn’t hold screws very well, and you just get the feeling that about 1 oz. of water poured on it and the whole thing would swell up and fall apart.  That having been said, I suppose if there was ever a good application for this wood a shop project would be it.  Not a lot of lumber is required for this.  My total cost for the shelf of drawers was approx. $50.

• (1) 3/4” x 4’ x 8’ MDF
• (3) 1/4” x 2’ x 4’ Hardwood (You could buy larger pieces and cut down, but I had some scrap I wanted to use)
• (4) 1” x 4” x 8’ Pine Boards

  Milling & Assembly

After rough cutting my lumber per the plan.  I then cut grooves that were 1/4” wide to support the bottom tray of the drawer.  I completed this by doing two passes on my table saw.  Just as accurate and a little faster than pulling out my router table.

After cutting all of my grooves I then drilled pocket holes into my boards.  I used my Kreg Jig to do this.  The plan calls for cutting a dado on one end and building your drawer that way.  It’s definitely a little prettier to do that, but I chose to make it quicker (this is for a workbench in my garage not my living room).  Another benefit of using pocket holes instead of a dado was that it shortened the length of two boards per drawer by 1”.  Which allowed me enough room to get an extra side on my 8’ pine board.  I saved some money by doing that.

I completed the assembly of my drawers using pocket hole screws

Completed Drawer (1 of 3)

After completing the drawers it’s time to move on to the case.  I cut 1/4” grooves into the sides (using the same technique that I used for the drawer bottoms) of the MDF case.

I built the case using glue and 2” screws.  I also used hard wood strips inserted into the grooves on the sides to support the drawers.

I completed building the case, and inserted the drawers.  Next up I attached the two top cleats that will be used to hold the case in place on my workbench.  I glued and screwed them in on top, however in hindsight I think it would have been a tighter fit had I screwed it in from the bottom.

Finishing
Not a lot to finishing this one.

I applied one coat of Danish Oil to the drawers (not the case).  I also attached some handles to the drawers. If you want to see more information on what it took to make the workbench and drawers check out my other post over at: woodlogger.com.
 

A framed project is just one of those projects that every woodworker has to do in their lifetime.  Right up there with a workbench, cutting board(which I still haven’t made) and an adirondack chair.  This project came to me via a family member who had a large mirror and wanted to build a frame around it.  After looking at a few different project plans I went with one that I found from the book:  The Pocket Hole Drilling Jig Project Book (Popular Woodworking).  I modified the project to fit an existing mirror.  The author recommends building the frame and then custom ordering a mirror to fit the frame.  That’s probably a good idea, and something that I may do in the future.  For this project though, reusing what I had was the name of the game.  Another thing the author used in his plan was to drill pocket holes on the front of the frame and then accent them with a different wood type.  Not all together a bad look, but I prefer to hide joints whenever possible.  I reviewed the book that I’m using for this project in another post if you want to check it out.  If you want to see more information about this project including links to materials check out my entry over at www.woodlogger.com

Materials
For the lumber I used Red Oak purchased from Menard’s.  I was able to do it with only two boards.  For the hardware I purchased mirror hangers and clips from Hobby Lobby.  The hangers and clips were only a few bucks.  Having an existing mirror definitely made this project more affordable.  If you have an existing mirror that you want to reuse you can probably get this done for under $40.

• (2) 1” x 6” x 8’ Oak Boards
• (6) Metal offset clips to hold mirror
• (2) Mirror hangers

Milling & Assembly

	To start on this project I decided to work on the shelf first(seemed the easiest).  After rough cutting my shelf to length I used my handy Quick Corners Set to mark my corners on each end.  After marking the corners it was time to trim those off.  I used my bandsaw to do that.  First I cut stress cuts into the board just short of my line.  Then I cut rest of the waste off.
	After cutting my corners on my shelf I rounded them over with a 3/8” round-over bit.  The shelf turned out pretty nice, the quick corner set get’s you a perfect corner every time.
	Next up was the top and bottom rails on my mirror.  This is purely for decoration, so you can be as elaborate or simple as you decide.  I stuck pretty much to the plan for this and routed the rails with a cove bit.  I also did a round over on the edge of the rail to give it a smoother look.
	Next up was cutting the mirror top frame section.  To do this I needed to cut an arch in the top piece.  I used a strip of wood and bent it over from corner to corner and drew a line(an extra set of hands will keep you from going nuts on this one.  So ask for help on this part).  After I had my arch line I then went over to the bandsaw and cut stress cuts into my board.  I then finish cut the rest of board.
	Once I had all of my pieces cut to their desired length’s, I drilled pocket holes to assemble the frame.  I also drilled pocket holes to hold the top and bottom rail.  If you follow the plan he doesn’t do it, but it certainly looks nicer.  After all of my pocket holes were drilled I move on to screwing them together.  I used 1-1/4” Kreg pocket hole screws to do this.  I didn’t use any glue on this project.
	After I assembled the frame, I needed to route the back of the frame to inset the mirror.  I used a 3/8” rabbit bit for this.

Finishing
I used metal clips attached in the back to hold the mirror in place.  I also attached two frame hangers near the top of the frame.  I attached these to the sides as you’ll want to put the weight of the mirror on the sides and not on the top board.  To finish this project you’ll want to remove the mirror and apply your favorite stain and finish.  Just make sure you follow the manufacturers directions.  After that re-insert your mirror and you’re all set.

You can check out more info on this project over at: www.woodlogger.com

My wife has been wanting a butterfly house for a while now.  In fact she has had it on my list of things to make since last winter.  What a nice and easy little project this turned out to be.  I completed it over a weekend and she was definitely pleased with it.  I think my jigsaw skills still need some work.  I probably should have used a straight edge for some of this, but I can be a little hardheaded when it comes to attempting to do stuff freehand.

The plan I followed for this came from a book that I picked up, Easy to Build Birdhouses- A natural approach.  I reviewed this book in a previous post.  If your interested in more info on this project with additional links to the products I used you can check out my other post at: www.woodlogger.com

Materials
For lumber, I purchased everything I needed at Lowe’s.  Not a lot to this.  All of this is 1/2” pine, but you could use anything you want provided you protect it for out-door weather.  This one will be painted from top to bottom so it should be okay.  I only used (1) – 1/2″ x 4′ x 8′ Pine

  Milling & Assembly

	Doing the rough cuts for this, I was able to use my tablesaw for all of the pieces.  No tricky cuts on this one
	After I cut the sides of the house down, the author recommends that you attach a branch inside for the butterflies to grab onto.  Apparently they like that.  I used a small branch that I got from a tree in my backyard, and just attached it with a brad.
	To make the entrance of the butterfly house, I first drilled two holes on both sides of each slot and then connected them by using my jigsaw to connect them.  The boards are only 1/2” thick so I guess I could have used a scroll saw too.  I’m not over thrilled with my freehand jigsaw skills.  I should have probably used a guide.  I’ll definitely do that next time.
	I started assembly by attaching the sides to the back of the house.  I used exterior wood glue and nails to hold them in place.
	Next I attached the front of the house using exterior glue, and brad nails.

Finishing
When it came to finishing this one up.  My wife is going to paint the entire thing with exterior paint.  You could finish it up with exterior stain, but I think butterflies like colorful things…!

I’ve had a workbench that I made about 8 years ago. It was truly a basic workbench. Four legs and a top. What I truly want in my shop is a bunch of cabinets with hard counter tops. Something out of a wood magazine cover shot. Alas, I don’t have (nor I do really want to spend) the money for something that grandiose. So I’ve decided to build a new workbench and use the existing workbench as another bench that will go up against a wall in my garage.

For the new bench I wanted something SOLID, and affordable (no sjoberg tabletops here), and something I could actually build in a weekend or two. I found a pretty good, and affordable workbench design at amazon titled: Basic Workbench and 6 Ways to Beef it Up: Downloadable Woodworking Plan I’ll include a picture with a clickable link at the bottom where you can take a look at this if you like. Amazon has a pretty nice feature that allows you to download plans directly to your computer. Another nice thing about this plan is it includes six really nice upgrades to the bench and has complete plans for it. For now I’ll only be building the bench, but I really the like the drawers and cabinet’s that they show. If I build those I’ll blog about them later.

Materials
For the lumber I used Kiln Dried Lumber. For the table top the design gave a really good tip to use a solid core wood door as a top and then put a layer of 1/4” MDF on top of that. I was a little apprehensive about this at first. When I checked out the door it was REALLY solid (and weighs a ton). It was the same thickness as two sheets of 3/4” plywood and it cost less. I was able to get the door and all of my lumber from Lowe’s. The door was approx. $45, and the lumber was about $45. My total cost for a new workbench works out to be about $90. Not to shabby for this solid workbench.

• (1) Solid Core Door 80” x 30”
• (1) 1/4” x 4’ x 8’ MDF Hardboard
• (6) 2” x 4” x 8’ Pine Boards
• (2) 2” x 6” x 8’ Pine Boards

Milling and Assembly

	I built the legs using nothing but 2×6’s. I trimmed the sides down per the plan to get a finished width of 5”. I notched the bottom and the top to allow the bottom and top frames to set in.
	The bottom frame was built with a cleats around the inside to allow a shelf to sit inset of the frame. Again I used primarily 2×6” boards trimmed down to a 5” width and fitted with cleats on the inside. I used 2×2 boards for the cleats.
	I attached the legs to the bottom using 3” screws and glue. Should hold pretty well.
	All four legs are attached. I check for squareness and everything is looking pretty balanced. Next up is the top frame.
	I attached the top frame to the rest of the table. I also installed a 3/4” plank on the bottom cleats. The plans call for attaching the top to the two middle joists in the top frame. I did that, but also added a few pocket hole screws on the ends of the table as well. Everything seems pretty solid.

Finishing
To finish the bench I “broke” the edges with some sandpaper. I also applied a coat of clear Danish oil to all of the boards (not the top) to help preserve the wood. One other thing I did was to add some bench dogs at the end of the bench. I spaced them out approximately 6” apart. I picked up a package (4 per package) of Kreg bench dogs that work really well with this. I have more links and information over at woodlogger.

I was reading a post over at the Kreg Community site recently.  There was a debate about whether to use 1” thick lumber for a picnic table or 2” lumber.  Years ago, I had made a picnic table for my kids, but over the years it’s aged pretty hard.  When I made that picnic table I chose to use 1” lumber and I have regretted ever since.  The thing about kids is they don’t actually sit at a picnic table.  They prefer to jump up and down on them, or try to train the dog to chase them on it.  Pretty much everything, but actually sit on them.  Needless to say my 1” decision wasn’t a very good one.  The bench seat and the tabletop both sag quite a bit after you sit on them.

I decided to make another picnic table, and I chose a project design from one of my all time favorite books.  The project is for a kids picnic table.  This plan calls for using 1” lumber as well, but I’ll be changing that to 2”.  I had one other requirement on my new picnic table.  The last time I did I made one I made it out of cedar and didn’t treat or protect the wood in way.  This time I wanted to make one for the cheapest cost I possibly could, and this time I would paint it.

  Materials
For the lumber I chose construction grade untreated pine.  Since I’m going to paint this, and it’ll be used outdoors no sense going for the good stuff.    I purchased all of the lumber I used for my project at Lowe’s.  The total cost for this project (excluding paint) was just $24.  I was able to make the entire project using:

(4) 2”x4”x8’
(4) 2”x6”x8’
1 coat of primer, and 2 coats of 4 colors (I used green, blue, yellow, red)

Milling and Assembly

Talk about a super simple project.  This truly was a project where I purchased, rough cut, finish cut, and sanded all of my boards in a single afternoon.  Finishing on the other hand always takes me a long time.  I still look at finishes and paint as some evil magic that I have to perform to complete my project (but more on that later).

All of the cuts that I did on these boards were done with my compound miter saw.  I had to create rounded boards for the legs of the table.  To do this I used my trusty corner finder jig.  After marking these up I made quick work out of these with my jigsaw.  The milling part of this project was pretty simple.  In hindsight I think I should have thickness planned these boards.  There were a lot of imperfections on the boards that I had to work through during sanding.  This is an outdoor picnic table, not a family heirloom so you have to balance the amount of work you want to put into a project like this.

After cutting all my lumber (I primered and painted everything before assembly); I began assembly on the legs and support.  If you follow the same plan that I did I found it easier to complete one side first and then line up the other side on top of the completed one.  You’ll get a consistent set doing it that way.		I attached the boards together using 2-1/2” screws.  After completing the sides I joined the two together with a support beam.  I plan on installing an umbrella with this table.  At this point your but completed.  Just flip the table over and lay your top boards, and benches in place.  I used 3” screws to hold those in place.

Finishing

	When it came to finishing the table, I used 1 coat of primer.  I tried something new this time.  Lowe’s has a product called Tintable Primer.  I was only mildly happy with the results.  It allows a second coat to be bright, but it just doesn’t give you that clean slate feeling.  For my next project I may use what I have left in this can, but not sure I’ll do much with it after it’s gone.  The primer goes on practically clear, and dries very quickly.
	I then applied two coats of various colors of an exterior latex.  I used exterior Valspar paint from Lowe’s.  It did a pretty nice job.  There actually was a method to my madness of painting different colors, although I’m probably the only one who’ll ever notice that. One other thing I did (which typically I NEVER do) was to pre-paint all of my boards before assembly.  I’m not color blind by any stretch but as a guy I’m definitely color challenged.  I just have a hard time seeing how all of these boards and the colors will work together.  I wanted to check it out before I assembled.  I did do a little touch-up after assembly, but again it was another example of something that only I would ever notice.

This was a great project, that didn’t take very long, and was pretty cheap overall. If you want to see more pics, and information check it out over on my post at: woodlogger.
  

I was looking for a nice and easy one day, or weekend project to do this past weekend. I found a project plan out on the internet for a Spaghetti Measure. Just search Google and you’ll find plenty of plans that will inspire you. After checking out a few I decided to make mine pretty similar to the others. Not a lot of ways to jazz these things up.

I made mine 15” long and 3” wide.  You can use any wood you want.  Although, a hardwood would probably be best.  I chose to make mine out of 1/2” oak.  Although in hindsight I think Walnut would have been pretty nice too.

The board I had was 36” long and the measure I’m making is only 15” long.  So I was reminded of an old saying, “the only thing better than making a spaghetti measure, is making two spaghetti measures”.  (seriously though you can always find a family member who wants one of your projects) I cut my boards to length and taped the two together with masking tape.  I then traced out a very simple design to make my measure.  It’s a little hard to see in the pic, but I outlined something that looks like a paddle.

In order to get my corners on the measure I used one of my favorite marking tools.  The quick corner set comes with 4 different marking templates.  Each template makes it easy for you to put your board on the template.  It’ll give you a perfect every time.  I went with a 1/2” corner for my measure.

After I completed tracing out a pattern, I used the band-saw to cut the pattern of my measure.  I could have used a scroll saw as well.

I cleaned up my cuts from the band saw over on my drill press.  I used a sander bit, and it cleaned it up nicely.

 

After I cleaned up my measure, I then moved on to cutting out the various serving size measure holes.  For my measure I used a 7/8”, 1-1/8”,  1-1/2, and 1-3/4 Forstner bits.  This allows for measuring 1-4 serving sizes.  I spaced them approximately 5/8” apart from one another.  I also drilled a hole in the end of the handle to allow for hanging the measure up.

 

I used a 1/4” round over bit on the entire measure.  I wasn’t sure how doing a round over on the inside of the serving size holes would turn out, but it was actually really easy.  Just hold on to your measure and don’t let it get away from you.

The measure is basically done, but I wanted to finish it with something.  This was my first time making something that would come in contact with food.  I found the product Salad Bowl Finish by General Finishes.  The manufacturer states that it is safe with food after drying for 72 hours.  It also recommended a minimum of 3 coats.  I did 5 coats just to be on the safe side.

So that was the adventure of making my Spaghetti Measure. If you want to make your own check out my entry over at WoodLogger for more pictures and information.

I’ve seen various versions of wooden floor mat’s online now for a while.  Just Google Wooden Floor Mat’s and you’ll see plenty of them.  I settled on a version of one that would work well for me; where of all places do you ask?  Lowe’s.  Yep.  Apparently Lowe’s actually has quite a list of free plans that are available to download for free.  Here are some links over to the Lowe’s website where I found this.

Lowe’s Creative Ideas Website

Wooden Floor Mat-Lowe's Creative Ideas
Cut List
Project Diagram

For my version of the wooden mat I stuck pretty close to the project design.  Fortunately for me I had enough scrap pieces of 1×2 pine lumber that I was able to build this on the cheap.  For this project you’ll need to cut 36 – 9” pieces.  To ensure that everything is consistent I used a stop block on my miter saw.  I did this by clamping a scrap piece of wood on my miter saw and I made quick work out of this.

Next up, I needed to drill a hole in each end of the wood block.  Using my drill press I drilled a total of 72 holes.  Again I used a jig on my drill press to ensure I had consistent holes on each block.  To drill the holes I used a 5/16” drill.

After drilling all of my holes, I moved on to sanding all of my pieces.  All of the pine I was using was pretty fine so I was able to do a quick pass with a medium grit paper, and then a final pass with a fine grit paper.drill press and inset it on both ends 1 – 1/8”.

When it came to finishing up the wood I debated a little bit.  I could use a simple deck stain and keeping the natural look of wood, or I could add a little color and hopefully avoid having to re stain every year.  Ultimately I chose to paint my project with a Red, White, and Blue theme. To see more info on this project and additional pictures check out my entry over at: woodlogger