I was looking for a project to showcase a couple attractive pieces of oak that I had. I chose this because the simplicity of the design allows the viewer to focus on the lumber. It’s also nice that when the wine stock is low, you can see even more of that beautiful grain.

These end tables are from Feb 2007, but I just came across the photos. This was my first project using pocket screws for the joints. The planks making up the table top joined almost perfectly using pocket screws as well—without biscuits or splines. The wood is poplar with water-base stain and gloss polyurethane.

Though I’ve gotten into something of a rut, I’m still having fun with these end grain cutting boards. This is the chunkiest one yet—about 10×10 X 2. It’s poplar, cedar, and oak. The heavy end pieces are from a weathered piece of oak with some of the oxidation and nail and screw holes included. The smaller pieces are virgin pieces left over from other projects. The finish is mineral oil.

Ths trivet and cutting/serving board were made from shop scraps. They were the first such projects I’ve attempted. The trivet (square piece) was more challenging to clamp, but the cutting serving board (rectangular piece) warped during glue-up and required much more router “planing” to make it flat. The trivet is rubbed with mineral oil. The cutting/serving board is finished with gloss urethane on the show side—unfinished on the working side.

This is a toddler toy extrapolated from a recent Woodworker’s Journal plan. Dowels within the wheel strike other dowels fixed to the end disks. It was well received by my grandson—even in competition with other more colorful and noisier toys :) Toys without batteries are the best!

Alternate layers of oak and poplar form the clock body. One of the layers includes a sliding door to access the quartz clock mechanism and battery from the back.

This is to a Better Homes plan I really like. The wood (except for the plywood panels) is recycled from a futon frame my son left behind when he was done with it—poplar, I think. The first of these (this is the third) had mortise and tenon joints, but pocket screws go much faster with equivalent results. The glass for the shelves was recycled from a coffee table top—re-cut and smoothed at a local glass shop.

I made this simple pine bookcase for my grandson. The rough plan is shown with the unfinished and with the final piece.