I decided to make my Mom this end grain cutting board for Christmas. It had been a while since I was last in the workshop, and I was looking for a fun project to get me back in the swing of things. The plan and pattern are from the Wood magazine October 2006 issue.

My wife showed me a picture of a craft worktable she wanted and I decided to make something like it for her for our 5th anniversary. The bookcase ends are made from 3/4” red oak plywood. I was going to put some edge banding on the plywood, but she wanted the layers exposed. The top is made from two layers of 1/2” baltic birch plywood, a formica sheet on top, and 3/4” red oak banding. She wanted the hole on top so she could push the trash into a container in one of the bookcases.

I did learn a few things from this project. One, when routing Formica get safety goggles that fit tightly. The safety glasses I used did not protect against the dust rising up underneath and getting in my eyes. It was pretty weird when the doctor used tweezers to pull a few pieces out of my left eye. Next, the new Festool MFK700 router cannot take straight bits longer that 9/16” when using the horizontal base. The manual only gives the maximum bit diameter. If I had used 1/2” edging on the top instead of 3/4” I would have had a much easier time with trimming it flush to the top. It took a little longer than I originally planned getting the 3/4” edging to look and feel right.

My wife really enjoys using the table. The table she wanted cost about $1200, so this was quite a bit cheaper. Well, for her anyways. I bought a few tools and accessories that I’ve needed an excuse to get for a while.

This is a cherry wine cabinet that I made using a plan from Wood’s Oct 2006 issue. It’s made from cherry and cherry plywood. I was afraid to stain it, so I just put a clear satin finish on it.