What's the 1st piece of furniture you ever built?

Unlike Rick my first project was not that sophisticated nor was it of high quality material, It was a corner cabinet entertainment center that was made to looks like it had dozens of drawers like and apothecary cabinet out of pine. The joinery was mostly drywall screws and biscuits but it looks passable. It was 8’ tall and 36” on each side. with double swing out doors.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I built a bookcase in shop at high school. When my parents passed away all of the furniture went at a garage sale. I was living 1200 miles away. So I don’t have any idea what happened to it.

The swecond was a Walnut Hi-Fi system (Before Stero). The walnut was reuned in other projects later.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

My first was a Hi-Fi made of Mahogony. It was terrible. No imagination at all. Just a big box with legs. Great finish tho…pumice/rotten stone. Years later my dad took it apart and used the wood for a bookshelf…..

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

My first piece of furniture was a fish aquarium stand I did in High School. We had to design our own project in mechanical arts class, then build it in wood shop. My parents had two aquariums (different sizes) so I designed a fish aquarium stand that was stepped so the top of the aquariums where at the same height. Had to design to handle the weight and get the dimensions right. That was in 1965. My parents used it for years, then passed on to my sister, then to her daughter (she still uses it, but as an entertainment center). Was a pine cabinet, but reinfored with 2×4’s on the interior. The next year in school I built an open faced hutch and matching dry sink. My mom still uses the hutch and I have no idea what happened to the dry sink. After High School, I never did any woodworking for the next 18 years

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

My first piece, well I guess I dont know that it was furniture, but I built a door stop that looked like a puppy dog. I did this in school when I was about 12. I still have it here sitting next to me on a cabinet. The first piece of furniture was a redwood settee I built for my parents home patio. I built it in cabinet school in 1967. I have that back too and it sits in my back-yard. Not too bad of a job, but I would like to think I would do things a bit different today…ha ha ha.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

I built a gun cabinet with glass doors out of soft lumber and plywood from the local lumber yard when i was a senior in high school. I didn’t have any plans, it was ag shop, didn’t do much in the way of wood working. I just duplicated what I saw in the Sears and Roebuck catalog. I invented what I didn’t know how to do. Finished it was a colonial maple color stain and varnish. It still looks pretty good ;-))

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

My first piece of furniture is our coffee table. Walnut and Birdseye maple, I built it in 2001.

-- Dan-- Info for all @ http://www.hoistman.com

I was twelve years old , seventh grade shop class. I built a turned walnut shop stool 36” high. Its in pieces now but I still have it. I’m hoping to find time to clean it up and put it back all back together sometime in the near future.

Mr. Phillips seventh grade shop class…...Thirty eight years ago.

-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)

I was under nine years old is all I know about how old I was, we moved from North Carolina when I was nine. That’s where I remember making it. I built a trash basket for my mother. It was a cub scout project. Everyone made one and painted theirs brown. They really looked good brown, but everyone’s was brown, so I painted mine green. I did not really like the color myself and was thinking of repainting it, but the other boys ridiculed it so much I decided to keep it as is.

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

In ‘68-’69, I built this combination LP holder and night stand out of a bunch of strapping my Dad had used the previous year to stake his Tomato plants…
It was my night stand for many, many years! The weight of the Albums used to push out the nails in the bottom, so once a year or so I’d push it back together. Finally, about ten years ago, I shored it up with a few screws…it’s still going strong! And I do mean strong! I had to un-bury it to snap a picture…this is how it usually looks
It doesn’t creak or wobble… I was a little over ten then…

-- Mike in Manchester, NH---Unpleasant tasks are simply worthy challenges to improve skills.

Seventh grade shop class; I built one of the two options we had, what the teacher called a pedestal table. The top and bottom were panels made of 2 edge glued 2xs (probably 2×10), with the corners radiused or chamfered, builder’s choice. The pedestal was turned from a glueup of 3 2×4s, so it was about 3-1/4” diameter. Mine looked like crap, and the shoulders on the end tenons weren’t square, so it was weak, and it rocked. I used it for a nightstand for a while, and I don’t remember what happened to it. I probably just threw it in the trash, it was such a piece of crap. Ironically, we were allowed to use both wood and metal lathes, and we melted and cast aluminum, but we weren’t allowed to use the table saw – we had to ask the teacher to make all our table saw cuts. This wasn’t during the recent liability craze, either – it would have been about 1978.

-- Measure twice, then try to figure out which one was right.

This was my first piece and this is what got me hooked. I had limited tools at the time which included a table saw and various hand tools. No planer or jointer… It made a lot of cracking noises when I clamped it together. :^)

http://www.garagewoodworks.com/Maple_end_table.php

-- Brian http://www.garagewoodworks.com

In 2005, my family and I moved to Florida from South America and wanted a new Dining Desk. Everything we found was either too expensive or not the style we were looking for or of a very cheap quality. Well I decided to try and build something myself. I had no tools at all. This is how I started in woodworking. I’ll post a couple of pics to show that I REALLY had nothing to work with…
The desk came out pretty nice. It was designed by me and I tried to keep it as simple as possible (for obvious reasons :) )

Well guys, it’s looking good so far. Sounds like a lot of us got started in junior or high school. Like huff, after h.s. I didn’t get to woodwork either for many years because of the military, lengthy stays in different hospitals, etc. I guess it was around 1985-86 when I was able to get back to it.
This is very interesting as to the timespan for us all. Some at an early age- some later. It just goes to show—when the ww bug hits, don’t matter how old or young you are. Keep ‘em coming—it’ss gettin’ good.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Pencil/Notepad box that hangs on wall in grade school – still have it. Gentleman’s Valet in High School-part of a drafting and woodworking class gave it away cause I didn’t need it – I wore jeans, t-shirts and PF Flyers.

-- AustinFisher

Is a turned lamp a piece of furniture? Osage Orange 6” dia. 20 high. UGLY!
If the lamp doesn’t qualify, 15 years later I built a coffee table. Two cubes of 3/4 MDF with an 1 1/2” thick slab of MDF spanning them. All covered in black “slate” Formica. Not so ugly, but it sure was heavy!

-- Gene

I made an end table out of poplar two years ago and got hooked. I kept watching Norm Abrams and David Marks on Woodworks making such cool things and I thought, “I can do that.” I had a table saw, no planer, no jointer, etc. I used S4S poplar from HD and built the end table for my mom’s christmas gift. I used mortise and tenon joints. The top is wavy from not having planes and only a ROS to smooth it. I gave no consideration to wood movement, and the stained poplar blotched. I love it though and it is holding up so far.

Great topic Rick. With so many responses in such a short time it looks like you hit a nerve.

I didn’t take wood shop in high school. I took electronics class. I still have the 1948 Philco TV I found in storage there and convinced the instructor, Mr. Nimrod, to sell to me. Someday I’ll get that working like I planned to 40 years ago when I first got it. Maybe I should pull it out of the garage and make a stand nice for it.

The first woodworking project I can remember making was right after we got married. I didn’t have many tools and we wanted a room divider to separate our dining area from our living area in our one bedroom apartment.

I went to the local home improvement store… at that time I thing it was called Home Base, and I bought a bunch of 1×12’s, a bunch of spindles that were thread on each end, a bunch of wooden threaded pieces, 6 feet, 6 caps and a can of stain.

It wasn’t really a woodworking project, it was more of an assembly project. I just had to drill holes, screw everything together and stain it. If memory serves it was 8 feet wide and 7 feet tall.

We had it for many years. We didn’t live in that apartment very long but since I didn’t use glue I just unscrewed it and reassembled it in our next place. It was cool because I was able to reconfigure it to fit whatever space was available.

Thanks for asking.

Bothus

-- Professional kitchen designer, amature woodworker.

My first piece I ever built is this ugly water container/dispenser stand

That was when I do not know how to safely use TS to tapper cut narrow lumber.

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

Woodworking to me is more then just building furniture so i would have to say a house was the first thing i built . Then hundreds more later .

-- John in Belgrave ,(Slideshow ) http://cid-69bce320c6d8b119.skydrive.live.com/play.aspx/Extreme%20Birdhouses/P1030026.JPG?ref=2 (Website) http://www.extremebirdhouse.com

My first woodworking project wasn’t furniture. In junior high wood shop class in 1983 I built a pencil box. Simple rabbet joints with glue and hand nailed brads. It was built as an enclosed box, then the top was cut off on the table saw (teacher did that part, we weren’t allowed to actually use the table saw at that point), then thin strips were glued in to act as a lip for the lid to set on.

I still have that box, it’s in my night stand, holding, what else, pencils!

My first furniture project was high school wood shop, I built a small hallway table from poplar, and Oak plywood.I lost track of who I gave that to, or where it went to.

I want to build a reproduction of my late grandfather’s “Smoking Table” which is basically a small table that has a box top, the front of the box is a hinged door. Grandpa used it to keep his pipe tobacco and pipes in. I’m sure I can find something healthier to put in mine.

-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

About 20 years ago, I built this coffee table.

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n254/woodnwings/P5040003.jpg[/IMG]

It survived a tornado, but got pretty beat up. I wanted to refinish it, but my wife won’t let me.

-- Uncle Fester

During college summers I worked at a lumber yard attached to a furniture factory. We unloaded trucks from the mill, stacked for it’s month in BORG sized pre-kiln, moved it to the kiln for a week and restacked it to move on to the factory or to be sold. Inbetween we hammered on fans and prayed our safety gear worked while running into the kiln to grab our measure blocks.

Part of their “initiation” for the college boy was I had to make a piece of furniture from cutt-off green lumber, using only a chainsaw. Technically I cheated since my single dovetail split leg bench needed a piece of banding across the center to stay together, but we used it to squat for the four years I worked there. Hell, since it was IPE that thing is probably still there.

My first piece of real furniture was a poster bed frame. I bought a new bed and needed a frame so I built one, then built an armoire to match it. I still have the armoire, but have since made a proper mission bed frame.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

This is really interesting, guys, and thanks for posting the pixs. I will try to post a pixs of my end table I made for my mom. papadan: that’s a very nice c.t for your first project. Good furniture last a long time if taken care of. littlecope: you have as many old vinel albums as I do. I think I’ve got about 325 LP’s. I been coverting all of mine ot CD’s. I have a program on my computer that I use—works great.
GarageWoodworks: wish my first piece would have turned out as nice as yours. I remember getting a B-, cause
I burned the wood with the router lol lol.
Tango: the table turned out very nice.
woodworm: great table, but what is a water container/ dispencer? I don’t think I ever heard of one.
UncleFester: Your pixs of your coffee table wasn’t on your photobucket albums. Said it had been moved or something. I hope we get more replys on this subject. Might get some good ideas from others for projects.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Here ya go UncleFester

-- Dan-- Info for all @ http://www.hoistman.com

My first project was a Entertainment center built from plywood, it holds 2 tvs stereo equipment, speakers, XBOX playstation gamecube 350 dvds, apicture shelf 2 telephones. It sits on top of a heating duct so there is a deflector for that. I built the whole thing with a skil saw and not much else it stands 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide. It helped me to coin a phrase ” 89 and 91 degrees exist for sure I can prove that but 90 degrees is just a myth” Things come out better everytime I try though and I can prove 90 Degrees now. My equipment improves from time to time as well, What I lust after now is a 10 inch Joiner, someday. I will have a poor picture of it under my projects.
Good question

-- As the Saw Turns

The very first woodworking project I completed was as a 7 or 8 (1967 or 1968) year old where I managed to build a semi-enclosed box out of particle board and being a very practical child, I told my mother it was going to be a casket for our cat. The cat would liver for at least 4 or 5 more years, so in the meantime I spray painted it bright gold and it became our table top Christmas manger display. It has remained a cherished (heirloom?) piece in my parents house ever since. The story gets retold every year at Christsmas I think.

Several years later I did my next project as an 7th grader in a junior high shop class that was truly world class. What I never figured out was why the students only used hand tools and the shop teachers who regularly used the heavy artillery always had projects going out the back door.

-- Langski, New Hampshire

Thanks Dan. I couldn’t get it to pull up. I got all the other pixs, but for some reason this one didn’t come through. ‘preciate it.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Mine was a red oak and red oak ply low 2-shelf bookcase.

I built two of them of slightly different proportions. Other than one sand-through that my wife says only I notice, and the fact that I stained them Minwax Red Oak, they still look decent. I finished them with wiping varnish and steel wool applied wax. I’d still be very happy with them if I’d left them a natural or fumed color. The color just looks fake to me now.

I enjoy thinking about how long it took me to build them! Each has (6) 3/4” ply parts, (1) 1/4” ply part, (10) 3/4” red oak parts, and (1) 1/2” red oak part. Nowadays, I could easily build both in one day. I think I spent a month each! <g>

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

My first real project was a walnut nut bowl as a freshman in high school.

But i started much earlier at age 11. Here are some fun pictures of stuff i made as a kid.

http://www.mikecyr.com/Humble-Beginning.html

-- Mike, Westport MA.

Great topic… while dead simple, my first project is really the story of how I started woodworking.

My wife and I (and young daughter), bought a 1910’s house in the suburbs after 10 years of apartment living downtown. Reason being we wanted more space and a dog.

I’m sure you can guess from the first house part, and the 1910’s part of the story that we were going to have to put a few $ into the house to get up to my wife’s standards – I can live in a construction site indefinitely, and often do being a field engineer (heavy civil), but she and now my daughter are more-refined stock. Windows, insulation, and a new furnace were the first priorities due to the available tax credits, and now we peck away room by room on the rest.

Soon my wife was frustrated about not having a computer desk (since we had a built-in version in our last apartment). However, we have sworn off Ikea particle board furniture as we were committed to only buying pieces that would last, but we weren’t prepared to buy a quality piece given our new-found debt from the mortgage.

With only the desire to solve a problem (the engineer in me) and a meagre apartment-style tool kit, I surveyed materials in the basement and figured I could make something quickly from a pair of two-drawer filing cabinets and some grimy 1×10 pine shelving, whose previous service was holding up plant pots.

After hand-sanding the boards clean and smooth, I used a new $20 dowelling jig and my B&D cordless drill to edge join 3 planks into a 30×40 desktop that sits on the two filing cabinets. One coat of water-based pre-conditioner, two coats of wb dark stain, and three coats wb-poly later I had created a beautiful and functional desk, fit perfectly into the given space in three short evenings. For a fraction the cost of what we’d even find at any big box store.

Nothing gives me greater pride than surfing LJ at my new computer desk, in our new-to-us home, with my now one-year old dog laying at my feet as I copy your ideas and practice my Sketchup skills.

The project was of course just a leaping stone, but that feeling of pride is why I’m now a devoted woodworker and fellow LJ. The basement workshop, while basic to you guys, is the envy of my friends and I’ve no shortage of suggestions for other projects – some of which have been completed and others are for other days.

Glad to be able to tell my story – I’ll get my project pictures up shortly.

-- Jim, North Vancouver, BC

Believe it or not this is the first piece of furniture I ever made. A chessboard was my first project. Then some boxes and finally this:

Just the highboy. The lowboy I made years later.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Furniture, could be, book shelf. 6th grade shop, had to use all had tool, planes for all the round overs and bevels. can’t figure out how to resize the picks, did edit on photo bucket.

-- Z Rockwall, TX

Thanks guys(and gals). It’s been interesting hearing about the 1st piece you ever built. Great pixs to go with it. I thought it might be a good subject to talk about. But—- with over 13,000 members, I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get more response from more members. I’ve kinda noticed that it’s usually the same 30-40 members who take part in the forums and respond to posts. Thanks to those who did.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Jr. High shop class. A “Pump Lamp” It was fashioned after an old-style waterpump. Pull the handle—light goes on. Pull the handle—light goes off. Wish I still had it.

-- Go STARS!

The question was about the first “furniture” and some have entered other types of wood projects.

So mine as best I can remember was in 1965 and was a wood “bench” to go between the bucket seats on my 1964 Chevelle Super Sport so the girls could set close to me. I covered it with padding and black naugahide to match the seats. Worked great.

-- Les B, Oregon

LesB: It was just a question in general about furniture. Yes—other have entered other things, and that’s just fine. Your’s certainly qualifies. AAHH—the 60’s! How well I remember them. Was your Chevelle a 283,327, or a 396? I had a ‘56 Ford w/ a “full house” 312. Man that sucker was FAST!!! I mounted a 12 volt record player on the hump, cruised our local hang-out, and listened to Buddy Holly as I cruised. Buddy was from my hometown of Lubbock, Texas, and my sister dated J.I. Allison, the drummer for the Crickets. We’d cruise fro the girls, then go dragrace!!! Man, do I miss those times. Oh well—- back to the subject at hand. Yes- I would say your bench qualifies, since you built it. Question is, did it do the job/!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Picture frame in high school. Don’t know here it ended up. Did not care one bit for wood working back then. Maybe becuase the teacher was a total !@#$ and did not know what he was talking about.

-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!

Rick, I looked through the members pages a while back. The majority have less than 3 posts including signing up!! Looking back through all the projects, most have less than 1,000 views. As with all orginizations, big and small, a few are active. You have to wonder why the others even belong????

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Thanks Topamax: I was just curious as to why we don’t get more posts and response from the others. I joined for the reason you and others like us joined—to be involved in the forums of woodworking and discussions. It is our passion, and I think if you’re not going to be active—why join.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

The first project was in HS shop and was a clock. but the first piece of furntiture I built (and still have) was this hope chest built out of Mahogany and Walnut also in shop class.

...9 years later it was this chair built with a skil saw, cordless drill and a jig saw. 1/2” maple ply and a few pieces of maple stock.

My mom still has the clock and I still have the other two pieces. They serve as a reminder of what got me into woodworking.

-- Brian, Folsom, CA http://www.brianfullerdesigns.com

Rick, i have only been on a few months and I used to only go to the projects postings to see all the new stuff, and even before i signed up. I finally joined so I could make a few comments here and there. I only discovered the blog and forum and other postings just a short time ago, but they have been there the whole time. It does take a lot of time, my wife already gives me enough grief about spending too much time on the computer. Full time job, kids, projects, its hard to keep up. I’m sure allot of others feel similar. Everyone has their favorite sections and they probably stick with those.

Les, this is for you. :) Book shelf, toy box for my kids room.

-- Z Rockwall, TX

Don’t remember the first one, there were a few I made in shop in 50s. I was lucky, we could use shop tools—that changed a few years later as my brothers came through the same school.But I worked on metal lathe,and various saws.Its over 60 years ago I would like to have one or two of those projects,but Iused them for gifts. Like others have said——once you get the bug its with you for life.Working on a Norm project now
(shop hutch).

-- Bill Merritt -Augusta Ga. woodworker

The first ‘real’ furniture project I made was a desk for myself. I was about 15 and needed some place beside the kitchen table to do homework. So we went desk shopping- they all sucked! Small and rickety pieces of junk. So my mom gave me the $100 dollar budget to build my own. Made a nice big desk out of plywood and painted it red to coordinate with my room. My dad made me buy my own sawblade too. Guess that started my tool collecting habit. Definetly started me in woodworking.

-- a little bit of stupid goes a long way