# Woodworking



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Seeing as I have a bit of a project going on at the moment, and i've always enjoyed doing woodworking (despite being a total amatuer), I thought i'd start a thread about woodworking as I know there are some very talented woodworkers on this site! 

I was hoping members could share their projects, tips and tricks they've learned over the years, the tools they rely on and use, and just give general pointers and feedback on projects. Would also love to see peoples shops and tools! So let's share some of your woodworking stuff!


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

I'll start. Decided I wanted to build a large Hall Tree/locker/shoe cubby cabinet deal. 

This is probably the first woodworking project I spent a significant amount of time planning. I measured, measured again, measured more, did some maths, measured again, did more maths, before ripping any boards. And despite my best laid plans I still have to improvise on a few items, along with making a few mistakes. 

Here's progress so far: 

This is what we're trying to replace. A couple small coat hooks that become overloaded with coats and jackets (if they make it onto the hooks at all!). Not pictured is the river of shoes and boots flowing away from the garage door and the tiny, very poorly made shoe rack I made at our first house. Totally inadequate for our family now.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

I don't have any pictures of me milling boards, but I spent a lot of time milling them. I feel like I finally learned how to measure accurately and make accurate cuts on the table saw. One thing I am always disappointed in is when I ask for rough cuts from the store. I try to avoid them completely from Big Box but the lumberjack near me has been pretty decent. I fully expect to have to finish them at home. Unfortunately the day I bought plywood was the day the counties dumbest hillbilly was working. He managed to inconsistently cut just about every piece I needed, so I spent a lot of time squaring up and trimming cuts down so they were the same width/length.

Here is everything dry fitted.










Large boot cubbies under the bench. Small shoe cubbies on the right side, and the left is going to be a large locker with coat hooks for hanging jackets, hats, and backpacks. Above is additional cabinets/cubbies. The left side cubbie open because that's where the garage door opener wire comes out so we need to access it when I eventually get an opener.

The bench seat boards were leftover from when the house was built (I think they were actually from door casings, but can't remember) but they were already finished.

I am in the process of milling two sliding doors and door tracks for the lockers that will be recessed into the locker cubby leaving enough room to comfortably sit on the bench.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

After I dry fitted everything I pulled it all apart and enlisted one of my helpers for staining. 










Here I learned that not all stain is created equal, nor can you trust what comes out of the can at the store. I had a quart of 'mocha' colored stain leftover by the builder. It was very, very thin. It penetrated beautifully and was very dark, but it was hard to stretch the stain out and we ran out quickly. 

Off to the hardware store again. I picked up a quart of ZAR in the closest color I could find for the project. I unknowingly picked up a can of 'base'. It was very thick upon opening it - almost latex paint thick. Not knowing much about stain I put a test coat on a board. After 24 hours it was still not dry. So I used up the last bit of mineral spirits I had wiping the board down to remove the excess. It dried, but would obviously need another coat. I then realized I needed to thin the stain with spirits. Back to the hardware store for a gallon of mineral spirits. I was able to thin the stain enough at about a ratio of 1:2 before it was workable and wouldn't pool on the surface.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Here's all of the boards stained and put back together. I also decided I was going to finally prime the drywall on that wall. I'll get the ceiling later this year. 










You might notice the can of wipe on poly. I put a few coats most of the boards. I found the wipe on poly very easy to work with and a little easier to apply than a brush, though obviously it doesn't go on as thick. 

But what to do about those ugly exposed plywood edges???


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Turn the project table I built the other year to accept my small dewalt router!










I spent the better part of a day milling trim from 1/2" pine boards. I had to mill 3/4", 1/2", and 1 1/4" to cover up all of the ply. All of it is square cut except the trim that will go around the bench seat, which I added a simple cove to. I decided against going fancier since it would require much more work, and I didn't want to spent the additional time adding fancier trim to other areas of the project.

On top of cutting everything down to size I also used a palm orbital sander to add a slight camfer to all of the face edges so that there are no rough/sharp edges for the kids. A little more work but gives it a very nice feel.

So now all the trim is cut and ready to be stained! Will post pics tomorrow.


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## hommer23 (Nov 20, 2012)

Looks good. One recommendation I would make it to cover the plywood where it makes contact with the cement either with some small plastic strips or put some composite shims under it to raise it up off the concrete. If not when the kids put snow covered boots under it the water will cause the plywood to stain and eventually separate and rot.


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)

I took over my parent's cottage on Drummond Island in the mid to late 90's. To them it was just a summer cottage for fishing and nothing was changed or modified unless the need arose. 
My first project was the bathroom and then the floors. The kitchen and living area I nailed down 3/4 x2-1/4 Hickory then I started on the walls. Using milled cedar from the local sawmill on the Island. My last phase in my project are the 2 bedrooms. On the floors I nailed down 3/4"x 3-1/2" distressed Oak. Now I'm working on the walls and trim. 
The bathroom


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)

The Kitchen and living area.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

reddog1 said:


> The Kitchen and living area.
> View attachment 516423
> View attachment 516425
> View attachment 516427
> View attachment 516429


Love the wood panels. Big fan. I want to partially finish my basement with some wood panelling. We have 3/4"x4" walnut stained hickory for our floors in our home. Beautiful color variation, hides lots of scratches and whatnot. I put down about 1000 sq.ft. of it, giving myself tendonitis in my wrist in the process lol.


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)

One of the bedrooms. I took these pictures of the step used in all of the walls throughout the cottage.


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)




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## Jiw275 (Jan 1, 2015)

Very nice.


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)

I've got 2 more walls in the back bedroom and then I start the front bedroom. When I have the walls apart I also rewire and install new outlets. It's definitely been a labor of love as this will be my 53rd year going to that cottage.


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)

I bring the cedar home,sand down the mill marks and put 3 coats of satin polyurethane. I can do 16 boards a day when I get all set up.


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## reddog1 (Jan 24, 2009)

d_rek, the tools I use are 10" Dewalt compound miter saw, a Hitachi portable table saw, a 1hp Dewalt router, a Dewalt palm sander , and a small hand block plain.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

reddog1 said:


> d_rek, the tools I use are 10" Dewalt compound miter saw, a Hitachi portable table saw, a 1hp Dewalt router, a Dewalt palm sander , and a small hand block plain.


I have collected over the years: 


Dewalt 744 jobsite table saw
Craftsman miter saw (though it doesn't cut as reliably as i'd like)
kreg pocket screw jig (most of my joinery is pocket screws, but i've also played with dado and dowels)
dewalt orbital palm sander (got for $5 from a retired dry waller)
dewalt router (small one)
bosch jigsaw
This year I built a small miter sled for the table saw that cuts right angles much more reliably than the miter saw does. 
Small hand miter box (plastic deal)
stanley hand saw (fine tooth)
metal triangles, squares, and rules of various sizes
I love my table saw and it cuts wonderfully but definitely need to build out a better feed system for it. It's just not a big enough surface to work with for large boards. I made a small project table/cabinet to move around the table saw but I really need to design something that the saw fits into and I can fold up sections of the table for large feed area. That I think will be my next project after this. I would like to be able to mill large sheets of ply down at home. Too many bad experiences letting the idiots at the stores mill ply for me.


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## MichiFishy (Sep 17, 2019)

Cool organizer man, i like it. And smart to get the kids to do the grunt labor!

Heres my shop as dirty as it always is. You will see some cedar poles im cleaning up to make new ballisters, yule post and railing for my stairway. And the outdoor pic of the cedar pole is for my weather station going up soon. 

Also a pic of a bench i made, this is the first iteration of many and im very proud of how they turn out NOW haha. And a picture frame i made for my favorite painting. 

Cant wait to see what everyone else has!


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## 440turner (Jul 21, 2017)

Ive been trying to hand carve some pike/musky lures!

Been a fun way to pass time, watched a few YouTube videos and went at it.


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## Michael Wagner (Jul 17, 2007)

I dabble in many forms of woodworking, 30" slab log tables, corner cabinet, a log table made from logs that my friends dad built their cabin from in 1950, a shadow box for a WW2 Vet, his 2 purple heart medals added later, cabin family signs. I like to take someones idea and make it.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Ranger Ray said:


> Slow, but fun. Having to keep ordering stuff, cause I change my mind. Just as an example, that little red thread stop at the end of the fore grip needed to have such a small inside diameter (and I wanted aluminum to match handle) I found only in Korea. Came snail mail. LOL. Waiting on metalic silver thread to start tying. Thanks for asking!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome! I almost got into building rods but I didn't think I could fit another hobby in. Pretty cool!


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Lots of talent here!


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## Tilden Hunter (Jun 14, 2018)

My strongest interest in wood working is joinery. Here are some pics of a bench I made.




  








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## Mike da Carpenter (Nov 26, 2017)

My wife has been saying for a while that she wants a coffee table that fits the 10’ couch, but can’t find what she wanted...So, I took the hint.

Final dimentions - 18”x24”x60”. All douglas fir (4x4 and 2x8 stock). end cost from HD with military discount was $114 Including 2 quarts of paint to get the desired look she was after. Already had the stain and clear coat from another project.


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## vans (Jan 26, 2006)

For my granddaughter, her mom has been bugging me to build one, so I made two, one for each house. Stand is adjustable
During my research on building this, I came across a tool I want, Domino Jointer by Festool. I think it would be a nice addition to my shop, as soon as I can part with 1500.00
,


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## MichiFishy (Sep 17, 2019)

Mike da Carpenter said:


> My wife has been saying for a while that she wants a coffee table that fits the 10’ couch, but can’t find what she wanted...So, I took the hint.
> 
> Final dimentions - 24”x60”x18”. All douglas fir (4x4 and 2x8 stock). end cost from HD with military discount was $114 Including 2 quarts of paint to get the desired look she was after. Already had the stain and clear coat from another project.
> 
> ...



That looks very nice, I like the breadboard ends and looks like it fits the couch perfectly.


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

vans said:


> For my granddaughter, her mom has been bugging me to build one, so I made two, one for each house. Stand is adjustable
> During my research on building this, I came across a tool I want, Domino Jointer by Festool. I think it would be a nice addition to my shop, as soon as I can part with 1500.00
> ,
> View attachment 749603


Nice job on something that's truly useful.
My daughter and SIL and the 20 month old love theirs. He gets to help cook and even peel his pretend vegetables.


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## jjlrrw (May 1, 2006)

Mike da Carpenter said:


> My wife has been saying for a while that she wants a coffee table that fits the 10’ couch, but can’t find what she wanted...So, I took the hint.
> 
> Final dimentions - 18”x24”x60”. All douglas fir (4x4 and 2x8 stock). end cost from HD with military discount was $114 Including 2 quarts of paint to get the desired look she was after. Already had the stain and clear coat from another project.
> 
> View attachment 749572


The dog looks exhausted, I'm starting to second guessing who was doing all that work?


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

MichiFishy said:


> Finished up a few more chairs tonigh, gotta start to get ready for spring.
> 
> View attachment 628275


Nice looking chairs! Do you use a vendor to sell your chairs or do you just sell by word of mouth or website?


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## MichiFishy (Sep 17, 2019)

brushbuster said:


> Nice looking chairs! Do you use a vendor to sell your chairs or do you just sell by word of mouth or website?


Thank you! Just word of mouth. I've put them o Craigslist before, but everybody just tries to lowball me.


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## MichiFishy (Sep 17, 2019)

Finished up this table yesterday. Got these Oak table-tops from my boss, he got them out of the old Big Buck Brewery in Grand Rapids when they closed down. They had gotten wet and warped, still working on flattening the 60'x30" piece, but this smaller one turned out nicely I think. Hand planed to flatten, then routered the decorative edge, sanded to 800, finished with 3 coats of Tung Oil Varnish. Bent up, and powder coated the legs at work. Normally I don't mix metal and wood, but for this simple table I gave it a shot.


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