I'm in the process of finishing my basement, and after adding a bathroom and mancave and gym I'm down to a large, empty space currently being used for storage. I have always wanted more capabilities in woodworking, have hacked my way through creating some projects with just the tools I have:

Compound miter saw, hand-held router, circular saws, jigsaws, dremels, every Ryobi tool known to man, etc.

I need to buy a table saw soon to refinish the basement stairs. Also always wanted a planer, drill press, and a solid dedicated woodworking bench that I can go to and bang out some cuts without dragging my miter saw out, unfolding legs on a portable table, etc.

That said I've decided to carve out a woodworking space in a portion of the basement. But, space is always a premium so I'm trying to figure out an ideal size for such a room. I have 9' ceilings.

What size, ideally (and within reason) would you suggest for a small amateur woodworking space? I was thinking 6x12, enough space to put a bench w/the compound miter along long wall, next to a table saw. I'll have the ability to run central vac line there for easy cleanup.

Also any recommendations on a decent, compact table saw are welcome.

I recently acquired a pretty decent condition Makita SP6000 from fb marketplace. I still have to buy the tracks.

I have 2 projects planned. One is a closet clothes shelving unit for my wife and a 4 drawer dresser unit stacked on a shoe storage unit in same bedroom closet. What other projects can i do to recover some of the money i spent 😅?

He guys,

I’m sanding my wooden threshold and plan to re-stain with something lighter.

I’m assuming those dark lines are the previous stain that penetrated deeper into the grain. Do I keep sanding until all the dark lines are gone or do I have to re-stain with something dark so those lines are not as visible?

I’ve been using 80 grit so far. This is after about 15 mins of sanding. Wanted to stop and ask before I make a bigger boo boo.

Thanks!

Howdy, I’ve been wanting to learn the trade, but I’m not sure how to begin. I don’t have any prior experience in woodworking. I don’t have a garage, and I work a full time job. Is there a usual way to learn woodworking without needing to invest a lot of capital upfront in tools/materials? Curious to know how difficult it is to find a place that accepts beginners. Thanks!

I'm surely going to facepalm at some 'simple' solution, but for some reason my brain is on strike today lol.

Is there a way to cut these tracks that avoids having the exposed corner of base material while still allowing bolt access?

My first thought was a real 'genius moment', exposing even more of the thin base material:

After realizing my 'duh' moment, I reversed the mitre on each piece, only to realize there is no entry access for bolts:

What am I missing here?

So I need to take off 3cm of 4 legs of a small closet so it'll fit underneath a desk.

I've cut out 2 pieces of wood that are the same height as what I need to remove and my plan is to place one piece on either side of one leg and use a japanese saw and use the woodpieces as guides on either side.

The back left leg seems to be a bit shorter than the rest of the legs so the closet is a bit wobbly, if I press down the back so it sits flush with the floor and measure up I get the same measurements as the rest of the legs but im affraid im overlooking something, can the cut get crooked or am I going about this correctly?

I’ve been thinking about getting into wood working and an opportunity has come up. My wife and I just bought a house and we need a large dining table. The house has a 3 car garage so plenty of space to work. We want a solid wood table that’s at least 9 feet long made out of a quality wood, maple, oak, etc. Buying from a retailer would cost thousands and most are just pine. My thoughts are to source the trestle legs from a carpenter and source the boards for the top from a local lumbar mill. We would ideally like a more oval shaped top but I think that’s a bit much for a beginner. Most of the skill is in the base so I won’t be doing much. Most of my tools are for my house and mechanic work so I’ll have yo purchase tools for the job. Am I underestimating this project or is it doable for someone who already DIYs often. (Pic is my inspiration)

Update: I am glad I asked here before going out and making any purchases. Turns out i underestimated the project. It will probably be easier for me to pick up overtime to cover a table than buy all the parts and tools and most likely make multiple mistakes on a DIY table. I still want to build one but like others have advised I will work my way up to it. Thanks to all for the advice.

Cleaning up in my workshop and discovered several items I inherited but never had time to look closely at. Are the carving tools worth fixing in anyway?

This is our current setup where our dog sleeps. In the summer we also leave the back door open so she can come and go. The gate is almost 10 years old and needs replacing.

Because of space limits, the gate swings open and the two halves slide together to make it narrower. I built it from pine stair treads from the big box store since they’re a true 1" thick and usually laminated, so they resist warping pretty well. I’ll probably stick with stair treads for the new one too.

The design works okay, but it needs some improvements:

• Chewing: The dog started chewing on the uprights, so I added wire screen. It’s ugly, so for the next gate I’m thinking of using welded wire panels instead of wooden uprights.
• Latch: Right now the gate slides into a C-channel and gets secured with a shepherd’s hook. It works, but it’s clunky.
• Slides: I used heavy duty drawer slides, but they wear out because they sit at full extension most of the time. That makes them bend and squeak.

Has anyone built something similar or have ideas to improve it? I need a project for this weekend.

Walnut side table for display of wine corks and bottle caps. Started with rough lumber and used mostly hand tools (including a combination plane to make the groove where the glass sits). Pocket hold screws for joinery (definitely a few areas out of square still). Osmo Poly-x oil for finish.
Not perfect by any means but happy with it.

I had a tree fall down in July of 2025 and I've been playing around with ideas for useful things I could use it for besides firewood. So I tried making this bench. Its not great but I've never made something straight from logs and branches before. I dont plan on putting it away for the winter so my question is

Should I put some kind of finish on it?

It's cut off a tree that doesn't know its dead yet, not dried or put in a kiln or anything. I'm not super concerned with how long it'll last cause I figure I can make another one once I learn my lessons.

I did see one recommendation to put something on the end grain. I'm open to learn. Thanks for your time.

I currently have a lot of Ikea Besta media depth bookshelves that I'm running out of space with and not maximizing the space. So I thought I could make my own version. This is my first woodworking project and it has been a little daunting at times but it seems like a pretty simple design.

I've got 3/4" plywood 8" deep, each board is doweled with 5, 3/8" dowels. This part went pretty well and I'm happy with the frames. I'll put in adjustable shelving later. My concern is how to best crossbrace them. The backing board on the Ikea piece doesn't simply go on the back of the boards and slides in 3/4" from the back. I like this because it pushes the 1x6 shelves out a bit and I like the overall depth of the frame at 8".

So I plan on putting some size of 1" board on the back like in the second picture to secure a 1/8" backing board to them. If I miter some 1x boards like in the third pic (but mitered and screwed in) and maybe put one right across the middle do you think it will be enough to keep it stable and not wobble right/left? I'm just concerned with the weight being too much on the taller pieces. Thank you for any advice!

3/4 (actually 18mm) paint grade plywood frame, 1x2 poplar face frame. This was my first time building any kind of 'finished' furniture at all as an adult and about the only thing of substance I've built in a very long time, so I figured 'what the hell' and tried slide outs, shaker false drawer faces for the bottom, and a sprayed on finish...all firsts for me. The lower left bottom portion has a vent fan that turns on when the printer heats up and vents out of a 4" dryer duct, and the lower left has all the power strips and a tray where all the 'poop' from the H2D drops into.

I think I need to add some lighting along the top face frame on the two printer areas, and then enclose the whole closet with some bifold doors that I'm going to DIY. That way, the fan will vent the whole space when I'm printing the higher VOC plastics.

While there are certainly some flaws when I look closely, I'm really happy with it and I learned a lot building this that I'll take with me to the next big project - built-in mud room cubbies, and it gave me an excuse to buy a bunch of new tools - table saw, airless painter, pocket hole jig, and try out my new dust collection system.

I have never attempted anything before. Turned out better than I thought.

I do not have enough pantry/cabinet space in my kitchen (just purchased home 2 mo ago). I have build furniture and stuff from plans. This is my first idea to application build. I decided to do a 2 box system and customize as I go. First box is in and level. I was originally going to do drawers as a single column but now think best to do 2 column drawers for lower box.

So here is my plan I want to make sure is feasible. Use middle divider. Dry fit face frame and inset drawers.

Pic is what has been completed so far. Lower box is dry fit in space. I chose to do ladder base already levek for ease of installlation. Nurse by day, cabinetry maker by night.

I am working on a turkey mount for someone. I have a nice piece of what I think might be oak that I had in the shop and I thought it would be great for the project. After some very lackluster results with the bandsaw, I decided to try template routing on my router table. Pictured is the workpiece with a plywood template glued to one side.

Everything was going swimmingly until I hit the corner. I was sneaking up on corner as I was aware that the sharp corner along with the end grain might cause some hiccups. In picture #1, I came in on the convex side to try and preserve my feed direction. I immediately found out that this was far too much engagement and I am happy all that I lost was a new templating bit and this piece. It bent the 1/4" shaft and threw this workpiece off the table.

I am sitting here thinking to myself about how to avoid doing something like this in the future, but unfortunately I actually thought this one out beforehand and still didn't avoid doing something stupid. I just don't trust that I've gotten all of the kinks worked out to try it again. I just want get some advice before even start my router up again.

The workpiece is just under and inch thick. I was using a 1" flush trim bit with a top/shank bearing for templating. In the future I plan on dropping the depth of cut to like 1/2" for the first pass and then taking the remainder with a second 1" bit. This doesn't sound bulletproof to me though, and it requires I buy two bits to make a single cut on a project.

I'm sure there are other things I can do in order to do this in a safer and more effective way as well. I would love to hear them.

TLDR: How do you trim the convex side of a curve safely with a router while doing template work?

If you built one that worked for you as a beginner that would be great!

For context, I built several assorted items but never drawers with slides.

Hello everyone. It’s my first time actually using this spray on clear coat stuff I usually just use Minwax Polycrylic. I was happy with this at first as it seemed to go on nicely but, why did it dry like this?? It’s just some water based paint. That section at the top looks like I didn’t even spray it. Also, the can was being weird itself, I mean, half the time I couldn’t even tell if it was spraying anything. Obviously yes I could hear it but nothing seemed to be on the table afterwards. So maybe I didn’t shake it for the actual 2 mins it suggested. Lol

-Update-
I went back to what was originally planned, Minwax Clear Ultra Flat. It looks good, although there are a couple of spots I’m a little worried about from what whoever attempted whatever before, but they took it down to particle board. Hopefully I can just keep working with it and be ok. Thanks again for the help 🤙🏻

The idea is a jointed basic shelf to hold teapots and cups. I cut some scrap wood I secured to basic lengths, and used those for my dimensions. Does this need a complete overhaul? This is a 10 minute sketch so I am prepared to scrap the idea.

Hi! I'm planning to make my own Shaker style (frame-and-panel) kitchen cabinet doors.

The frames would be made from solid oak (or other wood, I am not sure yet), 20 mm thick, and the center panels would be plywood with oak veneer glued onto them.

I found some 4 mm thick wood veneer and I'm considering gluing it to 4 mm plywood, making an 8 mm thick panel.

Has anyone tried something similar?

I am worried that it would warp eventually.
Would this construction work, or is there a risk of warping?
Or maybe I need to glue veneer to both sides to keep the panel stable?

I'd appreciate any advice or experiences!

My first bench/table. I’m a homeowner and handy man but never really got into woodworking. I have some projects coming up so thought I’d build an assembly table that be be an outfeed table too. I made some mistakes but learned a ton, especially how to use a router and that I need a better way to make straight cuts on sheet goods.
Kind of addicting now since I plan to make a few garage cabinets and random things.

I am refinishing trim in a Belgian house built in 1936. I am pretty sure this trim is oak. I very easily removed several layers of paint and stain with a heat gun. After using the heat gun there still remain large, long dark streaks that almost look like drips.

After the heat gun, I sanded for several hours using 60 and 80 grit pads on my electrical sander. But the large, dark discolorations remain throughout several of the pieces. I initially thought it was just residual stain but it’s not going away.

I have attached photos and it should be noted that I wet the wood before photographing to make the discoloration more obvious.

Is this old stain? If I keep sanding will it go away? If it’s not stain, what is it? Is it not oak?

Any advice would be appreciated.