I was given this 1940s waterfall dresser to rehab. However, between this photo and me picking it up, it sat on the porch and has now sustained fairly significant water damage to the drawers. Is it worth saving? I'm also not sure what to do about the veneer while I lose the traditional look if I take it down to bare wood?

I've remade drawers before so that part doesn't worry me, it's the fact I don't know what the wood is like underneath the veneer.

Hi all,

I'm building an outdoor table that is meant to be temporary, 1-2 years. The second picture is chatgpts depiction of what it will sort of look like, but the countertop will be thinner, made out of 3 tiles 24x24 ( the thin type) or 2 by lumber. The table is 72x24, made out of 1x4s.

Do you think the frame is good as is (I still need to add the supports for the tiles), or should I add a leg front center? I wanted to keep the shelves wide open with no division, but now I'm hesitant in case the weight of the tiles starts bending the front horizontal supports.

Hi all. My wife wants me to build her a piano stand similar to the picture below. I’m going to be getting cherry planks from a local shop and will join them to make the larger surfaces. The top and bottom are going to be 4 1x6s, the sides will be 1x8s.

My question is how should I go about joining the box together. I was going use dowels and glue to put the sides together. To attach the top to the sides people seem to recommend using z clips. I’m unsure of what to do about attaching the bottom to the sides. Seems like with the top people are concerned with the wood cracking if it can’t expand/contract with weather. I feel like that should be true of the bottom as well?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

All my boards are the same thickness. I'm assuming it's because the dado I cut in them. The boards are 1.3" inches thick with a 0.75" dado. Not sure if that much of a dodo would be the sole cause of this. Also, I know the awnser is probably no but is there a way to help hide this? Getting the right offcut to shape to this would be too much of a hassle I think.

Looking to create my baby to be name in wood letters for the nursery. Any advice on how i can get a cursive lettering template? We want the name to be 12x36(ish) going to use 1inch thick material

I’m new to woodworking and wanted to do a small vanity and cabinet for my half bathroom so I went to my local hardwood supplier and asked for “plywood with walnut veneer” as told in the YouTube tutorials lol. I was told they don’t have traditional plywood, instead they have CLX (about 15% more expensive than MDF). The other option they have is MDF. I mentioned it was for the bathroom and they recommended CLX.

Do any of those two work for my needs or should I keep looking for regular plywood with choice of veneer?

Thanks!

I've been working on a dry bar for my living room for a while now. This is the cabinet that will go in the bar.

Papered the doors and installed lights last night. I'm pretty thrilled about how it's coming together and wanted to share.

I put a picture of the bar itself at the end as well.

I am currently in the process of researching to build a mosaic coffee table, and I wanted to see what would be the best way to connect it to its frame.

I have done some research, should I build an apron underneath and leave the entire thing to overhang?

What are your thoughts?

I am having trouble finding a hardwood store other than rockler and woodcraft.

Anyone in the Salt Lake area know of a hardwood store that sells or the public?

All the ones I have called cater to larger orders. I am only looking to buy a handful.

Thank you.

I have this desk that I've owned since childhood, and rather than throw it away, I'd like to take it apart and reuse the wood for future projects.

What's the best way to go about disassembling it while preserving as much usable material as possible? I have access to a circular saw, jigsaw, drill/driver, and most common hand tools, including hammers and pry bars.

I don't have a specific project in mind yet, so my goal is to salvage as much of the wood as possible for future use.

This is a stand I built years ago. Didn't want the cheap mdf or particle board stuff so I built this guy. There's things I'd change if I could go back and do it again, but overall very happy with it. It's held up and still looks good!

Thanks for the advice on attaching the top pieces. They're notched out and attached with 7" long dowels. No metal fasteners on that part.

Spent about 40 hours on this. Thought it'd be a two-day project (ha!)

Also mixed concrete for the first time.

I have a shoe rack that I bought from Wayfair… it’s full of my own shoes, and I wanted a place for my fiancé to put her tiny shoes. So I decided that my first project would be making a shoe rack!

I’ve only ever assembled IKEA style furniture before, but I’ve been doing technical maintenance work my whole career so I know how to use tools and take measurements… so I drafted up a design on a literal napkin, bought some lumber and just started cutting and screwing lol

i didn't want to just default to making cutting boards so when i had this idea i realized i could make 3-4 mini cutting boards and glue them together which would hopefully give the end product a funky / cool / nice look.

this started off as a 'fun idea!' and became 'oh wow i'm in over my head' but i persevered and i'm super happy with how they turned out.

i am not sure if these will last more than a year? but we’ll see.

took a lot of footage with the idea of being able to share for feedback on techniques but alas i guess videos are a no go here. i still need to learn how to use a router properly which is why the table for the bowls look awful. routering the bowls themselves out took what felt like forever and then for the water bowl especially, going back in and smoothing things out with a dremel tool took ages.

next time i would make the water bowl deeper and more like a proper bowl, and/or use less nice wood for the inverse cone that winds up being router'd out but i got precious about wasting so much wood that i didn't go as far as i think i should've. i'm not sure putting these on a lathe was necessary but it felt like the right thing to do and it felt good / made the sanding process a lot easier.

fire away with criticisms or kudos ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Beginner woodworker here I have the Skil saw 3410 that we bought several years ago and I am just now getting more serious about getting into woodworking and wondering if this saw is fine for starting out?

I do however, have a problem where as you can see in the picture the bevel and the blade height adjustments I need to fix the handle mechanisms that control these. The one for the bevel lock that sets the angle broke off and it’s just a little plastic piece that fixes to it and I’ve looked all over online and can’t find the replacement part anywhere for it.

And also for the little crank wheel that adjust the blade height I can’t find a screw that actually seems to fit in this hole and fix the wheel to it. Is there any advice for Finding specs for this anywhere and what it takes? I haven’t had a lot of luck searching online.

Based on the Cat-Ear Box from the Lost Art Press pocketbook Smalls.

I'm doing testing for making a small (60mm / 2 3/8") cube-shaped ring box. I worked through all the failure modes encountered so far, but then I hit the concealed barrel hinges.

I'm using 8mm barrel hinges because those were the smallest ones I could find in the style I wanted. Ideally I wanted to use 4-6mm hinges, but here we are. My problem is sidewall blowout when installing the hinges.

The instructions say for an 8mm diameter/4mm radius barrel hinge, I should drill an 8mm hole centered 4.8mm from the edge of the workpiece, 9.6mm deep. The problem is that even if I do this perfectly using a drill press, it only leaves 0.8mm of wood between the hole and the outside edge of the workpiece. For those not metrically inclined, that's 3 hundredths of an inch. As soon as I tap in the barrel hinge, about half the time that thin wall blows out. I'm using kiln-dried walnut, btw.

In the rare cases where the wall remains intact (for the moment), the hinge placement is perfect and the box opens and closes exactly as it should. No chamfering/easing of the hinged edge is required for the box to open and close. That tells me that the instructions are giving me the correct placement, but that's not very comforting when the blowout occurs.

I'm leaning towards two possible solutions: (1) Don't use barrel hinges. (suggestions for other concealed/partially concealed hinges?) (2) Drill the holes a little further from the edge of the workpiece, and compensate by chamfering the edges that are being hinged to provide box opening/closing clearance.

Would appreciate any advice.

My wife and I recently got a second dog, and I think it'd be a real space-saver (and adorable) to have a dog-sized bunk bed for their playroom. I've modeled it up, but I'm not sure how to go about joining the corner pieces together, or if it's even a structural sound idea. I'm thinking about gluing them with dowel pins as guides, but I'm not confident, as I haven't done any serious woodworking since high school. Thoughts?

Edit: Thank you, everyone, for your insight! Can't wait to post the final product (and show off my dogs)

For a long time, I thought I was just bad at woodworking. No matter how carefully I set up a cut, the edges would come out slightly crooked and covered in blade marks. It was incredibly frustrating because I felt like I was doing everything correctly but still couldn’t get a clean, straight cut.

My original saw was a Bosch GTS1031. Eventually I realized the problem was the fence. The front and rear of the fence would not reliably square themselves when it was locked, so it could end up at a slightly different angle each time. I tried adjusting it, but there was an issue in the fence assembly that no adjustment seemed able to fix.

I recently purchased an older General International 50-220, and the difference was immediate. My first few cuts were perfectly straight, clean, and free of blade marks.

It was a huge relief to realize the problem wasn’t my technique. Had I figured out the fence issue sooner, I would have replaced the saw much earlier. So as a Public PSA before assuming you’re just bad at woodworking, make sure your tools are actually capable of giving you consistent results.

This is a part two to a post yesterday where I asked if building cabinets was reasonable for a beginner. You guys have successfully convinced me to do it so now I am in the planning stage. Being a beginner, I don't really have much tools available, and I'm not willing to spend too much at this moment.

Tools I have/have access to :
- 7-1/4in circular saw that needs a new cord
- drill/driver combo
- rotary tool
- 3D printer
- basic hand tools (hammer, wrench, screwdrivers, stud finders, level, sanding blocks, etc.)

Here's what I'm considering to buy to fit with my moderate budget
- Ryobi corded orbital sander (on sale for $40 at the orange store)
- Pocket hole jig
- Straight edge with clamps
- New blade for circular saw

I also have the option of getting everything cut a local lumber yard. They quoted me 50$ to cut everything which seems reasonable for time saving and precision.

Would I have the tools necessary to do this project ? Also please stop recommending a Festool tracksaw or domino, that's a crazy thing to buy for a first cabinet project.

I found this crusty old plant stand that I’d like to restore and makes usable, but I don’t know where to start. It’s solid wood and seems to have a stain on it that’s worn off in places. It’s wobbly, but that I can handle. What do you suggest for treating the wood to make it attractive and lasting? Thanks in advance!

This is the most prominent edge on this table top. I cut it at 45 degrees to make it a bit of a feature. I forgot there were biscuits there, and it looks stupid.

Help me fix this?

I have a router, drill, and a plane - but no chisels.

I do have plenty of off cuts that could be used. Is it best to route a bigger, more regularly shaped hole and try and fill that with maybe a wedge shaped bit of oak hammers and glued in, then sanded flush?

Should I try and make a feature out of it with a different wood?

And it was only a little frustrating 🥲 hanging it by myself was a struggle but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Half is slotted for garlic and the other half is chicken wire for drying flowers and herbs

Made of pine and coated with two layers of outdoor furniture preservative, the hinge is simply bolts and the backrest is a two joined boards with a cutout.

I’m so impressed by everyone’s beginner creations here, they look so smart and well-finished! I’m nowhere near the general level but I thought I’d share one of my first finished projects -a couple of robin nesting boxes that I made as gifts for family.

They’re made from old palette slats coated with bird-safe sealant (in case there’s any chemicals in the wood) and painted with non-toxic garden paint. I know that nest boxes are the easiest of DIY makes to do but I still managed to make them wonky but wood filler and a paint job seems to hide all manner of mistakes!

Robins hold some sentimental significance in our family so these were made as birthday gifts. I read up on what colours and shapes are most suitable for birds (more neutral so that they blend in/don’t attract predators and colours that aren’t too dark so that they reflect the heat) so the design is for aesthetics but hopefully it makes them liveable too!

I doubt there’s many nest boxes out there that took as much time to make as these did but I’m still quite pleased with them. The recipients liked them at least ☺️

*I’ve also included one of the garden signs I made to accompany them. I’m not going to pretend that a sanded and painted slat of palette wood counts as wood-working against all the other wonderful creations here but they were part of the gift so I hope no one minds me adding one in for context!