So, I decided it was time for a new desk. I spent a lot of time on the internet and Pinterest looking for ideas. I thought about an industrial design, or up-cycling found objects. I decided that I wanted to build a vintage desk, styled from this one that can be seen on “brown dress with white dots”.
Sometimes you have a great piece of wood that has a natural edge, a bit of crook, or you want to put a taper on a board. There are a
couple of ways to get a clean, straight edge on a board. The quickest is, of course, on a jointer. You can also use a router table. But you can also do it with a hand router and a straight edge guide, just like cutting with a circular saw. In fact there are times when the combination of circular saw and router is the quickest and most flexible solution. So, here it is, how to joint a board with a router. Continue reading Joint This! How to Joint a Board With a Router
To create a solid wood panel for a desk or tabletop, you need to glue boards together. You need to know how to glue up a panel! How do you do that?
There are several ways to build a drawer for a desk, a dresser, or your kitchen cabinets. And while the traditional dovetail is a “hallmark” of a well built piece of furniture, the truth is, they require time, experience and tools that the average person doesn’t have. For someone starting out in DIY, there has to be a simpler (cheaper) way to get the job done!
Guess what, there is… Pocket Holes – In fact all you need for tools is a saw and a pocket hole jig! Continue reading Let’s Build a Drawer!!!
When you are getting started, it’s hard to decide what to buy, or what you need to have in your toolbox or tool bag. So, I thought we’d have a quick look at the collection that most of us end up with at some point, or the basic tools for a workshop. In the future, we will add to this with specialty hand tools, power tools and more! Tag along and let me know if you think I missed anything…
Continue reading What’s in the Bag – Basic Tools for a Workshop
Sometimes, when we watch those DIY or woodworking shows, it looks like you need a huge shop and a lot of expensive tools to do anything. Well… it’s not true. I started with a few hand tools in the driveway, and stepped up to a skill saw and a sander, and a small shop, when I got married. With this massive set of tools (ha ha) I built our first dining table (with benches), a bookcase, end tables, an entertainment center and a chair. Now, this wasn’t the most beautiful stuff, it was a knock of of Cargo Furniture’s style (it was supposed to look like it was made from crates). These pieces of furniture lasted my growing family almost 15 years, before we sold them to someone else in need of some solid basic furniture.
Continue reading Getting started with a small shop (or no shop)
