I'll second that thought. Would be nice to have a ~hobbies.woodworking going. I'm currently building a ~100 ft fence from some reclaimed wood I found on the cheap. Never built a fence before but...
I'm currently building a ~100 ft fence from some reclaimed wood I found on the cheap. Never built a fence before but damn is it time consuming. Have built large planter boxes and a ton of indoor projects before (like beds and tables and miscellaneous furniture), but this heat is killing me right now as I try to get all the boards up on this fence.
Two months! Wow. I’m hoping to finish by the end of the month. There were like 22 or so fence posts in total but luckily I had an electric auger to use. The only ones that were really annoying...
Two months! Wow. I’m hoping to finish by the end of the month. There were like 22 or so fence posts in total but luckily I had an electric auger to use. The only ones that were really annoying were the two that were by a tree and had roots all over, and then the three that were next to a pipe so had to be dug manually and carefully. But yeah I’m definitely looking forward to this being over. I can relate to the procrastination part since that’s literally what I’m doing right now instead of going outside to cut more boards.
Building and installing fences (in the summer no less) has definitely jumped high up on my list of things that I would never want to do for a living, along with roofing, installing floors, and major landscaping.
Been woodworking on and off for many years, but I've been getting more serious about it recently. Mostly hand tools, but still use power tools for milling (I'm not a complete masochist lol). Built...
Been woodworking on and off for many years, but I've been getting more serious about it recently. Mostly hand tools, but still use power tools for milling (I'm not a complete masochist lol). Built a Nicholson bench two years ago and currently working on a moxon bench-on-bench to compliment it. Also slowly working on replacing most of our furniture with pieces I've made, but that's a slow and expensive process.
I've been missing /r/woodworking since RIF died. Would love a new source for discussion and inspiration.
Been a hobby woodworker for a couple years. Have a garage shop with everything except a jointer and have done cheap house built-ins, shop furniture, raised garden beds and gift stuff like floating...
Been a hobby woodworker for a couple years. Have a garage shop with everything except a jointer and have done cheap house built-ins, shop furniture, raised garden beds and gift stuff like floating frames or cutting boards.
Still watch Cosman or Sellers to fall asleep. Maybe some of the newer folks (too many to list but happy to share!).
Currently on pause for a bit to enjoy summer because there’s only so much time after work but curious what others are working on?
Also curious if anyone has a favorite jig/sled. For me it would be either my Rockler zero-clearance sled or a quick spline jig that I can’t stop using because contrasting splines look so good.
Big on safety and happy to talk safety if that’s more interesting. I vow to never have a major accident and always keep the fear of the sharp and loud stuff.
As far as jigs, I've got my own spline jig I made for the exact reason, love the contrast on the corners. My favorite right now is the Rockler tapering jig. I use it to add shape to table or chair...
As far as jigs, I've got my own spline jig I made for the exact reason, love the contrast on the corners. My favorite right now is the Rockler tapering jig. I use it to add shape to table or chair legs. Just used it to taper the inside of some skinny table legs on two sides to break the straight shape.
Safety is a big thing for me too! Can't be to safe in the shop!
I'm a casual woodworker. I used to build a lot of furniture, but time and materials cost hasn't really allowed me to do that lately. So most of my woodworking has either random improvements at...
I'm a casual woodworker. I used to build a lot of furniture, but time and materials cost hasn't really allowed me to do that lately. So most of my woodworking has either random improvements at home, most recently did a new railing system for my stairs. I have a large deck to redo coming soon (but will most likely use a composite material for the top boards). My whole garage is dedicated to being a wood shop.
I make wooden jewellery for money, use wood for knife scales and so on also for money (and fun) and also do various wood-things for fun. Not really what you'd call a fine joiner (I've never cut a...
I make wooden jewellery for money, use wood for knife scales and so on also for money (and fun) and also do various wood-things for fun. Not really what you'd call a fine joiner (I've never cut a dovetail, at least not successfully!), but I've made a few bits of furniture and pretty things for around the house, as well as throwing up a couple of buildings.
My workshop is increasingly metal focussed these days but I still have a one big wood tool left, the bandsaw. Most of my wood stuff is done with hand-held power tools and actual handtools.
I've been building a small shop in my backyard. I've been wood working in my garage for a long time and my wife wants me out so she can park her car inside. I'm almost done, last thing to do is...
I've been building a small shop in my backyard. I've been wood working in my garage for a long time and my wife wants me out so she can park her car inside.
I'm almost done, last thing to do is complete the front door.
I've been a woodworker most of my life. My shop is tiny, but well equipped at this stage. I have built furniture for myself and others, mostly in modern styles. One of my more recent projects was...
I've been a woodworker most of my life. My shop is tiny, but well equipped at this stage. I have built furniture for myself and others, mostly in modern styles.
One of my more recent projects was replacing my kitchen cabinet countertops with solid wood made of laminated strips of red oak. I oriented the wood so that it would expand and contract across its thickness, rather than the width, and this makes for a much more stable slab style countertop. Since these turned out well, I used the same technique to make a new top for my bay window seat. This time I used scraps of wood I had in the shop that had accumulated over the years, so it has seven different types of wood. I used waterproof glue for all of them and several layers of varnish on top.
Price of wood is discouraging these days, and I find myself less inclined to do any woodworking.
I’m a sculptural woodworker, mostly making small housewares. Apprenticed for a couple of years under someone who now makes large-scale sculptural furniture pieces, but I never got into the...
I’m a sculptural woodworker, mostly making small housewares. Apprenticed for a couple of years under someone who now makes large-scale sculptural furniture pieces, but I never got into the furniture side of things.
Woodworking has been relegated to hobby status for the past few years. I realized after working production-style that it was becoming less and less of an “escape” and I was no longer enjoying my time in the shop. As a hobbyist, I’ve reclaimed a bit of that magic :)
I've had a bunch of equipment sitting around I picked up from both my Dad and my Grandfather, but I've only just recently started dabbling with woodworking, haven't lost any fingers yet either. My...
I've had a bunch of equipment sitting around I picked up from both my Dad and my Grandfather, but I've only just recently started dabbling with woodworking, haven't lost any fingers yet either. My Grandfather was really big into it and did some great carvings that I still have and will pass down to my kids, hoping to have some works of my own I can pass down as well.
My dad did a lot of hobby woodworking - I picked up a little bit here and there and can manage a decent bit of diy, and my brother does a fair bit of custom furniture, including as commission...
My dad did a lot of hobby woodworking - I picked up a little bit here and there and can manage a decent bit of diy, and my brother does a fair bit of custom furniture, including as commission work. This is some of his work.
It's a hobby I periodically get really into for a while and then get tired of. My last couple of projects were a cat tree and a set of shelves for a bathroom. I would love to do a desk but I don't...
It's a hobby I periodically get really into for a while and then get tired of. My last couple of projects were a cat tree and a set of shelves for a bathroom.
I would love to do a desk but I don't currently have enough of a clue what I want to even start planning that project.
Hey 👋. I've gotten busy in the last year and been unable to really do any large projects but the biggest project I've built is a large (6'x3') desk for myself. I'd love to talk shop with folks,...
Hey 👋. I've gotten busy in the last year and been unable to really do any large projects but the biggest project I've built is a large (6'x3') desk for myself. I'd love to talk shop with folks, especially finishes.
My desk is fairly similar. The tabletop itself is solid Baltic Birch plywood, which I valued for both its strength and its lack of movement (as it holds together the rest of the design.) Instead...
My desk is fairly similar. The tabletop itself is solid Baltic Birch plywood, which I valued for both its strength and its lack of movement (as it holds together the rest of the design.) Instead of having angled legs, I opted for straight legs made of oak which I then used a jigsaw to carve a slight curve into the feet. I used pocket hole joinery to adhere the aprons to the tabletop and the legs to the aprons, then applied glue atop the legs so they glued onto the tabletop.
Rather than going for a natural wood finish, I opted for a dark blue top and white table legs, which went better with our house paint. To do that I ended up doing 3 coats of paint on the tabletop, while the legs required 3 coats of primer and 3 more coats of paint as they were white. I then adhered 3 layers of a poly finish on the entire thing because I planned on using the desk to eat and drink. I never added a cross block of wood to hold the legs together because I joined the legs at the top to the aprons and I rely on the Baltic Birch to prevent movement.
Happy to send pictures or go into more detail about the finishes if you'd like!
I finished my first woodworking adventure this past weekend! Made a workbench using plans from a secondhand DIY manual published in 1983. https://i.imgur.com/karvKhh.jpg Planning to apply some...
I finished my first woodworking adventure this past weekend! Made a workbench using plans from a secondhand DIY manual published in 1983.
Planning to apply some coats of water-based polyurethane (Endurovar II) to it this coming weekend.
Anyone got helpful beginner tips on that front? Specifically, I'm a bit uncertain about how far underneath the shelf I should be coating (I'm thinking just to the underside of the rails?), and how aggressively I should ventilate (garage has A/C + fan; I can crack the garage door too but I'm worried about excessive heat/humidity and possibility of bugs landing on the wet coating).
You should generally coat the whole thing evenly if you're going to apply any sort of finish that seals off moisture. If you don't, it can absorb moisture unevenly and warp over time.
You should generally coat the whole thing evenly if you're going to apply any sort of finish that seals off moisture. If you don't, it can absorb moisture unevenly and warp over time.
Thanks! Any practical advice for coating the underside then? I assume I should prop the legs up on something stable, get down under both shelves on my back, and do the undersides first for each...
Thanks! Any practical advice for coating the underside then?
I assume I should prop the legs up on something stable, get down under both shelves on my back, and do the undersides first for each coat, to minimize impact to impact of the finish dripping onto the bottom shelf or running down the legs?
Thin coats are less drippy, obviously. If it's not too heavy, you can always flip it and do the bottoms separately. If I'm going to do this, I do the bottoms first, so that I don't have to worry...
Thin coats are less drippy, obviously.
If it's not too heavy, you can always flip it and do the bottoms separately. If I'm going to do this, I do the bottoms first, so that I don't have to worry about protecting the finish on the top.
I've made some raised beds, wicking beds and some basic stuff. Every time I want to get more serious something always happens and our garage fills up which puts me on hold, lol. (Usually its a...
I've made some raised beds, wicking beds and some basic stuff. Every time I want to get more serious something always happens and our garage fills up which puts me on hold, lol. (Usually its a relative moving and needs "temp" storage taht clears out like 4-5 months later.
I got Pinterest just to pin wook working things I want to do/try.
Mediocre woodworker here. I was just looking here yesterday to see if there was a community. Having ~hobbies.woodworking would be great for inspiration and project discussion.
Mediocre woodworker here. I was just looking here yesterday to see if there was a community.
Having ~hobbies.woodworking would be great for inspiration and project discussion.
Hobby woodworker here. I'm not doing dovetails or things specific to intricate furniture. My general work involves screws, bolts, nails, and things that I need around the house. Workbenches are...
Hobby woodworker here. I'm not doing dovetails or things specific to intricate furniture. My general work involves screws, bolts, nails, and things that I need around the house. Workbenches are pretty fun to make. I do make wooden arrows, usually involving rasps and files, so that's where I get precise and intricate. I'd like to think that qualifies as a form of woodworking, if niche.
I'll second that thought. Would be nice to have a ~hobbies.woodworking going.
I'm currently building a ~100 ft fence from some reclaimed wood I found on the cheap. Never built a fence before but damn is it time consuming. Have built large planter boxes and a ton of indoor projects before (like beds and tables and miscellaneous furniture), but this heat is killing me right now as I try to get all the boards up on this fence.
That's what I was thinking a woodworking section would be awesome!
Two months! Wow. I’m hoping to finish by the end of the month. There were like 22 or so fence posts in total but luckily I had an electric auger to use. The only ones that were really annoying were the two that were by a tree and had roots all over, and then the three that were next to a pipe so had to be dug manually and carefully. But yeah I’m definitely looking forward to this being over. I can relate to the procrastination part since that’s literally what I’m doing right now instead of going outside to cut more boards.
Building and installing fences (in the summer no less) has definitely jumped high up on my list of things that I would never want to do for a living, along with roofing, installing floors, and major landscaping.
Been woodworking on and off for many years, but I've been getting more serious about it recently. Mostly hand tools, but still use power tools for milling (I'm not a complete masochist lol). Built a Nicholson bench two years ago and currently working on a moxon bench-on-bench to compliment it. Also slowly working on replacing most of our furniture with pieces I've made, but that's a slow and expensive process.
I've been missing /r/woodworking since RIF died. Would love a new source for discussion and inspiration.
Been a hobby woodworker for a couple years. Have a garage shop with everything except a jointer and have done cheap house built-ins, shop furniture, raised garden beds and gift stuff like floating frames or cutting boards.
Still watch Cosman or Sellers to fall asleep. Maybe some of the newer folks (too many to list but happy to share!).
Currently on pause for a bit to enjoy summer because there’s only so much time after work but curious what others are working on?
Also curious if anyone has a favorite jig/sled. For me it would be either my Rockler zero-clearance sled or a quick spline jig that I can’t stop using because contrasting splines look so good.
Big on safety and happy to talk safety if that’s more interesting. I vow to never have a major accident and always keep the fear of the sharp and loud stuff.
As far as jigs, I've got my own spline jig I made for the exact reason, love the contrast on the corners. My favorite right now is the Rockler tapering jig. I use it to add shape to table or chair legs. Just used it to taper the inside of some skinny table legs on two sides to break the straight shape.
Safety is a big thing for me too! Can't be to safe in the shop!
I'm a casual woodworker. I used to build a lot of furniture, but time and materials cost hasn't really allowed me to do that lately. So most of my woodworking has either random improvements at home, most recently did a new railing system for my stairs. I have a large deck to redo coming soon (but will most likely use a composite material for the top boards). My whole garage is dedicated to being a wood shop.
I make wooden jewellery for money, use wood for knife scales and so on also for money (and fun) and also do various wood-things for fun. Not really what you'd call a fine joiner (I've never cut a dovetail, at least not successfully!), but I've made a few bits of furniture and pretty things for around the house, as well as throwing up a couple of buildings.
My workshop is increasingly metal focussed these days but I still have a one big wood tool left, the bandsaw. Most of my wood stuff is done with hand-held power tools and actual handtools.
I mostly do hobby wood carving with knives and chisels and sometimes make a box.
But still wanted to say hello!
It's not my hobby, but I like building stuff.
I'm pretty good at making stuff do stuff
I've been building a small shop in my backyard. I've been wood working in my garage for a long time and my wife wants me out so she can park her car inside.
I'm almost done, last thing to do is complete the front door.
I've been a woodworker most of my life. My shop is tiny, but well equipped at this stage. I have built furniture for myself and others, mostly in modern styles.
One of my more recent projects was replacing my kitchen cabinet countertops with solid wood made of laminated strips of red oak. I oriented the wood so that it would expand and contract across its thickness, rather than the width, and this makes for a much more stable slab style countertop. Since these turned out well, I used the same technique to make a new top for my bay window seat. This time I used scraps of wood I had in the shop that had accumulated over the years, so it has seven different types of wood. I used waterproof glue for all of them and several layers of varnish on top.
Price of wood is discouraging these days, and I find myself less inclined to do any woodworking.
I’m a sculptural woodworker, mostly making small housewares. Apprenticed for a couple of years under someone who now makes large-scale sculptural furniture pieces, but I never got into the furniture side of things.
Woodworking has been relegated to hobby status for the past few years. I realized after working production-style that it was becoming less and less of an “escape” and I was no longer enjoying my time in the shop. As a hobbyist, I’ve reclaimed a bit of that magic :)
I've had a bunch of equipment sitting around I picked up from both my Dad and my Grandfather, but I've only just recently started dabbling with woodworking, haven't lost any fingers yet either. My Grandfather was really big into it and did some great carvings that I still have and will pass down to my kids, hoping to have some works of my own I can pass down as well.
My dad did a lot of hobby woodworking - I picked up a little bit here and there and can manage a decent bit of diy, and my brother does a fair bit of custom furniture, including as commission work. This is some of his work.
It's a hobby I periodically get really into for a while and then get tired of. My last couple of projects were a cat tree and a set of shelves for a bathroom.
I would love to do a desk but I don't currently have enough of a clue what I want to even start planning that project.
I've been building furniture and home projects for about 10 years now, love it when I have time. It would be great to see a community for this!
I frequently get halfway through a project and give up while leaving the garage a mess. That has to count.
Hey 👋. I've gotten busy in the last year and been unable to really do any large projects but the biggest project I've built is a large (6'x3') desk for myself. I'd love to talk shop with folks, especially finishes.
Tell me more about your desk. I'm currently collecting ideas for my own. I'm leaning towards something like Adrian Preda's cherry desk at the moment.
My desk is fairly similar. The tabletop itself is solid Baltic Birch plywood, which I valued for both its strength and its lack of movement (as it holds together the rest of the design.) Instead of having angled legs, I opted for straight legs made of oak which I then used a jigsaw to carve a slight curve into the feet. I used pocket hole joinery to adhere the aprons to the tabletop and the legs to the aprons, then applied glue atop the legs so they glued onto the tabletop.
Rather than going for a natural wood finish, I opted for a dark blue top and white table legs, which went better with our house paint. To do that I ended up doing 3 coats of paint on the tabletop, while the legs required 3 coats of primer and 3 more coats of paint as they were white. I then adhered 3 layers of a poly finish on the entire thing because I planned on using the desk to eat and drink. I never added a cross block of wood to hold the legs together because I joined the legs at the top to the aprons and I rely on the Baltic Birch to prevent movement.
Happy to send pictures or go into more detail about the finishes if you'd like!
I finished my first woodworking adventure this past weekend! Made a workbench using plans from a secondhand DIY manual published in 1983.
https://i.imgur.com/karvKhh.jpg
Planning to apply some coats of water-based polyurethane (Endurovar II) to it this coming weekend.
Anyone got helpful beginner tips on that front? Specifically, I'm a bit uncertain about how far underneath the shelf I should be coating (I'm thinking just to the underside of the rails?), and how aggressively I should ventilate (garage has A/C + fan; I can crack the garage door too but I'm worried about excessive heat/humidity and possibility of bugs landing on the wet coating).
You should generally coat the whole thing evenly if you're going to apply any sort of finish that seals off moisture. If you don't, it can absorb moisture unevenly and warp over time.
Thanks! Any practical advice for coating the underside then?
I assume I should prop the legs up on something stable, get down under both shelves on my back, and do the undersides first for each coat, to minimize impact to impact of the finish dripping onto the bottom shelf or running down the legs?
Thin coats are less drippy, obviously.
If it's not too heavy, you can always flip it and do the bottoms separately. If I'm going to do this, I do the bottoms first, so that I don't have to worry about protecting the finish on the top.
Doing the bottoms first is definitely the approach I'll take. Sincere thanks for the guidance!
I've made some raised beds, wicking beds and some basic stuff. Every time I want to get more serious something always happens and our garage fills up which puts me on hold, lol. (Usually its a relative moving and needs "temp" storage taht clears out like 4-5 months later.
I got Pinterest just to pin wook working things I want to do/try.
Mediocre woodworker here. I was just looking here yesterday to see if there was a community.
Having ~hobbies.woodworking would be great for inspiration and project discussion.
Hobby woodworker here. I'm not doing dovetails or things specific to intricate furniture. My general work involves screws, bolts, nails, and things that I need around the house. Workbenches are pretty fun to make. I do make wooden arrows, usually involving rasps and files, so that's where I get precise and intricate. I'd like to think that qualifies as a form of woodworking, if niche.