With the holidays just around the corner, it’s inevitably time to start thinking of Christmas gifts. As a woodworker and DIY enthusiast, I like to include some handmade gifts in the mix. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make 6 simple gifts you can make from wood. 6 Simple Gifts You
If you’re like me, you have limited space for tools in your workshop, aka garage. What can I say, I love tools, but my single car garage has gotten so cramped, I can barely move around, let alone find room to build something. I desperately need to do something to save some space and optimize
In today’s quick tip, I’m going to show you how to hang a mirror on plaster and lath walls. Hanging heavy objects on the wall can be tricky, and with all the options available out there, downright confusing. Even more so if you live in an old house with plaster walls. One foolproof method to
I recently got my hands on a Pro Lift router lift from Rockler and decided to build my own router table top. If you haven’t seen that yet, you can read it here or watch the video. In part 2 of this router table build, I tackled making the router cabinet for the base. Click
Years ago, I purchased a second hand router table thinking it would make it easier to make rabbets on long edges and faster to bevel those edges. I quickly however abandoned the router table after frustrating attempts to change the bits and poor results due to a router insert that was neither flat nor perfectly
Summer time means barbecuing and spending time outdoors with friends and family. Today I’m going to show you how to make easy DIY Yardzee lawn dice. It’s like Yahtzee, but with giant wood dice that you can play in the backyard or at the beach. You’ll find links to free dice template and printable Yardzee
This 4-sided walk-in closet island is packed with storage solutions. Two sides have open shelving to store 32+ pairs of shoes. The other 2 sides have sliding barn doors for “hidden storage”. You can make the barn door hardware yourself, and I’ll show you how. The overall dimension of this closet island are 32″ x
I found myself tired of the shadows and dimly-lit spaces around my shop, so I decided to upgrade my workshop lighting. This process could have been as easy as a trip to the big box store to grab the cheapest shop lights available, but that’s just not me. Since this is an investment and I’m going
So I signed up for season 5 of the Instagram Builder’s challenge @igbuilderschallenge. The challenge is to build a piece of furniture based off the plans they provide, but to modify the design and make it your own. This time around we were challenged to build an X brace coffee table with a shelf. Click
The tapering jig is one of the easier to build but often overlooked. What is a tapering jig exactly? To put is simply, it’s a sled that works with your table saw to make rip cuts on an angle. It can be used to add a taper to furniture legs, cut plywood on an angle,
I’ve had a pile of reclaimed wood sitting up on my lumber rack for about a year now waiting for that perfect project. I wanted to build something with this old tongue and groove barn wood that would keep with the spirit, so I designed some plans for an antique wooden storage chest. Unfortunately the
When I think of woodworking jigs, my mind usually goes straight to jigs used for the table saw. But what about the drill press? The drill press has much to offer but always seems to be neglected in my shop due to complicated and lengthy set up. That all changed when I made a drill
This DIY wood chandelier has a story, but I’ll spare you the details and just tell you this. I wanted to create a project that required several half lap joints to put my half lap joint method to the test. Well, let me tell you, if you want to practice woodworking joints, a homemade wooden
If you’ve ever tried to cut a half lap joint and been frustrated with the results, welcome to the club. Up until now my lap joints were pretty much hit and miss. Sometimes perfectly flush, other times loose or cut too deep. I grew tired of the inconsistency and decided there must be a better
Looking for a perfect last minute gift idea? DIY wood coasters are fast and easy to make using scrap wood, and make the perfect DIY gift! Unlike cutting boards, you can use any type of wood, as long as you coat your wooden coasters with poly. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to make
If you’re looking for a cool DIY gift, a magnetic bottle opener is a unique gift that is really easy to make! The cool part is using hidden high power magnets that catch the caps as they fall. Uncle Lou will think it’s magic! Watch the video tutorial or read on! Click here to SUBSCRIBE to
With the holidays just around the corner, a homemade cutting board can be a great gift to make for family and friends. You can make them as simple or over-the-top as you want, using exotic colorful woods with grain worth drooling over. You can make end grain boards, add a juice grove or even make
In my last build, I made a really large wood picture frame with splines and I thought I’d share how I made a super simple corner clamping jig to clamp and align the corners during the glue up process. Watch the 2 minute video or read on! Click here to SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel for more DIY
When I first bought my hundred year old house through an estate sale, I inherited of a painting that had been created by the previous owner who had lived there for over 40 years. I decided it was about time that I made a decent frame to hang this piece of history on the wall.
This project began with me wanting to make a picture frame. I was doing some research on how I wanted to reinforce the mitered corner joints and that’s when I realized something. The corner splines I often see people use on decorative boxes and picture frames aren’t just decorative. They actually make the mitered joint
