I've wanted to build a birdhouse for a while. I even bought plans for one, but never got around to using them.

Then I came across someone selling wooden crates that had been used for 155 mm artillery ammunition.

Living in Ukraine, unfortunately, things connected to war are never very far away.

I thought it would be nice to give one of those boxes a completely different purpose.

Something that once carried ammunition might now become a home for birds.

Table I built, got some inspiration from a fellow redditor and internet. Still very much a beginners so lots could have gone better, but it’s solid.

The top is bolted on, so it can be removed. This is because it is a very heavy piece to move otherwise.

Quite happy with most of it, but the bearer between the legs did not work out too well. It is a mortise and tenon, but I did not get it to sit well in there as I had no clamps that length, and didn’t think to use ratchet straps at the time. In the end I threw some screws on there to, and plugged the holes.

No finish on it yet, but I will likely oil it. It is macrocarpa so i can just leave it to weather and it’ll go nice and grey. I tried to leave some of the rough sawn marks on there where I could to give it a bit of character.

Next step is matching benches.

I'm using some broken down pallet wood to make some stands for my patio. They are strictly structural, they don't need to look pretty or anything.

Is there any non-cosmetic reason to sand them down? Like, they are dirty and had been exposed to nature before i got them...

Started woodworking around 2 months ago, in that time I've built two workbenches, a stepstool, 2 garden benchs and tried my hand at a live edge end table. I've learnt a lot with these simple builds and I can't wait to get started on some more detailed projects.

Guys,
I really need some help to pick a miter saw.

Don’t need a beefy 12 inch saw. Something portable and lightweight.

Narrowed it down to 3 options.
1. Dewalt 20V MAX XR Lithium-Ion Cordless 10 in. Double Bevel Miter Saw $399
2. Makita 15 Amp 10 in. Corded Compact Single Bevel Compound Miter Saw $369
3. M18 FUEL 18V 10 in. Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw $599 ( have to wait for a deal)

I am already invested in m18 battery system.

I do have a table saw and circular saw. But i struggle to cut clean miters and bevels consistently on all pieces for the project.

What would you recommend?

I don’t want the sliders that extend in the back. I want it as compact as possible.

Context: I am just a diyer. I do built a lot of stuff. Recently built entire fence around my house. Will add a photo of that.
I built work benches, closets, side tables, dressers

I’m building an outdoor teak table and I’m considering adding these splines above the boards running laterally underneath. I think it adds a nice design element but I’m concerned about wood movement. What do you all say?

Needing to cut an 10 1/2 Inch thick laminated 2x4’s for a project I’m working on. What tool would be needed for this?

I’ve got an old Victorian house that needs a lot of work. I’m fairly new to DIY, especially woodworking,but I wanted to build something in the alcoves either side of the fireplace. I made the cupboard pictured and then made the counter top out of ash. I really struggled to scribe it accurately though. The biggest gap is probably 5-6mm. There are plenty of imperfections in the entire build but overall I am happy enough with my efforts. What’re some good ways to hide the gaps? Just wood filler? I’m worried it will crack and wont match up with the wood colour.

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos on how to scribe but if anyone has some recommendations I’d love to hear them becuase I have to do the other alcove unit next week and i’m dreading it!

So Im making a coffee table with this live edge as a middle shelf, I plan to stabilize any holes with epoxy but otherwise I just want to clean up the live edge and make sure it remains sturdy. This is my first time working with live edge so Im not really sure what is safe to keep.

Im not sure what to remove, I cleared out some bug holes and used a wire brush attachment on my drill to do a lot of cleaning but I noticed there are some very soft spots where the brush dug deep. These sections seem stable, but are there slightly rotten and thats why they are soft? Should these sections be removed or are they safe to keep on there?

Thanks!

Hello handsomes. If you do not mind a question, what do you call this metal latch? The handle turns to raise and lower that metal cylinder

How would you mount this top? The top is 1.75" x 45".

My initial plan was to half lap two \~36" x \~5" x 8/4 oak and cut a criss crossing dado into the top of the pedestal.

I could also do same approach, but with 8.5" wide boards and just secure them on top of the pedestal, leaving the top section intact.

I could weld an X using C-channel and conceal in the top.

My concerns are taking away too much meat from the top 2" section, allowing for expansion in the brace (no glue? Slots? Larger pilot holes?), and screwing into the end grain top. Would love to see how y'all would tackle this.

Oh and there will probably be a 4 and 6 year old trying to learn what leverage is.

I found a ~1 - 1.2 inch diameter young sugar maple in my yard that was bent over with no leaves. Seemed to be dead or dying with roots still in the ground. About midway up the trunk I cut out a nice 5 foot length to turn into a walking stick!

I already debarked and sanded the stick (keeping the knots and natural shape) when I learned I should season the wood before applying any treatment or stain. How long should I wait for it to effectively dry? I’d prefer using it before winter but from the research I’ve done I might have to wait several months?

I’m new to woodworking concepts so I’ll take any tips you’ve got about treating it too!

What are some of the best programs or applications for designing and planning your projects? Are there any good free options?

I'm a very beginner woodworker and im working on the Rex Krueger Travelers Workbench. Things have been relatively smooth until I needed to use a 1 1/4 inch spade bit to drill the leg mortises. The bit really struggles to cut in both pine and red oak. It seems to kind of grind the wood smooth without cutting much. Another post with a similar issue recommended more force and a stronger drill. This sort of worked but took a lot of time, really heavy force, and produced a lot of smoke and heat.

I'll attach photos of the drills, holes, and the bit itself. My guess from looking at it is that the bit is dull out of the package but I've never used one before. Any help is much appreciated

First time building a cabinet… just needs hinges installed to be complete! Pretty happy with how it turned out. Currently shimmed with 3/32” shims (I made the doors slightly large and scribed them). Made from 3/4” ply, 1/4” ply for doors, and s4s poplar. Only woodworking experience I have is installing new trim in my house, made new door/window casings, repairing a deck, and building a router table for this project. But I have a lot of previous metal fabrication/welding experience.

Built this with a miter saw, tack saw with foam insulation board on the ground, trim router on my homemade router table, and pocket hole screws. Wanting to eventually work up to be able to build inset white oak cabinets for my kitchen. Wanting to get a decent table saw, bigger router, and make a miter saw station for more accuracy and repeatability for the kitchen cabinets. If anyone has suggestions for a budget friendly table saw and router feel free to let me know! I’d like to be able to run a dado stack.

Lmk if you have any tips, tricks, or tool suggestions to help me make higher quality cabinets. Oh and for the kitchen cabinets, I will build individual boxes so I don’t have to have a shared plywood wall so I don’t have issues with mounting hinges or drawer slides, which is something I learned with this project.

This solid walnut table is available for free near me, but one of the legs is broken off. From the picture it looks to be a clean break at a joint.

I was thinking this could be fixed with a dowel and glue as well as sanding down any overhang from slight misallignment.

My question would be, whether a fix like this would be likely to hold, and if it is likely for an absolute beginner to produce anything close to seamless.

Also open to suggestions on projects that could be done with the wood from the table, should a repair prove too difficult.

I have to cut this shape from this cedar wood plank. I’m very very new to woodworking, so I don’t really know which way would it be stronger. I’m thinking there might be some difference due to de direction of the grain. So, is it better the green way or the red way?

Thank you all!

Hey everyone, I am not a woodworker. The hobby seems cool though, and I've always loved seeing content on Reddit or tiktok. I want to keep Christmas costs pretty low this year, and the idea I've had would be to hand carve small animal trinkets/totems.

I have a big family, so the plan is 9 animals in total. For size I'm thinking no more than 4 inches tall. I would need to buy woodcarving tools, wood, and oil to finish it.

Is this a good idea or am I going to go way over budget, waste a bunch of time trying and failing to carve animals, and then give up and buy normal gifts last minute?

Hello everyone! I'm new to woodworking and just bought material to get started on a small l-desk and was hoping someone might be able to help with creating a plan with me.

-Cheers!

Working on a project and I want to stain just the edges black. I tried using painting tape to mask off the top and bottom and had the best luck with Osmo PolyX Tint but it still bled through. I also tried India Ink, which gives me the color I want, but that was the worst result.

My next though was to mask off the edge, spray something quick drying like lacquer or shellac on the top and bottom and then remove the masking and stain the edge knowing I will wipe off and sand the top and bottom later.

Any other ideas to try? Due to the bevel doing a stained edge banding might not work.

Thanks

I'm a beginner and I've been practicing doing kitchen utensils. I brought in a batch of willow and birch (about 2 years old). And I only noticed after applying oil (linseed) that they all have these grey-ish stains. I assume its some fungi since this is on the inside of the wood and not the discoloured sun-tanned version. Does anyone happen to know what it is? Is it still safe to use?

I apologize if any of you have already seen this. Last year I designed and built this room for my wife. Never attempted anything like this before. Learned a lot, made a bunch of mistakes (many of which are still visible), had a blast. Currently trying to drum up motivation to work on some other rooms.

I posted it a few places last year, but I just now remembered I had compiled everything into a detailed photo album that I thought might be interesting to some of you looking to tackle a similar project.

Part 1: https://imgur.com/a/library-pt-1-YofOqft

Part 2: https://imgur.com/a/library-pt-2-RjCcMju

Thanks for looking. Always available to answer questions!