I like woodworking. I won't say I am good at it, but I enjoy the process. I put my earbuds in and listen to music while creating wood projects. I began w/breaking down pallets that I picked up for free and made things out of them. Signs, planters, tables, jewelry hangers,bookcases, ottomans, storage benches for the deck and pool, picture frames, etc. I forget what it is called, but I made my daughter a shoe organizer for the foot of her bed that is covered w/fabric and she and her husband can sit on if they want. I thought it was cool to take away someone else's trash and create something useful and attractive.

I still do some of that, but I don't have as much time as I used to. I have also added working in w/some expensive wood. I'm really into making tables right now. Some w/aprons and some w/out. I am about to start a series of small end tables. Around 24" inches in height w/about a 24" inch table top. Give and take for variety. I have a guy who wants me to make them for his furnished apartments. In the past, I have used kerf mount corner braces for tables and made my own triangular wooden corner braces to go w/aprons. I have used surface plates, wooden mounting plates, hanger bolts and threaded inserts, and cleats for tables w/out aprons.

I have some ideas on which of these works best, but I thought it would be good to ask you guys if you had any tips that you would like to share w/the community.

I forgot to add that I have a really, really old biscuit joiner that was once the bomb. They went out of style once all the great glues came out. But, I started using mine again after years of non-use because I like using it to help w/alignment of the legs and the skirts. Alignment can be tricky at times and the biscuit joiner helps w/that.

Didn’t see this thread coming,lol

I’m not, but I admire those who work with wood. My father in law is a creative genius with wood. Has the saws and all that, but his best attribute is he’s very adept at imagining a finished piece and than he just makes it happen. He carves a lot, made our coffee table in fact.

So in 2 lines I never pictured you as the guy who wears earbuds, and 2ndly I never pictured you as the guy who picks up pallets for free.
Furniture?
The Early Hungarian cabinet type.

Not sure how to respond to any of that...???

I have a couple biscuit joiners. One is an old, cheap Craftsman and the other is a really nice Porter Cable that I inherited from my father. Biscuits, glue and and pipe clamps FTW if you have to join boards.

Big fan of pipe clamps. I went to Lowes a while back and bought black steel pipes that are often used for gas lines and the like. Some people prefer galvanized, but I clean the black pipes up and I prefer them. Lowes and Home Depot cut them for free. They will thread them, as well. I then use the Bessy pipe clamp fixtures and only one side of the actual pipe needs threaded. I have all kinds of different lengths. Clamps are expensive and I have a lot of them, but for longer projects, I really like using the pipe clamps because they are a lot cheaper to make and also, the Bessy clamps elevate the project. They are great for the items are 4 feet or longer, such as the outdoor storage boxes and my daughter's bench. They also came in handy when I made a platform for our washer and dryer. We had bought a new set that was front loading. I looked at the prices of the platforms and they were freaking outrageous. I used two by fours and thick plywood to assemble a two-tiered platform because I read that would help distribute the weight. Looks way better than the store bought platforms and was a helluva lot cheaper to make rather than buy.

To answer your original post, I worked at a cabinet shop in high school. The business was a new furniture store (typical stuff, not homemade) and sold floor covering and curtains. We also made custom cabinets for kitchens and baths, but I never was part of the build. I finished them. I stained, sealed, lacquered them etc. I also would attach doors and other hardware like drawer slides. I would not consider myself a woodworker but can handle jobs like window and door trim.

The summer after my first year of college (summer 1980) I stayed late a couple nights and made my wife a homemade jewelry box. IT was pretty lame, with a couple drawers and a mirror in the lid. She still has it but doesn't like jewelry much. She still likes because I took the time to make it, but honestly, if I were a HS shop teacher, I might be generous and give it a C.

I always thought that homemade gifts carries much more sentiment than a store bought gift. Also, I think staining wood is an art in and of itself.

I bought a bunch of cheap pipe clamp ends from Harbor Freight and got a deal on some 24, 36 and 48 in. black pipe and I made a wall rack to hang them on. Truth be told, I haven't touched my woodworking stuff since my kid became involved in sports. He's 24 now, lol. I've got a Grizzly table saw, a nice drill press, router table, and a woodworking bench I made from some plans by Norm from This Old House...all sitting unused in my basement. Just another reminder that I have too many expensive hobbies.

I hear you. I got into it heavily after I retired from teaching. Kids are grown and out of the house. I got away from it again after we opened the business. I miss wood working and I really wanna sell the home improvement business and just keep a small clientele for the tutoring business. I really miss making things. The creative juices are good for my brain and soul.

I dabble in it. I built 2 6 shelf pipe supported shelving assemblies that sit in the family room on either side of the fireplace. I used 8/4 cherry, sanded to 400 grit, stained caramel and polyurethane finish. I will say they are beautiful, and everyone that’s sees them has been impressed. The bottom shelves are 15 1/2 inch with the rest 11 1/2 inch. The stereo gear including turntables need a home. They are abut 62 inches wide and just over 8 feet high. That took some time.

I took some of the leftover cherry and built 2 matching record racks a couple years later. They are similar to the open crate Peaches design, but with an open front. The end pieces have mitered corners.

This year, I built 3 more record racks using the same design.

Generic tools, small 10 inch dewalt table saw, miter jigs, drill, pipe clamps, sanders, hand and belt. I borrowed a friends biscuit cutter last time, and will probably buy one if that project comes along. There is a craftsman router in a box that has not been used in 30 years.

I am tempted to buy a planer and band saw. My dream is to build a new dining room table.

My wife is supportive of my hobby and probably could keep me busy for several years.

My hesitancy is I do not like sanding.

I have done some woodworking, none of it very exotic, and much of it not so good. Hats off to those who can do it well. I really love well done work and admire the craftsmanship. Most of my success has been stripping antiques for our house.

One of my loves for years has been the Shakers and especially their wood skills. I can highly recommend studying their furniture, dimensions, designs, and finishes. I owned three publications that collected their shop drawings and tips with the dimensions. They used dovetails and other joinery. I loaned the books to a friend. They must have been very good, and I say this because none of them found their way back home. You seem to speak about your projects with a connection beyond factory grind and production. As I studied these folks and saw their settlements and efforts, I was taken by the honesty in their work as their worship, hands to work and hearts to God. The simple symmetry just holds my eye. I really enjoy working in cherry most of all.
What a pleasant break this thread has proven itself to be. Success, pal!

I really have a lot of respect for people who are so good at woodworking. My father-in-law, my wife's step-father, didn't have a HS education, but he was a genius w/math and he would look at something and create masterpieces. Great guy who was the salt of the earth.

I'm not very good. It takes me forever to complete a project. It's trial and error for me. Takes me way too long to figure out details. I refuse to work off of a plan because that is cheating. I do look for some tips on YouTube, though. I usually go into stores and take pictures of things I like and then use the pic as a model of what I want to create. I'm just so slow. This may not make sense, but I do put a lot of love into my projects. It's like a part of me is going into the finished piece. My wife claims it takes me so long because I need things perfect and that I'm anal about things like that. LOL.......she is probably right.

I wish I was better and worked faster. I will say that it's much easier the second and third times you make something. For example, my daughter wanted me to make her a jewelry organizer. I did not know what it was and she had to show me pictures. It came out pretty good and two of her friends asked me to make them one after they saw hers. It definitely went faster the second and third times.

I dabble, but nowhere near as often as I'd like. In fact, I haven't had the opportunity to even try any projects for almost two years. I moved about 18 months ago and my shop still isn't set back up, but as part of getting the new place, I did treat myself by buying a sawmill so that I can make my own lumber (can handle logs up to 30" diameter by 16' long). I'll be using that to build my new barn next year... I just need to go out in the woods and pull down a dozen or two Ash trees for the posts and beams. I currently have white oak, maple, ash, and black cherry logs waiting to be milled.

As for woodworking projects, to me, it's the perfect way to lose myself in something. Shut out the world and get covered in saw dust. The projects I'm looking forward to most are making some outdoor patio furniture from the white oak, making all new interior doors from the maple, and maybe a new dresser from the cherry but with spalted hackberry for the drawer faces.

My wife is a perfectionist, to a fault.'

Put a small deck in the front of our house, years ago. Had a railing - with spindles. I intentionally put one of the spindles in upside down. I assembled the railing in my barn. She never said anything, but I know it drove her mad.

Years later, we tore that deck and railing out and installed a composite deck in place of the wood deck. I did all of the ground work, got to where I was just cutting the composite boards to length in order to install them with the "hidden" method - the screws can't be seen.

She asked if she could help. I said no. She helped anyway, much to my chagrin. I had many of the boards laid out, not fastened. Her "This one isn't straight." That's because I'm not screwing that one in, I'm doing THIS board, not that one. That one will be straight when I get THIS one done. Here, take the screw gun. Put the placers in place like this, I'll align the next board, and you screw it in. No, hon, you didn't put the placers in like I told you.........."

Many, many years ago, the back porch on my house was literally falling apart. My back was already a mess at this point, but my next dooor neighbor did construction/plumbing/electrical work for a living, and also did handyman work. He gave me a price I could not refuse to tear down the porch that was falling apart, and to build a deck for me. When I first bought my house, I had bought a lot of tools, including a really nice router. As he was working, he saw the routser, and asked, "Why don't you run some of the boards through your router, and put nice edges on them before I start tearing everthing down. I did some each day, until my back gave out. It really did make things look nicer. I cut the boards, and put a nice end cut on the planters I made, cut the supports, and so forth. It did turn out well. Now, many years later, I have to tear down the surface of the deck so it can be resealed. I bought caps for all of the posts. I am actually on the 2nd sets. Th pre made ones just don't hold up. If I can get my back to cooperate, I am going to try to cut some appropriately sized wood for the caps, and router a nice patern into them. Unfortunately, that is about the extent of my carpentry/woodworking ability I have left.

I would love to put in "barn doors" in the upstairs bedrooms, but my back just won't do that.

I haven't done much since that freak splinter damn near cost me my hand. Mostly carving and turning bowls. My wife wants me to build her a 9' farmhouse table out of walnut. But for those familiar with the cost of wood right now, you will understand that requires a brinks truck.