r/BeginnerWoodWorking

not quite filled up yet, but here it is.

Walnut I resawed and planed down. I also got to use Rubio for the first time.

I learned a lot from this. If I do something like it again, I will be cutting the dados before ripping the corresponding boards. I’m still building project step-by-step instead of thinking from the finish backwards.

Also, I can’t wait to get a good miter gauge with a micro adjust feature. That would’ve helped a ton.

I made these two Benches. My first project of this kind - tried to use the right techniques - what do you think?

I made this Judd Pergola table for our balcony in nyc. Was a pain to haul all the lumber up 5 flights of stairs and a pain to try and get stuff done between inclement weather but I learned a lot and not a bad first time building a table! It’s finished with teak oil.

Open to feedback about any of it because really all my building knowledge comes from framing when I was 18 and building plywood boxes with pocket holes so I’d love any advice!

Hey guys. Thought I'd share this wall art that I just finished. Made from pine pallets but used a native wood here in NZ called Red Pine or Rimu for the frame.

Hello everyone I just wanted to share this project with everyone, I just finished it this morning

My MIL asked if I could make her a stool that would make it easier to play with my daughter on the floor. I had taken down a tree for a friend and used my chainsaw / band saw to mill it into smaller pieces. I took a shot at drying it in the oven and realized I didn't have enough wood to make a more traditional stool and decided to cut smaller triangles and glue them together to make it. I definitely learned a few things along the way and even used a very small amount of epoxy to fill some cracks. All in all I'm pretty happy with the result but I'm curious what others thoughts are!

This is the first time my husband has ever called anything I built “sexy”.

Yes, when the stock bounced I stopped the saw. Anyway, this is a harvested piece of hornbeam, I planned two sides and cut the first side the sled, the other sides were cut with the fence (my sled is on only one side and it's too far from the blade, I made it from a very narrow slab)

When using the fence the stock bounced despite me using 2 push sticks and applying side and down pressure with my left stick.

My first table, I am overall happy with the result, although I would make several different design choices if I were to make this one again.

Last picture is lumber for gaming table v2.0 😁

I am making a large stained glass window and will need to build a frame for it soon. I have a circular saw, hand saw, drill, dremel, and various other small tools, but no table saw, router, or mitre saw. Is it a bad idea to try to use the dremel for the dado cut, then the circular saw for the 45° angles for rhe corners? I'm going for a rustic look so I don't want it to look too finished, but also don't want it to look like something a kid made.

It's 36" x 24", a stained glass-on-glass mosaic that will be over 20 lbs when finished (not including frame). I welcome any and all advice because I intend to hang it in front of my living room window and really don't want to destroy my house or window. My plan is to install some screw eye bolts in the joists and suspend from chains but if anyone has a better suggestion I'd love to hear that too.

3/4" plywood and pine face.

Tools used: drill, impact driver, countersink bit, circular saw, level, random orbital sander, corner cat finish sander, pull saw, Kreg jig, brad nailer, corner clamp

Next tool to purchase: track saw

Notes: ensure working platform is level

Im prepping to cut a 24x48 1/4” plywood sheet into 8” planks, i have had blowout issues in the past when home depot cuts them down and i have unusable edges. I’m hoping to do better with my 4” circular saw and a home made rig.

Question, how deep should i have my blade go down? Cut with the leading forward edge of the circle (1st pic) or the bottom (2nd pic)? Any youtube tutorials you followed and got good results please recommend. Thanks!

Making a Lenox Spice Village Shelf for my cousin out of reclaimed pallet wood.

This is still a work in progress. I still need to make some trim, fill in the brad nail holes and do a final sanding.

I ordered a router bit to make the trim so I'm just in waiting mode for it to arrive so I can make the trim and finish it up. She is wanting to paint it yellow to match her kitchen. Hopefully the router bit gets here before her birthday.

Hi everyone. Beginner from Russia here, working on a very tight budget. I made a classic mistake and now my thick pine slab is cupped.

The Setup:

Pine butcher block (800x800mm, 38mm thick). I used an 800W electric spray gun to apply 2 heavy coats of water-based acrylic varnish to the bottom side only. I thinned the varnish with about 30% water to get a "mirror" finish.

The Problem:

2 days later, the slab cupped 10mm (0.4") in the center. I disrupted the moisture balance by soaking one side with water-based finish while the top stayed dry.

Current Situation (Photo attached):

I placed the slab face-up on a flat table.

Put a layer of paper and plywood on top.

Added 20kg (44 lbs) of gym weights in the center.

Increased room humidity to 65%.

I just started this "press" and I'm not sure if 20kg is even close to enough for 38mm thick wood.

The "Print Shop" Advantage:

I work in a printing house. I have access to:

Two sheets of plywood (size of the table).

Massive stacks of paper (hundreds of kilograms). I can use these as a heavy press if my gym weights fail.

The Base (Photo attached):

I’m using a central pedestal base. The top mounting cross is only 500x500mm (20x20"). It’s not strong enough to "pull" the edges of an 800x800mm slab flat with screws. I MUST get it flat before mounting.

Questions:

Is 40kg enough for a 38mm thick slab, or should I go straight to the 300kg paper stacks?

Should I wipe the bare top side with a damp cloth now to speed up the counter-bending, or will it raise the grain too much before varnishing?

If I spray the top side with the same water-based varnish now, will the moisture "pull" it back naturally, or will it just lock the cup in place?

I have zero budget for clamps or new tools. Any "poor man's" advice from pro woodworkers would be life-saving!

I have this old wooden door (I changed for a more secure door), its solid hardwood but I don't know wich one. And I'm looking for ideas of what I can make with it and to identify the wood.

Its 4.5 cm thick

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Btw English isn't my mother language, so sorry for the grammar mistakes

started applying finish to my maple table. I've done 2 coats of Tung Oil Finish and just applied my first coat of Tung Oil Finish & Spar Urethane (got the recipe from workshop companion, I've used it before). After wiping the finish on with blue shop towels, there are some spots that appear blotchy or didn't stick.

what's up with this? Am I not applying enough finish? did I not sand even enough? It was all done up to 220. Are these just irregularities in the wood grain and those spots are just sucking it up more? Will it all even out as I do more coats?