WOODWORKING
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Q: I know it’s a good idea to pre-drill before nailing or screwing two pieces of wood together, but I can’t seem to g...
Wood is one of the most beautiful building materials, with its unique grain patterns and natural tones. Its soft, por...
Cracks, divots, holes, or rot can crop up on wooden surfaces due to ordinary wear-and-tear, accidents, and during do-...
Woodworking doesn’t have to be daunting! Most of these fun, novice-friendly projects use scrap lumber and require just basic tools and some simple instructions. T...
It's not news: You don’t need to have a huge backyard to enjoy greenery. The key is to embrace your vertical space, a...
‘Tis the season to celebrate your green thumb! If you enjoy afternoons tending colorful blooms, then you understand h...
The bathroom mirror is essential, but "essential" doesn't have to be synonymous with "boring. " Is yours plain and wi...
Whether you can't wind down without a book or you simply like to check your email on your phone before falling asleep...
Everyone knows the traditional handsaw, with its long, wide blade and sturdy handle. But not everyone knows there's m...
You've adorned every limb with baubles, tinsel, and ribbon, but what's a fully decorated tree if its base remains bar...
Keeping an organized home is no small task. Entryway clutter alone can be particularly overwhelming, as the space by ...
Wood joinery, as the term implies, refers to joining pieces of timber or lumber to create other structures. Crafting ...
While houseplants look simply lovely on a window ledge, the space available there can be fairly limiting—you might fi...
Ask any seasoned carpenter or DIYer what tools take up the most room in his or her toolbox, and the answer is probabl...
Whether you want to build a rustic bench, install trim molding, or plumb a new sink, odds are that you’ll need to cut...
Whether doing fine woodworking or tackling a kitchen or bathroom remodel, chances are you’ll need to create some curv...
Whether you’re hosting a party or relaxing at home, nothing sets an upbeat mood faster than loud, catchy music. Most ...
Dressers do a lot more than just hold our T-shirts and workout pants—they can also add character to the bedroom. If you just can’t find what you’re looking for in...
Sometimes, the kitchen is too small to prep a multi-course meal for friends or family. If only you had 12 square inch...
Pet parents know that there isn't ever a great place to store bulky bags of dry kibble. Closets are typically already...
No matter whether you live in a large house with an open-concept floor plan or a small condo wherein your living room...
Shipping pallets have all sorts of uses for do-it-yourselfers, but versatility isn't their only virtue. Additionally,...
Whether you’re a timber worker or you’re just interested in cutting your own firewood, it’s vital to maintain a profe...
Shopping for furniture can be a stressful experience. While some people can find the perfect "forever" piece in a furniture showroom, those with more eclectic tas...
Many homeowners strive for the lived-in look—the shabby chic, vintage-eclectic vibe touted by interior designers and ...
Wish that you had a relaxing moment in a camping hammock in your own backyard, but have nowhere to hang it? Rather th...
With the right furniture, you can turn your garden into an outdoor reprieve for rest and relaxation. But, unfortunate...
Are your neighbors so close that it feels like you practically share a backyard? There's no need to fence off your pr...
Decades ago, famed physicist Albert Einstein predicted that once the bees were gone, people would disappear, too. He ...
At its core, a door's construction is mostly the same; learn to build one, and you can fashion as many as your home h...
Whether you're accustomed to hosting the big barbecue or simply enjoy the occasional family dinner from the grill, yo...
The bathroom can be a nightmare to organize, with all of its towels, soap bottles, grooming supplies, and other toile...
Some lucky homeowners with enough property for a large plot of land to be dedicated garden space; for the rest of us,...
Don't toss all that scrap wood left over from your last DIY adventure! Instead, put it to good use building one of these fun and functional projects for your home.
Once you’ve managed to secure the necessary approvals for your renovation or construction project, it's time for the ...
In a range of applications, from picture frames to tabletops, plexiglass (also known as acrylic) serves as a cost-eff...
Most of us already have the makings of a collection sitting out on a shelf or dresser, right under our noses. Transfo...
Among the everyday struggles of finding storage and squeezing in more workspace, entertaining—and housing—guests pose...
A coat of durable wood finish on your hardwood floors, fine furniture, and outdoor decking can mean the difference be...
Family and food go hand in hand this time of year, and the kitchen is generally bustling with all of the action. If y...
Many of the clichés of parenthood hold true, but this one does especially: Kids grow up so fast! Before you know it, ...
Many homeowners turn felled landscaping trees into cheap firewood, piling up split logs by a backyard shed or in fron...
This DIY has a bit of a backstory: In my basement workshop—as a byproduct of about a half dozen previous projects—I'd...
The first thing you need to know about 2x4s: They don’t actually measure two by four! These boards, which you can find in any lumberyard or home improvement store...
It’s amazingly gratifying to roll up your sleeves and build a piece of wooden furniture. Not only does doing it yourself save you money, it forges an emotional at...
As an avid DIYer, chances are you have remnants from many projects lingering around the house—tools waiting to be sta...
Medium-density fiberboard—most often known by its initials, MDF—rivals the affordability and versatility of plywood a...
Meet Jermain Todd, owner and craftsman of the St. Louis-based Mwanzi Co. From the sounds of it, he's certainly one of...
You've trimmed the tree, graced your door with an evergreen wreath, and decked the halls with boughs of holly—it's hard not to feel a little woodsy this time of y...
If your heat comes from radiators, you know the predicament: In the winter, you're glad to have the heat. But no matt...
Scarred flooring, rotted window frames, chipped furniture—common problems like these can be time-consuming and expens...
Plywood is a versatile product great for lots of building projects. Cutting it can be a little tricky, however, as th...
If you feel a bit confused when you walk down the lumber aisle in your local home store, you’re not alone. For a basi...
Choosing the right wood for a home improvement project can be tricky for experienced woodworkers and novice DIYers alike. Luckily, knowing a few key lumber facts ...
What is art? Critics and philosophers are free to debate the question endlessly, but we think it's pretty simple: If ...
Here's how to cut a decorative design out of the middle of a board. After choosing your design and carefully marking...
Here's how to dress up a fence post with a beveled cap. It's easy to do with a radial arm saw. Set the blade at a 45...
Here's how to drill a hole when you need to see both sides of your work. Drill on the front side of the board until t...
Though they're nothing more than long, cylindrical pegs, wooden dowels can be used to make furniture and home accents...
Clamps are immensely helpful (even essential) in performing certain tasks. But, which clamp—among the various hand-screw, bar, spring, strap, pipe and C-clamp—is...
As any homeowner will attest, there is always something to fix at home. If it involves woodworking, you’ll want to equip your workshop with the right set of tool...
Here's a way to join two pieces of wood without visible hardware or nails by using oval wooden biscuits. With a bis...
When marking off several measurements of the same size, it's best to make yourself a guide. We call this a story pol...
Here's how to dress up an old kitchen with new cabinet doors. Use a fine-grade plywood, such as birch, for the new d...
If you love to use tools and you love to play games, then you're not alone: Scores of handymen and women have used wo...
Give your carpentry work that professional look by concealing nails or screws with wooden plugs. Use a dowel bit to ...
Shopping for the woodworker in your family? Browse our top picks for gifts that will delight beginners and experts alike.
Here's an easy way to improvise when you're running out of clamps around the woodworking shop. After spreading glue...
Woodworking pro, Spike Carlsen, shares his pick for the top ten best woodworking woods, along with the characteristics, best uses and cost for each.
Here are some tips on how to distress wood, making new lumber look old. First, trim off machined edges with a hatche...
To safely work on your house, use scaffolding that you can build yourself. Nail a three-foot and a five-foot length ...
One way to dress up a room is by installing new woodwork around doors or windows, or putting in new crown molding or ...
Let's talk about the surface of the object you are making. How smooth is it? Are the heads of the nails or screws flu...
Mortise and tenon joints are the preferred style of joint for furniture and cabinetwork. It's strong, durable, and li...
The language of the joiner is filled with words that we know well from ordinary usage but here have new and distinct ...
The controls vary from one drill press to the next, but there are a number of elements that remain largely the same....
Once you've grown accustomed to the router, the tool will fit naturally into your grasp. Initially, however, it may f...
A few key tools and considerations bear discussion. Tape Measure. When it comes to marking and measuring and laying ...
Power planers are to jack planes as portable circular saws are to handsaws. Both the planer and the circular saw are ...
Very few workshop tasks can be as satisfying as putting a wood plane through its paces. There you are, just you and, ...
A woodworking vise, according to its dictionary definition, consists of two jaws for holding work and a mechanism, us...
Consider some of these issues as you're planning your woodworking shop. Doorways. Standard household doors are often ...
Muscles or electricity are required to power a saw, but the sawteeth really do the cutting, reducing the fibers of th...
The sawhorse is an indispensable piece of work-site furniture. It's part workbench, part scaffold, and now and again ...
The grading system for white pine alone consists of about ten levels. If you are going to work with wood professional...
A properly glued wood joint is very strong, but one that is glued improperly is likely to fracture given a minimum of...
Every time you use a power saw, you put your very own flesh and blood at risk. I've worked with more contractors than...
Your table saw can perform a remarkable number of tasks. There’s probably enough to fill a website, especially when a...
Glues really used to be made from old horses (the hoofs, skins, bones, and other parts, when boiled, produce a protei...
At first, I felt a bit foolish explaining how to use a hammer. Most of us have seen children banging away with toy ma...
Despite its name, the portable circular saw (or any circular saw, for that matter) cuts only straight lines. The name...
Whether starting a workshop from scratch or enhancing an existing one, few woodworkers will come up with the same wor...
Sanding is the unsung hero of any project with wood. It can take a long time, and the results are subtle: Sanding doe...
The workbench is any DIY project's hub, where supplies are kept and progress gets made. Sure, you can buy a workbenc...
A mitered corner is formed by joining two pieces of wood, each cut to a 45° angle. One of the easier joints to cut, a...
A miter box is a wonderfully simple, affordable tool that allows any DIYer to make accurate crosscuts in wood. Since ...
Last year, I was dying to have some deck rail planters to grow spinach and lettuce in, but I couldn’t find any that w...
In the spring, summer, and fall at our house, we're pretty active cyclists—for recreation, exercise, and transportati...
Drill bits are designed to do one thing: make holes in stuff. That is, except when they are intended to drive hardwar...
Even experienced carpenters make mistakes, especially when they're cutting a lot of different pieces. Listen to BOB V...
In carpentry, the first key to a good joint is proper clamping. The clamp is responsible for pulling together the pie...
Don't miss 10 Surprisingly Simple Woodworking Projects for BeginnersFor the uninitiated, woodworking may seem far too...
Here’s a technique professional carpenters use to conceal screws in fine woodworking projects: use wooden plugs. List...
The next time you need to move something big and heavy in the workshop or around the house, save your back and build ...
Except in special cases—when you intentionally choose a specific angle or bias—it's important to keep all drill holes...
Back in the day there were just two options, slotted or Phillips. You picked one, picked a length, and were good to g...
Besides "righty tighty, lefty loosey," there's one DIY phrase that nearly anyone can recite: Measure twice, cut once....
Building a cabinet looks easy. After all, it’s just a box with a door. It only becomes difficult if you want it to lo...
As you may recall from science class as a kid, wood is a collection of fibers that run in the same direction. Basical...
Some may love their wet saws for cutting tiles, while others couldn't bear to part with their trim router or thicknes...
A window box can add enormous curb appeal to a house and provide a garden opportunity for even city dwellers. And, th...
A birdhouse can be as simple or as detailed as you like—from a basic box shape built with butt-joints and a 45-degree...
While spring is generally considered the month for cleaning windows, airing out the house, reorganizing the cupboards...
Melamine-coated particleboard is a great material for storage, basement, garage, home office, and kid's room projects...
PreparationPreparation is the most important ingredient for making clean, accurate, safe cuts. To properly prepare fo...
Creating hundred-year-old beams is an art form that Juan Santos of Emilios' Woodworking has perfected. In the Malibu ...
Plywood sheet goods are an essential in any home improvement project involving wood. But due to their layered structu...
The first time I saw my father cut a piece of stock with a handsaw, he made it look easy. When I tried it, I discover...
Wood templates are patterns or models used in the making of specific pieces, usually those with curved lines or irreg...
Follow these simple guidelines for working with a wood plane and you are sure to have superior results: Assume the Po...
While there are many different products you can use to sand (a palm sander, a block, or sand­ing with paper in ha...
The first addition to the sunroom in the Season 13 Modern Colonial home was a simple cedar planter. Built by Bob Ryle...
Bob helps carpenter Bob Ryley build a redwood deck. Carpenter Danny Ruffini installs a custom-made redwood-and-cedar fence on the perimeter.
Bob works with carpenter Bob Ryley to construct an insert for an antique cherry armoire to house his bedroom TV and video collection.
Bob reviews the Victorian design elements of his front-corner porch and the interior columns that echo the exterior ones, and then watches the turn-of-the-century...
Bob helps carpenter Bob Ryley create an elaborate five-piece cornice molding in the dining room.
Bob interviews Carlos Londono, a plastering contractor, who demonstrates how to apply a veneer coat of plaster over blue board.
Gam Danziger from Craftline Cabinets reviews the assembly of the contemporary Cherry kitchen cabinets being installed in the penthouse apartment.
Bob puts in a Mahogany windowsill that's been precut with a cleat and bevel to make the installation easier. He also helps install Poplar floor molding and observ...
Interior designer Leslie Curtis shows off another of her decorating ideas in the dining room.
Bob visits with carpenter Mark Fortunati, who is building a traditional-looking staircase in the foyer.
In the barn of the Victorian restoration project house, Bob talks with a rep from US Gypsum about the new technology that makes blue boards stronger and lighter t...
Bob touches base with Eddie Zywusko, the mason and tilesetter, working in the loft apartment's L-shaped shower.
Bob visits Todd Allen's cabinet shop, where he helps to mill and assemble the cabinets for the loft conversion project.
Carpenter Bob Ryley helps install a new porch railing and new screen doors. An underground sprinkler system is also installed.
Bob and contractor Ed Weller check out the open pantry shelves made of Surell.
Bob and carpenter Bob Ryley demolish a wall on the second floor in order to connect the framed-in addition to the existing house.
Bob meets with carpenter Bob Ryley to install baseboard, then visits Paul Morse's workshop to see how specialty moldings are milled.
Bob and carpenter Bob Ryley meet in the workshop to build a set of bookcases for the home. Ryley demonstrates the various cuts and joining methods used to make th...
Bob assists Patty Hettich in stripping paint from decorative woodwork, then making rubber molds to create new details in the Federal-style home.
Bob and contractor Bob Ryley review the building plans and the progress made on the post-and-beam garage. Framing continues, and Bob discusses the various joints ...
Bob heads to Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth, MA, where artisan-carpenter Pret Woodburn shows Bob how mortise-and-tenon joinery was cut back in the 17th- and 18th...
Bob takes a close look at the boat storage part of the building (the 'boat barn'), highlighting interior features like the lighting and mechanical systems. Contra...
Bob helps contractor Bob Ryley hand-craft a medicine cabinet using a radial arm saw, Dado blade, router, screws, and carpenter's glue.
The plumber Steve Bowton shows Bob how to sweat a joint in copper plumbing.
Bob joins plastering contractor Bob Fragakis, who will install blueboard, then apply a skim coat of plaster over it. Fragakis explains the tools and materials use...
Bob meets with Ryley to discuss the site-built, built-in cabinets of birch plywood. Ryley demonstrates many of the cuts and jigs used in crafting the cabinets, an...
Contractor Larry Landers builds a trapdoor to enable access to the old bulkhead from outside. Sheet lead flashing and an ice-and-water barrier are used to waterpr...
Bob reviews the construction of a carport, bench, and storage structure, situated adjacent to the Naples project house.
Plumber Tom Higham demonstrates how to join copper plumbing for the bathroom lavatory.
