Woodworking

My favorite hobby is woodworking. I stay mostly on the utilitarian side working with 3/4 plywood. I don’t do paid woodworking as it’d make the hobby into a job (and I have heavy imposter syndrome that tells me I couldn’t reasonably charge for the things I make).

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve made!

Child's bookcase

This is a bookcase I made for my son to hold his books in a way he could both see them and get them easily. This is all made from plywood and (gasp) pocket holes. I tried to make the cubbies at the bottom the same size as the IKEA Kallax ones but missed the mark. They still hold things well, though!

Planter

I made this for my wife to grow herbs on our fence. It’s made of redwood planks from Home Depot and a lot of rabbets. I attached it to the fence with a French cleat but that ended up being a bad idea. It needed something with more purchase to hold the weight of dirt, rocks, and water.

French cleat wall

My shop got really disorganized recently and I decided I needed a place to go for all my most-used tools. So, I built a small French cleat wall and added my drills, squares, pencils, and other stuff to it. Would absolutely recommend making one of these. Really helps with quick access, and stuff being out in the open really helps my butterfly/ADHD brain!

XTool cabinet

Now we get into shop cabinetry. I got an XTool P2S toward the end of last year and it needed a mobile home. You need to keep a filtration system nearby it and have your materials on-hand, so I decided to make three tall openings for it. It’s on casters and the cabinet itself is dadoed together. The laser is connected to the top with dowels on each corner that insert into some holes in the laser’s riser base.

Miter saw stand

I got this plan from ThomasCustomWood. Great plan, easy enough to put together. I’m scared of drawers so I haven’t put one in yet but boy do I need to. Also on wheels. Everything’s on wheels. Can’t get enough wheels.

Table saw table

This is one of the first custom stands I built. Before this I had all my tools on standard jobsite stands that folded up and it was an absolute nightmare to work in the shop. The jobsite stands also don’t have outfeed tables. This table was a real game-changer for me as it gave me both an outfeed table and a mini assembly spot.

Knife organizer

I made this quickly out of a 2x4 for a friend that needed some better knife organization. Quick and easy, and apparently it’s worked quite well!

Horse saddle stand

This is a piece for a friend’s family memorial. It was lots of fun to make, but scary as it’s hardwood (cherry) instead of ol’ reliable plywood. It now lives with that friend holding a departed loved one’s saddle.

Potty stool

My kiddo needed a stool to use when he was going to the bathroom (he’s potty training, yay). I made him this two-step guy with no fasteners (mortise-and-tenon plus dowels) which is cool, but in hindsight I should’ve made the two steps much wider. It’s hard for him to get up and down the steps given the tight fit.

3D printer stand (closed)

I got a Bambulabs P1S last Fall and needed a stand for it (and its AMSs). I put a simple cabinet together for it and screwed some doors on with acrylic windows.

3D printer stand (open)

As you can see, the inside organization leaves much to be desired. I need to put a row or two of filament storage horizontally above the pile of stuff on the bottom to get myself a bit more space.

…and that’s it! We’ll see what project comes next.