Woodworking Fun

Every now and then I like to undertake a woodworking project and build something instead of buying something. For example, an entry table, TV stand, or something of that nature. I am not an expert carpenter by any stretch of the imagination. My tools are fairly basic. Things like a table saw, miter saw, circular saw, clamps, and just recently a small detail router. I haven't tried out the router yet, but I have a bunch of scrap wood to practice with.

Anyway, I needed something for rod storage in my garage and after looking at purchasing one I decided to build one instead. I find a few plans online, then modified them for the size I needed and added some additional support. The plans called for using oak, but I went with poplar instead. The main reason was cost - if I screwed something up in the build it was cheap to buy replacement wood. The drawback with poplar is that even with treating it, it doesn't take stain very well. But since this was a garage piece and not a show piece I could live with that.

Anyway, it was a straight forward piece with only basic joinery. I have fine blades on my miter saw and table saw so the cuts went smooth. I spent most of the project sanding everything down with increasingly finer grads of sandpaper. The build went smooth and it all turned out well. Solid with no wobbles. Stain, sand, stain, sand, and stain again. I still have some touch up stain to do but I got a bit antsy and after the last coat dried decided to put my rods in their new home.

For my next project I'm going to work on a decorative platter for my oversized counter, but this time I'll use walnut or oak. I'm also going to up my joinery game, maybe with some finger joints. I sketched out a few things but haven't decided on the final layout yet.But first I may bet a plunge router and build a router table or build a jig or two for my table saw. I'm still undecided.