Outdoor Woodworking Designs

This collection contains woodworking designs for the outdoors. Included in these outdoor woodworking plans you'll find projects for your yard or garden. As with several of the projects on this site, many of the designs were originally developed to be given as gifts.

One thing to pay particularly close attention to when building outdoor woodworking projects is the wood species. If your project doesn't need to last very long, there is no need to pay premium prices for moisture and insect resistant woods like Cedar and Redwood.

However, less expensive woods like Fir and Pine need to be well protected with paint or outdoor wood sealer. Otherwise, they will become moldy and rotten after only a couple of seasons out in the elements.

I have chosen to use Cedar in most of my projects. Personally, I like the look of natural wood and don't care much for the chemicals in outdoor wood sealers. Also, where I live Cedar is readily available and less expensive than Redwood.

I just let the wood weather naturally. It would last a bit longer if I coated it with wood sealer, but I'm happy with the look and the project lifespan without the use of the chemicals.

Pressure treated lumber is also available that resists rot and insects. However, it's probably not suitable for many of the woodworking designs here. The biggest problem with using pressure treated lumber is that you can't cut or sand the wood without creating chemical-laden sawdust.

Also, most pressure treating only reaches a short distance below the surface of the wood. Anywhere the wood is cut, you need to apply end-cut treatment to the cut surface in order to maintain the rot-resistant properties.

For my money, I simply prefer a wood species that naturally works well outdoors with no further treatment. Barring that, any wood species will work fine outside as long as you keep it well painted or well sealed. This is usually necessary about every other year.

Whatever wood you choose, I hope you enjoy building the projects from these free outdoor woodworking plans.

Want to make some birds in your neighborhood happy? Take a gander at these bird feeder plans and you'll be well on your way. By following the link or clicking on the picture, you'll find more details and drawing files in PDF format that you can view or download.

Return from Outdoor Woodworking Designs
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Woodworking Projects For Kids

This category contains some great woodworking projects for kids. Some of the projects are excellent for kids themselves to build. Others are more complex and you'll just want to build them for the kids in your life. Or build them for the kid in you!

Kids love to be in the shop around tools and woodworking. Helping to build their own toys, or gifts for others, can bring them unmatched pride and satisfaction.

I encourage you to include them in your woodworking projects whenever you can. But please keep safety as THE most important factor whenever using tools around children, especially with power tools.

Here is an easy plan for a set of wooden toy blocks, inspired by a set my grandfather built. Simply follow the link or click on the picture. You'll find more details and drawing files in PDF format that you can view or download.

Fun little set of workbench plans that my daughter's friend dreamed up. The bench is sized for a child, but with a little modification would work great for an adult as well. Take a look, especially if you're looking for a project that you can build with your kids.

Return from Woodworking Projects For Kids
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Free Woodworking Patterns

I hadn't originally intended on making free woodworking patterns available until I started to realize how much time it takes to create a pattern from scratch. Since I usually create a pattern to run on a CNC router, it has to be in a vector graphics format suitable for cutting on a computerized machine. As such, quite a bit of time goes into making sure the geometry and formatting is just right.

As is the case with other woodworking plans, a pattern often gets used only once and then is discarded or forgotten. By making them available here, my hope is that you will find something to help you with one of your own projects. Also, vector graphics are easy to shrink, stretch, or modify into something new altogether. So even if you don't find something to meet your needs exactly, it might provide a good starting point.

If you don't already use a program like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or even AutoCAD, I encourage you to check out a free vector graphics program like Inkscape. Vector graphics are nearly infinitely scalable and fairly easy to modify. They're also perfect for use in CNC routing operations, water jet or plasma cutting of metals and plastics, and even embroidery.

Here's a simple little lighthouse pattern with a border. Originally designed for use on a wooden house number, it could be adapted for nearly anything. By following the link or clicking on the picture, you'll find more details and several different file formats that you can view or download.

Return from Free Woodworking Patterns
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Free Woodworking Patterns

I hadn't originally intended on making free woodworking patterns available until I started to realize how much time it takes to create a pattern from scratch. Since I usually create a pattern to run on a CNC router, it has to be in a vector graphics format suitable for cutting on a computerized machine. As such, quite a bit of time goes into making sure the geometry and formatting is just right.

As is the case with other woodworking plans, a pattern often gets used only once and then is discarded or forgotten. By making them available here, my hope is that you will find something to help you with one of your own projects. Also, vector graphics are easy to shrink, stretch, or modify into something new altogether. So even if you don't find something to meet your needs exactly, it might provide a good starting point.

If you don't already use a program like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or even AutoCAD, I encourage you to check out a free vector graphics program like Inkscape. Vector graphics are nearly infinitely scalable and fairly easy to modify. They're also perfect for use in CNC routing operations, water jet or plasma cutting of metals and plastics, and even embroidery.

Here's a simple little lighthouse pattern with a border. Originally designed for use on a wooden house number, it could be adapted for nearly anything. By following the link or clicking on the picture, you'll find more details and several different file formats that you can view or download.

Return from Free Woodworking Patterns
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Fine Woodworking Magazine Goes Digital

June 28th, 2011 in blogs         6 users recommend $(document).ready(function() {$("a.popit").fancybox();});

At long last, Fine Woodworking magazine has gone digital! We've just launched a new viewing feature which allows users to view our magazine online in a digital format. To get things started we're offering up a FREE preview issue for the entire FWW community. Going forward, an FWW online membership will give you access to browse recent issues at the click of a mouse. The new issue viewing platform allows you to flip through the magazine as if it were right in your hands. It features a whole host of user-friendly options you may find helpful when viewing our magazine, but those who still enjoy receiving FWW in the mail need not worry, we're not discontinuing our standard print edition. This is just an added bonus and convenience for online members who can access FWW anywhere, print pages right from the magazine, enlarge photos and text, and continue to download individual articles via our PDF files which launch with every issue.

Browse the FREE preview issue now!

Members can now browse all of the latest issues online.

***UPDATE: We would like to clarify that the online issue viewer is not yet compatible with the iPad. An update to the code is soon to arrive, which will make it compatible. We are limited to what Apple allows us to do on their platform and will be accommodating our format as soon as possible. Our video workshops and 90% of our other videos have been updated for compatibility and function on the iPad. In addition, online members will continue to be able to view PDF articles from the individual article pages. ***

Want more of Fine Woodworking in a digital format? Try one of our NEW interactive ipad apps:

posted in: blogs
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FineWoodworking.com editors report from the woodworking front lines. Check in every weekday for news, information, projects, and answers to questions from Fine Woodworking readers everywhere.

Learn about our new format!

Archive: Temporarily unavailable. Stay tuned and sorry for the inconvenience.

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Outdoor Woodworking Designs

This collection contains woodworking designs for the outdoors. Included in these outdoor woodworking plans you'll find projects for your yard or garden. As with several of the projects on this site, many of the designs were originally developed to be given as gifts.

One thing to pay particularly close attention to when building outdoor woodworking projects is the wood species. If your project doesn't need to last very long, there is no need to pay premium prices for moisture and insect resistant woods like Cedar and Redwood.

However, less expensive woods like Fir and Pine need to be well protected with paint or outdoor wood sealer. Otherwise, they will become moldy and rotten after only a couple of seasons out in the elements.

I have chosen to use Cedar in most of my projects. Personally, I like the look of natural wood and don't care much for the chemicals in outdoor wood sealers. Also, where I live Cedar is readily available and less expensive than Redwood.

I just let the wood weather naturally. It would last a bit longer if I coated it with wood sealer, but I'm happy with the look and the project lifespan without the use of the chemicals.

Pressure treated lumber is also available that resists rot and insects. However, it's probably not suitable for many of the woodworking designs here. The biggest problem with using pressure treated lumber is that you can't cut or sand the wood without creating chemical-laden sawdust.

Also, most pressure treating only reaches a short distance below the surface of the wood. Anywhere the wood is cut, you need to apply end-cut treatment to the cut surface in order to maintain the rot-resistant properties.

For my money, I simply prefer a wood species that naturally works well outdoors with no further treatment. Barring that, any wood species will work fine outside as long as you keep it well painted or well sealed. This is usually necessary about every other year.

Whatever wood you choose, I hope you enjoy building the projects from these free outdoor woodworking plans.

Want to make some birds in your neighborhood happy? Take a gander at these bird feeder plans and you'll be well on your way. By following the link or clicking on the picture, you'll find more details and drawing files in PDF format that you can view or download.

Return from Outdoor Woodworking Designs
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Book Giveaway: Shop Improvements: Outstanding ideas from the world's finest woodworkers from Fine Woodworking magazine

June 26th, 2011 in blogs         1 user recommends $(document).ready(function() {$("a.popit").fancybox();}); Photo: Matt Berger

Shop Improvements
Taunton Press, 2007
$19.95; 224 pp.

We have an extra copy of this book in our library so we’re giving you an opportunity to win it. Leave a comment here for your chance to win.

This book is a collection of articles from past issues of Fine Woodworking covering all sorts of things for the shop. There are lots of jig articles for the tablesaw, bandsaw, planer, router and the drill press. Also included are smart storage solutions and improvements to workstations and shop aids, like a tilt-top shop cart that handles plywood and a rock-solid plywood bench. Like Fine Woodworking articles over the years, these articles include detailed drawings and photos to help with step-by-step instruction. Quite simply, Shop Improvments is full of great ideas and would be a great help to just about all woodworkers.

Leave a comment on this post by 12:01am Eastern Time, Tuesday, July 5, 2011, and you might just win this book.

And after you’ve won the book and read it, we would love for you to come back and post another comment and tell us what you think of it.

A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Woodworking Projects For Kids

This category contains some great woodworking projects for kids. Some of the projects are excellent for kids themselves to build. Others are more complex and you'll just want to build them for the kids in your life. Or build them for the kid in you!

Kids love to be in the shop around tools and woodworking. Helping to build their own toys, or gifts for others, can bring them unmatched pride and satisfaction.

I encourage you to include them in your woodworking projects whenever you can. But please keep safety as THE most important factor whenever using tools around children, especially with power tools.

Here is an easy plan for a set of wooden toy blocks, inspired by a set my grandfather built. Simply follow the link or click on the picture. You'll find more details and drawing files in PDF format that you can view or download.

Fun little set of workbench plans that my daughter's friend dreamed up. The bench is sized for a child, but with a little modification would work great for an adult as well. Take a look, especially if you're looking for a project that you can build with your kids.

Return from Woodworking Projects For Kids
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Father's Day Must-Have Woodworking Gifts

Find out what woodworking gifts our staff of editors and dads hope to receive this Father's Day.

Photo: Woodcraft

Father's Day is fast-approaching and the Fine Woodworking editorial department's crew of dad's are eagerly anticipating (or at least hoping) for a small workshop-related token of gratitude from sons, daughters, and moms. So we figured we'd take a quick poll of the dad's out there to find out what tools (maximum value of $100) were on their wish-lists. If your plum out of ideas regarding what to get dad, here are a few possible choices to get you started.

What's on Your Wish List?
We want to know - especially because some of us are still considering other options!

Asa Christiana
Editor

I bought a cheap but complete set of those no-name Taiwanese brad-point drills way back when. Some worked well, but the sharpening was inconsistent on others. And all of them dulled pretty quickly. It's next-to-impossible to resharpen brad-points properly in a home shop, so my set is riddled with gaps now. And ever since FWW did a review of brad-points in 2005, I've wanted a set of the Lee Valley high-speed steel bits, which bored smooth accurate holes in the toughest woods in our test, with zero tearout at the rim. A set of 12 is only $43 at LeeValley.com.

Lee Valley High-Speed Steel Brad Point Bits - $43

Lee Valley's high-speed steel (HSS) set cuts clean, accurate, flat-bottomed holes similar to those produced by a Forstner bit.

Michael Pekovich
Art Director

I'll let you off cheap this year. One of the greatest additions to my new shop is a hand-crank pencil sharpener and a big stash of Ticonderoga no. 2 pencils. I sharpened up a dozen pencils and put them in the top drawer of my bench. They soon migrated to every corner of my shop so that now, no matter where I turn, I can find a sharp pencil.

Dixon Ticonderoga Pencils and Sharpener - $25 

Remember pencil and paper? It may seem like a boring gift, but a woodworker can never have enough marking implements. Ditto for a good old-fashioned sharpener!

Mark Schofield
Managing Editor

Always need more clamps; clamps work best in pairs; I have two sons therefore I'd like two Jorgenson 24in. heavy duty bar clamps. The 1200 lb limit should pull most of my joints together.

Jorgensen 24-in. Steel Bar Clamps - $49.99 each  

 Need more information on clamps? Check out Fine Woodworking's complete Tool Guide listings.

Matt Kenney
Senior Editor

Although I believe I am getting an iPod speaker dock for my shop, it is over $100. So, I'd say for under $100 I would like a 3 in. thick by 12 in. wide by 18 in. long granite surfacing plate from Grizzly. The plate itself costs $34.95, but because it weighs 79 lb. the shipping is $44! That's a grand total of $78.95. 

 Grizzly Granite Surface Plate - $34.95 + $34 (shipping) 

According to Matt, it beats having to stick sandpaper to his tablesaw table--his usual method for regrinding plane irons and chisel bevels.

Tom McKenna
Senior Editor

I'm in dire need of Forstner bits (to be used after I get a drill press, of course). The last time I found myself at Woodcraft, I was eyeing up this 7-piece set. Hint, hint, hint.

Woodcraft 7-Piece Forstner Bit Set - $82.25 

Be sure to catch the complete review on Woodcraft's forstner bits in our online Tool Guide.

Ed Pirnik
Web Producer

I currently own two squares - a 4-in. and a traditional 12-in. combo square. I've always found the 4-in. to be really easy to work with; it hides in my shop apron and is always at-the-ready. In fact, I think I actually use my 4-in. more than my 12-in. That larger square is just a bit more bulky and I've always wanted the perfect in-between size. A 6-in. combination model will satisfy nearly all my needs and is small enough to remain hidden in my shop apron, right beside its trusty, smaller cousin.

Starrett 6-in. Combination Square - $92

Find out what sets a $75 tool apart from a $6 tool in our article on combination squares from FWW #159.

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Pop. Woodworking Goes Digital

Wow and double wow! I was surprised to see this announcement sitting in my inbox this morning. Right on the heels of both Glen Huey and Chris Schwarz leaving the editorial team, Popular Woodworking announces the availabliity of a new digital subscription. They posted an FAQ which addresses a number of the questions folks are sure to have. The magazine will be distributed in PDF format and one of the comments left on the site raises a good question: will these PDFs be crippled with DRM? For folks reading on the iPad, that can mean trouble. I haven’t tried to read a DRM’d PDF on my iPad yet so perhaps there’s a solution that doesn’t involve me stripping the DRM manually? No wait…that’s illegal isn’t it?

Anyway, I’m diggin’ this move and I’d happily plunk down 19 bucks to have digital access, although this is only a few bucks cheaper than the print version. I know many folks prefer the paper magazine, but I am not one of them. I’d like to personally thank Popular Woodworking for giving us the option! If you want to subscribe to the digital version, you can do so here.

So what do you think? A smart move on their part? Will you switch from paper to digital?

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Interview with plane maker Steve Knight - Fine Woodworking

 
Smoothing plane. Before he sent them out, Steve tuned his planes to take the fluffiest shavings.
Photo: Steve Knight
It has been at least five years since I first saw one of Steve Knight's wooden handplanes. I've always found them attractive and the word on the forums was that they worked great--and that's the real test of a plane. I always had it in the back of my mind to buy a plane from him, just to support him. But then I started making my own and I never got around to it. So, I felt a bit guilty when I went to his website recently and discovered that Steve no longer sells wooden handplanes, at least not completed ones. He does sell kits for wooden planes: a smoother, a pocket plane (bevel down), a jack, a jointer, and a scrub. I gave Steve a call and asked him to send me one of the kits--a smoother with a 55 degree frog--for review. I'll write a separate blog about it. (I am really excited about the prospect of making and using the plane. My job doesn't suck!)
When I was on the phone with Steve, he and I got to talking about his experience as a plane maker and the story was interesting. I've always wondered how hard it would be to make a living as a "boutique" tool maker. There are a lot of guys out there now who are making saws, infills, or chisels for sale. I think that's cool. I've also noticed that many of those guys owed a lot of their success to internet forums. It was on an internet forum that I first heard of Steve, and Mike Wenzloff, and Chester Toolworks, and Blue Spruce, and Ron Breese, and many others. So, I decided to interview Steve and share his story with you. Here's what I learned. Enjoy.

Panel raising plane in curly maple. Steve Knight achieved a high level of craftsmanship in his planes. He used the Krenov method of plane making, even on traditional ones like this panel plane.
FWW: What was the first tool you made? Why did you make it?
SK: I think it was a smoother. My hands were really suffering from all of the sanding I did making furniture. I had heard about hand planes, so I bought a No. 4 smoother from Patrick Leach. Mind you, I couldn't even use a plane at that time, and I don't know if I ever got that No. 4 working. But I did want more planes. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford them, so I had the idea to begin making them. It was a struggle and for a while none of the planes I made worked. I had a boxful of non-working planes. I made those early planes out of red oak, I think, and glued on an ebony sole to combat wear. I then gave up on woodworking for about a year. I didn't get back into it until a friend asked to use my shop. I let him, in exchange for cleaning it. My shop, which is small, was so stuffed that it took him about two weeks to clean it! With the shop clean, I started making planes again. This time something clicked and I was off. Those first curly shavings really hooked me. Still, it was a struggle. I was not an accurate woodworker and my planes weren't square. It took a lot of effort to get the bugs out and to get the planes working. I was learning to build planes, tune them, and sharpen the blades all at once.
Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Woodworking Projects For Kids

This category contains some great woodworking projects for kids. Some of the projects are excellent for kids themselves to build. Others are more complex and you'll just want to build them for the kids in your life. Or build them for the kid in you!
Kids love to be in the shop around tools and woodworking. Helping to build their own toys, or gifts for others, can bring them unmatched pride and satisfaction.

I encourage you to include them in your woodworking projects whenever you can. But please keep safety as THE most important factor whenever using tools around children, especially with power tools.
Here is an easy plan for a set of wooden toy blocks, inspired by a set my grandfather built. Simply follow the link or click on the picture. You'll find more details and drawing files in PDF format that you can view or download.
Fun little set of workbench plans that my daughter's friend dreamed up. The bench is sized for a child, but with a little modification would work great for an adult as well. Take a look, especially if you're looking for a project that you can build with your kids.
Return from Woodworking Projects For Kids
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home
Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Best pieces from the biggest woodworking club in America

Frank Irving of Laguna Woods, Calif., was inspired by Sam Maloof when he built this finely crafted, beautifully upholstered lounge chair. It was the most comfy seat in the show.

One of my favorite woodworkers in the world, Brian Newell, of Fort Bragg, Calif., built this little box, modeled after a full-size chest he built in the same style.

And I can't understand how Pete Campbell of Temecula, Calif., turned this huge hollow vessel, leaving the bark around the opening and the voids perfectly intact as he turned the walls 1/8 in. thick!

Kory Zussman of Calabasas, Calif., built this amazing Ruhlmann-style dressing table.

Photo: Asa Christiana

Every year FWW gives an award at the Design in Wood exhibition at the San Diego County Fair. Our award is for design, and it is my chance to disagree with the state judges, who pick most of the other winners. I can’t tell you yet who I picked, but it’s one of the pieces shown here. By the way, the Best in Show winner, the FWW winner and one or two more will appear in the Readers Gallery in FWW magazine.

I like disagreeing with the state judges so much that I always take pictures of my favorites on judging day (this past Saturday), and post them in a blog. I try to put myself in your shoes (the FWW readers) and find the pieces that will inspire you most.

The show, at one of the largest county fairs in the nation, is put on by the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, which is the biggest woodworking club in the U.S., numbering over 1,000 members. This year the show drew 374 stellar pieces—from furniture to carvings, marquetry, intarsia, musical instruments, canoes, turnings, and more--from 18 states.

I always combine my trip with a photo shoot for the magazine, and this year I drove up to L.A. to shoot an article with Nick Offerman, from the NBC comedy Parks & Rec. I had a blast hanging out with Nick. When he heard about the show, he asked if he could tag along. Nick has been building furniture for many years but had never been to a furniture show. 

The first thing he said when he walked in the door is, “I’m gonna cry,” which was great coming from this bearded, burly guy. When he met Bob Stevenson, who has been organizing the show for 26 years, Nick said, “You’re doing the Lord’s work.” Amen to that.

By the way, if you post a comment here, let me know if you live in the San Diego area. I have 5 free tickets to the Fair to give away, and I'll pick someone at random.

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Outdoor Woodworking Designs

This collection contains woodworking designs for the outdoors. Included in these outdoor woodworking plans you'll find projects for your yard or garden. As with several of the projects on this site, many of the designs were originally developed to be given as gifts.
One thing to pay particularly close attention to when building outdoor woodworking projects is the wood species. If your project doesn't need to last very long, there is no need to pay premium prices for moisture and insect resistant woods like Cedar and Redwood.

However, less expensive woods like Fir and Pine need to be well protected with paint or outdoor wood sealer. Otherwise, they will become moldy and rotten after only a couple of seasons out in the elements.
I have chosen to use Cedar in most of my projects. Personally, I like the look of natural wood and don't care much for the chemicals in outdoor wood sealers. Also, where I live Cedar is readily available and less expensive than Redwood.
I just let the wood weather naturally. It would last a bit longer if I coated it with wood sealer, but I'm happy with the look and the project lifespan without the use of the chemicals.
Pressure treated lumber is also available that resists rot and insects. However, it's probably not suitable for many of the woodworking designs here. The biggest problem with using pressure treated lumber is that you can't cut or sand the wood without creating chemical-laden sawdust.
Also, most pressure treating only reaches a short distance below the surface of the wood. Anywhere the wood is cut, you need to apply end-cut treatment to the cut surface in order to maintain the rot-resistant properties.
For my money, I simply prefer a wood species that naturally works well outdoors with no further treatment. Barring that, any wood species will work fine outside as long as you keep it well painted or well sealed. This is usually necessary about every other year.
Whatever wood you choose, I hope you enjoy building the projects from these free outdoor woodworking plans.
Want to make some birds in your neighborhood happy? Take a gander at these bird feeder plans and you'll be well on your way. By following the link or clicking on the picture, you'll find more details and drawing files in PDF format that you can view or download.
Return from Outdoor Woodworking Designs
to Totally-Free-Woodworking-Plans Home
Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Free Woodworking Patterns

I hadn't originally intended on making free woodworking patterns available until I started to realize how much time it takes to create a pattern from scratch. Since I usually create a pattern to run on a CNC router, it has to be in a vector graphics format suitable for cutting on a computerized machine. As such, quite a bit of time goes into making sure the geometry and formatting is just right.
As is the case with other woodworking plans, a pattern often gets used only once and then is discarded or forgotten. By making them available here, my hope is that you will find something to help you with one of your own projects. Also, vector graphics are easy to shrink, stretch, or modify into something new altogether. So even if you don't find something to meet your needs exactly, it might provide a good starting point.
If you don't already use a program like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, or even AutoCAD, I encourage you to check out a free vector graphics program like Inkscape. Vector graphics are nearly infinitely scalable and fairly easy to modify. They're also perfect for use in CNC routing operations, water jet or plasma cutting of metals and plastics, and even embroidery.
Here's a simple little lighthouse pattern with a border. Originally designed for use on a wooden house number, it could be adapted for nearly anything. By following the link or clicking on the picture, you'll find more details and several different file formats that you can view or download.

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

Fine Woodworking near you: Come out and see us

Find out where Fine Woodworking contributors (like Steve Latta seen here) are teaching or attending events
Photo: Steve Scott
Take a class or attend an event with one of Fine Woodworking's contributors.
Christian Becksvoort
June 11, 2011: Dovetail Workshop
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village - Maine
June 18, 2011: Drawer Workshop
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village - Maine
June 20-24, 2011: Shaker Furniture
The Carpenter's Boat Shop - Maine
July 9-10, 2011: Hand Tool Skills
Lie-Nielsen - Maine
July 23, 2011: Build a Shaker Bench
Sabbathday Lake Shaker village - Maine
July 29-31, 2011: Craft Show
Mount Deset Island 36th Annual Directions Show - Maine
Oct 7-10, 2011: Scrapwood into Stars
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts - Maine

Michael Fortune
May 31-June 10, 2011: Apprenticeship
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
June 5, 2011: Getting the Most From Your Bandsaw
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
June 24 - 28, 2011: Working With Curves
Peters Valley Craft Center - New Jersey
Aug 8-12, 2011: Chair Design
The Northwest Woodworking Studio - Oregon
Aug 20-21, 2011: Doing Curved Joinery
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Aug 22-26, 2011: Table of Contents
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Sept 19-23, 2011: Designing Chairs
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Sept 24-25, 2011: Embellish Your Work
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 15, 2011: Making a Living as an Artist, Designer, & Furnituremaker
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 16, 2011: Drawing in Perspective
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 17-21, 2011: Making a Bow-Front Chest
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Oct 22-23, 2011: Making the Ultimate Gift
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana

Peter Gedrys
Chris Gochnour
June 13-17, 2011: Making a Curved Front Night Stand
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Garrett Hack
July 15-16, 2011: 30th Anniversary Open House
Lie-Nielsen - Maine
Aug 1-5, 2011: Precision with Hand Tools
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship - Maine
Aug 6-7, 2011: Furniture Details: Decorative Edges and Faces
Lie-Nielsen - Maine
Sept 12-16: Build a Side Table
Port Townsend School of Woodworking - Washington
Sept 19-21, 2011: Precison with Hand Tools
Port Townsend School of Woodworking - Washington
Oct 3-9, 2011: Make an Occasional Table with Exquisite Details
West Dean College - West Sussex, England

Roland Johnson
Sept 19-23, 2011: Finishes & Finishing
The Northwest Woodworking Studio - Oregon

Matt Kenney
July 29-Aug 2, 2011: Make a Box with  Hand Tools
Peters Valley Craft Center - New Jersey

Tim Killen
July 23, 2011: SketchUP
AWFS - Nevada

Steve Latta
July 18-24, 2011: Making a Spice Box
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
July 16-17, 2011: Pattern Inlay and Decorative Borders
Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
Aug 27-28, 2011: Build a Federal Sideboard, part I
Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe - Pennsylvania
Oct 8-9, 2011: Build a Federal Sideboard, part II
Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe - Pennsylvania
Dec 17-19, 2011: Build a Federal Sideboard, part III
Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe - Pennsylvania

Philip Lowe
Ongoing Classes
Furniture Institutue of Massachusetts
June 18-19, 2011: Hand Cut Dovetails
Lie-Nielsen - Maine
July 25-29, 2011: Sheraton Tilt Top Table
The Northwest Woodworking Studio - Oregon

Teri Masaschi
Aug 29-Sept 9, 2011: Finishing From A to Z
Center for Furniture Craftsmanship - Maine
Sept 12-16, 2011: Hand Applied Finishes
Center for Furniture Craftsmanshop - Maine
Oct 3-7, 2011: Basic Finishing
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July 20-23, 2011: Photographing Your Work
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June 15-19, 2011: Box Making
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Marc Adams School of Woodworking - Indiana
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Not so fine woodworking

June 2nd, 2011 in blogs 
This small three drawer dresser made from pine and manufactured in Brazil sat in storage unfinished for several years.  Some sanding and a couple coats of paint makes for a quick piece of furniture for the baby's room.
Photo: Kelly J. Dunton
I suspect that all us “woodworkers” get requests for projects that are 'less than fine' from time to time.
I got such a project through an inheritance of sorts.  While moving, again, my other half retrieved out of storage, a small pine three-drawer side table dresser.  Now this is a solid wood production piece that had no finish whatsoever applied to it.  The drawers and sides are screwed together and the drawer runners are nailed in position. The top and feet were water stained from damp storage in a New England basement. Spiders had taken up residence inside this small piece of furniture.  It was less than desirable from my "holier than though" fine woodworking perspective.  Secretly I was wishing to toss it into the garbage.
With the addition of a daughter to our family came the need for more storage.  Funny how much room such a small person needs for her tiny things. So, over the Memorial day weekend while cleaning the garage and making room for a little "shop space," I needed to get the little pine dresser out of my way.  I decided to fix it up since throwing it out was really out of the question. At first I wanted to give it a good Fine Woodworking finish.  I started to clean it and eventually I had the top off and was handplaning the surface smooth. I had to clamp the top flat to get the plane to remove material evenly.  What a nightmare.  This finally led to primer and paint after a quick “go-ahead, sounds good to me.”  In the end, I finished the interior surfaces with shellac and the top first with shellac and then water based polyurethane.  Several hours of sanding and painting and I’ve secured just that much more room in my little "shop." Oh, and storage for the baby’s things…

posted in: blogs, pine, chest of drawers, kids Furniture, painted fruniture

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