Tag Archives: simple project

This Week in the Shop: 3 Simple Picture Frame Plans

Picture frames make fantastic skill building projects.  You can practice joinery and create precision jigs.  Frames reward practice and good finishes.  They can be made from cheap materials and scraps – meaning they are easy on the pocketbook.  All in all, the perfect project to start with. With one exception.  Miter joints – that is,Continue reading “This Week in the Shop: 3 Simple Picture Frame Plans”

This Week In the Shop: The Simple Cutting Board

They say when it rains, it pours.  For the past six months, I’ve inundated myself with cutting boards at every turn, in every one of my woodworking shops.  At home, I made cutting boards as Christmas presents.  At work, cutting boards as a fundraiser.  At TX/RX Labs, I’ve tweaked my intro course to include aContinue reading “This Week In the Shop: The Simple Cutting Board”

This Week in the Shop: Ceramic 3-D Printing via Shapeways.com

In the late 1800’s and into the  early 1900’s, a number of furniture makers, craftsman and artisans reacted against the massive mechanization and industrialization of (their) modern world to create a type of furniture called Arts & Crafts, Craftsman or Mission style furniture.  Gustav Stickley in New York, the Roycroft community and others created furniture,Continue reading “This Week in the Shop: Ceramic 3-D Printing via Shapeways.com”

Classroom Project: Try Squares

In my Applied Mathematics class, woodshop has put the shop in applied.  During a unit on fractions, I asked students to build a number of these try squares, all different shapes and sizes.  In order to assess my students ability to read a ruler and calculate fractions, I made all the dimensions wonky.  No 8″Continue reading “Classroom Project: Try Squares”

This Week in the Shop: Mirror, Mirror

I swear the conversation went like this: Wife: “What dress should I wear?” Me: “I don’t know, you look great in anything.” Wife: “This dress?  What about this one?” Me: “I don’t know if you’ve been watching me, but I haven’t taken my eyes off you in forty minutes.” Wife:  “I need a full lengthContinue reading “This Week in the Shop: Mirror, Mirror”

This Week in the Classroom: Try Squares

My new “little” project obsession:  try squares.  These guys mark boards square.   That’s it.  All they do.  The try, not tri, comes from the act of “trying” an angle to see if it’s square, not three, or tri. This slideshow punctuated by a few of my favorite song titles, puns and lyrics in noContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: Try Squares”

This Week in the Classroom: Gottshall Block Project

I’ve heard before from others in the “making” or woodworking communities I’m a little behind the times.  I make cigar box guitars when they were totally two years ago.  Or I teach developmental woodworking in manner more suited to a different century.  So of course, I discover a sweet little hand tool project about aContinue reading “This Week in the Classroom: Gottshall Block Project”

Woodworking Plans: The Kid’s Bed Frame

Last year, I posted a quick project: The Bed Frame.  It has since become the most searched for post on this website, garnering a little over a thousand views with no publicity.  People like to build beds. It’s taken a while, but I’ve put together a small PDF which outlines how I make my simpleContinue reading “Woodworking Plans: The Kid’s Bed Frame”

This Week in the Classroom: The Pencil Caddy

Thirteen pencils began the day, thirteen pencils ended the day.  A new record!