My Recent Woodworking Projects

DIY around the house is so much fun. Over the years I've built picture frames, shelves, cabinet doors, even a bed frame.

If I could offer one piece of advice to those interested: Understand that for nearly every project you see on Youtube where some dude is using a whole workshop full of power tools, you can build a LOT with a few small tools and proper technique. Don't get sucked into the mindset of, I want to build a few projects, therefore I need $2000 worth of new power tools.

You can do quite a lot with just a couple of hand saws (one for cross-cutting, one for ripping), a square, and a drill. The next step up would be a table saw, miter saw, and circular saw for time savings and increased precision. Much more than that is leaning into the territory of fine woodworking. Learning how to build your own jigs for specific tasks will save you hundreds or thousands in lieu of specialized tools.

This book (includes a link for freely downloading a PDF) might give you some ideas for making your workbench more useful. Measurements are in feet and inches because it’s written by a guy in Kentucky, but that’s not going to stop anyone in the UK.

https://lostartpress.com/products/the-anarchists-workbench

Very well done, OP! Lots of reflection, methodical approach, practical design. I’ve also gotten back to making physical things recently. I did not recognize the feeling at first, but soon realized I’m looking forward to getting back to building that shed. Have not felt that for a while about coding or other work. One advice I have is not to skimp on tools. I had some old wired tools that were OK. On a whim invested into a good Makita impact drill and it’s just another level. Got a circular saw as well and few other bits: having proper tools makes this so much more enjoyable. It doesn’t have to make financial sense, DIY is mostly about enjoyment. So why don’t I make sure I enjoy it?

Woodworks are always interesting and amazing. It includes mathematics & creativity. Every country has their own way of doing things. Recently I learnt Japanese wood craft is unique - They make beds without using any screws. Eg. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1720450263/platform-bed-made-of...

Wonderful! Careful with any sorts of holes in "gates" within the home to keep animals or children out of rooms as they can get their hands caught in them. That's why the ones at the store have very tiny holes. I just used any sort of solid thin laminate type surface (the ones with a whiteboard like finish are easy to clean!)

Looks good, and great hinges and latches.

In time I have moved away from stains in general—preferring to start with nice wood and then going toward a simple paste wax finish.

In time I think your woodworker's eye will turn away from the idea of staining an inexpensive wood, like pine, with a dark walnut stain to try to make it look fancy.

(I've seen too many "D&D table" builds and the like on YouTube that are made from plywood and stained to look like walnut. Le sigh… When I make something from cheap wood, I just paint it.)

I have a woodworking project on hold because I can't decide how to do the joins.

I have that same Bosch. for me its just for cutting down ply and making crates and janky stuff, but it has very little torque, tends to cut ragged (slow I guess?) and a yes a shallow cut. a better saw would help a lot here I think.