7 Awesome Home Woodworking Project Ideas You Need To Try

If you're someone who loves DIY projects and are looking to dig into a new hobby, then woodworking could be your next adventure. Although it's often considered an art form, woodworking can also serve a practical purpose as well.

For those who are interested in woodworking, however, it isn't as simple as just cutting into the wood. Thought also needs to be taken into what kind of wood you use as well as the tools.

This article will go over what wood you should look into procuring for your projects, the tools you should utilize, as well as give you some ideas to hone your skills as a woodworker.

The Benefits of Using Wood 

Besides giving your home that rustic appearance that so many find appealing, using wood can actually help fight climate change. With the environment under attack by carbon emissions, utilizing wood can actually safe store carbon and cut down those emissions. Oddly, there's also a psychological aspect to being around wood.

For reasons yet unexplained, people just tend to be more relaxed in areas that contain natural wood--be it tables, desks, or decorative pieces.

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One of the key benefits of wood is that is actually considerably durable, too. It's structurally quite strong. When comparing strength for weight ratio, wood was actually found to have 20% higher than structural steel.

In addition, the strength of wood was found to be four or five times higher than non-reinforced cement in regards to compression. It also exists as a natural insulator, so you can cut down on those energy costs to heat and cool your home.

Wood Selection

Before you break out your tools and start trying your hand at woodworking, you want to make sure that you equip yourself with the right kind of wood. After all, certain wood is better for certain projects. Take, for example, the differences between hardwood and softwood.

For the beginner, you might not even realize that there is a difference. Softwood, like pine and alder, is best used for projects that won't see a lot of wear and tear. So, let's take the workbench for an example. You wouldn't want to use softwood for the top because that area is going to see a lot of wear and tear. As such, you want something with durability. A hardwood like maple or lignum vitae are excellent choices for the top of the workbench. However, you could utilize the pine for the table's legs.

woodworking

You'll also want to consider the grain. For projects like wooden doors, it may be wise to utilize a stable grain wood. This is due to the relationship wood has with temperature and humidity. As the humidity increases, the wood's width expands. So, if you use an unstable grain for your doors, you'll likely find yourself with sticky doors or doors that jam during days with high humidity.

You can always choose to select hybrid of stable and unstable grains with your door or other projects where you need to keep humidity in mind. You can use staple grain for the areas of interest--like the rails or stiles--but utilize unstable grain in the panels of the door. For those looking for the most stable of wood grains, you'll want to find lumber that is quarter sawn.

woodworking

If you want to avoid hardwood or softwood, you may consider plywood, which is arguably the most popular type of wood used in woodworking. Baltic birch is the most common type of wood used for woodworking projects when it comes to plywood.

You'll want to make sure that the lumber you're procuring is excellent quality, too. Basically, for plywood, the more layers the wood has, the better quality it is. You'll want to try and get plywood that is sanded on both sides.

Possible Projects 

Here are a few woodworking projects you might want to consider and try your hand at as you develop your skills as a woodworker!

Mobile Holder

For those seeking to actually use their woodwork project, you may want to make a mobile holder. This calls for a touch of creativity, so be sure to let your artistic side show.

Have fun with the design, be it a little wooden figure holding up a platform to rest your mobile or some art-deco statement that can look stylish on your desk. Either way, you'll have a functional piece of woodworking to be proud of and utilize.

Wooden Boat Swing Set

Whether for your own personal pleasure, for your guests, or for your children, this is a fun spin on the wooden swing set. You can also combine two projects into one.

swing sets

Make a wooden swing set, but instead of a bench, make a small boat that someone can lay inside of comfortably. If you make the boat detachable, perhaps you can even utilize it in a small pond or lake for aquatic adventures!

Small Table

Furniture is absolutely necessary for any woodworker to create. You may want to start out with the table. Not only does it provide an excellent basic attempt to challenge yourself, but you can use the finished product in your everyday life.

small table

Although you should start small until you hone your skills, if you're feeling like you're up for a challenge, then try making a dinner table. Put your own spin on it to make it part-functional and part-art.

Floating Shelves 

One of the trendiest wood products currently happening are floating shelves. These neat boxes seemingly defy gravity as they sit on the wall. You can store whatever you like on or in them if you choose to make the shelves hollow. You may even decide to use them as plant holders and bring some green into your home.

How you utilize them are entirely up to you, but they're a simple and stylish project to bring some flair into your home.

Wood Pallet Wine Rack

For those who love to refurbish or recycle items, consider transforming a wood pallet into a wine rack. With a bit of woodworking and ingenuity, you can have an elegant and rustic place to store your wine. It can become quite the talking feature for wine nights with friends.

wine rack

Platform Bed 

Why buy a box spring for your bed when you can make it yourself? Not only can you be sure that it's excellent quality, but the wooden frame around your bed brings an element of class to the bedroom. This can be a fun and interesting take on the bed frame.

bed

Whiskey Barrel Coffee Table 

Whiskey lover? Combine that with your woodworking skills and take a whiskey barrel and transform it into a table. Not only will it look gorgeous, but it will be functional and practical.

Tools Of The Trade 

You can't get anywhere if you don't have the proper tools. One of the best tools you can have is a drill. It will make woodworking so much easier. The article How to use drill on Woodwork Boss can help you a lot.

You should also procure for yourself clamps, chisels, a handsaw, as well as sharpening stones and more on Woodworkology.com. With the right tools, you're set to craft!

Abigail Jones
 

Hi, I'm Abigail. I like spending time tearing my house apart and putting it together back again. Join me on home improvement tutorials, tips on my blog.

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