Residential Repair

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Trying to build an aquarium stand. Needs to support ~600 lbs. Not sure if this is strong enough. Will add plywood to top...
12/09/2025

Trying to build an aquarium stand. Needs to support ~600 lbs. Not sure if this is strong enough. Will add plywood to top/sides to make it look less ugly.

I don't think I enjoyed making this for a single second (not clickbait)Continous grain mitered everything. Scraps from t...
12/09/2025

I don't think I enjoyed making this for a single second (not clickbait)

Continous grain mitered everything. Scraps from the custom shop of a big ( i think) guitar place. Sapele ( I think), walnut and maple in the bow.

Its cool, and I'm proud to say I was able to make it look respectable.. but I honestly don't know if I enjoyed a single second of this, other than seeing how happy my wife was with it. Every single aspect of breaking down the stock to applying finish was just exhausting and such a chore. I don't do this for a living, and this was MY IDEA to make, but i hated it the whole time. Is this a normal slump thing.. or is this hobby just not my jam?

The difference between a modern day board and one pulled from old barn.FIL old family farm got sold. We snagged some woo...
12/09/2025

The difference between a modern day board and one pulled from old barn.

FIL old family farm got sold. We snagged some wood from the barns beforehand and i thought this was crazy

How would you address this gap?I’m making a sideboard, all hand tools (except for a planer). I was a bit ambitious and t...
12/09/2025

How would you address this gap?

I’m making a sideboard, all hand tools (except for a planer). I was a bit ambitious and tried to do some full blind mitered dovetails. 3/4 of them came out pretty well, but this edge (which is the most visible) has a gap. Saw for reference.

How would you address this? I could glue and sawdust it but it would take away from the mitered look.

My first foray into marquetry.Several months ago, I stumbled across Andulinomarquetry 's post of a wine still life and I...
12/09/2025

My first foray into marquetry.

Several months ago, I stumbled across Andulinomarquetry 's post of a wine still life and I immediately fell in love. I'd never heard of marquetry before but knew I had to try it myself. I don't have a workshop to speak of, just a card table in the basement, so my projects have to stay on the modest scale for now. Here's my first undertaking; a triptych of songbirds from my area. Thanks Andulinomarquetry for the inspiration. I've found an artform that I know will keep me creative for years to come.

My dad passed away so I figured i'd share his shop and toolsHere you can see the shop from his backyard and inside you c...
12/07/2025

My dad passed away so I figured i'd share his shop and tools

Here you can see the shop from his backyard and inside you can see all his tools, his organized walls, his painting room, awards and decor. You can also see the cradles he made for family members. Each one took up to 6 or 8 months to make and it was what he was most known for (he also made rocking chairs that were out of this world). I will always regret never joining him because I know nothing about woodworking and I can't learn from him now.

Vlad the Builder: Project #6. This was during the free range Vlad season. I had no time to work in the shop with him so...
12/07/2025

Vlad the Builder: Project #6. This was during the free range Vlad season. I had no time to work in the shop with him so there was no input, until he rolled in to the house with a can of grey paint. This was a birthday present for his teacher (Feb. 2019).

Would you toss or keep this pile of wood?Pile of wood is mostly 1x4’s, 2x4’s and a few others.Almost all of them are rid...
12/07/2025

Would you toss or keep this pile of wood?

Pile of wood is mostly 1x4’s, 2x4’s and a few others.

Almost all of them are riddled with screw holes. This was an accumulation of wood from my previous work benches.

Most of it is between 18” and 3 feet.

I’m not really sure what to do with all this wood. It’s twisted and crappy, with a million holes through it.

Any ideas for projects? Currently in the process of redesigning my workshop and all this cheap wood is taking a ton of space. I already have a wood cart that’s chock full, so I’m most likely going to take the wood to the scrap yard or use it in the fire pit.

Thanks for any ideas!

700 BF of salvaged sheesham, any recommendations?Picked up 700 BF of sheesham from a hotel renovation. Now I just need t...
12/07/2025

700 BF of salvaged sheesham, any recommendations?
Picked up 700 BF of sheesham from a hotel renovation. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it. Some have a bit of splitting and checking but I was able to pick through the lot to get the clearest pieces. Was thinking of resawing to get more manageable boards for projects but open to any recommendations or ideas?

First coasters for the holiday season are done!First set of 2025 coasters finished. 9 more patterns in various stages to...
12/04/2025

First coasters for the holiday season are done!

First set of 2025 coasters finished. 9 more patterns in various stages to go. These are always a hit and I could sell a lot of them but I don’t want to constantly be making them lol. Ambrosia Maple, walnut and Cherry. The stand is an extra coaster cut in half and stringers to space them. I use a flat drill bit the diameter of the bottle opener in the drill press. I put each coaster in a clamp and drill the shallow depth. The drill press helps to keep the depth perfect. I use a plunge router to hog out the area so the bottle lid has room. Finish with mineral oil so it can breathe. Oils like Tung that dry hard aren’t the best in my experience. Water beads up vs these kinda wick it up. Just applied a quick oil touch up on my wife’s set from last Xmas for the first time. It’s like making a bunch of tiny cutting boards. I’m going to make end grain coasters at some point lol. These are 3.5x3.5x 5/8ths before planing\sanding.

First big woodworking project finishedThis year I started attending local Men In Sheds and while I have done various sma...
12/04/2025

First big woodworking project finished

This year I started attending local Men In Sheds and while I have done various smaller projects and learnt some woodworking in primary school this is the first big project I have made. I got invaluable help and advice from my dad and few others of the men in the Shed.

I needed some better solution for my Dremel and drill press than a bag so when I got quite a lot of OSB for free I decided to make a cabinet for the tools and intentionally make it rough looking.

The design of the small details evolved a lot over the course of the project through combination of "well, I done goofed", "oooh, that would be cool" and "wait, those are way cheaper(shelve carriers vs L brackets)".

If you have any tips for improvement I am all ears :).

Vlad the builder - second project. After realizing he had raw talent I pulled out the mitre box and we worked on holding...
12/04/2025

Vlad the builder - second project. After realizing he had raw talent I pulled out the mitre box and we worked on holding a saw, smooth motion, 90 degree angles, taking measurements and butt joints. As you can see, he was feeling quite proud of himself. (Feb.2018)

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