Basic Furniture Making and Woodworking Tips

Social media has made it popular to share some very interesting DIY projects, and sites like Facebook and Pinterest are excellent hubs for those kinds of projects. Most people starting out try to look for something simple that they can complete within a weekend or two. Here are some tips on finding those types of projects, and sticking with them to the end.

Learn a Sound Base Structure

No matter what you’re building, it’s going to need to stand on the base you build for it. Make sure your early projects teach you the skills you need to create a sturdy base. Learn different techniques to make joints solid, and to strengthen the hold of each one. Study many different schematics and try out some different ideas to see which ones you think work best.

How to Think

When you’re learning a new craft, it’s always helpful to learn some of the theories behind the skills you’ll use so you understand what you’re applying. It’s not putting together IKEA furniture, you need to consider how something will be used as you’re building it. That will not only inform the design of the piece, it will keep you focused throughout the build.

For example: when you decide to build a table, and you know how many you want to seat, you’ve already learned so much about the design. You can easily figure out its shape based on the space it might fit into, or spacing for each placement at the table.

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After his retirement, Archbishop James Provence became a furniture maker and devotes his time mastering the fundamentals. James Provence is also a volunteer docent at the California State Railroad Museum.