DIY furniture doesn’t require a great number of tools, years of practice or a special talent. By following the plans, measuring carefully and working with simple wood to wood connections, you can create furniture that is both fun and functional.
1. Start Small with Simple Cubes
When learning to work with lumber with the eventual goal of building furniture, it’s best to start with basic shapes. Squares and rectangles can be constructed and stacked into bookcases or turned into storage containers with some glue, well-aligned butt joints and some time.
2. Focus on Storage and Build a Unique Coat Rack
For beginning furniture builders, it’s easier to work on items that don’t need to make allowances for things like cushions. Beginning woodworkers would do well to focus on simple pieces that can be left bare.
Another option is to take a single piece of wood, treat it with quality hardware and create a unique coat rack. As this coat rack can be mounted vertically instead of horizontally, there will be a place for even the littles members of the household to hang things.
3. Use What You Have and Turn and Old Door Into a Bookcase
One of the most unique aspects of wood is that pieces can be broken down and turned into something else. Even someone with little carpentry experience can follow the plans and turn an old door into a unique bookcase.
Make Do
Luckily, if your carpentry skills are rough you have the excuse to go ahead and use the tools and materials you have now. For example, if you’re working on your old door bookcase and realize the wood screws you bought are too long? Put some industrial washers over the body of the screw toreduce the risk of breaking through the finished side of the lumber and poking someone searching for a book. The washers will functionally shorten the screw.
Get Help When You Need It
There are aspects of beginning woodworking that can be hazardous. Never forget that your saw will happily cut whatever you put in front of it. In addition, lumber can be quite heavy and if you’re working with plywood, it can be unwieldy. Connect with a friend who has woodworking experience and invite them to help you get started.
Final Thoughts
Look around your home and see what you need. Then invest in simple plans and lumber to help you build exactly the right piece for your space.