Woodworking on a Budget

This is a post I’ve been wanting to write for some time, as I’ve started to publish more woodworking content on the blog. The topic stems from my post about how the Internet is ruining hobbies by selling lies. Something that really frustrates me is someone who is potentially interested in a hobby like woodworking becoming discouraged because they think the cost of entry is too steep, often the result of how content creators and influencers present the hobby online. Thankfully, some areas have opened tool libraries that allow members to borrow tools for a low monthly or annual fee. It’s a blessing to have one of these nearby, and it seems that more are opening, but if you don’t, there are still ways to begin woodworking on a budget. Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way for getting into woodworking and expanding your tool collection.

Buy Used or Buy Cheap – Not Both

There are generally two directions to consider when trying to start woodworking on a budget: buying used tools or buying cheap tools. Both are great options, but you should never buy used cheap tools. What do I mean?

Buying used tools on Marketplace or Craigslist or at an auction or a yard sale can be a great way to buy quality tools that were expensive when new. These tools are often older and heavier but will last for decades if they were maintained and continue to be moving forward. It’s pretty easy to find Sears/Craftsman, Delta, and old Dewalt tools online. They’ll usually have metal frames and may not be the color you associate with the modern versions, but they work. Older saws and joiners will often be belt-driven instead of the blade(s) being directly connected to the motor. This makes them heavier but also easier to work on and maintain. I bought my joiner this way and also considered buying a band saw and drill press used before finding the ones I ultimately bought. When buying used, thoroughly investigate the tool as much as you can before buying.

In contrast, buying cheap is straightforward: buying new tools that are more affordable than Dewalt, Rigid, Sawstop, Festool, etc. Ryobi, Craftsman, Bauer, Hercules, and Skillsaw are well-known brands that can be bought in stores in the U.S. and are very affordable. I have a Ryobi drill press, band saw, jig saw, reciprocating saw, and drill, and all work as intended. All but the drill were bought at our local outlet store. I also have a right-angle drill, router, dovetail jig, and many hand tools from Harbor Freight, which sells Bauer and Hercules. I’ve never had an issue with a Harbor Freight tool. On Amazon, you can buy brands such as Wen and Vevor, which have solid reputations. I have a Wen biscuit jointer and would like to buy their scroll saw when I get one. All of the tools listed above were at least $100 cheaper than a similar version bought at Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Prioritize How Much You Spend on Tools by Which You’ll Use the Most

I think the biggest issue new woodworkers run into is placing too much emphasis on tools that aren’t used often. In my woodshop, I use my table saw, miter saw, sanders, and band saw the most. They’re also the tools that I intentionally bought from brands with a reputation of reliability and durability. I have a Rigid table saw and belt sander, a Metabo miter saw and random orbital sander, and a Ryobi band saw. I already wrote about why I bought the band saw I did, and I’m confident in its reliability in spite of its price. A drill is another tool that often gets used in the woodshop, when repairing things, or around the house. I think it’s wise to invest in a drill and impact driver that will last. I have a set of Porter-Cable drills that have worked flawlessly for the past seven years. They weren’t the most expensive drills, but they also weren’t the cheapest.

My recommendation is to take time and make a list of the tools you think you’ll use the most, and it may be different for everyone. Once that list is prepared, find the most cost-effective option that still provides the durability, performance, and reliability you want. If that means buying a Sawstop table saw or a Dewalt sander, you should do what makes sense for you. In some cases, the price difference between a more expensive brand, like Bosch, and a Harbor Freight tool is only $10 or $20, so it could make sense to buy the Bosch even if it’s a tool you won’t use a lot. It’s just a matter of what’s available at a given time.

Don’t Be Afraid of Odd Amazon Brands, But Avoid Knock-Offs

Amazon is full of brands that you’ll never find anywhere else. The majority are made in China and often have names that can be humorous to native English speakers. A lot of people will write these off as cheap garbage, but don’t be so quick to overlook them. I love watching Project Farm’s reviews on YouTube, and something I’ve learned is that these Chinese brands are capable of producing a product that goes toe-to-toe with the name brands but at a reduced cost. In some of his tests, the cheap brands even outperform the name brands. Because a lot of tool brands share countries of origin, it’s fair to assume that many are made in the same factory, providing cheaper brands with access to the same technologies, molds, and toolings as the expensive brands.

At one point, Harbor Freight tools were considered cheap garbage, but now their reliability and performance compete with Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Makita. It’s worth taking the time to read/watch reviews and see if the Amazon brand will fit your needs. You may surprise yourself by finding a gem.

However, beware of blatant knock-offs that claim to be Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, etc. but with a price that seems too good. They’re often poor quality and can even be dangerous. Brands that imitate a name brand’s appearance by using the appropriate color are often okay, though.

Pick a Color for Battery-Powered Tools

For the majority of the above information, I’m talking about larger power tools and not drills or other battery-powered hand tools. But when it comes to battery-powered tools, I think it’s wise to pick a brand that best serves your needs and stick with their battery system. Power tool brands have unique colors: Dewalt is yellow, Makita is blue, Milwaukee is red, and Rigid is orange. Harbor Freight has blended this a bit because their Hercules line is similar to Makita, while their Bauer line is close to Milwaukee’s red. But you can still identify most tool brands by their color. Each brand has its own battery system that works with most if not all of their tools. Joining a brand that has a dozen or more tools that can use the same battery opens up a lot of opportunities.

This is a mistake that I made. I have Porter-Cable drills and a Bauer right-angle drill and chainsaw. I’m now at a place where I don’t know what brand to buy when I need to replace my drills. Porter-Cable still makes great drills but produces few other tools anymore. I’ll likely end up buying Bauer to take advantage of already having their battery and charger, but had I thought about this years ago, I could have gotten in front of this decision.

Know You Can Upgrade Later

The underlying thread of staying within your means when buying woodworking tools is that you’ll have the opportunity to upgrade down the road. You can buy a bunch of tools, learn which ones you use the most and what aspects you like or dislike with each tool, and then decide what direction to go in the future. Maybe the cheaper version you bought becomes your favorite. Perhaps you’ll want something with more power or better dust collection. Either way, you have the freedom to make that decision later when you buy an affordable option now. Contrast that with buying the expensive version first and realizing you don’t like it. At that point, you either have to sell it for a loss or deal with it.

I have plans to upgrade most of my tools in the future. I’d like a cabinet-style table saw that doesn’t fold down. I’d also like a more powerful wet/dry vacuum that works with more of my tools. Finally, I’d like a slider miter saw to cut wider boards. But my current versions continue to perform well and serve my needs, allowing me to buy additional tools to try out. I prefer having more tools than fewer more expensive tools. The ability to try different tools and see how useful they can be in the shop offers invaluable experience and learning opportunities.

It’s Important to Woodwork

The most important part of woodworking is actually working with wood. If it’s a hobby you think you could be passionate about, the best way to learn if you like it is to get your hands dirty and start building things. Getting started can be the most difficult part, but I urge you to buy the tools you can afford and give yourself a chance to love it. I don’t think you’ll regret it. And if you are a woodworker, I’d love to hear what tools you have and how you’ve found cost-effective ways to woodwork. Finally, if you need specific tool recommendations, let me know. I’d be happy to help.

October 14, 2026 1

Building a Mini Easel for a Phone Stand

I’m sure most have experienced the frustration of trying to watch something on a phone and either struggling to find something to prop it against or having that item not work, causing your phone to fall over. Magz and I often watch things on our phones during the day and used to experience the annoyance described above. Back in 2022 or 2023, Magz was using her sewing machine a lot, and it would cause the table she would use to bounce, toppling her phone. She knew she wanted something stable enough to withstand the sewing machine’s bounce but compact enough to be easily stowed away when not in use.

My solution? A mini easel, which fit all her needs. With a triangular base, an easel is sturdy even when the surface it’s on is jostled or the easel is bumped into. Easels are also compact. The pivot point at the top allows it to be folded flat and put away.

I spent time studying large easels that hold canvases to figure out the general design. I then took measurements of her phone and scaled everything down from the large easel to ensure that the scale remains intact. Here’s what I came up with.

It was really easy to make. I used scrap wood I had, ripped everything down to a half-inch wide, and then cut everything to length. The two front legs are the same length, and the back one is a half-inch shorter. The horizontal brace is about an inch longer than her phone is. I also added two spacers between the legs to help with opening and closing. Finally, I bought a section of threaded quarter-inch stainless steel rod and two wing nuts. The wing nuts are nice because you can loosen and tighten them to hold the easel in place. I’m really proud of this design, and it’s worked perfectly for Magz’s needs. The biggest issue is that I never built a second one for myself. I can’t remember if I didn’t think I’d use one or if there was another reason, but I didn’t make another.

Building a Second (Different) Easel

After three or four years of having my phone fall or be in the way of my monitor, I decided to finally build myself a phone easel. Even though I didn’t remember all the details of building Magz’s easel, it was easy to take the measurements off hers and build mine the same way. I once again used scrap wood and cut everything to the same length and width. However, a problem arose when I started to assemble everything: I didn’t have anymore wing nuts for the threaded rod that holds everything together. I also didn’t want to go to the local hardware store to buy them, so I quickly pivoted and came up with an alternative.

This spring, I took two Ikea chairs apart and built gardening trellises with them. On those chairs, the arms are attached to the main frame with bolts that are threaded for about an inch and twist into a female version, and everything is tightened with allen wrenches. They were a bit longer than I needed, and because the threads didn’t run the full length of the bolt, I couldn’t cut them down. Instead, I cut additional spacers for the easel. That fixed one issue. The other issue was that the bolt was thicker than the rod, so I had to use a larger drill bit. Plus, because the female end was wider still, I used an even larger bit but only drilled into the right leg a length equal to the female end. In the end, everything went together and works well. Here’s the final product:

I’m not as happy with this one. Having to think on my feet to address the lack of wing nuts changed the aesthetics of the easel in a way that I’m not that happy with. Even though it looks artistic, it doesn’t have the refined look of Magz’s easel. I do think that the extra spacers on the outside of the legs are pretty cool because it was wood that I joined together, but I may still change it in the future. Ultimately, though, it works and does its job, so I can’t be too frustrated with it.

I really enjoy working on these small woodworking projects. They’re quick and generally have a lot of room for error. This is also a project I’d probably consider making as presents or selling in the future if that happens. If you’re a woodworker and are interested in more details about these and how I made them, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

October 3, 2026 0

The Internet Is Ruining Hobbies

I write a lot about hobbies on the blog. So far, I’ve written posts about gardening, woodworking, and bowling, but I also enjoy playing guitar, model making, card making, cross-stitching, reading, and video games. Plus, I recently bought a pair of binoculars for bird and sky watching. I really like hobbies because they’re a great way of passing the time while keeping your hands busy and learning a new skill. I think my love of hobbies comes naturally.

My dad and grandparents all participated in their hobbies when I was growing up and showed how important they can be to a balanced life. Hobbies were a form of relaxation for them as well as a way to keep the mind engaged. Hobbies were never supposed to be something that cost a lot of money, and it was okay to do things as frugally as needed to make it work.

Recently, I’ve started to notice a shift in how people approach hobbies. Perhaps it’s not how the majority of people approach them, but it is what is conveyed on social media, YouTube, and forums, including Reddit. This shift has been both frustrating and saddening, and it’s what I’m writing about in this post.

Internet Is Making Hobbies Elitist

Before diving in, I don’t mean that the hobbies themselves are elitist or for people we consider to be elite. There have always been some hobbies that are associated with the wealthy and upper class: fox hunting, motorsports, sailing, polo, etc. Those haven’t changed. It still takes a lot of money, time, and connections to gain entry into these clubs and hobbies.

The ones I’m thinking about are those that have always been approachable by the vast majority of people. The ones that don’t need to cost a lot of money to start in, and your investment can increase the more interested you become. The hobbies I listed above largely fall into this category. These are the hobbies that I feel are under attack. It still doesn’t need to cost a lot of money to get started in some of these hobbies, but the narratives around them, and therefore the barrier to access them, have changed. It’s not necessarily a financial element, either. In some cases, it’s actually cheaper to get started in hobbies than it used to be. Yet, if you buy into the narrative, you come out of it feeling that hobbies aren’t for everyone. It’s my belief that the internet has played a key role in establishing this barrier, and nowhere is it more evident than on social media and YouTube.

Social Media & YouTube’s Role

If you have watched YouTube or used social media for any amount of time, you’ve seen the explosive growth of influencer culture. People are selling and promoting every item, activity, and lifestyle that you can imagine. Creating content on YouTube and social media has become a full-time job for some people, with much of that income stemming from brand ambassadorships. Companies will pay these creators to test (not in an objective manner) and promote these products, and oftentimes, these products typically aren’t that cheap. From there, successful marketing takes place: viewers and consumers feel that they need to buy the product that their favorite creator is peddling even if a more cost-effective option would better serve their needs.

The second aspect of YouTube and social media that I hate is the presentation of perfection. Both platforms are designed to share a skewed version of life that doesn’t show the struggles and failures. My favorite YouTube channels are the authentic ones that either include the struggles and failures they encounter or who acknowledge that the channel is only sharing a curated version of reality. I’ve encountered a lot of woodworking YouTube channels that only share the perfected final product and cut any of the mistakes that naturally occur when working on a project. I can’t tell you how many times during a woodworking project that I have to redo a cut or alter a design because the original one was going to fail. An internet creator choosing to leave these elements out of the final video or post creates a false expectation for the viewer that if they don’t achieve the same level of perfection, they’re a failure. In reality, woodworking and any other hobby are difficult, especially at the beginning. There will be failures as you learn and grow, but the failures refine and hone you into someone who is better at that hobby. But when we see creators that skip over the growth portion of a hobby and only show the success, it creates false expectations and disappointment.

These same creators are also usually the ones who only use the most expensive tools. A lot of woodworking YouTubers have shops full of SawStop and Festool tools, which are incredibly expensive. For example, the collapsible SawStop table saw is $1,700, and the cordless Festool table saw is $1,500. Meanwhile, my Ridgid collapsible table saw is $549, and I paid less for it when I bought it. My table saw isn’t perfect, and I’d eventually like to upgrade it, but it makes all the same cuts that the more expensive models do. My dad and grandfather built some amazing furniture on affordable tools and never needed the highest-price versions. It used to be a widely accepted belief that you would start a hobby with entry-level or used equipment, but a lot of people have abandoned that idea. The combination of creators only showing a perfect finished product that they built with top-of-the-line equipment yields a mentality that tells you that you must have that equipment to achieve those results. And even though we may be able to rationalize that it’s not true, when we’re struggling with something, it’s easy to convince ourselves that our tools and equipment are the culprits. If we don’t have the budget to buy the equipment that the creators use, it is easy to reach the point of abandoning a hobby we once were passionate about.

This brings me to my final point about social media and YouTube: obsession with luxury goods. As a society, we seem to be obsessed with luxury goods. People love to walk around with a brand label on their clothing or bag and will pay obscene amounts of money for a name regardless of the quality. I’ve been guilty of this in the past when I became driven to buy clothing at Polo by Ralph Lauren. I bought a pair of jeans that I had high expectations of, and while they’re comfortable and have lasted more than two years, the denim is thin, and I don’t think the quality is better than some Wranglers I own. Magz has shown me these incredible videos that analyze other creators sharing their shopping “hauls” at luxury stores. They’ll spend thousands of dollars on one trip as though it were $10. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, woodworking isn’t exempt from this. People only want to be seen using the most expensive tools even though it rarely has any impact on how good of a woodworker the person is.

I used woodworking as the main hobby in this section, but I think it rings true with other hobbies. Guitar players only want to be seen playing a premium model, usually a Gibson or Fender. Gamers need the newest and most powerful systems. Regardless of the subject, social media and YouTube only present the best and often most expensive versions of things, and unfortunately, it has an impact.

Take Back Your Hobby

If there’s a hobby you used to enjoy but have stopped because you don’t feel like you belong anymore, please put those thoughts out of your mind. The internet can be an awesome tool, but it can also be a horrible place. Online creators usually publish content with some sort of an agenda in mind and are rarely unbiased. They’re paid by brands to promote products, not to perform objective testing. And it’s always worth keeping in mind that what you see on the internet, especially visual media, is often the edited version that is curated to tell the intended story. It’s usually unpopular to tell truthful stories that highlight struggles, so the creators omit those parts. Likewise, showing themselves using the most expensive or perceived “best” products connotes wealth even if it’s artificial. You don’t need those same expensive tools to achieve wonderful results. You only need enough to accomplish your goal and to get interested in the hobby. Take it back, and don’t let the internet steal your fun and joy.

September 25, 2026 2

Making a Shadow Box to Remember a Friend

Last August, Magz’s family dog, Sully, passed away. He was 15 years old, and they had him for over 14 years. He was a Yorkie Bichon and was the first small dog I got to spend a lot of time around. Before I got to know him, I wasn’t a fan of small dogs, but Sully changed my perception. He was quirky, cool, playful, energetic, and fun. He had high emotional intelligence and could sense when someone wasn’t feeling well, emotionally or physically, and knew how to make you feel better. As someone who grew up with medium and large dogs, it took me a while to get used to picking him up and holding him close, but I learned to love it. I think Sully played a big role in us adopting Mia because he helped me become comfortable with a small pet.

About a month or so after he passed away, I approached Magz’s parents, after talking to her, about making a shadow box to remember Sully by displaying his favorite things. They were good with it, so Magz’s mom and I set about coming up with a design.

Designing the Shadow Box

There are a lot of variations when it comes to shadow boxes. Some have glass doors on them, some have a rigid glass front and can only be accessed from the back, and others are open without any glass. I had a large piece of glass that was sent to me by mistake when I was ordering glass for picture frame projects a few years ago. I knew it would be perfect for this project, so everything was designed around that.

Magz’s mom wanted a door on the front, like a medicine cabinet, which I quickly agreed to and said I could build it. Spoiler alert: this ended up being a lot harder than I anticipated, but more on that later. We went with a simple rectangle shape with a shelf near the bottom. This would create a cubby to display his favorite toys. On the shelf will go his collar and other small items. Finally, there is a place at the top where one of his sweaters or pajamas can be hung and rotated out.

shadow box plans, woodworking plans, woodworking — The rough plans for Sully’s shadow box.

Designing a cabinet around the glass size was a real test. Because I’m unable to resize the glass, everything is based on its dimensions. The first step was designing the doorframe. There were three dimensions to figure out:

How big the display “window” will be. This determines how much of the glass you can see through into the box. For this piece, I wanted these dimensions to match the interior dimensions of the box so that the inside of the doorframe would be flush with the inside of the box. This would give a seamless appearance.
How deep the glass would sit inside the doorframe. When installing glass in a cabinet door, it’s common to cut a groove into the frame for the glass to sit. This groove is called a dado, and its depth has to be factored into how much glass you see.
How wide you want the doorframe pieces to be. For this door, I wanted the top, bottom, and left pieces to have the same width, while the right piece was going to be a bit wider to accommodate a chamfer I was cutting for the reveal where you place your hand to open the door.

Those dimensions provided the dimensions for the box itself. Knowing how big the box was going to be and where the shelf would sit in the box, I was able to start cutting and assembling.

Building the Shadow Box

I went with Poplar for this project. Poplar is a really interesting species of lumber because it’s technically a hardwood but is lighter than oak or maple and even softer than pine, a softwood. However, it’s much easier to work with than pine. It didn’t chip when cutting, and it takes paint incredibly well. I learned through this project that it even takes stain well as long as it’s a high-quality piece. I had never worked with Poplar before this, but I had bought a few 8-foot boards the last time I ordered lumber and have been looking for a project to use it on. For something that is going to hang on a wall, like this shadow box, Poplar was perfect.

The lumber I had was a true 1×6, so one inch thick and six inches wide. I cut all the pieces to length and width and ran them through the planer until they were 3/4-inch thick. I used my router and dovetail jig to cut dovetails for the corner joints and set up my dado stack on my table saw and cut grooves on the side pieces to hold the shelf. I glued the joints and shelf in place and used a small brad nail where needed until the glue set up.

Afterward, I moved on to the doorframe, which was much more difficult. I cut three of the sides to 3/4-inch wide and the fourth side to 1 1/4 inches. I ran all four pieces through the table saw to cut the groove where the glass would sit, and then the trouble began.

Glass + Nail Gun + Sander = Disaster?

It took me little time to put the shadow box together. I believe I finished it last October or November. After cutting all the pieces for the door, I even glued three of the sides together after making sure the glass fit. Everything was a simple butt joint with a brad nail to hold it in place. It was easy-peasy. The fourth side caused problems. I struggled mightily over the order of operations for this.

Should I sand, stain, and finish everything before assembly to avoid getting stain on the glass? But if I do that, gluing a piece of wood with polyurethane on it can be troublesome. I realized that the best option would be to assemble before staining and just tape off the glass. How do I glue the pieces together while the glass is in place when I can’t use a nail until the glue sets? This last question caused me to delay finishing the project for, no joke, nine months. I was concerned that I would either break the glass, ruining the entire project, or that the joint wouldn’t hold.

Eventually, I worked up the courage to place the portion I already had glued (left side, bottom, and right side) into a vise with a towel around it. I slid the glass into the groove, glued the fourth piece, and clamped the heck out of it. I let it go overnight, and by the next day, the glue held. Voila, I could move on to the next step!

Hinges, Magnet, Clasps, and Final Touches

From the beginning, the intention was to use a piano/continuous hinge and magnets for the closure. A piano hinge can run nearly the entire length of the piece and can hold a lot of weight. This type of hinge is also less likely to twist when installing. Magz’s mom asked about magnets for the closure because they’re hidden.

The hinge installment was pretty seamless, with the only hiccup being that the screws were too long for the door side of the hinge. I was concerned about them contacting the glass, so I snipped them off. I drilled and attached the hinge before staining. I had never used magnets in a woodworking project before, so that was a learning opportunity. I thought I bought ones that were strong enough for this use, but that proved to not be the case.

I drilled holes for the magnets with a forstner bit and attached them with epoxy. That was also the first time I’ve used epoxy, and I was shocked by how bad the smell was. With one in place on the door side, I made a mark on it to see where the hole should be drilled on the box side. I attached that one too only to learn that the magnet wasn’t strong enough. I ultimately used four more magnets and still didn’t feel that it was strong enough to hold the door shut. So I ended up ordering a swing arm clasp that looks vintage and does a great job of holding the door closed. It also matches the stain and finish of the shadowbox.

I didn’t talk about this above, but I used a piece of quarter-inch pine plywood for the back. For the stain, I went with dark walnut from Minwax. I also used dark walnut wood filler, which was nearly a perfect match. I finished everything with three coats of oil-based polyurethane. I removed the hinge and taped off the glass before staining everything. The color is rich and vibrant and brings out the grain of the Poplar. The finish only strengthened this. With it done, I pulled the tape off, scraped any sprinkles off the glass, cleaned the glass, and it was done.

I eventually added a couple of attachment points in case the box is hung with screws. I also added two eye hooks for picture-hanging wire in case that gets used.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I loved working on this project. It challenged me in ways I’ve never experienced, and I learned new skills, which is always fun. I’m really proud of the finished product and think my in-laws will be too. I set out to build something that would honor and memorialize Sully, and I think I did that. He was an incredibly vital member of the family, and their house doesn’t feel the same without him there. I still don’t know if I’m a small dog person. But I know that I was a fan of Sully, and I miss him. It was an honor to design and build something for him.

If you’re interested in building a shadowbox and are unsure how to go about it, I’d love to help.

August 14, 2026 0

Building a Patio Table & Stools From Wood

Last year, Magz and I screened in our back porch. It’s an elevated concrete slab that had railings on all three sides except for where the steps are located. We removed the railings, strengthened the posts that hold up the roof, and screened in the three sides. We closed in the two ends so that the screen goes from waist height to the roof for privacy, while the back has floor-to-ceiling screens with French doors where the steps are located. The project was a success in the sense that we had more privacy with plenty of airflow and some protection from the elements, including rain. It also reduced the number of bugs, bees, and flies that we have to deal with, but we still didn’t use the porch as much as we thought we would.

That was largely due to the outdoor furniture that we had. The only option we had that was designed to be outdoors was a narrow glider we bought from Aldi a few years ago. And although it’s comfortable for one person, it’s quite narrow and isn’t comfortable for two people to share. We also repurposed two Ikea Poang chairs that we had previously used inside but no longer had a need for. Although they weren’t intended to be used outdoors, they held up since they weren’t directly exposed to the elements. While these chairs worked, they aren’t the most comfortable, especially if you want to do anything with your hands while sitting in them, like typing, cross-stitching, or knitting. This led to us deciding that we wanted something different, and since I really enjoy building things and hate spending money unnecessarily, we designed and built our alternatives.

The Design

Building outdoor furniture is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Outdoor tables, benches, chairs, and swings are projects that call to me, but I didn’t have anything designed or planned. So, on a lovely Saturday in February, Magz mentioned that she’d like to figure out our outdoor furniture before the weather was really nice and we wanted to be on the porch. Quickly, we came up with a design.

For the table, we wanted something wide enough for us both to sit at it and deep enough that we could play board games or work at it. We also wanted something higher than a coffee table. For the seats, we discussed one long bench versus two individual stools, ultimately choosing the two stools. The freedom for each of us to choose how close or far we sit to the table was important, and having sat at the table multiple times now, it was the right decision.

We were going for something simple and durable. We were fine with it being made of dimensional lumber to make the building process as straightforward as possible. As much as I love building fine woodworking projects, when it comes to outdoor furniture, using dimensional lumber that is designed for strength is often the right move. Here is the design I came up with:

Outdoor table, woodworking — Outdoor table design

When it came to materials, my initial thought was to buy pressure-treated lumber. It would be great to buy cedar, teak, or composite to build this type of furniture, but those are all very expensive. Plus, cedar and teak will eventually break down over time and need maintenance, and composite lumber requires specific saw blades designed to cut it. All three types are also really difficult to find where we live. I love watching old New Yankee Workshop episodes and think that Norm Abram is an excellent woodworker and craftsman, but one of the least relatable elements of the show is his ability to get exotic wood species or high-end cabinet-grade plywood locally. Finding those in store would require at least an hour’s drive, which isn’t worth it most of the time.

Meanwhile, pressure-treated lumber is readily available; however, it isn’t cheap in our town. We don’t have a local Home Depot or Lowe’s, so we rely on regional franchises for lumber and building supplies if we don’t want to leave town. One of the local stores, 84 Lumber, (the same store we bought our materials to screen in the porch) was charging $2 more per 2×4 than Home Depot and $1 more than the other local store, Busy Beaver. 84 Lumber also stores most of their lumber outside, so running it through a saw isn’t a pleasant experience. Even at Busy Beaver, the pressure-treated 2x4s were more than $1 more than kiln-dried pine 2x4s, which led me to begin considering pine as an alternative.

Pressure-treated lumber has its advantages, with the biggest being that it’s designed to withstand the elements. However, it also has its disadvantages. It can be quite expensive, is heavy and often damp, and it will destroy saw blades. Meanwhile, pine can be a great alternative. It’s cheaper, for one. It’s also pretty light since it should be kiln-dried, so it’s easier to maneuver, and it’s easy to cut. And while it doesn’t have the weather protection of pressure-treated lumber, it can be coated with finish or exterior paint and will do well outside. It will need recoated, and it’s best to not let it directly touch the ground, but it can last a long time. Combining all of those together, we decided on buying regular pine. In total, I think we bought 16 8-foot 2x4s and 5 8-foot 1x6s. We also have a bunch of paint left over from the screened-in porch project, so we didn’t need to buy any. After acquiring the lumber, it was time to start cutting and assembling.

Assembly

Building the table was really easy. In 2020, I built a similarly designed table that we currently have in our kitchen. It’s quite straightforward. Working together, we measured and cut all pieces of the same length for the frame. We then pre-drilled the holes, using a pocket hole jig where normal 2 1/2-inch screws wouldn’t work. Along with the screws, we used exterior-rated wood glue to secure the joints. With the frame assembled, we moved on to the top, where once again, we measured and cut all the slats to length at the same time, ensuring consistency. Three of the slats were full 5 1/2-inch wide boards, while the fourth had to be ripped to be narrower. We allowed for a 1/2-inch overhang on the front for aesthetic purposes and roughly an 1/8-inch gap between the slats. They also weren’t glued to the frame and were only attached with screws to allow for expansion due to humidity. After cutting a round over on the front edge with my router and a quick sand, it was ready for paint.

The stools were a bit more difficult to figure out. There’s generally a standard distance between the top of a stool and the underside of a table, but we adjusted it a bit to be more comfortable for us. With that measurement, I had to work down to calculate the length of the legs. With that number, I could move to cutting, using full-width 2x4s for the legs. Quick note: I didn’t think about this, but stools are most comfortable, stable, and strong when the legs are cut on an angle. Initially, I was going to have them be perfectly straight but learned from a plan on Ana White’s website that they should be cut on a five-degree angle and bevel. Then, the rest of the pieces, including the apron and footrest, are only cut at a five-angle without the bevel.

Once the legs were cut, I cut the apron pieces that connect the legs and the seat slats. These were easy cuts, but the next step was pivotal. Because the angle and bevel of the legs are so minimal, it’s hard to tell which orientation the legs need to be in. On the first stool, I flipped the legs around a bunch of times until it was right, but with the second stool, I held the four legs up against each other and marked the inside corner on all. That made assembly more efficient down the road. The footrests and the remaining two supports (on sides perpendicular to the footrests) were cut individually and attached. Like the table, once the frames were together, the slats were easy. It was as simple as cutting all the pieces to length, allowing for a small gap between the slats and attaching with screws.

The Wrap-Up

The project flew by and was a lot of fun. On day one, we decided we were going to build these, came up with a design, bought the materials, and had the table’s frame assembled. The stools certainly took more time, but the entire project was done within two weeks, and we’ve been able to sit at the table several times already. It was also very affordable. I think we spent $140 on materials, including the screws, which is much cheaper than anything we could have bought of the same quality. It also could have been built with only minimal power tools, so I would recommend this project for anyone who doesn’t want to overspend on outdoor furniture. And if you find the wooden seats to be uncomfortable, you can always add an outdoor cushion.

Also, we didn’t get rid of our previous furniture. Our glider is going to be placed in front of our back porch in an area where we’re going to grow potatoes in bags. Meanwhile, the Ikea chairs are going to be disassembled, with the backs being used as trellises for climbing plants, and we’re going to build planters for them to connect to.

March 31, 2026 3

A Study in Coffee Tables

There are a few woodworking projects that are on my bucket list to complete in my life. My list includes a Morris chair, a dresser, a lamp, a bed frame, and a coffee table. For the past couple of months, I worked on crossing one of those off my list: the coffee table.

Why We Needed a Coffee Table

Before going into the details of the coffee table I designed and built, let’s first cover why we needed a new coffee table in the first place. Prior to the new one, we were using a gate leg dining room table that I had previously shortened the legs on to make it a more comfortable height for our couch. That had been our setup since May 2021, and it had worked for the most part. We were able to eat at our couch, and we could always put up both ends of the table if we needed the extra space. However, there were also some flaws that had always been present but were getting more annoying the longer we used it.

The first is that the table is really old and wasn’t maintained by the previous owners, who also happened to be the people Magz’s mom bought their house from. The table had also been stored in the basement for years, and the result was that the joints were loose, the top had scratches and scrapes in it, and the ends sag if the gate leg isn’t at a perfect 90-degree angle.

The second is that the table’s shape made it difficult to move around. We had to walk all the way around to access the other side of the couch rather than walking between the table and the couch. The gate leg also meant that we would bump into it on a daily basis, which caused anything on top of the table to spill due to the loose joints.

I had considered fixing and refinishing the table, but I think it would have been more hassle than it was worth. It quickly became evident that replacing it was the best option, and when there’s a choice of building vs. buying something, I will always build it.

Picking a Style & Designing the Table

Unless I know exactly what we want before I start designing a piece of woodworking piece, I turn to various books and online resources to determine the style. This usually means starting with craftsman or mission-style furniture. I love everything about these styles, including the warm tone of the wood, clean lines, and function over style. Think Frank Lloyd Wright or the famous Morris chair. I found many examples, the bulk of which had some form of storage, either immediately below the table-top or near the legs. There was a lot to like about a coffee table with built-in storage because we knew that we would be losing a drawer of storage in the gate leg table. However, we also wanted the option to sit at the coffee table with our legs underneath it, which made it difficult to also accommodate built-in storage. So, my search continued.

And here is where my study became interesting. I also have a book on Shaker furniture. Shaker furniture is named for the United Society of Believers in Christ, also known as Shakers, which was started in England in the 1720s and became organized in the United States later in the century. Shaker furniture is known for its durability and simplicity. You can still see well-preserved examples of this furniture at various Shaker museums in the New England region of the United States. Also, Shaker furniture was put on the radar of modern Americans thanks to Norm Abram’s New Yankee Workshop, where he visited several of the Shaker villages and replicated pieces of furniture. What surprised me, though, is that there were no coffee tables in the book I have, nor did Norm Abram recreate one on his TV program. And the reason for that is that coffee tables didn’t actually become a “thing” until the early 20th century. There were examples of low tables placed in the middle of sitting rooms that dated back to the late 18th century and the Victorian Era, but they weren’t called coffee tables until the 20th century.

Striking out here led me to begin looking at Japanese furniture. We love Japanese culture and design, and the floor tables they use would perfectly fit our needs for a coffee table. They’re close in height to what’s considered standard for coffee tables and are meant to be sat at with a person’s legs underneath. But what was still proving difficult to pinpoint was the exact style we wanted the table to have. Japanese woodworking is quite different from what is common in Western cultures. They use a lot of hand tools and feature carvings and intricate joinery in their projects. The design is exquisite and is tough to replicate. I’m certainly not at a place where I can confidently replicate something like that. That led me to finding this table and using it as my inspiration:

After determining the style of a project, I turn to SketchUp and create a 3D rendering of the item. If you don’t know what SketchUp is, it’s a web-based program that allows you to design 3D models. Once it’s designed, you can label the dimensions and print everything, which makes it really easy to use in the shop. There is a free and paid version of SketchUp. I use the free version, and it always fits my needs. From there, I like to transfer everything over to a piece of paper and draw specific portions of the project with a pencil. It helps me to see a specific joint or something that is hidden from view and would be difficult to see in a printout of the rendering. I’ll also use these sheets of paper as an opportunity to take any notes that I want to make sure I remember. It could be the size of a dado slot or the type of joint I’m using. The final thing I’ll jot down is a cut list. It includes the quantity I’ll need for each cut. This helps me to make all the same cuts at once, reducing the chance of unequal cuts.

The Materials

Going into this project, I knew that I wanted to incorporate two heavy planks into the table. They were originally used to move and store heavy pieces of equipment in an aircraft hangar, and we’ve had them for seven years since they were gifted to us. We originally had six of them, and four of them are currently being used: one acts as a shelf for us, and I made three of them into a mantle that is in our living room. The remaining two were originally used as the “hearth” for the mantle I built, but we haven’t used that piece since we bought our house and the mantle has been anchored to the wall. I disassembled the hearth piece, ran the planks through the planer, and was left with two pieces that were roughly 3 inches thick, 40 inches long, and 5 inches wide. Only having two pieces means that I couldn’t use them for the tabletop, so I was always planning to use them as the legs in some capacity.

For the top, I turned to my stash of red oak and pulled two 4/4 x 6-inch boards. In 2022, I bought a bunch of lumber that was earmarked for a few projects. I’ve since completed those projects (bookcase, guitar stand, and kitchen cabinet) and still have a few full-length pieces left. The last thing I needed was fasteners to attach the top to the frame. I was unsure how to do this, but eventually found figure-8 clips, which are brackets that attach to the frame and underside of the top, but no screws run through the two pieces, preserving the integrity of the wood.

Building the Table

At its root, this was a simple table build. It has legs and a hidden stretcher under the top, but there were two aspects that were initially confusing and had the potential to trip me up. The first was the shape of the legs. When you first look at the inspiration picture above, the tops of the legs look as though they are bent, which is a skill that I don’t currently possess. However, when you look more closely at it, you can see that only the vertical pieces of the leg frame are curved, where the joint with the horizontal pieces is. This creates the illusion of bent wood, but it’s much simpler. I decided to cut half-lap joints for this and then round over the outside pieces to give it a seamless look. I can’t tell what joint the inspiration piece uses, but I’m guessing it’s a mortise and tenon joint. I didn’t want to do that on such an important joint, and it needed more strength than what a standard butt joint delivers. A half-lap joint allows the weight and force of the tabletop to be shared across the vertical leg pieces rather than all being focused on the joint.

The second aspect that was a bit confusing was how much framework to have under the tabletop. My original design only had a stretcher piece that connected the legs with spacers placed on top of it, which the top would connect to. As the piece came together, though, I wasn’t confident in it being strong enough, especially as we put our feet up on the table (it’s a coffee table, after all), ate at it, and played board games on it. I saw a scenario where the sides would sag in the future without support below. I addressed this by building a ladder-shaped support system that is placed on top of the stretcher and gave me roughly a dozen attachment points for the figure-8 clips.

With those design decisions made, building the table went smoothly. I limited the number of nails I used by only adding them to the leg joints, but even then, only on the top joints. Elsewhere, I drilled holes and used dowels to strengthen joints. I’m a big fan of how this looks. I also used biscuit joints to connect the four pieces used to create the tabletop. Biscuit joints are great because they’re much stronger than a basic butt joint, and biscuit jointers are easy to use once you get the hang of them.

Finishing the Table

Deciding how to finish this project wasn’t easy. In the inspiration picture, you can see that the top is very dark, while the legs appear to be finished naturally. At first, I thought that the top was a dark blue, but I now think it’s black. Either way, I had no intention of painting the top. I have a pretty rigid rule that prohibits me from painting woodworking projects built from hardwood that has beautiful grain patterns. My opinion is that if you want to paint a woodworking project, you should use a cheaper wood, like pine or poplar. The problem that arose was figuring out how to reach the level of saturation needed to get that dark color without turning to paint.

Milk paint was a possibility because you can thin it to still see the grain, but with Magz’s food allergies, we didn’t want to take a chance. You can also thin latex paint, but it’s difficult to create a consistent product and have an even finish. They also make solid stains, which sounds great in theory, but the product has very questionable reviews, citing a short working time, difficulty removing excess stain, and an uneven final product. Eventually, I’d like to give this a try, but I wasn’t going to use this project as a tester. Wood dyes were also a possibility, but like the solid stain, I don’t have experience dying wood and didn’t want to risk ruining this project. Plus, it was going to be expensive. That led me back to traditional wood stain, since they have several really dark tints, including ebony and true black. This stain isn’t perfect because it’s technically transparent, but I have experience layering coats of it to create a more saturated final product, so I was confident. With a half-pint of stain, a quart of oil-based polyurethane, a can of mineral spirits, and a fresh oil-based brush, I was ready to start.

Staining the table proved to be easy. With the surface sanded with 220-grit paper and tacked off, I applied a thick coat of stain before wiping off the excess. The wood absorbed the stain nicely, but it wasn’t dark enough. With the second coat, I let the stain sit for 10 minutes before lightly wiping the excess, which gave us the dark color we wanted. I then let the stain sit for 24 hours before applying the first coat of poly. In total, I applied four coats to the tabletop and three to the frame, lightly sanding between coats, and got a beautiful, glossy, hard finish. After letting the project sit for 48 hours, I attached the figure-8 clips and secured the top to the frame, and finally, it was done.

Reflecting on the Project

In general, I am very happy with this project’s outcome. I started on it in August and had it finished by mid-September. That’s very fast for me. There are several reasons for it, but I’m not the fastest woodworker, so I was thrilled by how quickly this one came together. The most time-consuming part of the project was finishing, as there’s always a lot of downtime while the stain or finish dries.

I’m extremely happy with how strong the table is and how beautiful the table is, especially the legs. It accomplished my goal of resembling Japanese woodworking, but I made it unique. I love how simple everything looks, while still being incredibly strong. That said, it’s not perfect. Some of the joints aren’t as tight as I’d like, and the curves on the legs aren’t perfect. With a bandsaw or scroll saw, this would be easier to achieve. It’s also not perfectly square, but then again, what is?

Ultimately, we love this table, and it perfectly fits our needs and our living room. We’re able to sit at it and eat dinner or do work, which is very comfortable. If we don’t feel like sitting on the floor, we can pull it closer to the couch or sit on a footstool. The table’s height allows us to prop our feet on it, which was a goal. Unintentionally, the table’s height also allows us to stow stools below it, which was a wonderful surprise. Finally, the table is easy to move and clean under. While it’s very strong, it’s pretty light and slides on the carpet. For the first coffee table I’ve made, I couldn’t be prouder.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my journey of building a coffee table. Even more, though, is that I hope it inspired you to build something if you’re considering it. It can be daunting, but it’s okay to make mistakes and take risks.

September 26, 2025 0

I Am My Own Crafting Worst Enemy

This is an unplanned part three of my “Drafting Shortalls From Scratch” because I did not succeed in making my overalls for winter. Although I have made shortalls twice this summer, a few silly, but very human mistakes, led to the project going awry. This is what I think went wrong:

Flew too close to the sun when tailoring
Planning < No Plan
Lack of Focus
Measure Once, Cuss Twice
I kinda hate sewing when it feels this hard
Putting too much pressure on myself
Not Buying Enough Fabric
Not Mocking Up
Not using my Patterns when I’m stuck
Research the Basics

It’s so easy to think we’ve got this and be too confident when going into a project. With knitting, this approach of fearlessness had led to some great projects, but with sewing, this artistic type of approach crashes and burns. Sewing is fabrication, as weird as that sounds. I think I was prepared to sew such complex tailoring projects, such as my shortalls, this summer, because I spent the spring building a screened-in porch with Kyle. Woodworking is very similar to sewing, I learned! It is about measuring, planning, creating things in a specific order, and constructing something that is built to last. When we started working on the porch, I never imagined how much it would teach me about garment construction. But it gave me a template to focus on. Who knew that woodworking would be such an inspirational experience for me?

So why am I sharing this? I am really struggling to accept that sewing is not coming easily to me; no matter how much I practice, it continues to challenge me. I’d like to invite you to join me in not giving up on those things in our lives that are hard.

September 23, 2025

Blending Gardening & Woodworking

If you’ve been reading my gardening articles for a bit now, you know I’ve written about using my woodshop to create things for the garden. Some examples are the planter box and trellis for our beans, the trellis system for our snow peas, and the fence posts I’ve been cutting. Lately, I’ve been looking forward to getting back into the woodshop and doing serious woodworking again. The garden and our screened-in porch projects took precedent over woodworking projects this spring and summer, and I’m now ready to get back at it.

As I’m thinking about and planning my next projects, I wanted to write about blending two of my favorite hobbies: gardening and woodworking. I mentioned the ways I’ve used my woodshop to build things for the garden this year, but only the planter box was somewhat serious woodworking. It was the only thing that required glue, but not even that project needed me to use my table saw. In this post, I’ll go over some future project ideas I’d like to pursue and a previous piece that I built and we still use. And if I have fun writing about this, and it seems interesting, I may write more woodworking articles.

A Planting Table

In 2022, I wanted a planting table that would aid in the process of transplanting starts, starting seeds, mixing the soil, and filling the containers of our container garden. I’ve always been a fan of the classic planting table that includes multiple areas for storage, a place to hang tools, and a flat surface to work on. There are a lot of videos of woodworkers and makers building these, including Bob Clagett (I Like to Make Stuff), Norm Abram (The New Yankee Workshop), and Steve Ramsey (Woodworking for Mere Mortals). These three makers represent three versions of a planting bench. Bob Clagett’s was made of dimensional cedar, Norm Abram’s was based on an antique found in Savannah, Georgia, and built from recycled pine, and Steve Ramsey’s was built with scrap wood, largely reclaimed pallets. A planting table can be made as cheaply or expensively as you’d like. I went somewhere in the middle of these three.

I didn’t have any recycled or reclaimed wood to use for the project, so we bought pressure-treated lumber for it. This included two 4x4x8s and numerous 2x4x8s and 1x6x8s. The 4x4s served as the main strength of the table, with one at each corner. The 2x4s were used as the main framework to connect the 4x4s to each other, while the 1x4s became the slats for the tabletop and shelves. Here are two pictures of how it turned out:

This table was a blast to work on. Dimensional lumber, which you can find in the big box stores (Home Depot or Lowes), is really easy to use, and I would encourage everyone to try building one for your gardening needs. I used my table saw to rip the 1x6s down to narrower pieces, but I could have bought 1x4s instead and not needed a table saw. If I didn’t need to rip those pieces down, the entire thing could have been built with a circular saw and a drill. It’s a perfect project to dip your toes into woodworking if you’re curious.

Tips if You Want to Build One

Bulk cut all the pieces that are the same length. Because all but one of the slats for the top were the same length, I set up a stop block on my miter saw and cut all the pieces in quick succession. This made it so I didn’t have to measure each piece and potentially have small differences in the lengths. This was also the case with the bottom shelf pieces.
Clamps are your best friend. Clamps weren’t required to build this table, but they were really helpful. It can be difficult to hold pieces together with one hand while you’re using a drill with the other. Clamps hold it all together so that both hands can be used for drilling. They also work to prevent the pieces from moving off your mark.
Use a level. This applies when you are attaching the 2x4s to the 4x4s. You’ll measure up from the bottom or down from the top to mark where the 2×4 will go on the 4×4, but it’s wise to use a level to ensure the slats will sit flat and the entire table will be level when assembled.

What I Would Do Different

In general, I’ve been pleased with how the planting table turned out and continues to serve us. However, there are some areas that I’d like to improve and address in the future. The first is trimming the table slat closest to the front. It sticks out over the 2×4 framing piece by an inch or so, which has resulted in that piece cupping and needing to be attached with extra screws. I would like to remove this piece and trim it down so it sits flush on top of the 2×4.

I’d also like to add hooks to the bottom of the top shelf and chicken wire to the back to hold tools. The last improvement I’d make is having a water source and a place to rinse veggies when they’re pulled from the garden. This would be a bit more complicated than the other improvements, but I want to cut a hole in the table slats where a plastic bowl or dish washing basin would sit. That basin would have a hole in it with a small piece of PVC attached for the water to drain into a bucket below. I will also need to have a water source. For that, I want to attach a simple outdoor spigot or faucet that a hose can connect to and mount it close to the basin. Because the planting table is close to where we’re going to add another rain barrel, we’ll have a water source without needing to run a long hose. These are minor improvements, but once they’re done, I think the planting table will be even more useful.

Future Woodworking Projects for the Garden

Planters – These include all the types of planters, including planter boxes that sit on the ground, ones that are attached to porch railings, and window boxes.
Garden Bench – Magz and I want to eventually have our garden be a place where we can sit and enjoy nature. It won’t just be a place to work in, but also a place to relax. Having a bench in our garden would also provide us with a place to rest while working.
Whirligigs – Whirligigs are an area of woodworking that I’m interested in. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they are a nifty decoration that spins when the wind blows. They can be bought or made, and there are endless possibilities for design, style, color, etc. Norm Abram built one on The New Yankee Workshop, and the YouTube video below features the Whirligig Festival. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head of how to build different versions.

Garden Gate – We’re eventually going to upgrade our fence, likely to something that we build out of wood. When that happens, I want to design and build an aesthetically pleasing garden gate similar to what you see in English gardens. They are incorporated into the fence and can be as ornate or as simple as you want.
Greenhouse – We have talked about wanting to have a greenhouse for some time. We want to be able to start plants outside sooner than we currently can. You can buy greenhouses, but they can be expensive. Instead, we’ll probably build one that perfectly fits our needs and is cost-effective.
Swing – I want to build multiple swings. One is a porch swing or bed that hangs from the ceiling. The other is a covered swing in the garden. Similar to the garden bench, a swing would help in our pursuit of creating a relaxing garden.
Arbor – I have a lovely vision of an arbor in our garden that you can either walk under or sit under. The arbor will be placed so that vining plants, such as cucumbers, squash, or flowers, can climb the arbor, leaving you totally immersed in nature.

To me, woodworking and gardening perfectly go together. They’re both creative, can be hard work, and result in the satisfaction that you built or grew something from scratch. Building something with one hobby that can be used in another hobby is a cool experience. I also try to build something instead of buying something whenever I can. Is woodworking one of your hobbies? If not, what are your favorite hobbies? I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences with woodworking and gardening. Have a great day.

August 1, 2025 0

Weekly Garden Update #13 – Building a Planter Box & a Germination Update

In this week’s update, I share a planter box I made over the weekend to grow some beans in, and we had a lot of germination take place. We also got to experience how gardening can help spark conversation and make friends.

Building a Planter Box

When we were picking our seeds for the year, we bought a packet of Chinese Red Noodle long bean seeds. These plants produce pods up to 18 inches long, and the plants can grow up to 7 feet. Safe to say that they need some support to climb that tall. But because these grow so tall, we couldn’t plant the seeds in the same space as our other beans since they grow to different heights. Instead, we decided to plant them outside our garden beds in a raised box and in a location where they can have ample space to reach their full height. A lot of gardeners would buy something for this purpose, but because I love woodworking and building things, I had to make it.

It would have been nice to make the planter box out of cedar, red oak, teak, or fir, but I didn’t want to waste the red oak I have on this project and didn’t have any cedar, teak, or fir. Instead, I had a bunch of pressure-treated lumber left over from our screened-in porch project. Pressure-treated lumber often gets a bad reputation, but it is a versatile product that is affordable and will last a long time if maintained. Decades ago, it wouldn’t have been safe to use in gardening applications, but it’s now perfectly safe as long as you aren’t chewing on it.

My goal was to use as many scrap pieces as I could without having to cut too many of the full-size pieces. That’s why there are smaller pieces between the two longer pieces on the sides. This allowed me to only take a little bit from one of the remaining full-size 1x6s I have left. All told, the box is 11 inches front-to-back, 40 inches wide, and 10 inches tall. There are vertical supports inside to attach the stacked side pieces to each other, corner supports to connect the four sides, and horizontal supports to strengthen the sides. There are also a few holes in the bottom for drainage and feet on the bottom to lift the box off the ground. It’s quite heavy and should serve our needs.

Once the box was done, we lined it with a couple of black garbage bags. A lot of gardeners will buy black plastic that is sold specifically for gardening, but it’s essentially the same thing as the thick garbage bags people use for collecting lawn clippings. They both serve the same purpose: lining the box so there’s some separation between the lumber and the soil. It should also help the box last longer and create less of a mess.

With the liner installed, we cut drainage holes into the bottom and filled it with soil and Garden Tone and planted the seeds. After a thorough watering, it was ready to go. The seeds are supposed to take 5-8 days to germinate, so we’ll monitor them. The box was placed on the side of our garage/my woodshop where the plants will be in direct sunlight for most of the day. The only time it won’t get sunlight is at the very end of the day. To accommodate the trellis system, I’m going to build two brackets that will hang on the garage. The brackets will have holes in them to hold a dowel or bamboo stake, which will have garden twine tied to it. That twine will hang down to the planter box so the plants can climb.

Germination Update

In last week’s update, I mentioned that we were going to restart some of our seeds. That was the result of some of the starts not doing well and the rain preventing us from transplanting them for a few weeks. It led to some plants being leggy. There was also the fact that I messed up starting some of them, and I wanted to get a second chance with them. Last week, I restarted all of our tomato varieties, peppers (Cal Wonder and Scotch Bonnet), melons, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatillos, and ground cherries. I took extra time this go around by pre-moistening the soil and pressing it down a bit to pack the cells a bit more. The soil remains light and airy, but there’s more soil now for the roots to grow in.

In the 5 or 6 days since sowing the seeds, most of the varieties have germinated. The majority of the tomatoes and nearly all the melons have already sprouted and are looking healthy. This morning, I moved the cells with germinated plants in them off the heat mat and into another tray under the grow light. I’m attempting to be a bit more proactive with moving the starts sooner this time. The goal is to have the starts inside for a few weeks so that they can develop strong root structures before moving them outside.

In the garden beds, we have also started to see the successful germination of seeds, including corn, beans, carrots, and beets. The root crops have been growing pretty well for a few weeks now, but things have been a bit slower with the corn and beans. Corn is a slow germinating plant, so patience is key, but with the heavy rains we had not long after sowing, as well as the cool weather, I don’t think we were overly confident in their germination. However, on Sunday, we noticed that both had sprouted. The corn stalks were only about an inch above the soil, and the beans about two inches, but sure enough, they’re growing. That is incredible news! And with how fast bean plants grow, we should see them take off pretty quickly since we’re supposed to finally get some seasonally-appropriate temperatures this week.

Meeting a Neighbor

Yesterday, when we were working in the garden, our neighbor from across the street walked over and introduced herself. She is an older lady whom we hadn’t met yet, but she wanted to say hello and bring us a few cucumber starts that she had. It was such a wonderful gift and a great way to get to know a neighbor. Gardening is a great way to make friends and spark conversation.

Up Next

That’s it for this week’s update. Between now and next week’s post, we’re going to finish tilling the last bed, plant some sunflowers in front of the corn rows, and sow some butterfly pea seeds in a store-bought planter box. Thanks for reading, and Happy Gardening!

June 2, 2025 2

#39 -Bookcase

Last night my husband and I added an exciting new addition to our home, a rather large and fantastically sturdy bookcase, crafted with love by his own two hands.

It is 7 feet tall. As the pieces began to form the bookcase shape out in his shop, it was intimidating to think about how we were getting it in the house. Not because it was large beyond the doorway or Kyle hadn’t measured and planned the design to fit in our house, but instead who was going to help us carry this?

It looked heavy and ominous. Quite tall. I used to have more upper body strength from working manual labor jobs when I was younger but I lost it over time. I’ve learned that toning and building muscle seem to require more nuance than just practice and I was not doing the latter. Recently when we have carried things, my arms have been noodles, my strength as effective as trying to herd squirrels.

But I was pleasantly surprised, not because I magically became buff or someone else appeared to carry that thing up the stairs and into the house. Wall pilates came in clutch.

See there was an important building block I forgot about where true strength lies in your foundation, which is made ready through discipline. All those I got!

I mentioned in #34 – Shaping Up that I was getting serious about toning my waist for real this time. In doing so I have challenged myself to do at least one minute wall sit and one minute of planks per day. I’ve been doing this for over two months and have added wall pilates and deep-core training along the way. I’ve made my foundation strong by training my legs and my core, which blew me away last night because I think I lifted properly for the first time in my life.

It was all legs and core, my back and my arms didn’t hurt for a second. This is a first! And actually, I was able to shift the empty bookcase a bit on my own. This has shown me that like in everything in life preparation does make the difference. It’s important to keep up with my routine, even when I don’t feel like doing it because I’m busy. This training and discipline have positively affected my ability to do things before I even knew what was ahead of me! I was so relieved to be able to help him instead of having to ask my stepdad or brother-in-law.

I am quite pleased by both the results of deep core training and more importantly how lovely this bookcase looks in our house. He did a fantastic job!

November 16, 2023