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OK – so I’m two days late on posting about Get Woodworking Week 2015, Feb 15-21. And that feels about right, because it always takes me a day or three longer than planned to get away from my computer and into the shop. (Case in point – we were closed for President’s Day yesterday, and I was planning to spend it in the shop at work, but a snowstorm put the kibosh on making the 12-mile trip. So that project will just have to wait until the weekend.)
That project is the counter-height table I’m building for my kitchen, and while it will look good and be solid, there’s no need to employ mortise-and-tenon joints or dovetails to make it so. And I’m using lumber from the home center (with the exception of the top, which will be cut from the 1-1/2″-thick countertop I bought from Ikea).
In other words, I’m pretty much following the methods we teach in our beginner woodworking I Can Do That magazine articles and online video series (for which just launched with the first episode).
These articles are free on the I Can Do That page of the Popular Woodworking site. That’s also where you’ll find the videos, which are hosted by Chad Stanton, a furniture maker based in Toledo, Ohio (you may know him from his own YouTube video series, where he goes by the moniker “The Big Chopperoo”). The videos will be uploaded twice a month, and remain free on the page for one month (after which they’ll be available on our streaming site).
The projects are all simple to build using a basic set of tools (for which we give you a free downloadable manual) and beginner approaches – but they look great and are built to last. They’re a perfect way to get into woodworking without a big investment in tools and time, and make projects you can be proud of. And they’re great for getting kids into the shop – you might need to help pre-teen children make some of the cuts, but many of the methods and tools are safe (with proper supervision) for kids.
So check out the new video series and the many free projects on the I Can Do That page, and Get Woodworking!
p.s. While it won’t be in time for Get Woodworking week, look for “Build it With Dad,” a new book from A.J. Hamler – it’s scheduled to arrive from the printer at the end of March, and is chock-full of fun projects to get kids into the shop, including a tool tote and mini workbench, a rubber band racer and rubber band shooter, a train whistle, a dragon bank and more.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
