Woodworking 10

landscaping, woodworking

Turn an Old Toybox into a Garden Tool Storage Dream

We upcycled an old plywood toybox into a functional garden tool storage box with wood scraps and dollar-bin paint. The box features top plates with two hole sizes so you can easily see, store and access your common tools. The areas in between the plates provide ample space for large and bulky tools like a […]

game room, woodworking

A Cool LED Shelf Anyone Can Make

This wooden LED shelf was an afterthought. As in, I built it after spending way too much time thinking about the shelves for this closet. It’s astonishingly simple, and because I used scraps to make the oak shelf, the total cost was only about $40. Originally, I planned for this space to be a bar […]

fireplace, woodworking

Build a Rustic Mantel from Reclaimed Wood

(This article is part 3 of our Fireplace Makeover series.) We built this mantel entirely from a few pieces of rough-sawn lumber pulled out of a recycled building materials yard. Part of the fun of building it was deciding how to combine the pieces while keeping the rustic charm of the wood. Our local yard […]

game room, woodworking

Easy DIY Pool Cue Rack

About 15 seconds after we got our pool table set up, we both looked around the room and realized something was missing. We had made sure to get everything we needed to shoot pool, right down to the chalk, but danged if we hadn’t thought about where we’d put the cues. Fortunately, the old scrap […]

game room, woodworking

How to Build Arcade Controllers for a Cocktail Table

(This is the fourth article in the series on how to build a retro arcade cocktail table) The controllers for this arcade table consist of a plywood top to which the controls are mounted and a housing box that hides the wiring. The top panel is mounted directly to the internal support rails, providing a […]

woodworking

How to Make a Quick-and Dirty Woodworking Compass

In order to make the oval tabletop for my arcade cocktail table, I needed an adjustable compass capable of drawing large radius circles. My mind immediately went to the compass my high school geometry teacher used to draw on the chalkboard. It’s really a simple affair with two arms: one for holding firmly to a […]

game room, woodworking

Retro Arcade Cocktail Table

Retro gaming arcade machines are all over the place, and they are relatively cheap and easy to build. If you’ve got an old monitor lying around and you never throw away your scrap wood, then you just need to buy a Raspberry Pi and some cheap controller parts and you can build a sub $100 […]

game room, woodworking

How to Make an Oval Arcade Tabletop

(This is the second article in the series on building a retro arcade cocktail table) The oval arcade tabletop gives this gaming cabinet a retro-modern look and turns this design into a piece of furniture that fits in your living room or play room. The extra surface area you get with an oval shape makes […]

game room, woodworking

How to Build a Trapezoidal Arcade Cabinet

(This is the third article in the series on building a retro arcade cocktail table) The cabinet for the arcade table is a trapezoidal box made of plywood. It houses all the electronics and provides a sturdy frame to support the monitor and game controllers. The trapezoid shape gives the table a cool mod look, […]

kitchen, woodworking

Build a Hardwood Hanging Pot Rack: Awesome for Beginners

This hanging pot rack is one of the first pieces of furniture I ever built. I was in college, living in a studio apartment on the upper floor of a Victorian house: The ceilings were tall and the place was small. It turned out to be so practical and beautiful that we’ve been using it […]