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Looking for the best resource for the beginning woodworker or just a simple project you can turn out quickly? Here it is. Our long-standing “I Can Do That” column features beginner woodworking projects and furniture plans for easy-to-build pieces that are not only handsome but also designed by expert furniture makers to help refine your “skills and techniques” while building your confidence as a woodworker. All of these beginner projects that can be completed by any woodworker with a modest (but decent) kit of tools in less than two days of shop time, and using raw materials that are available at any home center. Building these simple projects is the perfect step toward taking your work to the next level.

Our free online manual (in PDF format) explains all the tools and shows you how to perform the basic operations in a step-by-step format. You’ll learn to rip with a jigsaw, crosscut with a miter saw and drill straight with the help of our manual. Whenever we introduce a new tool or technique to the column, we’ll update the manual, too. (You might want to bookmark this page so you can easily find it when we update the manual.)

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In the round. The smoother your jigsaw cut, the less sanding.

I Can Do That: Spastic Susan

Make a Sherpa of a dining table centerpiece that goes the distance.

By Mag Ruffman

The modest Lazy Susan is a staple on circular dining tables. Everyone can reach out and activate its convenient, if sluggish, spinning action in order to self-serve their favorite condiments from a jumble of bottles, shakers and jars.
BLOG: Read Mag’s (very funny) blog.
PLAN: Download the free SketchUp plan for the Spastic Susan.
ARTICLES: All the “I Can Do That” articles are free online.
Read more »

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I Can Do That: Small Bench

This simple seat is ideal for a hallway or porch.

By Megan Fitzpatrick
Pages: 26-27

From The October 2011 issue #192
Buy the issue now

This project is inspired by a period choir bench in my mom’s dining room – but I modernized the Gothic revival design of the original with sweeping curves on the arms (instead of shelter arms), and left out the moulding and cutouts.

From the October 2011 issue #192
Buy this issue now

ARTICLE: HallBenchICDT
BONUS ARTICLE: “I Can Do That” article from Mag Ruffman on our web site.
PLAN: Download the free SketchUp plan for the Small Bench.
ARTICLE: All the “I Can Do That” articles are free online.
Read more »

Chairs fixed

I Can Do That: Limbert Outdoor Cafe Chair

A great chair to make in pairs (or more), this outdoor version of a classic Charles Limbert Arts & Crafts cafe chair is simple to make using basic home center lumber and only a few common tools. Very little woodworking experience required.   Download the Limbert Chair Plans Here

Garden-Bench

I Can Do That: Outdoor Garden Bench Project

Built from pine boards available from you local home store, this outdoor bench can be built with only a jigsaw and screw gun. A simply coat of paint to match your decor and you’ll be sitting pretty! This project is one of many from ‘Backyard Projects for Today’s Homestead‘. Click here to download your free … Read more »

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I Can Do That: Lap Desk

Portable productivity with a nod to steampunk style.

By Mag Ruffman

The glorious thing about being self-sufficient is that you can usually figure out ways to create what you need.

My latest need arose after a bad case of Burning Thighs Syndrome, a malady caused by sitting on the couch typing on a laptop computer. With my quadriceps performing as heat sinks for the laptop’s toiling battery, I had the hottest legs in Canada.
PLAN: Download the free SketchUp plan for the Lap Desk.
ARTICLES: All the “I Can Do That” articles are free online.
Download the complete “I Can Do That” manual. Read more »