Beginner Woodworking Projects: Easy Plans & Project Ideas

I Can Do That

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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I Can Do That: Step Stool

This handy little step stool converts into a seat so that it serves your little ones two ways. Read more »

I Can Do That: A Tapered-leg Table

Tapered legs lighten the look and add ‘spring’ to a table’s design. You can create tapered legs using your jig saw. Read more »

I Can Do That Patio Chair

With only pre-cut lumber from the home center store and basic joinery, you can be sitting pretty in no time at all.
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I Can Do That: Skansen Bench

Based on a Swedish antique, this bench uses through-tenons made with just a jigsaw.
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I Can Do That: Fish Sticks

This trivet is simple and fun to make – in any number of shapes.
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I Can Do That: Trompe L’oeil Table

The tabletop on our for the I Can Do That project in our February 2010 issue, appeared a bit blasÃ?Â©. So to pep up the look, I thought inlay. Knowing I didn’t have the time to create, or the desire to purchase wood inlay, I turned to trompe l’oeil. Trompe l’oeil is French for “fool … Read more »