Our new-ish online editor, Tom Nunlist, started a little less that a year ago, and took like a Kentuckian to bourbon in his “real” job, which is to handle the backend of the web site, shoot and edit videos, write the weekly newsletter, help readers with online, er, challenges and more. In other words, he … Read more
This is a model of the I Can Do That “Shaker Carry Box” from the October 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. View the Google SketchUp Model for version one (above), and version two of this project. View all of the Woodworking SketchUp Models. Purchase Sketchup products from Shop Woodworking.
Notched and nailed joints add visual interest to this simple project. By Megan Fitzpatrick Pages 50-52 This form is typically called a Shaker silverware tray – but it comes in handy for ferrying all sorts of things hither and yon. I got lucky at the big box store in finding some perfectly straight, flat and … Read more
In this short video, executive editor Robert W. Lang demonstrates how to find the center of a board using a combination square, it’s easy, accurate and no numbers were harmed in the making of this video. – Robert Lang
This is a model of the I Can Do That coffee table from the August 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. View the Google SketchUp Model. View all of the Woodworking SketchUp Models. Purchase the August 2012 issue of Popular Woodworking. Purchase Sketchup products from Shop Woodworking.
Take the easy way out: Find sizes without measuring.
By Robert Lang
Pages 62-63
This small coffee table is a great introduction to building furniture. It doesn’t require much material and it’s an opportunity to develop your skills. This project is sturdy, attractive and easy to build. All of the parts come from standard widths of lumber. I used poplar from my local home center, and I made the table from one 6′-long piece of 1×8, one 8′ length of 1×6 and two 8′ lengths of 1×4.
Start by gluing the top from two pieces of 1×8 and one piece of 1×6. If you are cutting the parts from 6′- or 8′-long boards, leave them a couple of inches long, then trim them to the final length after the glue has dried.
The goal during glue-up is to keep the faces of the boards aligned. Use a couple straight strips of wood below for a level work surface and, if you need to, clamp straight pieces across the top and bottom to hold the edges in alignment while the glue dries.
Let the glue dry overnight, then trim the top to length. Clamp a straightedge across the top to guide your jigsaw or circular saw to make the cut. When the top is at its finished size, set the blade of your combination square at 2″ and draw lines in from each corner on the underside of the top.
Download the PDF of this article for the drawing and cutlist:
Contemporary Coffee Table
Video: Learn a quick and easy method for finding the center of an edge with a combination square.
Plan: Download a free SketchUp model for the “Contemporary Coffee Table.”
Articles: All the “I Can Do That” articles are free online.
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The first tenet of “I Can Do That” is that all projects we build for it must be doable with the modest (but decent) set of beginner tools we’ve identified, and for which we’ve provided instruction in the free “manual” (that can be dowloaded for free on the “I Can Do That” page). Sure, we … Read more
