Save up to 64% and get a free gift. Subscribe »
Tim Celeski
A Hybrid Construction Method that Imitates a CNC The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base This the first of five online articles on building the Maker Workstation featured in the June 2021 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. This is an extended version of the print article to help readers build…
A modern workbench system Project #2109 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 1 Week • Cost: $400 The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base Most workbenches come with a little history. This history is personal. My very first woodworking project was Tom Casper’s clever and simple, “Workbench in a Weekend”…
Megan Fitzpatrick
Clear finish updates the look of this classic design. This modified Shaker design, downsized from a set of creamery shelves, is adapted from a Shaker Workshops catalog. To ensure our 3⁄4“-stock would not bow under the weight of even the heaviest items, we decided to make these shelf pieces a bit shorter than those you’ll…
Dillon Baker
Recreated from a photograph and measurements, this design feels both modern and timeless. One of the things I have come to admire as a furniture designer-maker is the timelessness of works created long before us. I am continually impressed by the works’ latent ability to establish a perpetual necessity within the lives its users. It’s…
Rob Millard
Years ago I discovered Federal furniture and knew that with beautiful veneer, superb inlay and simple carving, this would be my furniture period of choice. Federal furniture has much to offer woodworkers. In addition to the traditional joinery, there is veneering, inlay (stringing, banding as well as pictorial), reeding, curved work and some carving. Initially…
Katie Freeman
Turn a log into a sculptural statement piece. PROJECT #2101 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 4 days • Cost: $200 Have you ever come upon the opportunity to get some logs either due to a downed tree on your property or somewhere else within your community? A very familiar story is someone has to…
Simon Watts
Lightweight, folding and portable, this chair is so simple to make you’ll want a pair – or more. I’ve always disliked the Adirondack chair and have never understood its popularity. I find it uncomfortable because the human frame does not bend at right angles and also, because it neither folds nor stacks, it’s an awkward…
Pop Wood Editors
This mobile, folding table base provides a huge work area, holds a ton and folds up to only 7 in. thick.
David Lyell
This classic design is at home in settings both rustic and modern. PROJECT #2007 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 4 days • Cost: $500 My home is a 150-year-old farmhouse situated in the middle of Cincinnati, Ohio. When it came time to tackle the renovation of the dining room, we decided on a dining…
One Workstation. Two Bases to Choose From The Maker Workstation Overview • Building The Top • Building The Base When designing the maker workstation, a goal was to make sure the top would work on different kinds of bases, sawhorses, or other stable platforms. The workstation top is a unit in itself, portable and adaptable…
Christopher Schwarz
Is it necessary? And if so, what are the best techniques? Like any tool or machine, a workbench requires accessories (jigs, fixtures, appliances) and occasional maintenance to actually do anything of great value. A bench without a bench hook is a dining table. A bench with a cupped work surface is an exercise in bewilderment…
American Woodworker Editors
Tool: Festool MFT/3 Multifunction Table Buy Now Manufacturer: Festool MSRP: $735 If you work in a small space, on a jobsite, or must stow all your tools when you’re done, check out the Festool MFT/3 Multifunction Table. It’s designed to work hand-in-glove with the Festool guide rail system, which accommodates their plunge-cutting circular saw and router….
Robert W. Lang
This hybrid design holds work any which way you want it to. Good design is little more than selective thievery. This workbench is a good example of that. A combination of features from several historic forms, ranging from the Roubo to the Workmate, becomes a new form, suited to being the center of a modern…
Andrew Zoellner
Sponsored by Shaper Tools. Cutting dovetails with Shaper Origin and Workstation is a very precise and adaptable process you can use on all kinds of casework, drawers, boxes and more. See how we built an Adventure Chest in the video below. You can learn more about Shaper Origin and Workstation at shapertools.com. You can download…
Bill Rainford
This reproduction is a fun build and a great gift for a budding woodworker. Project #1922 • Skill Level: Intermediate • Time: 3 days • Cost: $200 “Hand and heart lead to life.” was an early motto of the North Bennet Street Industrial School (NBIS), now called the North Bennet Street School (NBSS). Founded in…
This simple rack uses no nails, no screws and holds up to 15 pairs of shoes.
Caleb Harris
Add artful accents to a play table. Project #1914 • Skill Level: Beginner • Time: 1 Day • Cost: $150 Last Christmas my wife and I introduced our young boys to LEGO. This was a good reminder that there is something really special about spending time with your kids with toys that you grew up…
Michael Clifford
Add GFRC to your furniture-making arsenal. I’ve always loved aircraft-inspired design. There’s just something about an everyday item inspired by a plane that evokes a sense of wanderlust in me, and I wanted to make a piece of furniture that had that aircraft feel. This concrete and walnut “wing” table is the result. Before I…
Join our email list and download your choice of 7 plans instantly. Plus get Popular Woodworking’s top projects and tips, special offers and product news.
Start typing and press Enter to search
