Wooden Mallet | Woodworking Essential Tool

I've seen many videos that suggest a wooden mallet is essential to a woodshop. While that may be the case, I've made it so far without one. On this day, I decided to make one.

Ryobi 10 Inch Compound Miter Saw - Is It Any Good?

Like many woodworkers, I got interested a few years ago in actually putting a shop space together. This led me to adding stationary power tools as I was able. I always wanted a miter saw, but I put it off for a long time for some reason. When I purchased The Weekend Woodworker course a couple years ago, Steve put out a list of tools that were his recommendations to get started inexpensively. I already had most of the tools needed in the course, and decided to get this inexpensive Ryobi Miter Saw.

My initial concerns were, that a cheap saw from an entry-level brand name, wouldn't be worth the money. I knew I would have loved to get the Bosch 12 inch sliding compound miter saw, but at the time, it retailed for about $649. It was the kind of Miter saw you get, and never have to upgrade. Well, I was too much of a novice to make that kind of investment in it. So, I bought this Ryobi for around $130 at Home Depot.

Rustic Decorative Box Built Fast and Cheap

If you're known by others to make things with wood, chances are you'll have opportunities to make custom pieces for others with the holidays fast approaching. Having said that, it's not always about showing off skills, implementing new methods, or even conquering a challenge for that matter. Sometimes, it's just about doing something for someone else. The way I figure it, I can build this, or they can go pay who-knows-what for something similar at Hobby Lobby. This is a super simple box I put together for a family member to decorate the center of her dining table. It would also work great as a planter. No lap joints, no dove tails, no rabbits, just wood cut to size, and tapped together with finishing nails. As simple as that is, not everyone has the know-how or the needed tools. That's a fact that I sometimes forget.

I used fence boards for this, because she wanted the box to have a 'rustic' look. Because of this, I didn't even worry about small gaps or joints that were slightly uneven. These boards are only a couple of bucks for a 6 footer, so it was also extremely inexpensive. The boards are about 6" wide, which is exactly the dimensions she asked for. So all I had to do was cut them to length.

No sanding whatsoever, and the only power tool I used was the miter saw. I did apply glue before nailing it together. One coat of spray lacquer brought out the color of the wood and finished it up. Aside from going and buying the boards, this literally took.. maybe 10 minutes. But, here's the key: she's happy which makes me happy.

*Update 12/2/2020 - Here's what she did with it.

Set Up Shop - WWMM Courses Testimonial

I've mentioned a number of times on this website how much I enjoy all the video content from WWMM(Woodworking for Mere Mortals) and Steve Ramsey. I received an email some time ago asking me to fill out a survey and share my thoughts on the Weekend Workshop course. I'm sure everyone who purchased the course received the same email. I generally tend to ignore these types of emails, but because I'm such a "fanboy", I decided to take the survey and share some thoughts. I noticed today that an excerpt from my review is posted on the homepage of WWMM.

I guess they really do read these responses, huh?

So I will say it here, not that Steve needs any help from me. Whether you're experienced  in woodworking or not, log in to Youtube and search for Steve Ramsey - Woodworking for Mere Mortals. You'll learn a lot by spending some time scrolling through the many videos there, AND you will find yourself smiling and snickering at many of the entertaining things he does. Even if you're a seasoned woodworker, I can assure you that you'll enjoy it. If you want a much faster approach to setting up a shop and getting started building, his courses - such as The Weekend Workshop are a great place to start (imho).

I'm not including links, but it's all easy to find..

Learning to Paint with the Graco Magnum X7 Airless Sprayer

I'm in the middle of doing a renovation on a house to sell. The house needs paint in just about every room, and I originally thought I would just hire someone to do it. As I thought more about it, I got the bright idea that I would buy a paint sprayer, do the job myself and $ave Money. 

My biggest lesson in this scenario, is that painting with a sprayer is the easy part. The hardest part is placing tape, plastic, and drop cloths everywhere you don't want the paint to go. Did I say everywhere? I mean EVERYWHERE.