Our biggest recommendation to those starting their first woodworking project…START SMALL!!
Let’s backtrack a little bit… So when did we first start building furniture and enjoying DIY projects??! Many years before we even owned a home!! We were both 18, I had a tiny little college apartment that needed furnishing and I had always wanted to build something….sounds crazy for an 18 year old girl right?! In my parents basement, Brad and I built a little end table that had a couple shelves so I could put some baskets and store some things on it. And guess what? It’s still used at our house today! We have since cut it down to where it is lower in height than we originally built it and it now just has one shelf but the paint is still original, and has held up for almost 13 years! One thing I love about building furniture ourselves is that if we take our time and do it right, it will last for many years. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about some of the cheaper furniture we’ve bought in stores. This little table has brought us so much joy over the years and I always want to keep it somewhere at our house to remind us where we started.
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We sit on our front porch in the mornings when the weather is nice and have our coffee here. So many good conversations have been had around this table.
It’s been so many years since we built it, that I was unable to find the exact plan for this build but www.anawhite.com has some amazing woodworking plans that I’ve used many times for different builds. Here is one similar to our side table.
https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/rustic-x-end-table
We typically get most of our lumber for our projects at either our local lumber yard or Home Depot. I recommend following whatever plan you choose to use closely as they are detailed and gives great instructions for what to buy and how to cut.
Here’s some of our favorite power tools/products we would use for this project:
I recommend starting with a project of this size for a few different reasons.
- It’s small enough it won’t overwhelm you. Starting out in woodworking with something as large as a headboard or sideboard/buffet can be daunting. It would be so easy to get frustrated and give up. Start small.
- A smaller project like this give you a chance to learn to use power tools and basic woodworking skills. Corner cuts, straight cuts, using a nail gun…all of these skills can have a little bit of a learning curve.
- Financially, a project of this size is a lot more manageable. Woodworking can get expensive and making mistakes only drives up the cost. Imagine messing up a cut on a piece that is 18″ long vs a cut that is 8′ long. The 18″ mess up won’t cost too much but the 8′ mess up could be pricey.
As you can see, in this project we had to learn to make a few miter cuts at a 45 degree angle. A few of the photos show that we didn’t get it exact. But I personally love the little mistakes as they give it character and are a reminder to us of where we started. These little skills will only get better with practice!!
So there you have it! Starting out in woodworking doesn’t have to mean building a kitchen cabinet or sideboard for your very first project. Something even smaller than this side table would even be great as well, just a project small enough to get the feel for the skills. Now what are you waiting for?! Let’s get you building something!!
