[d.w.w.]

A kitchen upgrade. Replaced our stone made mortar and pestle with this one in teak wood. Both pieces turned on my wood lathe and finished with bees wax and coconut oil mix.

[Vikashmalya]

Hi all, i am really glad i found this forum. Highly insightful and helpful. I am a complete noob and trying to learn how to do some basic wood work from scratch. All this started as i was unable to find carpenters to come and do some basic touchups or small work even for those furniture that were made by them. So i thought let me do the small stuff all by myself.

1st DIY:
I have a height adjustable desk for my Desktop. I used to have couple of tables underneath to hold my CPU, printers, woofer etc. Since dust gets accumulated behind and underneath those tables, i decided to wall mount those under the height adjustable table using waste wood / ply i had at home. I bought a Circular Saw to cut the wood and since the height was limited, i used simple T stands to mount my devices. I only understood the complexity and need for proper planning only after i began the work. For e.g. the devices that i need to place underneath had varying heights. I initially thought i would have foldable table mounts, but due to limitation of height viz a viz the depth of objects i had to place, having a foldable mount was not possible. So i went for standard T stands. Also the height adjustable table's legs were a limiting factor. The wall mounts near the legs had to be behind it and the ones in the middle could be larger. So arrangement was a key. I understood that working on wood and creating something simple was not as easy as i had imagined. Finally i did complete this in about 3 hours time. I used the raw ply and have not finished it yet. I am planning to remove and do it in some time.



Considering there is so much experience that i can leverage from on this forum, i have the following queries.

1. Is there any way we can reduce the dust from cutting, grinding, sanding etc.? I work in one of my bedrooms in my apartment. I don't have a proper setup or the space for it. I am planning to build a modular workbench as my next project. Can this sought of work be carried out without having a proper dedicated space?

2. Are there any recommended safety gloves and glasses for this kind of work?

3. As i said, i own a basic circular saw and i am planning to buy Jig Saw, Sander, clamps etc. Would greatly appreciate if you can recommend some basic equipment that would be needed to get started and also recommend a few brands (not expensive) for the same.

4. Any other recommendations that needs to be kept in mind before i get started.

[GutsyGibbon]

Couple projects I completed recently. I added a mahogany shelf behind my custom sofa so that the power outlet is accessible. This has USB too so that we can charge devices while sitting on the sofa. The sofa had covered the power outlets on the wall. While at it I made a speaker stand and covered the speaker wires with some leftover mahogany.


A friend wanted a custom entryway/foyer table. The legs are made out of dark walnut, and the rest of it is mahogany. The finish is danish oil. These pieces of wood we selected has a lot of character. It was a lot of fun building this. Perhaps I should giveup on building software and do this fulltime.

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

1. Is there any way we can reduce the dust from cutting, grinding, sanding etc.? I work in one of my bedrooms in my apartment. I don't have a proper setup or the space for it. I am planning to build a modular workbench as my next project. Can this sought of work be carried out without having a proper dedicated space?

I used to work from the hall in a 2BHK apartment before setting up a dedicated workspace at our individual house. The best approach is to use a vacuum cleaner with power socket (I own Karcher W4 P). The power tool will to connected to the power socket in the vacuum and the vacuum will automatically turn on/off when the tool is switched on/off. Bosch has a similar model and was available in Amazon. Most branded power tools comes with a dust collection option and the vacuum hose can be connected here to suck the dust. Karcher comes with a variety of attachments that will fit in to most dust collection ports. This will collect a major portion of the dust generated.

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

3. As i said, i own a basic circular saw and i am planning to buy Jig Saw, Sander, clamps etc. Would greatly appreciate if you can recommend some basic equipment that would be needed to get started and also recommend a few brands (not expensive) for the same.

It is always better to invest in branded tools. In case something goes wrong, you will have some kind of support from the service center. Since you mentioned you work from an apartment, make sure they have proper dust collection ports on the tools you are buying . Ingcco and Stanley F clamps are available in amazon and I found them to be quite good.

Pro Tip: Power tools below 10-15 K are cheaper online but the bigger ones are cheaper offline. Always check the offline price before ordering online.

[Mik]

Originally Posted by Vikashmalya

1. Is there any way we can reduce the dust from cutting, grinding, sanding etc.? I work in one of my bedrooms in my apartment. I don't have a proper setup or the space for it. I am planning to build a modular workbench as my next project. Can this sought of work be carried out without having a proper dedicated space?

2. Are there any recommended safety gloves and glasses for this kind of work?

3. As i said, i own a basic circular saw Attachment 2708610 and i am planning to buy Jig Saw, Sander, clamps etc. Would greatly appreciate if you can recommend some basic equipment that would be needed to get started and also recommend a few brands (not expensive) for the same.

4. Any other recommendations that needs to be kept in mind before i get started.

I started on a similar journey last year. So here is my experience for your questions.

1. Circular saw will create a lot of mess when it comes to saw dust. Do watch pro youtube woodworkers (i like stumpy nubs quite a lot) to operate it safely. Religiously vacuuming after every cut is very important in case this saw of yours doesn't have the outlet for vacuum cleaner.

2. Safety glasses and masks are a must. You can search for the industrial safety masks online. When you start using routers, you will be exposing yourself to very fine dust which is not good for the lungs. So get used to wearing sealed up industrial safety masks.

3. I too started with a circular saw but over many projects realised that i needed a table saw for precise cabinet making. With your circular saw you need 3 other tools in my opinion
a. Any orbital sander. The cheap ibell ones work ok.
b. Jigsaw (or band saw if you have the budget) My ibell is not great. A blade upgrade to caltex has made it much better though.
c. Hand held router. I have a sharp gold. If you can splurge, bosch is the gold standard.
You just need some F clamps, a basic workbench (search for 1 ply workbench videos. There is a basic famous design) and some combination squares to get started. Graduallly you will build jigs which will serve you well.

4. Safety, and i cannot overemphasize it. I have had my fair share of near misses and minor cuts here and there before i got disciplined with industrial safety gloves and the 'right' way of making cuts (being a lefty most of the equipment is unwieldy for me)

[d.w.w.]

Made this personalized wooden clutch from Padauk recently. I had made a similar piece few years back using limited tools, but it lacked the perfection I wanted, so this time I was determined to make the near perfect piece.






Sharing steps of the process for anyone interested.

The first challenge was to cut the thin strips about 1.5mm thick and 20 cm long. Cutting them on the table saw was an option, but that wastes a lot of wood. To avoid wood wastage and avoid saw/burn marks, I had the strips cut out on the band saw and used a custom made jig to bring them down to the desired thickness using a block plane.



The next step was to convert the rectangular strips to trapezoid strips to bring out the distinctive pattern. Power tools were out of question and again had to rely on a custom made jig and block plane.




A close look at the trapezoid pattern.



Once I made required number of strips, next job was to glue them to the cloth. The other side of the cloth will become the inside of the clutch.



The clutch's sides were cut out to shape on the scroll saw. Once i had everything in place, it was just about gluing the whole thing together. I added some silver pins on each strip for aesthetics.

An 'R' had to be attached on the front side for personolization. Due to the size and font selected, it was almost impossible to hand cut this on regular hard wood. So I made thin strips on wood and pasted them together like a plywood where the grains will come mutually perpendicular to each other. Arned with this homemade ply, I was able to successfully cut the letter out.

R placed on a graph paper to reveal actual dimensions.



The product before final finish.



A close look at the pattern achieved by the trapezoid strips.

[Sudarshan42]

Beautiful. When I first read the title of your post (and especially on this forum), I presumed you had made a customized clutch pedal, and promptly proceeded to wonder how it would fare in stop-go traffic and whether the wood texture needed to be rougher for better grip.

[pgpex21_param]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan42

Beautiful. When I first read the title of your post (and especially on this forum), I presumed you had made a customized clutch pedal, and promptly proceeded to wonder how it would fare in stop-go traffic and whether the wood texture needed to be rougher for better grip.

I thought the same, why would anyone want clutch pedal made of wood.
This looks beautiful and I appreciate you efforts.

But a wooden dashboard trim on a car, will be classy and look great. Please do it mr. master craftsman, i really want to see.

[GutsyGibbon]

My new workplace has cubicles and no good place to hang my gear. I created this helmet/jacket holder contraption, it’s a hack but seems to work

[sunilch]

Looking to have for myself a custom home work table/desk. Standard ones available online are either very expensive if looking for good quality and durability or are not too great from durability perspective. My father used to get everything made at home by carpenters after sourcing required raw materials himself. Most of the furniture at home has lasted for multiple decades with this approach.

I am trying my hands at semi-DIY now and looking for guidance to start with a small experiment here.

Looking to get these table stands: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DF5PZ7Y3/...lig_dp_it&th=1

and then add a table top to it.

Queries:

1) If the leg frames are flat, what type of shoes (or height adjustment parts) can I add to them? Some frames do have those built in but I am looking for a height of 32" which is odd to find. Most frames are about 27-29" in height ad after adding the top, max the table can go is 30".

Looking to have an effective height of 32" for the top so that I can use a taller chair at a raised height. I personally like it that way. A couple of frames are available with 30" height but they don't seem to have options to add the shoes.

Most online available furniture is also of 27-29" only and not more. After this, there are standing desks which are not for my need.

2) What kind of top can I get made? Need a flat surface of about 5 ft x 2.5 ft or 5 ft x 3 ft. Want two people to be able to sit side by side comfortably. So even a slightly longer will do.

Looking around and could not find a durable top due to my lack of knowledge in this subject. I see options as follows:

a) BWR or BWP Plywood with sunmica top. One hole at rear for passing the wires or adding a pop up switch board. This will have to be made by a local carpenter.

b) Checked out Ceramic tops but local dealer had them only in 8 ft x 3ft making them suitable only for a dining table and not for office desk. Not sure how a middle hole can be developed in them and if they can be sourced in smaller dimensions. Is that possible? If yes, how does this get fixed to the legs? Drilling might not be the best option I suppose. For option (a), drilling with screws will be a suitable option I guess?

I do not need a keyboard tray as I prefer to keep the keyboard on the desk surface and hence a deeper desk (2.5 to 3 ft) is preferred. Most commonly available desks in the market are 1.5-2 ft deep only.

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by sunilch

and then add a table top to it.

Queries:

1) If the leg frames are flat, what type of shoes (or height adjustment parts) can I add to them?.

2) What kind of top can I get made?

b) Checked out Ceramic tops but local dealer had them only in 8 ft x 3ft making them suitable only for a dining table and not for office desk.y.

1. Mixing materials is always tricky. Need to consider how to join them and how to allow for expansion and contraction of wood with seasons. If you simply have a slab screwed on the top, it will not have any structural integrity if someone pushes the table top from the sides. The two smaller slabs are very important, they need to be secured very well to prevent movement sideways.

2. Slabs of Teak can be glued together to form a tabletop and planed. You can also buy a teak door from an old home and use it as a top. I did this last year in Bengaluru.

3. Ceramic or stone would be a cold surface hard to work on. They make holes similar to ones made for toilet sinks, it’s possible

Be careful trying to increase height, metal legs and heavy table top. If it tips because a kid runs into it, it can be a disaster

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by sunilch

1) If the leg frames are flat, what type of shoes (or height adjustment parts) can I add to them? Some frames do have those built in but I am looking for a ....Most online available furniture is also of 27-29" only and not more. After this, there are standing desks which are not for my need.

Have you considered building a custom leg? You can share the pic and dimensions with a local welding workshop and they can get it done in GI pipes in the dimensions you need. The amazon link that you shared has the dimensions of the product, you can reuse those except for the height. A coat of 2 part epoxy and a spray coat of enamel paint will do.

Originally Posted by sunilch

2) What kind of top can I get made?

Have you considered PVC foam board or Wood Plastic composite (WPC) sheets. WPC will be a very good option, but it comes only in 8*4 feet sheets. Last time i checked a 3/4" sheet costs between 5 to 6K depending on the quality.

[Fillmore]

I plan to make 2 simple bird houses in the compound.
It has to withstand the elements.

Though in western countries for such projects they use Cedar wood, in India I am not so sure of the quality of this wood.

One option is to use WPC board so that it is water proof.
But if I were to stick to wood which is fairly water proof , please let me know if you have any suggestions ? and where can I procure them ?

Sample

[GutsyGibbon]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

I plan to make 2 simple bird houses in the compound.
It has to withstand the elements.

Though in western countries for such projects they use Cedar wood, in India I am not so sure of the quality of this wood.

One option is to use WPC board so that it is water proof.
But if I were to stick to wood which is fairly water proof , please let me know if you have any suggestions ? and where can I procure them ?

Sample
Attachment 2755046

Use wood that is native to the environment of the bird you are trying to get to live there. Don’t use any paint or varnish on the inside. Apply some natural oil, or neutral odorless mineral oil on the outside