Ben's Workshop » Making mistakes so you don't have to

Jun 11 2015

Down Draft Table

Categories:

Cordless Drill, Miter Saw, Pine, Pocket Hole, T-Track, Table Saw

June 11, 2015

When I wrote the post for ToolGuyd — Project: Making a T-Track Table Top on a Budget, a commenter said he wanted more information about my down draft table. Turns out I never posted the project here. I built this several years ago so the assembly pictures are from then and the assembled …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/down-draft-table/

Mar 27 2015

Breaking Down A Laminate Sheet With A Utility Knife

Categories:

Laminate Sheet, Utility Knife

by benjamen

March 27, 2015

I have an upcoming project where I want a nice smooth surface that glue and other sticky materials will peel off easily. I’ve previously used pre-cut 30×48″ sheets of ugly patterned laminate for this purpose, because I didn’t care too much what the end product looked …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/breaking-down-a-laminate-sheet-with-a-utility-knife/

Feb 26 2015

Making a Cornice out of Crown Molding

Categories:

Finish Nailer, Minwax Stain, Miter Saw, Pin Nailer, Polycrylic, Red Oak, Remodeling

by benjamen

February 26, 2015

When we replaced the exterior windows and doors in our family room, I trimmed the door out with a fluted casing and a cornice made out of crown molding. Now that we remodeled our family room, I wanted to trim out the double doors into the …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/making-a-cornice-out-of-crown-molding/

Feb 18 2015

Treehouse Bed

Categories:

Cordless Drill, External Stain, Miter Saw, Pine, Router Table, Son, Table Saw, Treehouse Bed

by benjamen

February 18, 2015

My son’s treehouse bed is possibly the largest, most complex project I have attempted. It took over a year to complete. After planning and partially building this project, I discovered the finished pieces wouldn’t fit out the door. This set me back several months as I tried to …

1 comment

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/treehouse-bed/

Jan 30 2015

My Son’s Scrap Bin Imperial Shuttle

Categories:

Pin Nailer, Scraps, Son

by benjamen

January 30, 2015

My kids love my shop. I’ve always told them they can use any materials they want as long as they give me a drawing of what they want to do. My scrap bin is the exception, they can dig through it and use anything they find without asking. So of course …

2 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/my-sons-scrap-bin-imperial-shuttle/

Jan 29 2015

Adding a Mouse Door to Some Baseboard

Categories:

Acrylic Paint, Daughter, Red Oak, Scroll Saw

by benjamen

January 29, 2015

You’d think my main reason for installing a mouse door in the baseboard was to add a bit of whimsy to our family room addition. You might be partially right, but my real motivation starts with trying to lay baseboard in my kitchen. A few years ago, when I …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/adding-a-mouse-door-to-some-baseboard/

Jan 17 2015

Thrift Store Find: Mission Style File Cabinet

Categories:

Furniture

by benjamen

January 17, 2015

Browsing one of the local thrift stores a week or so ago, I found this interesting mission style file cabinet/end table. Now I’ve been meaning to make a wooden file cabinet to replace our cheap plastic one for years and years, but like anything else, if you already have a good enough solution, you hardly …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/thrift-store-find-mission-style-file-cabinet/

Jan 05 2015

Energy Efficient Bulbs and the Cold

Categories:

Lighting

by benjamen

January 5, 2015

Man it’s cold. You know it’s cold when the snow starts to squeak like Styrofoam under your boots. It’s so cold here in the burbs of Minneapolis that CFL’s wont light outside and that’s a problem; we need the outdoor …

2 comments

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/energy-efficient-bulbs-and-the-cold/

Jan 02 2015

Making a Baby Gate Puppy Proof

Categories:

Home Improvement, Miter Sled, Pine, Table Saw

by benjamen

January 2, 2015

Baby gates are designed to keep babies out of trouble, not to keep a 50 pound German Shepard puppy at bay. Even the staying power of this heavy duty gate was only as good as its friction fit, which due to the chair rail in the way wasn’t very good at …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/making-a-baby-gate-puppy-proof/

Jan 01 2015

Matching Pine Trim to Oak

Categories:

Minwax Stain, Pine, Red Oak, Remodeling

by benjamen

January 1, 2015

To trim out the family room, we choose red oak colored with Minwax natural wood stain. The story would end here, but I also needed to match some pine picture rail to this trim. After shopping around, the only picture rail I could source locally came in pine. Now you …

Permanent link to this article: http://workshop.electronsmith.com/content/matching-pine-trim-to-oak/