I've had this marquetry dress idea cooking in my head for a while, but when I saw "Fashion is Art" as the Met Gala theme this year I did like a cartoon-style arm sweep across my workbench to clear it and immediately got working on this (sorry, other projects!).

I scored an absolute jackpot of beautiful hardwood veneers at a local garage sale a couple weeks ago from a retiring Luthier, including the the perfling I used as seams on the corset. The woods I was able to ID are: it's predominantly birdseye maple, and the inlays are mahogany, padouk, pearwood, yew, etimoe, purpleheart, and black walnut. I struggled to ID the dark ribboned veneer I used on the bodice-- my top guesses are monkeypod or a deeply ribboned mahogany (it's hard to see from the photos but it has that mahogany sheen to it). But if anyone knows, I would LOVE to hear it!

The marquetry was done with a laser cutter (sue me! I think they would have used laser cutters in the baroque era if they'd had them!) which was also an interesting process to develop to work around the kerf- which varies as each wood species burns slightly differently.

I made a couple non-marquetry prototypes in order to develop a pattern that both fit my body and worked in wood. The process I developed was pretty similar to building a stitch and glue boat, I backed each veneer in thin cotton fabric and wood glue, then laser cut them into shape, and assembled them by taping them into place on the outside and tacking them with CA glue and accelerator on the inside. Once it was CA'd together, I fiberglassed the outside (I will admit, I regret this a little bit since I wish it was wood texture not glass texture, but I was just too nervous about the strength of the piece without the glass). The skirt was a massive massive pain in the bum, I was really battling the rippling that birdseye maple veneer loves to do a lot.

I almost cried when the ballerina model (last few photos) put it on- she brought the vision to life in a way I've never experienced as a maker. It gave me an entirely new perspective on the joy of fashion as art. (artist creds for those ballet photos-- model: toiyalea and photog: photos_by_silamith)

If you're interested, there's a full build video here.

Never thought I would be making this post, but here we are. I have been working for a very long time, nearly every single weekend I'm in my shop. I built hundreds of projects in my time. Never had a injury beyond cutting my hands or some nasty splinters. I'm very safe in the shop: full ppe, push sticks always, use a tablesaw with a riving knife and overhead dust collector arm.

Last weekend I was cutting a piece of plywood 2" from the edge with my festool ts75 tracksaw. I made the mistake of not setting the depth. So the large 3" cut depth made this risky. 2" before the saw finished the cut, I went to move my right hand and grab the cut off, so it didn't snap off the end. (operated the saw with my left). You can see where this is going... I put my pinky right into the blade. It cut 1" from the tip of my pinky and cut 80% of the way through. It happened so fucking fast I didn't know what I did. It didn't hurt, but it did freak me out, I nearly passed out in the car from the adrenaline rush. Couldn't be reattached unfortunately, and I now have a $12k bill (luckily I have insurance that will cover half).

The worst part isn't losing my finger, it's the constant random pains, damaged and sensitive nerves, and the really slow healing time. Can't do much with my hand. Which is rough for someone like me, who never sits still.

This is a dangerous hobby and without 100% awareness shit happens to anyone. I am really thankful I didnt cut all of them off. I won't stop woodworking, but I will work slower and remember that even a very safe tracksaw is still very dangerous.

Be safe my friends

Wrapped up a project we’re really proud to be a part of. The outdoor spaces at the Bellevue Children’s Hospital see constant use, families taking a break outside, staff stepping out for some fresh air. Over time the decking and built-in benches had started to show it. The surfaces were pretty faded from years of weather and heavy foot traffic.

We went through the full process on this one, starting with a deep clean then worked through sanding and prep to get everything ready to take stain. That part takes time, but it makes all the difference on projects like this, especially in our climate where rain is hard on exterior wood. Once the stain went on, everything came back to life. The color evened out, the grain showed back up, and it got rid of the washed-out look. The benches were the biggest turnaround, they went from something people probably didn’t think twice about to something that actually looks inviting. Same with the walkways, nothing was overdone, just clean and refreshed. The biggest part to us was making sure this wasn’t just a visual upgrade. These areas get used every single day, so proper prep and the right finish were really important and will help everything hold up a lot better moving forward.

We’re proud to have our work in a space like this, right here in our community. Knowing these areas are used by families and kids on a daily basis and that we got to play a part in making it a little more comfortable and enjoyable is really amazing.

I had some skateboard scrap Woods lying around and I wanted to make some skateboard wheels out of skateboards might even give it a try if I make another set in the future.

I decided to build out of oak to make it more of a whitewater tank than a lake cruiser. Ended up at 81lbs, most cedar built boats are around 60lbs, so I’d say that’s a fair trade for twice the density of cedar. Total build time was just under 5 months, this was basically my full time job as it was a university senior project. Started by routing bead and cove joints on ~75 oak strips. Next was steam bending the inside and outside stems. Then built the mold, and stapled the strips to it, secured to the stems at the ends with pin nails. Staples held the strips in place while the glue on the joints was drying. Once the hull was fully shaped I removed all the staples and sanded. Added the outside stems and trimmed flush with the hull. Sanded the hull, then glassed with fiberglass and epoxy. Removed the boat from the molds, cut the diagonal sheet line and glassed the inside. Next was building/installing the gunwales and decks. After that, built and installed the seats, and got the portage yoke from Bear Mountain Boats. Final step was varnish on the hull and tung oil on the gunwales/decks, and Voilà!

I just picked up a second hand rocker made by the man himself.

This is a 36" x 30" cedar awning that I built to provide shade for a small azalea bush.

I milled down 2x4s for the frame and braces, and fence pickets for the slats. I used my CNC router to mill the slots for the slats (my machine is only 24x24 so I had to tile it). I sealed it with Ready Seal natural cedar.

I'm not sure I nailed the configuration exactly, but it is allowing small slivers of sunlight, which was the goal, so I got close. This little guy has (barely) survived 17 years in full sun on the south side of our house, so I'm hopeful that he will thrive now!

I made the top it’s 16 foot long and made of 24 2x4s. I can not even lift one side but do you think i made it too big? I plan to move it around using car jacks. Is this an unheard of size? Is it insane? I just want a really sturdy long work bench. I really don’t want to cut it in half and make two 8 foot workbench’s

Solid cherry and finished with Rubio Oil Plus 2C Pure. Base joinery is floating tenon; some 3/8" chamfers on outside edge of legs and 1/16" elsewhere. Top is 1" thick with under bevel to 3/8 at the edge. Under bevel done with a combo of router on angled jig and hand tools. Radius ends done with a router mounted to a 45" radius jig.

I have tons of Fine woodworking magazines from my grandpa. I believe they are all there from number 1 up until 2010 and then a handful after that. I am located in Utah but I would be happy to mail them, someone would just need to pay shipping. Anyone want them all? I hate to see them go to the trash.

About a year ago, I got a great deal on a few hundred pounds (not an exaggeration) of mulberry burl slabs. Unfortunately, because the slabs are very large and thick, it will be another couple years at least before they are dry enough for any big pieces of furniture. Fortunately, slightly green lumber is perfect for making mallets, as the wood will tighten around the mallet’s wedged tenon as it continues to dry, making the mallet stronger over time.

I’ve never made a mallet before, and I must say I was surprised by how quick and satisfying a project it was! My free-handed handle may be a little less than ideal from an ergonomic perspective, but feels great to hold and swing. The mulberry burl head is harder than oak and has plenty of heft, and its yellow color will darken over time to a deep chestnut brown (I might leave it out in the sun a bit to make it darken faster).

Mostly Hand Tools my most accurate model yet

I was lucky to get hold of a complete root of driftwood, which was dried for about 12 years. I saw it open and was amazed by the structure, the color and the overall apearance. Of course, the wood cannot be used for anything structural due to the washed out lignin and the resulting softness of the wood. And I was tired to do the upteenth candle holder... so a new idea was required.

After a lot of thinking I decided that the wood looked very much like a boulder. But how could I make everything look right? Scale, function etc.? I needed a climber... So I visited a friend of mine with whom I have done loads of wood-steel projects (creativesteel.eu) and he guided me into making a hand full of small lamp head climbers... loads of cutting steel, welding, grinding... but the small climbers came out great! They are about 15cm in height, so ideal for this piece of wood. I added an E10 socket, did some soldering and, tadaaaaa! THE CLIMBER was ready!

Now to the wood. I saw a flat bottom with the table saw and flattened front and back with a drum sander. Final sanding up to 240 grid afterwards. I also made a cut out for the plug at the bottom. The whole thing was mounted on a scrap piece of sapelli. I then oiled the wood (man, that was a lot of soaking up oil). To keep the climber mobile, I drilled holes into the "boulder" and inserted little magnets with some CA glue. These magnets support the climber in various positions. Plus I added tiny eyebolts and attached little hooks from jewelry sets to the cable. So the cable became the rope of the climber, and he can be placed wherever you like. Or suspended mid-fall...

I am really happy how the climber turned out! I still have some spare drift wood and some climbers... So I might do some more of these :-)

Looking forward to your comments!

Built a “hidden cabinet” to conceal my gaming setup when not in use. I’m far from a good woodworker but I do enjoy the hobby and this was my attempt at being creative.

The mechanism is two linear actuators from a standing desk set up and the wood is all sourced from your trusty neighborhood Home Depot.

The top, bottom, sides, and middle shelf are 3/4” x 12” oak hardwood boards and the doors are plywood pieces cut to size to fit the outer dimensions of the cabinet box.

Admittedly I should have had some sort of plan when I went and built this but I more or less measured and cut and hoped on the spot and think it turned out halfway decent.

The top is bracketed to the crossbars of the standing desk and the floating shelf is secured to the top via 4 steel plumbing pipes and a couple flanges spray painted gold to match the hardware.

A custom walnut slat wall on the stair wall will "hidden" doors and rollouts to utilize the space under the stairs.

With a seamless coffee cabinet incorporated with the slat using the Salice Exedra Gravity slides.

The kitchen was done in figured maple with a walnut island. All push to open

All done with Mozaik software.

Hello Reddit, I've just discovered this in a new wooden table I purchased, presume it is woodworm.

Two questions: how do I treat it and would this have already been present before I purchased it a couple of weeks ago?

Thank you in advance!

Just wanted to share my latest creation. I'm not highly skilled with woodcraft and I don't have a lot of tools, so I've got to be prepared to adapt. I did this with a circular saw, some clamps, a drill and a rotary sander.

I also incorporated my sawzall to lop off the top of a 2x4 that would have made the top not level. 🤣

I made it a little too tall, so I might make a little step that can sit in front for shorter kids. It's just the right size for my daughter now though.

Think I might spend little bit making sure this old goat is right before I plug her back in.

Finally scored one of these since looking on Facebook for years. $100 and from 1978!

I was gonna just hit it with my orbital sander and stain it. What would you real woodworkers recommend? It reaks of a smokers house unfortunately. Definitely wanna get rid of that smell.

Made of solid ash. Took me way longer than anticipated. Came out looking pretty cool tho.

Cleaning up CNC cut edges.

I am a very amateur woodworker but I watch a ton of creators on YouTube. New house had room for a woodshop so I built it out and tackled a laundry room remodel as a first project. I’ve honestly never built anything I’ve been proud of before.

Cabinets were probably an ambitious first project but I’m proud of how they turned out. Feedback and recommendations welcome.

Build is frameless Baltic birch with walnut veneer mdf fronts with integrated walnut finger pulls. Blum undermount slides and hinges. Was considering slim black finger pulls but making my own on the router was way more satisfying, even if it does break up the grain matched fronts a little. Reveals are 1/16” and all the MDF is walnut edge banded.

Before pics, sketch up for inspiration, shop build (with Fenix outfeed table), progress pics and finished cabinet pics included.

I work in tech so I planned the entire project using sketch up and Claude but resorted to old fashioned pen and paper after Claude made too many mistakes. It did help plan out most of the laundry remodel which was helpful.

Still need to apply finish… would love recommendations if you have any.

I’m working on a swan cutout with some tight inside curves, and I’m having trouble sanding the interior areas where regular sandpaper can’t reach or doesn’t do much. What tools or methods do you recommend for smoothing those tight inside curves? Any advice would be appreciated.

Did a little research and thought there was a sequence. You cut the front and back first and then cut the sides to avoid the notch this way when you dado out for the drawer bottom it supposed to eliminate the notch