It’s easy to be inspired in the kitchen to make something, and I’m not just referring to food either (okay, maybe I am just a little.) Items for use in the kitchen are popular projects, not only with our spouses but often with family and friends.

My wife Samantha has a long list of things she’d like built to help her keep things organized in the kitchen, and at the top of her list is to get rid of the hideous plastic utensil organizer we’ve had since we first moved in together 18 years ago.



So on today’s episode we’re building a custom utensil organizer for our kitchen cabinet drawer. One that not only holds the crazy number of forks, spoons and knives we own (I have no idea how we’ve accumulated so many) but also all of the extra things that I couldn’t tell you exactly what they do. This is a custom-sized project, so I won’t share a plan for it, but after watching I’m certain you’ll be able to build something very similar for your kitchen drawers if you were interested.



It all comes together using two of the most basic joints in the woodshop, the Rabbet and Dado, and given the number we use, you should become quite proficient in setting them up and getting great results on your next project.

A huge thanks to the folks at Bell Forest Lumber for providing the beautiful tiger-maple for the project from a donation to the show several years ago. If you haven’t checked them out previously for lumber, you should definitely take a look, I have yet to not like anything I’ve received from them.

For years I've been saying I was going to build a new workbench for the basement workshop, and after just as many years of not doing it, it's finally happened!



The "design" of the bench is simple, and the dimensions are perfect for a smaller shop like mine considering the goal turned from making a monster bench like we've seen in magazines, or elsewhere and instead turned to constructing something that would simply help me build projects easier than ever before.



Today's episode isn't a construction video for "HOW I built the bench" but instead it's a "TOUR" of its simple features, materials used in the construction, and a little bit about how I determined the dimensions and joinery.

Items mentioned in the video:
WoodRiver Tail-Vise Screw - Amazon.com
Veritas Tail-Vise Screw - Lee-Valley
Workbenches: From Design And Theory To Construction And Use - Christopher Schwarz

If you're wondering about the episode I mentioned regarding building the plywood top for the old bench, you can find it by clicking here to visit episode 290.

You have questions and comments about the simple thickness planer sled? I have answers; although I can’t guarantee they’re the ones you want to hear.



Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

For the past several months while I've been on the road for work my wife Samantha has been tackling a kitchen project. I've been helping out where, and when I could, but for the most part it was all her sweat and effort going into it (and before anyone asks, no, I didn't build any cabinets or new doors for the kitchen.)






In fact, aside from removing a small partition wall, along with tearing out the countertops and backsplash, the project was really more of a "facelift" than remodel. But now that it's completed, the one project Samantha requested all along was a set of live-edge shelves for where a cabinet once sat. I doubt I'll do much to document their installation; it's pretty straight-forward.

Probably the most difficult part of the build will be carefully drilling through ceramic tile to install them. Of course with that said now, finding a way to mill the 12" wide boards I'm planning to use could've been an even bigger struggle if it weren't for my thickness planer sled.



On today's episode, we're breaking out the thickness planer sled first featured in the Tall Dresser build and putting it to use again.

I can't believe this is happening to me, but I'm getting bit by the turning bug and it's obvious it's contagious!



Now that my time in the shop is currently less than it use to be, I really want to be able to knock out a project or two from start to finish, and the lathe is probably one of the one tools where this is entirely possible.

In today's episode I'm literally turning some scrap maple into a small bowl.

What'll I use it for? Probably to hold keys, or spare change, or more likely M&M's!

In this episode I made quite a few references to the Easy Wood Tools' gouges and detailers I was using (pretty much the entire time.) If you're interested in purchasing them or just checking them out or yourself, you can find them at Woodcraft.com

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Who doesn't need a little more storage space? Whether it's in the woodshop like me, or any where else throughout your living space, small cabinets help to tuck away the clutter and keep things organized.

which are pre-glued and dimensioned boards that eliminate most of the milling we'd have to perform to get them ready for cutting and assembling.

I also purchased some adjustable "euro-style" hinges and a simple wooden knob for the door.

For joinery, it's all about the "blind-rabbet" joint in the corners to assemble the box, but something as simple as pocket-hole joinery or even tongue and groove would work fine too.

Of course you could take a step further and use dovetail joinery or such to spruce it up even more.

The only real "decorative" feature on this simple cabinet is the raised panel on the door.

Originally I planned to leave it a flat panel, but then I wouldn't have had a chance to free-hand the extra wide chamfer all around the edge with my skew rabbet plane.

Regardless of what you do with your small cabinet, this is a quick and easy project perfect for a single-day or leisurely weekend build.

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Over the years there have been a lot of questions from new woodworkers. One of the most frequent is "should I buy a full set of chisels or just one or two?"

The easy answer is "YES get a full set" but that's not always the correct one.

In fact, if I had to rebuild my entire shop from the ground up and retool it, I'd probably avoid an entire set of chisels and instead concentrate on adding one or two high quality versions as needed.



In today's episode I share with you the advice I like to offer new woodworkers (and some experienced ones) when it comes to purchasing chisels.

With so many different tool manufacturers, sizes and even specialty chisels to choose from, it's hard to decide where to get started when buying your first (or next) chisel(s).

My advice is pretty simple, and it can easily transfer to other tools and accessories in your shop later down the road.

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In the previous episode of this two part series "550 Simple Cabinet Construction Pt 1" we started the construction on a pair of overhead cabinets for a laundry room.



The cabinets are about as simple in design and construction as possible. A box with a face frame and a pair of full-overlay doors to enclose them.

The only detail that could be remotely described as "ornate" is the ogee profile routed on the rail and stiles of the door frames. As far as I'm concerned the simpler the better when it comes to cabinet design.

Why? For two reasons; 1) it makes construction a whole lot easier and more predictable, and 2) an entire wall filled with highly ornate cabinets would actually be it's own kind of special craziness.

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Don't tell my wife, but after all these years of her asking if I'd ever consider building new cabinets for our kitchen I'm finally getting around to doing it.

Except they're not for the kitchen, and they're not even for our house. Instead, it's a small build for a client.



The good news is Samantha shouldn't be too upset by it for two reasons; 1) I'm getting paid to build them, and 2) Once I've built these, I'll know how to build ours even better if we still want to replace the existing ones!

In today's episode we're getting started on the construction of a pair of overhead cabinets for my client's laundry room. The case construction is pretty straight forward, and made all that much easier because I'm using a blind rabbet joint which makes assembling them so much easier.



As a matter of fact, that's what we'll be discussing and demonstrating in today's episode - milling the blind rabbet joint and then assembling the case from start to finish.

Then in the next episode we'll move on to milling and constructing the face frame and the two sets of overlay doors to wrap up the project.

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The beauty of owning a lathe is being able to turn small scraps of wood into fun little projects. Typically these are quick & easy to make and something friends and family love to receive as gifts (or that you can sell to customers rather than burning in a fire pit with the rest of the scraps.)

Earlier this year on a trip to my local Woodcraft store with my wife reluctantly tagging along, we saw these bottle opener hardware kits.

Before I knew it, I had a basket full of them and a list of friends who would be expecting one.

If you’re new to the lathe, or you just want a fun project that you can knock out in no time at all, one of these bottle opener kits is just the thing you’re looking for.

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At the top of my "woodworking things that intimidate me to tears" list you'll find woodcarving somewhere in the top 5, definitely far below "magnifying glass pyrography".
Considering I took the plunge not so long ago and faced my fear of woodturning, and currently I'm alive and not noticeably maimed (thanks to tricky camera angles at least), I figure it's time to start knocking one or two more off the list.


Thankfully this year Mary May returned to Woodworking in America and taught a couple of classes on woodcarving. Before I go any further, if you're not already familiar with Mary she's an amazing woodcarver who's taken the time to not only teach her art form at conferences like this or in the occasional class at a woodworking school but more importantly (as far as I'm concerned) she's taken the next step and opened an online school too. But more about that below…

The two classes Mary was teaching this year were "Carving Life into Leaves" and "Linenfold Carving". The footage for today's post is from the linenfold class and has been edited to show more of the actual tool work and even Mary's body positioning at the bench to give you a feel for what you could learn if you were to sign up for her online classes.

This isn't meant to be a sales pitch by any means, but considering what I learned just from sitting in the audience and watching I can only imagine what I'd learn if I were to start following the lessons with my tools in hand repeating the action she's teaching on the videos.

Do I see myself becoming a full on woodcarver down the road? Probably not. But it would be really cool to feel confident enough with my tools and a basic knowledge of the craft to occasionally embellish a component or two on a project!

For more information about Mary May including her online school visit www.marymaycarving.com. And if you join, you'll also find this linenfold project as one of the many available lessons to watch and learn about.

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