Picnic Table

I really did it, I built this table. Found a drawing on the net with parts list, etc. So I tackled this one. It ended up some measurements on the drawing were not correct, so I had to guestimate some of the dimensions.

I cut all the pieces, then coated them with Thompson's water Seal Plus, before putting it all together. The end result is a nice waterproof heavy duty picnic table.

So now in the morning when I take the dogs out, I can sit in the shade and have my coffee while they are out enjoying themselves outside.

Outside Work Table

On the spur of the moment, I needed a table to put a table top grille on, so I put this bench together. The bottom shelf was a later addition, but it made sense to give more usefulness to the bench and improves the stability of the bench.

What can this bench be used for. My original idea was as a cooking table for a grille or if you have a full sized grille, a kitchen work table for your outside kitchen. The other option I had thought of, is a planting or potting bench for your garden.

When I originally built it, I used interior sheet rock screws, which caused staining of the wood. Now I would use treated screws for the outside, which would not stain the table. The other late addition is the painting of the table with Thompson's Water Seal. The stuff works really well and is for use on outside furniture. Next time I would coat all the wood with Thompson's Water Seal before putting it together. It is more work to do it this way, but you get all the wood completely covered, so better preservative qualities. It is really cool to come outside after a rainstorm and see the water beading on the wood rather than having the wood soaking up the water. Thompson's Water Seal slightly darkens the wood and brings out the grain in the wood, which was a feature I really liked.

Miter Saw Bench

I have finally got the bench made for the mitersaw, it is 8 feet long with extra floorspace to accommodate extra long pieces of wood. The shop floor space seems to be shrinking really fast. I also have to use part of the space for storage, which really restricts the overall space. I am trying to sort through though some of the storage and get rid of some of the stuff.

The underneath of the workbench is a storage space for wood 8 feet long. I originally wanted to put guides and supports for wood being cut but am now thinking of doing something more portable so that I can use that area for a table top too.

I still need to buy a router and a table saw as a minimum to getting the shop into operation. The workshop takes another step toward completion.

My First Project

The first thing I did was to build a work Table. There was one there attached to the wall, but was not big enough and had no bottom shelf. So I carefully dismounted the old table saving the old lumber and build a new table. I only had to buy 3 - 2 x6's for this project, as I recycled most of the lumber from the previous work table. I thought it came out pretty darn good.

The Workshop

This is a pretty good sized building. I do have to work on the outside, it needs some siding and it needs a subfloor on the inside. Th building 19.5 x 11.5 feet is a fairly large building. Right now it has a lot of stuff in it from the old place which I am slowly sorting through.


I have built some shelving to help organize the stuff that is being stored in my workshop. The shelving is made from 4 - 2x3's and wood strapping, 5 - 1x3's and a sheet of 7/16 x 4' x 8' OSB. total cost is under $20. everything is screwed together using 1.25" sheet rock screws, I like to use the fine thread screws.

A New Project

I have started doing woodworking, mostly by accident. I bought this trailer that needed a lot of work. so once I started laying a new subfloor, I had to start buying wood working equipment so now am moving onto a full blown workshop.

It is my hope to redo the kitchen cabinets and build some of the furniture and work on other projects to make living here more comfortable.

So this blog is to record my progress, so let's get started.