Easy Woodworking Projects

Woodworking is a fun and rewarding hobby. There is nothing more satisfying than creating something with your bare hands. If you want to get into in woodworking the best way to get started is with some easy woodworking projects. We’ve put together this article to let you know what materials you are going to need and to give you some ideas for simple wood projects. We hope you find it helpful. 

What you need to get started

For beginner woodworking projects, you’re going need some tools, fasteners, and wood. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to start making some simple wood projects. 

Easy Woodworking Projects – A Beginners Guide

Tools

Many people who are just getting into simple woodworking projects go way overboard when buying tools. We’ve seen beginners buy more tools than a professional woodworking shop would use. We’ve also seen people get obsessed with having a certain brand name of tools, or having all their tools in a matching colour. None of this matters when you’re just making easy small wood projects. But you’ve got to have the right tools for the job. Here’s a list of the basic tools that we recommend and that can easily be found at a hardware shop.

• Handsaw – an all-purpose handsaw will get you through about 90% of your cutting needs.
• Planer – this is used to smooth, flatten and reduce the thickness of wood.
• Sandpaper – further smooths the wood and removes imperfections.
• Hammer – for hammering nails, of course.
• Clamps – used for holding material in place while glue dries.
• Measuring tape – an invaluable measurement tool for the woodworker.
• Square – for checking angles and doubles as a straight edge. A basic combination square is all a beginner needs.
• Pencils – you’re going to need these to mark up the wood and draw lines for cutting.

Fasteners

For easy woodworking projects, there are 3 primary options for fastening the wood together. There are nails, screws, and glue. Here are the pros and cons of each.

• Nails – They are super cheap, have been used for thousands of years, and using them is as simple as hitting them with a hammer. But nails work best when what you are nailing doesn’t move, like a wall. For easy small wood projects there are better fasting options.
• Screws – Screws are the most secure of the fastening options. But there are many downsides to using screws. They can be expensive. The head of a screw scan be easily stripped out if you’re not careful. Also, you’re going to need an electric drill to use screws. You don’t want to use a basic screwdriver to drive in screws. We tried to make this a list of easy woodworking projects that don’t require power tools, so screws are out.
• Glue – We feel that this is probably the best choice for simple wood projects. It’s cheap, ultra-easy to use and easily available. The only problem with using glue is that it can be a little messy. But with proper preparation this shouldn’t be a problem.

Wood

The key ingredient for any easy woodworking project has to be the wood. When it comes to wood there are so many options available. Many people recommend softwoods for easy woodworking projects, but we think hardwood timber is a better option. Hardwood looks the nicest, last the longest, and is often what the pros use. It’s also not much more difficult to work with than softwoods, so it can be better for a beginner to get started straight away with some less dense hardwoods.

7 Beginner woodworking projects

Once you have your tools, fasteners, and wood, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and make something. There’s a lot of wood working projects that you can make, but you’ll want to avoid the temptation of making something too big and complex when you’re just starting out. Here’s our list of 7 beginner woodworking projects.

Wall shelf

This is probably the easiest woodworking project for any beginner. All you’ll need is a nice slab of wood, some nails, and some l-brackets. You could go one step further by making your own support for the wall shelf out of wood. That always looks a lot nicer than l-brackets and you’ll build some additional skills. 

Bookends

Bookends can also be one of those easy small wood projects to let you get comfortable using your tools. You can make the bookends as basic or as complex as you are comfortable with. Simple joined L shapes work great for bookends. Or you could make each bookend out of a single piece of wood. Have fun using your imagination. 

Wood media box

Do you have a lot of CDs or DVDs. Why not make a nice media box for them out of wood. You could even make a box for your vinyl records if that’s what you’re into. A media box is just a basic open box. The skills you’ll learn from making a box will carry over into many other projects. Everyone is proud of their CD or DVD collection, so you’ll want to choose a nice-looking hardwood to properly show off your collection. 

Planter

A nice planter will allow you to combine your interest in woodworking with gardening. A planter is just a box, much like the wood media box, only the planter is a bit bigger and has drainage ports. Start small. Don’t make a planter that is too big. When your skills improve try making another planter with legs. 

Tool box

Now that you have all your new woodworking tools, you’re going to need a place to put them. This situation makes for the perfect beginner woodworking project. A simple wooden tool box can be just a long open box. You could try using a dowel as a handle in the construction of your toolbox. In the end, you’ll feel good knowing your tools are being kept in a toolbox you made yourself. 

Garden table

At a certain point you’re going to want to make something a little more complicated than just boxes. A small table is the next logical step. A basic table design is just an upside-down shallow box with legs. Your first table should be simple and small. Later on you can make a larger end-table, then a picnic table, and even working your way up to a dining table. 

Wood art

Working with wood as an artform is a lot of fun. You can be free to do anything you want. Experiment and try new techniques. Different shapes and different types of wood can all come together to make for some spectacular art that you can be proud of. You can practice making more varied and complicated designs as you feel ready.