Shoe Storage Cabinet

I think most people have a mess of shoes in the entry way that is used by the family, I know my family had a mountain of shoes in our mudroom. I follow Ana White's Blog which was previously know as Knock Off Wood . Back around January she posted a shoe dresser. We thought it would be great in the mudroom since it didn't take up a large foot print.

The project was built from pine 1x material and was assembled using the Kreg jig pocket screw system. Building this was a good learning experience and I like to think of this one as a prototype since I found somethings I would do differently next time.

Here is how it looked after assembly. It needed finish sanding and hardware at this point. And here it is installed after 2 coats of Valspar Kitchen and Bath enamel

Shop Furniture

My 3 year old daughter likes to come out the shop and "work." She has her own tool bag that has smaller hammers and a few screwdrivers in it, along with her safety goggles. She needed a work surface that was her height. So one day I built her a kid sized work bench.A few weeks later we built her a chair so she can sit at her work bench and draw or snack. I am going to let her paint these items once it warms up more outside. Then once she out grows them little brother can use them. Both these projects were built from scrap and material I had on hand.

A little back story

As a kid and even still I watch wood working shows on TV with dreams of being able to build my own furniture instead of buying it. Norm Abrams on The New Yankee Workshop always made it look so easy. My passion to build furniture is still fueled by some of the magazines I read that are full of large bookcases, and entertainment centers that would look great in our house. We would rather have furniture made from real wood, and not particle board with plastic veneer.

Previously most of wood working experience has been using construction grade materials to build outdoor furniture. I have done some carving but not much beyond tiki pole looking faces, and I have attempt some other small projects that failed.

Back in the fall of 2009 there was a book case in The Family Handyman magazine that my wife and I like and she wanted me to build. For Christmas that year she got a Kreg Jig Jr with the plan being me building the bookcase. Well the idea of building a bookcase from $400 worth of material scared me away figuring I would mess up and have $400 worth of scraps.

Since then I have been trying to find good projects to practice on. I've built some simple projects in the shop for my 3 year old daughter to use, and recently finished a shoe cabinet (more to come in a future post).

I have most basic hand power tools and am working at adding other tools needed for this hobby. I got myself a miter saw during the black Friday sale at Lowes, and have some of my grandfather's wood working tools that I can use. I recently started working on tuning up Grandpa's band saw. I am looking forward to learning more and trying my hand at making some more traditional joining methods (mortise and tendons, and hand cut dove tails).

So that's a little history of my wood working experience and where I want to go.