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It is Get Woodworking Week, a week that every woodworker should find time to get out to the workshop! Tom Iovino over at tomsworkbench.com has organized this once again to help motivate us all to get out to the shop! Realizing that many of us have garage shops that can only be heated for short period of times, it is worthwhile to find projects that can be completed in a short period of time. When looking for project to produce as a video for this week, I turned to one of my very first projects I ever made. In 7th grade wood shop class we each made a knick knack shelf. The shelf I made has been with me all these years since then and has a prominent spot on our mantel. This project has very simple joinery that can easily be taken on by any woodworker of any skill level. This project also fits the bill that it can be completed in a couple of days.
The wood I use in the video is cherry, largely because I have a lot of cherry in the shop. This project can be completed with any wood species, including what the box stores sell. If you have to buy pre-milled lumber, you will want to get 1/2″ thick boards.
A quick note on finishes. If your shop is like mine, it is cold most of the time during the winter. Most finishes do not cure well in cold weather, especially oil finishes. As mentioned in the video, I used shellac. The finish looks good, and it dries very quickly.
I had fun building this project, for a second time, and hope that you will as well! Get out in the shop and get woodworking!
A quick thank you to Jason Beam, as he gave me some help in learning a new video editing program for this video!