Small woodworking projects for beginners?

[JaneK]

We have had a couple of new members join us in the last couple of weeks and express an interest in getting into woodworking. I was wondering whether anyone had any ideas or suggestions for small, practical woodworking projects for beginners. The kind of thing that doesn’t require a complete workshop and years of woodworking experience, just a few common tools and some old-fashioned elbow grease. Ideally, the kind of thing that could be finished in one weekend that teaches new skills and would help a beginner build up some confidence to tackle something a bit more complicated.

Grateful for your ideas and suggestions.

Jane

[Jason]

Thanks for kicking off the discussion @JaneK.

We have loads of keen woodworkers in the community who might like to share their suggestions for easy projects for beginners to start with.

Let me tag some of our active members including

@Wayne, @LePallet, @woodenwookie, @JDE, @kel, @Poppop, @Tara86, @Jamespeter100, @r23on, @Yorky88, @Brad, @She_Skills   and @woodalwaysworks.       

There's also our Top 10 most popular woodworking projects for inspiration, and some helpful advice in this discussion - Your woodworking tips.

I love the tip from @She_Skills that "one of the best ways to learn about how things are made is to take things apart and put them back together again".

Jason

[r23on]

Jason

A good place to start for some good basic projects is instructables.com from simple to advanced.

[MitchellMc]

I've selected some step-by-step guides that members new to woodworking should find easy to complete with minimal tools. There are some really exceptional projects in here which are sure to inspire everyone on their D.I.Y. journey.

• How To Make A Folding Workbench

• How To Build A Toy Box

• How To Make A Tool Box

• How To Build A Letterbox

• How To Build A Billy Cart

• How To Make A Cheese Platter Board

• How To Make A Play Table For Kids

• How To Make A Picture Frame

• D.I.Y. Cutting Board

• D.I.Y. Dog Kennel

• D.I.Y. Bar Stools

• D.I.Y. Wooden Shoe Rack 

• D.I.Y. Shadow Box Frame

• D.I.Y. Timber Pavers

• D.I.Y. Wooden Compost Bin

Please let me know if you would like advice or assistance with completing any of these projects. We're here to help.

Mitchell

[red_one]

picture frames would be handy.

[woodenwookie]

I agree with Mitchell. Boxes are a great way to start. They're practical, easy, but can use some advanced techniques as they grow. For example, a simple box would be four pieces of wood joined at the sides and connected with a bottom piece. A more advanced version is a thinner box placed upside down on top and connected with a hinge. You now have a box with a lid.

Then you would move to using dados where you remove material the thickness of the bottom and sides to create a better fitting box. Then you'd move to box joints, dove tails, etc etc etc.

A simple box can be a hard thing to master but it is the basis for EVERY SINGLE project you will make as you progress.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @red_one. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for contributing to the discussion.

Did you find our step-by-step guide on how to build a picture frame useful? Please let me know if you need further assistance or would like to give this project a go.

We look forward to hearing about all the projects around your house and garden and would encourage you to let us know if you ever need a hand or have something to share. You'll find tonnes of inspirational projects within the community as our fabulous members contribute them here all the time.

Mitchell