Tag: Simple Projects

Simple Sawhorses

Sometimes everyone needs to do some shop builds. I used to have four of the plastic sawhorses, but I killed two of them when I built my workbench. I decided that my next set would be ones that I built.

For these ones, each sawhorse gets three pieces of 2×4 cut to 32″ for the “I beam” top and 4 pieces cut to 30″ for the legs. There are many ways to do sawhorses – this type I was introduced to by Paul Meyette. Some may recognize them as well as the type Jay Bates did a few years back. I’ve linked to both of them below.

Paul Meyette sawhorse video: https://youtu.be/YnMgYdXXLJY

Jay Bates sawhorse video: https://youtu.be/zxf6xMe_PKY

by Jim Ashley

Accordion Style Christmas Tree Decoration

Shop time has been a bit in short supply lately. I had a couple of days off this week where I was able to spend some quality time there finally.

Sometimes a small, easy project is great to get back into the groove and get a feeling of accomplishment that you got to finish something. In this video, I make a small Christmas Tree decoration that has an accordion style to it. To make it more interesting, I adhered sheet music of “Silent Night” to it.

After a mistake and redo, I finished the project, and then celebrated in a fashion that I think Nick Offerman would approve.

Books seen:
Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop by Nick Offerman.

Hybrid Woodworking: Blending Power & Hand Tools for Quick, Quality Furniture by Marc Spagnuolo.

Make Your Own Cutting Boards: Smart Projects & Stylish Designs for a Hands-On Kitchen by David Picciuto.

The Minimalist Woodworker: Essential Tools and Smart Shop Ideas for Building with Less by Vic Tesolin.

Nick Offerman’s original Yule Log video.

(** Please drink responsibly **)

by Jim Ashley