So I was lurking the other day over at Woodnet and stumbled on a video that shows a smart, easy to build and cheap mobile power tool base. That got my wheels turning and I started up my research engine. When the dust settled I had 15 mobile base plans for you! Here’s the thread that inspired this post: Shop Built Mobile Base (with video)
The biggest problem doesn’t seem like it’s mobility, but rather STOPPING a mobile tool from rolling so you can use it safely. There’s an astounding range of solutions for this below - it’s interesting how many variations there are on such a seemingly simple problem. I hope you enjoy the following plans, videos and diagrams. A note - there aren’t actual plans for some of these, especially from the guys who have the really innovative ideas. I think you’ll be able to figure it out though. You’re a woodworker.
Here’s what you’ll find in this post:
>> Meet Matthias Wandel and His 3 Amazing Mobile Bases
>> 9 Mobile Bases and Plans
>> 3 Mobile Bases for Portable Table Saws
>> Mobile Base Building FAQs
>> Mobile Base Forum Discussions
>> Bonus Videos from Matthias Wandel
>> More Free Woodworking Plans (more…)
There’s a woodworking maxim that goes “you can never have too many tools.” No one ever mentions the accompanying maxim though: “…there’s never enough room.” This holds true for wood too.
In this article I scoured the web for lumber storage plans AND lumber storage advice. You’ll find the plans first, followed by the tips. On the plans I identify for each if it holds sheet goods, full boards and/or cut offs. Here’s the organization in case you want to skip ahead to a particular spot:
1) 3 Overachiever Lumber Storage Awards
2) 5 Rolling Lumber Carts
3) 6 Wall Storage Solutions
4) 7 Lumber Storage Tips
5) Resources and Citations
6) Other Free Woodworking Plan Collections
1) Overachiever Lumber Storage Awards
Some lumber storage solutions go above and beyond. I selected these either because of high-efficiency or high wow-factor. Yes, I am easily impressed - that’s what makes my job so much fun.
Panel-Cutting Sheet Goods Cart
Get out of TOWN. Not only is this sheet good storage unit on rollers for added convenience, but there’s a dang panel-cutting jig on the front of it. This one’s a big time overachiever.
Storage for:
Sheet Goods
Workbench with Lumber Storage
Yup. This one’s an overachiever. You’ll be restricted on how much lumber you can put in there and actually get work done. Be careful with this one - you may end up turning your workbench into a storage unit
Storage for:
Full Size Boards
Cut Offs
2) Rolling Lumber Carts Roll-Around Store-All
“It’s like having a lumber yard in your shop. Storage for long boards, short cutoffs, and sheet material.”
Storage for:
Sheet Goods
Full Size Boards
Cut Offs
3) Wall Mounted Lumber Storage Solutions Lumber Rack by Grant Smith
“a lumber rack capable of storing over 1000 bd ft of lumber for around $200″ For straight-ahead lumber storage you won’t beat this one for efficiency. Why reinvent the wheel.
Storage for:
Sheet Goods
Full Size Boards
4) Quick Lumber Storage Best Practices
from Proven Woodworking:
Keep lumber off the floor. Especially concrete floors - concrete is porous and will “feed” water into your lumber.
Allow wood to stabilize in your shop - it will need to sit for several weeks to acclimate.
Mark your wood with its size for easy reference.
from the Woodwhisperer:
“The bottom line with wood storage is that you should store it in conditions that closely match the final destination whenever possible.”
“Stack it FLAT off the floor in a neat manner so it won’t twist.”
Here in North Carolina the sweetest picnic season is just arriving… Fall! I woke up this morning with visions of picnic tables dancing in my head and I just knew there would be some crazy, practically ludicrous picnic table plans out there. I only found a few worthy of an award, but WOW, we’ve got some beauties there in the awards section In all I found 32 free picnic table plans out there on the web - plus some helpful videos and even a picnic table faceplant (in the fun with picnic tables section).
So here ya go, a complete resource for building a picnic table from scratch. 32 plans and 11 picnic table sections. Enjoy!
1) Picnic Table Plan Awards
2) Overachievers: Hexagonal, Octagonal Picnic Table Plans
3) Classic Picnic Table Plans
4) Separatists: Benches Separate from the Table
5) Picnic Tables For Kids
6) Wood Suitable for Picnic Tables
7) Finishing Your Picnic Table
8) Picnic Table Videos
9) Fun with Picnic Tables
10) My Picnic Table Plan Sources
11) More Free Woodworking Plan Goodness from ToolCrib
1) Picnic Table Plan Awards
Our expert panel of judges (er, ok it was just me) declared these picnic tables to be the most awesome and outstanding picnic tables from the 32 picnic table plans I uncovered.
Most Awesome: retro 80’s hexagonal BEAUTY: THE PICNIC TABLE EVOLVES
Individual, butt-cupping seats for each diner, a revolutionary hexagonal shape, plus an undeniable 80’s flare. You can’t beat this picnic table people - it’s the queen mother of them all. Take a look and you’ll see why Mother Earth News titled this article - in all caps no less - THE PICNIC TABLE EVOLVES. I’m not sure it’s evolved much further since this one.
Most Awesome runner up: A Picnic Table that Folds into 2 Park Benches
Step back Jack! This picnic table will amaze your guests. It’s more than a conversation starter - it will be the focal point of your entire backyard bbq for at least 2 seasons. You will have some guests who will not be able to stop talking about how cool this thing is. Guests like me for example.
Most… sheltered award? THE SHELTERED TABLE
This one wins the award of most sheltered. Also, it’s the only sheltered picnic table plan I found. It’s outstanding I suppose mostly in its determination to make the picnic a success, no matter what the weather. Now if you could just hang mosquito netting from the roof line you’d be set here in NC.
2) Overachievers: Hexagonal, Octagonal Picnic Table Plans
For some people the classic picnic table isn’t enough to show off their woodworking prowess. That’s why someone invented the hexagonal picnic table. And then someone else promptly trumped that woodworker with the octagonal picnic bench. I’m still looking for the dodecahedron picnic table that you can climb up into to eat… Now THAT would be awesome.
3) Classic Picnic Table Plans
The classic picnic table - benches attached to table - you could almost build it with your eyes closed. There are lots of classic table plans out there, but only a few with AWESOME instructions and write ups. I floated those to the top and included pics. All the others I just linked out to. ENJOY.
Picnic Table Design 101 (an outstanding write up - offers theory of picnic table building)
For picnic table engineers: “The fundamental basis for the design of this table evolved out of the use of 45 degree mitre cuts. This factor, combined with the desire to have the outboard edge of the seat top and legs align on the same vertical plane gave us the width of the overall table and thus, the width of the table top.”
4) Benches Separate from the Table
Do you find that the classic picnic table’s attached bench puts you a little too snug with the table? Would you like something that’s a little easier to store away when you’re not using it? Would you like more versatility from your picnic table? Can you think of any other questions I could preface this section with? Here they are in all their separated glory… the separatist picnic bench and table plans. Some are just benches. Some are just tables. Some are both.
5) Picnic Tables For Kids
Your backyard parties will be much more successful with the kid table set away from the adult table… How else will the kids feel comfortable practicing those new swear words you accidentally taught them while building their picnic table ;P
6) Wood Suitable for Picnic Tables
Ask 5 woodworkers and you’ll get 25 different answers. And they’ll all start with “it depends.” Here are some quotes from forum threads discussing picnic table wood choices. Your mileage may vary.
From Cody Colston at Sawmill Creek Cypress would be my choice. It’s stronger than Cedar and doesn’t dent quite as easily. I don’t like the look of unpainted White Oak after it weathers. It doesn’t hold up that well, either.
Ipe, Mahogany and Teak would all be good but expensive choices.
from Peter Quinn at Sawmill Creek: I’d consider quarter sawn or rift sawn white oak, cumaru, ipe, black locust, cambara, genuine mahogany, eucalyptus, jarrah, or iroko as a short list of worthy candidates. Black walnut is also known to weather reasonably well, though it feels vaguely criminal to suggest it for a picnic table. Cypress might be a choice if you like the look of it, which I for one do not. Sealing all 6 sides of what ever wood you choose prior to installation will go a long way towards preserving your investment in time and lumber.
7) Finishing Your Picnic Table: Finish For Pressure Treated Picnic Table? from Johnnyapollo “After construction, put it in the sun and move it around for maximum exposure (including letting it sit upside down for a week). The green will fade to more of a white color. As already stated - it needs to dry a bit, at least on the surface, to provide better absorption of any stains you use. Next find the stain - you can go dark but understand that constant weather and sun exposure will lighten it with age (so you’ll need to reapply every few years) and apply like you would decking, using a pump sprayer. Try a sample piece (keep some cut offs) to see what stains work the best. A dark walnut will hide most of the green tint anyway - actually the dark walnut stain will probably fade into the greens as it ages.”
What finish for cedar picnic table?
“Left unfinished, they will weather (outdoors) to a fine gray patina within a couple of years. You can enjoy the natural graying or protect them with a quality sealer when they reach the stage of weathering you prefer.”
8) Picnic Table Videos:
traditional picnic table from BuildEazy - not very helpful, but may have good insights to the observant
sidekick driving on a picnic table: can your table withstand this punishment?
faceplant off of picnic table: can your face withstand this punishment?
I can’t understand French, but laughter at the pain of others is a universal language.
10) My Picnic Table Plan Sources:
In addition to spending an hour poking around with Google (site searches on woodworking forums + variations on “picnic table plans”) I relied heavily on the following picnic table plan sources. There are many dupes on each list, but enough uniques that they were worth sorting through for this list. They are in order of my opinion of their awesomeness.
If you happen to be a Star Wars geek AND a woodworker then the title of this post probably has you a little bit shaky. Let me begin by saying that the projects listed here DON’T have plans - they are mostly DIY projects I found while scouring the web. A couple are links to industrial-grade toy models made of wood… One link - to the flying x-wing - is only partly made of wood and will require far more tools than a table saw (and 4 solid-fuel rockets…).
All that said, if you’re a true Star Wars geek then you are probably still a little bit shaky…
NICE! Here are some details:
“It is 34″ tall and 36″ long. The left side has a hinged door for him to put his Star Wars guys in. The head and neck are articulated and capable of moving. Nearly all construction is 1/2″ MDF because I wanted it to be stable and heavy and easy to paint.”
Tools used: “no CNC, no Carvewright, no Shopbot. Just my tablesaw, a drill press, miter saw, and a whole lot of hand carving and sanding.”
Do you do your woodworking on the run? Do you need something to haul your tools around to jobs around the house or city? This list of free tool box plans puts your tools where you need them most.
I separated them out like this… >> Top 4 “Notable” Toolbox Plans >> 3 Advanced Toolbox Plans >> 5 Basic Toolbox Plans >> 3 Toolbox Plans For Kids
I found lots of tool storage plans that weren’t really portable toolboxes… I’ll be doing a separate post for them.
>> Top 3 “Notable” Toolbox Plans
1) Most… Innovative? ToolBox:
I can’t imagine anyone actually using this, except maybe if Tage Frid showed up for some on-site chair repair From the designers: “This unique toolbox includes sides and ends that incorporate a wavelike theme. The corners are assembled with box joints and the bottom panel is fitted into a groove that runs around the entire periphery of the toolbox.” Unfortunately there’s no actual plan, just a description of how the “unique toolbox” is put together.
2) Handiest ToolBox: The Tool Tote by Gary M. Katz
The Gary Katz Tool Tote bumped the “Tool Tote, Tab and Slot” from the “handiest tool box” position (see it below). Why? Read all the problems Katz solved with his creation: “I needed something I could organize and something I could stand on, something that would get me to the very top of a 6/8 door, something that would help me reach the pins on an 8 ft. door, something that would let me see over the top shelf in a closet. And I wanted something I could sit on, too, while chiseling tricky mortises in a jamb or drinking a cup of coffee on a break.”
It’s a well organized tool carrier + step stool + place to sit and drink coffee. Somebody stop me I’m about to jump up from this computer and build one right this minute… (thanks to PutnamEco who suggested this toolbox in the comments below)
Also… note the Altoids container there in the tool tote… could Gary Katz possibly be a cheapskate woodworker?
4) The “Overachiever” Tool Box: Tool Tote Sawhorses “These sawhorses feature a convenient bin in the base for storing tools, clamps, and other items. And the divided upper tray is a great place to keep often-used hardware and hand tools organized and within easy reach. But here’s the best part — you can adjust the top of the sawhorse up and down.” - Thanks to PutnamEco for telling me about the Tool Tote Sawhorses… they are SWEET! But will the adjustable height function still work in six months? Who cares! These get an A+++ for AWESOME. Tool Tote Sawhorses
If you’re a potential builder/owner then this post will interest you. I went searching today for free house plans… our sawhorses, workbenches and router tables were such a big hit There’s not too much out there in the way of totally free plans. 6 that I could find anyways.
Free House Plan - The Delafield, a Gracious Country-Style Ranch
Free for a limited time (until November 1st). Designed by Jerold Axelrod, the Delafield is a formal yet gracious country ranch house plan. This balanced, formal plan offers a tall covered porch flanked by beautifully trimmed flat bay windows.
The Laura
2 bedrooms, 1 bath starter home PDF file with 9 sheets printable to 24″ x 36″ paper. Designed to 2006 International Residential Building Code (IRC) and 120 mph wind codes, this plan is permit-ready.
4 Free Green Plans
These folks offer 4 free “green” house plans but you have to pay for any customizations. Also, to download any of the plans you have to join their site. Not a bad trade though - your email address for free plans…
This unbelievable resource comes from Justin in the comments. I’m going to poke around on other college sites and see if I can’t rustle up some more free plans!
Note that:
1) Plans range in age from 1933 to 1988… these are NOT new, stylish home plans. The older homes are designed with coal heat in mind.
2) Downloading PDFs is free. 18 x 24 inch (blueprint-size) plans are $4.00 per page.
3) Not all plans are actually for houses (I realized this after counting…). Some are for garages, some stairs, some for decks. Mostly they are houses though.
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The humble sawhorse. It’s often the woodworker’s first project. You often inherit them from woodworkers who’ve passed. No matter where they come from they are the unsung heroes of many woodworking projects. I found a great thread over at woodnet (show me your saw horses) that got me hunting down all the sawhorses I could find. I’ve corralled a good mess of them here for you - 25 different plans.
If you’ve built any of these I’d appreciate your thoughts. If you prefer the metal/plastic collapsible kind let me know what brand and why. You can leave comments on this post or email me at gfrench@toolcrib.com.
The sections are as follows:
1) Celebrity Saw Horses
2) Wackiest Sawhorse
3) Best Sawhorse Idea I Couldn’t Find Plans For
4) Sometimes You Need a Mobile Carpenter Bench, Not a Sawhorse
5) Your Basic and Free Sawhorse Plans
6) Space Saving Sawhorses
7) Sawhorses for Sheet Goods
8) Sawhorses Etcetera
1) Celebrity Saw Horses:
If a woodworking celebrity designed it or uses it… it has to be good, right? Well, you’ll have to be the judge of that. I just thought it would be fun to break them out of the pack
Norm Abram’s Picnic Table and Saw Horses Why did they put the sawhorse and picnic table together? Who’s gonna pay 6 bucks for sawhorse plans? That’s more than the cost of materials! Anyways, there are folks who have built this style of sawhorse and love it. This is the only non-free plan I link to.
Roy Underhill’s Sawhorse Design (PDF) Underhill’s one of the original galoots. His sawhorse is solid and suitable for corded tool users too - it’s based on a sawhorse he found in his parents’ basement.
2) Wackiest Sawhorse:
This is just a patent, so don’t take the idea and make millions from it. You’ll get sued. That said, it might be a good influence on your design if you’re crafty enough to figure out how to build one.
3) Best Sawhorse Idea I Couldn’t Find Plans For:
SawPony - shorter saw horses for when you want to put a foot or a leg up on the work you’re cutting to help hold it down. I guess you could just make shorter saw horse legs… Here’s where I read about them: show me your saw horses
4) Sometimes You Need a Mobile Carpenter Bench, Not a Sawhorse:
Are you using your sawhorses as mobile carpenter benches… setting up your chop saw on them, etc… It might be that you really need a mobile carpenter bench.
Or… maybe you just want to store more tools on your sawhorses. Check out these sweet sawhorses: Tool Tote Sawhorses.
5) Your Basic and Free Sawhorse Plans:
Sometimes vanilla is the best flavor. These sawhorses are straight ahead, no nonsense sawhorses that you will have for the next 25 years. So pick your plan carefully
6) Space Saving Sawhorses:
Sometimes space is at a premium. These sawhorses will politely fold up or stack up and get out of the way when they’re not in use.
7) Sawhorses for Sheet Goods:
Sometimes you need a little extra help with those sheet goods. These sawhorses will gladly and ably pull more than their own weight.
8) Sawhorses Etcetera:
I didn’t know which category to put these sawhorses in, but I knew I needed to include them. Here’s everything else that didn’t fit in the categories above.
Blame this post on FamilyWoodworking. I was over there trolling for good article ideas and stumbled on a thread called “Most Used Jigs.” I started adding up the results and it turned out that the crosscut sled won by a landslide. (What is a crosscut sled??)
And so I started researching and cataloging some of the incredible crosscut sled resources out there on the web. Let me know if you have any additions to the list!
Top 5 Outstanding Crosscut Sled Resources:
1) Crosscut Sled Design Guide (pdf)
This is the queen mother of them all in my humble opinion. It includes some drawings on the last page that will help you plan out your required sizes, plus the 3 page article before the drawings describes all the ins and outs. It’s a PDF so you can print it off if you need to.
2) CrossCut Sled for Table Saw
This Q/A tutorial from Joe Lyddon captures all the FAQs of building crosscut sleds. He suggests his favorite books, dimensions, base thicknesses, suggests 5 different processes for attaching strips to the sled and a detailed list of do’s and don’ts. Read this one closely.
3) Double Runner Cross Cut Sled With Blade Guard by Paul Comi
This write up, again with fantastic illustrations, provides a no-nonsense tutorial for building a long lasting and highly accurate crosscut sled. In the opening paragraphs it provides links out to influences and theory. This is worth reading through just for the little build ideas.
4) Cross-cut sled - different way
This incredible write up and illustration by Nikki Avrahami of FamilyWoodworking will help you with little pointers and big ideas. It’s in the top 5 because of its outstanding pictures with yellow print on them describing each step of the operation.
5) Building Crosscut Sleds
Great write up and great pics. Very general but very detailed at the same time. Another great starting point if you’ve never built your own.
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We all know what the most dangerous power tool in your workshop is (it’s you … so what’s the most useful/important tool? No, it’s not your table saw… it’s your WORKBENCH. Woodworkers often look at the workbench as an essential project, a core project that both teaches and creates a highly useful product. My fellow nerds in the crowd will think of it as the Jedi’s light saber
This morning I decided it was finally time to research and write our ultimate guide to workbench plans (a second in the series I started with free router table plans). How cool to check my inbox and find a note from Frank Pellow to let me know that he’d completed his workbench!
Here are a couple of quick links with pics to Frank Pellow’s super sweet workbench on wheels. So you know, his workbench would fit in the “Extreme Workbench” section below if there were plans available. I wrote about Frank originally in The Story of a “Forum Assisted” Woodworking Shop: Frank Pellow’s Shop Build Journal. Nice job on finishing the build, Frank, and thanks for the links and pics!
Ok, enough small talk You’re here for workbench plans. I went out to all the free workbench plan sites, gathered their links by hand and then reorganized them with the woodworker in mind. Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:
1) Space Saver Workbench Plans
2) Mobile Workbench Plans
3) Adjustable Height Workbench Plans
4) Full Size Workbench Plans
–>Basic Workbench Plans
–>Simple Woodworker Workbench Plans
–>Professional/Extreme Woodworker Workbench Plans
–>Traditional Woodworker Workbench Plans
5) Accessories, Etcetera
6) Useful Workbench Forum Threads
7) Workbench Plan Lists (resources we used)
8) Other Resources
Now… there are no details yet if this could work, but the gamer geeks at WoodNet are wondering about creating a wooden Guitar Hero controller. As a fan of Guitar Hero (along with my wife and nephew) this topic caught my attention. I started searching around in the hopes that someone will actually make some sweet custom Guitar Hero controllers.
If you’re serious about building your own Guitar Hero controller out of wood then I suggest you check out some of these resources.
Getting Started…
For one, you’re going to have to understand the electronics side with some of these tutorials from Instructables:
>>How to make a PS2 Guitar Hero controller out of scratch
Obviously written by a non-native English speaker, this guide breaks it down with video for you so you can see every gnarly detail, and my understanding is that his method doesn’t require you to actually purchase a GH controller.
Inspiration:
For inspiration you should check out these “Air Guitars” that work as Guitar Hero controllers. They cost $399, but come with really sweet artwork on the front.
Also check out Kaytrim’s Kustom Joysticks, which will help you stay focused on your goal of a real wood Guitar Hero controller. And see the thread Boys and their toys for more neat custom wooden joystick pics from Kaytrim.
For inspiration on building real guitars, visit the Guitar Builders Lair. GBL is a website operated by a WoodNetter.
In all I found 32 free picnic table plans out there on the web - plus some helpful videos and even a picnic table faceplant (in the fun with picnic tables section).
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