5 Woodworking Ideas to Get You Started
I don’t know about you, but I always love to have ideas to get me started on a project. This is particularly true when I’m trying to do something creative – like woodwork. This article will share with you 5 woodworking ideas to help kick start your creativity on a number of useful and practical projects that you can easily build at home.
Idea 1 – Bird Feeder
We all like to see birds in our yards or gardens and one of the best ways to encourage them is to provide food in a safe place for them. I’m sure that you like me, could quickly and easily knock up a basic bird feeder without much thought. Consider though, how you could make it more ornate or more practical for birds. Maybe you include bars spaced closely together so that only small birds can get in and the food isn’t all stolen by pigeons!
Idea 2 – Bird House
Following on from the bird feeder idea, why not give them food AND shelter? Bird houses can come in all shapes and sizes from simple boxes for the smallest birds to grand, ornate dovecotes which provide shelter and nesting for a whole loft of pigeons or flight of doves. Remember, this is about getting woodworking ideas so think beyond the obvious and try to find something creative and interesting.
Idea 3 – Dog House
Why do dogs always have to live in the stereotypical kennel? I declare here and now that it’s OK for dogs to live in more interesting housing! Seriously though, think about how you can create something different for your dog. Maybe they live indoors so a traditional kennel is superfluous, but how about trying to build them something that can double as something practical for your house? How about a dog house, with shelves above for boot storage? Keep thinking outside the box and you’ll find a way to use this!
Idea 4 – Mailbox
Do you have the same or a similar mailbox to all your neighbors? Why is this? Wouldn’t you like your mailbox to be more individual? Well, if the birds in your yard can have their own penthouse apartment, why should your mail feel left out? This is another fairly simple project that can be made more interesting and more individual simply through the use of your imagination.
Idea 5 – Tool Box
If you’re serious about woodworking, you’ll probably have a large selection of tools scattered around your workshop. You’re probably always searching for that tool that you know you left “over there”, but can’t find. When I got to this point, I designed a simple tool box that I could carry around with me that had all the most common tools that I’d need easily to hand. Again, make this as simple or as complex as you want. Maybe it’s just a big box, or maybe it includes drawers for easy access to some smaller tools. The best tip that I can give you here is to look for ways to give every tool its own place, such as mounting a tenon saw inside the lid.
I hope that these suggestions have got you thinking. Remember, your best ideas will rarely be your first ideas so take these 5 woodworking ideas and spend some time finding ways to put them to good use in your workshop.