Canadian Home Workshop » Small Projects

Build a rustic bench

Cathy Dalrymple — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:55:18 +0000

This lovely little bench suits any decor, indoors or out. Choose a paint colour to make it lively and hot, like this one, or a deep, rich colour; even black will give this bench a handsome appearance. It is a great starter project for novice woodworkers, and more advanced craftsmen can build it in an easy afternoon. This bench has a very straightforward design and no difficult joinery is necessary. You need to be careful with the circular cuts, but practicing on scrap will help you gain the necessary skill. The material is all off-the-shelf, 3⁄4″-thick laminated solid pine from a home-improvement store. I finished it with exterior latex semi-gloss paint.

Last-minute gift projects

Canadian Home Workshop — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:14:39 +0000

There’s still enough time before Christmas to craft the perfect gift. Make one of these projects to cross those last names off your list.

Food for the flock: Build an attractive bird feeder

Dave Boulton — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 18:59:16 +0000

Flying feathered guests are not picky; you can feed them from almost anything that holds seed. However, the human eye often looks for something pleasing, and this copper-roofed feeder looks equally good in a Victorian garden or a suburban backyard. The fresh copper colour of the roof  panels disappears over time, replaced by a soft green patina as the metal oxidizes in the elements.  The feeder’s central seed silo is filled through the opening covered by the finial on top of the roof, and  the structure can be dismantled from below for seasonal cleaning or repair.

Most of the assembly was done with a 23-gauge pin nailer. This small, quiet, air-powered tool allows you to hold pieces together with one hand, and fasten them with one shot from the other. Fastener holes are so small, they’re almost invisible, and the nailer causes less installation strain on small structural pieces than multiple hammer blows. A hammer and finishing nails work; however, they do require more time, care and predrilling.

Lakeside Lazy-Boy

Cathy Dalrymple — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:44:13 +0000

To the list of things that are quintessentially Canadian—Robertson screws, hockey, maple syrup—I’d add the Muskoka chair. For me, it conjures up memories of summer days and cottage decks. The Muskoka chair is a sister of the American Adirondack chair. In my opinion, the Canuck version is a better, more sophisticated design, as the Adirondack has a straight back (often just a solid plank) and a flat seat; whereas, the Muskoka chair has curved back slats and an arched seat.

Sunset Bleacher

Canadian Home Workshop — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:33:52 +0000

The end of a perfect summer day in cottage country is an event worth planning for. As the sun sets over rippled water, shimmering against darkening silhouettes of rocks and trees, the only thing you can add is a place to sit comfortably and take in the beauty. This bench, simple to make from standard cedar lumber, can help you maximize the view. It requires a few angled cuts and butt and lap joints, held together with galvanized carriage bolts and deck screws. The shape of this bench might seem familiar because the design uses the same details found on most picnic tables: horizontal supports bolted to angled vertical legs, with 2x6s offering a place to sit and support your feet. Although all project parts could easily be cut with a handsaw or handheld circular saw, a mitre saw makes it easier and quicker to do the necessary slicing.

Rings around the yard

Steve Maxwell — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:01:03 +0000

There’s something about throwing things in competition that grabs people’s imagination. My easy-to-build outdoor ring toss game harnesses this age-old human interest, while also offering you the chance to work with plastic, metal and paint in creative ways. Built from 1⁄2″-diameter copper water pipe and 4″-diameter ABS pipe, this project is inexpensive, simple and durable.

It’s also designed for compact, organized storage between play sessions; the rings will sit on each post, and each post hangs easily from a nail.

Garden trellis

Don Ross — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:29:42 +0000

The trellis is one of those simple ideas that has managed to endure through hundreds of years of constant reinvention. That’s because trellises are often essential. Gardeners delight in beautiful plants whose only failure is that they just can’t stand up for themselves. Morning glory, trumpet vine, ivy and others need to drape upon and curl around something that leads them to their place in the sun. A trellis is an essential support structure for these beautiful climbers, and this one has a couple of unique features.

First off, the design is collapsible. When the garden turns barren in winter, just loosen a couple of bolts, swivel a couple of parts and the trellis’s bent slats come together for compact storage. Another great feature is the optional base holster. The copper pipes make it easy for you to drive the holster into the soil, then slide the trellis in place. You can then easily move it whenever you want. The holster also extends the wooden base of the trellis up and away from the rot-promoting damp soil. I also added a bit of Victorian flair to the crosspieces by giving them a unique profile.

Seedling Shelter

Art Mulder — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:45:21 +0000

While it’s not easy to spread SPF-30 sunscreen lotion on your young garden plants, those little guys sometimes need a bit of shelter from the sun. But you can use some wooden SPF instead. A lath house is a structure made of narrow slats that let in air and filtered light while still providing shelter from the hot sun and strong winds. My portable lath house’s design is easy to build, and the house folds up for quick storage when it’s no longer needed.

3 woodworking projects for beginners

Canadian Home Workshop — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:46:08 +0000

Just because you’re new to woodworking doesn’t mean that you can’t create beautiful and functional items. With each project you create, your skill level will increase. Here are three projects for beginners to help you get started in woodworking.

Wineglass display shelf

Gord Graff — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:42:46 +0000

Some woodworking projects are solo efforts; others are more collaborative. The design committee for this project—namely, my wife, Marianne—wanted a wineglass shelf for our kitchen counter. Her stipulations were simple: the shelf must hold four of her treasured wineglasses, and it must not look like a traditional, round wineglass display shelf. Although zebrawood is an expensive hardwood, it was my first choice for this project because of its dramatic grain. Since there is not much material required for my design, the cost won’t hurt the pocketbook. This display shelf consists of four primary parts: a top shelf, a bottom shelf and two support brackets. Mill all wood to a final thickness of 3/4″, then start building.