71
votes
Accepted
How can I remove material from this wood beam?
What about trimming the roller shade? Most shades are meant to be trimmed, since manufacturers can't make every single size. See if you can pop off one of the ends, and then cut the rolled-up shade ...
- 1,354
64
votes
How can I fix this gap between bookcases I made?
Swap their positions.
Place the bookcases so that they lean into each other instead of away from each other. This will eliminate the gap between the tops.
Bookcase contents are usually quite heavy....
- 13.7k
52
votes
Accepted
Why does my shed door expand/shrink?
Welcome to the joys of working with a natural product!
Before I address your construction techniques, I've got to say that is a quite handsome looking door you've made. Well done!
Wood moves. It ...
- 36.9k
50
votes
Accepted
Should I tilt my DIY self-standing bookshelf backwards to prevent it falling down?
Use Screws Anyway
If it was me, I would quietly ignore "I am not allowed to secure it using screws in the wall." We are talking about a couple of screws here, which would leave ~ 1/4" ...
41
votes
What is this measuring tool for?
Dual marking or cutting gauge
Used for marking mortise and tenon joints. The yellow disk in the illustration below is the fence, corresponding to the disk shaped (hockey puck shaped) fence of OP's ...
- 15.2k
38
votes
Accepted
How can I fix this gap between bookcases I made?
Thanks everyone; I figured it out and came back here to update my post and noticed that Michael Karas said the same thing I realized (although it was a comment, so I couldn't mark it as the correct ...
- 753
35
votes
How can I fix this gap between bookcases I made?
You don't have to buy or get a framing square : just measure the diagonals... That will tell you if either or both units are out of square.
If they are both ok, then look to the floor - small change ...
- 24.1k
32
votes
How to modify a wooden fence to keep Nubian goats from extending their heads over and eating dwarf tree on the other side
Move the fence three feet toward the pasture.
- 13.7k
31
votes
How do I make around-the-room shelves for a seriously skewed room?
The Easy Way
Fortunately, you're holding up a model train, not an actual train, so you can take some liberties.
The hard part is following the rounded, off-square corners; the easy way to work ...
- 24.5k
31
votes
Accepted
Wood glue versus epoxy for doweling stripped screw holes
Wood glue, hands down. Wood glue is designed to penetrate the wood for a tighter bond. Properly done, wood glue is stronger than the surrounding wood. I have chairs I've wood glued and clamped and ...
- 22.6k
31
votes
Gluing two halves of a door together
Slightly contrarian take: start over.
(I know, you've done a bunch of work, etc. They call it the sunk-cost fallacy for a reason. Strong butt joints in the rail are possible but hard and would involve ...
- 17.8k
26
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to use an angle grinder with wood cutting blades?
Bad idea...explained later. But yes, as long as you keep the blade guard on & of course it will "work". Though, it's quite wild compared to a Circular Saw or a smaller Trim Saw. However, "safely" ...
- 10.2k
25
votes
How large should a hole be for a bolt to go through?
It's important to remember the difference between a bolt and a screw (this is handy if you don't know the size of the bolt or screw)
Screws have the threads doing the work of holding. Your hole ...
- 22.6k
25
votes
Can you make a plywood jigsaw puzzle, using a jigsaw power tool?
Can I?
Sure, why the heck not?
Will you like the results?
Maybe, maybe not.
As you've noted, if you're going to DIY a jigsaw puzzle, you'd usually cut it with a scroll saw. That's because the blade ...
- 36.9k
25
votes
What to do with wood shavings and sawdust?
Easiest is to use it for mulching of gardens/lawns.
If lucky your neighbours will bake cookies for you.
- 16.7k
24
votes
Where do measurements start on a ruler/tape measure
That's the wrong tool for the job.
A carpenter's tape isn't intended to do better than about 1/32" (half the width of the smallest marked interval). Taking into account the sliding hook ...
- 115k
23
votes
How can I remove material from this wood beam?
Trimming the roller shade is obviously the right answer, but just in case somebody has a similar problem where it isn't the right answer:
Don't try and create a router cut 3½" deep and ¼" wide - ...
22
votes
How do I make around-the-room shelves for a seriously skewed room?
You don't. You transfer cut marks.
You don't need to make a paper plan of your cuts. Just lay the shelves on each wall.
Don't attempt to span a whole wall with 1 shelf board, it should always be ...
22
votes
What to do with wood shavings and sawdust?
For me:
Sawdust gets scattered on the lawn.
Shavings gets mixed with left over candle wax, dryer lint, and stuffed into old paper towel/toilet paper roll tubes (cut about 2" long) and turned ...
- 6,203
21
votes
Accepted
Where does the strength of a French cleat lie?
If you consider the physics of this, the B wedge is going to apply more outward force on the cleat attached to the wall then the A wedge for a given amount of weight supported. So you might cause the ...
- 22.7k
20
votes
Accepted
Did I make a major mistake on my garage shelves?
"Structural" applies to load-bearing walls and the like. I think you're safe. From what i can tell in the picture, unless you're storing engine blocks on them, you should be fine.
- 364
20
votes
Will floating pantry shelves built with 2x2s be ok?
"In a pantry" indicates that they could be hold up piles of plates and glasses, or 5-10 pound bags of flour, sugar, potatoes, etc, or just cans of soup or vegetables. That will, pretty ...
- 36.9k
19
votes
Should I tilt my DIY self-standing bookshelf backwards to prevent it falling down?
I haven't built anything into a recess like you describe so this is conjecture.
If you're fitting it into a recess and it is encased on all 5 sides (ceiling, floor, left side, right side, back wall), ...
- 291
19
votes
How large should a hole be for a bolt to go through?
When you buy a hex bolt, the size on the label is the diameter of the shank below the head. The outside diameter (aka major diameter) of the threads will be no larger than this diameter.
So for a ...
- 24.5k
19
votes
What to do with wood shavings and sawdust?
If the sawdust is not from treated lumber and free of trash or contaminates, it's perfect for composting. Many people compost their food scraps, but many people don't know that adding carbon-rich ...
- 191
18
votes
Accepted
How to make small wheels with minimum equipment (No lathe)
A hole saw. Nice and round, complete with a center hole.
- 165k
17
votes
Why does my shed door expand/shrink?
In addition to the accepted answer, it would help to add some weather protection. A small rain shield or canopy will help divert weather from the upper part of the door.
Essentially a small verandah ...
- 9,015
16
votes
Should I tilt my DIY self-standing bookshelf backwards to prevent it falling down?
It is impossible for the bookshelf to rotate forwards and crush anyone, child or not, the way you have drawn it. For it to fall on someone (who pulled on it, or climbed it) it would have to rotate ...
- 421
16
votes
Accepted
Wobble in the Desk I am building
How do I rectify this? This is my first project.
That's an easy, inexpensive and useful first project.
Even if the work is square and accurately cut, it's easy to be off by a couple millimeters. And ...
- 1,270
16
votes
Accepted
How do I cut an arc in a pine board?
Whenever I want an arc that accurate I use my 3hp router (a smaller rated router will do too, just for smaller scale work) screwed to a shop made pivot (trammel) and make repeated passes, next pass ...
- 32.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible