You don’t need to have professional skills and a million-dollar shop to create some really cool things out of wood. There are lots of projects you can take on to help you use up some scrap wood, hone skills for more complicated jobs, and spend time doing something you love.
Don’t think of this as an exhaustive list. Think of this as a jumping-off point. Let your imagination soar.
1. Furniture
If you’re a weekend hobbyist, you’re probably not going to construct couches or tables for a room where you take high tea with foreign dignitaries. Hobbyists are more likely to build furniture for outside spaces.
Adirondack chairs are popular furniture for weekend hobbyists, but you can also make benches, stools, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous your very own bed frame.
2. Planters
A custom-built planter allows a creative home hobbyist to design a home for their more interesting plants. The best thing about these projects is that they put you in charge of imagining what a space will look like when the plants are at full bloom.
Not all planters are circular. They come in many shapes and sizes. In fact, there are even some really great projects that allow you to tie several kinds of plants together.
3. Tables
Unless you’re incredibly ambitious, you probably aren’t going to make a coffee table to show off for the company. Maybe someday you’ll get there, but for the time being you just want to build something. There is an almost limitless number of different plans to help you get started.
We don’t just include tables that you sit at or next to in this category. We add stands for decorations to help boost the aesthetics of your living space, and workbenches—if you’re more practically minded.
4. Tools
Using tools to make tools is one of the oldest woodworking projects. Whether you’re making simple handles for your woodworking tools, or building frames to help you get the right cuts from power saws, these range from the crude to the very precise, where a mistake in measurement could scotch the entire project.
This category not only includes the tools themselves but also things to help you organize your workshop. You can construct trays and other things to keep things organized.
5. In the Kitchen
The kitchen is one place that can really benefit from your DIY woodworking skills. Here, function takes precedence over aesthetics. If your best stirring spoon looks crude and unlovable but still works great, no one will care.
There is an endless wealth of specific projects to surf through, from utensils to serving trays and holders for cookbooks. We’d even throw in one of the most basic projects, coasters, in this category.
6. Toys
Toys are one of the first projects that many weekend hobbyists try first. The different shapes and designs offer a wealth of things to entertain and ways to develop skills valuable for more serious projects.
At the simplest end, you can build simple puzzles using a jigsaw. Once you start figuring out how to get the most of your tools, you can make dollhouses.
7. Decorations
Decorations can be simple, subtle, but also a little complex. The advantage to making them yourself is they are guaranteed to be unique and part of your individual design. The disadvantage is that you are mostly confined by the limits of your skill and experience. We mean that in a good way.
This category includes everything from picture frames to simple figurines.
Conclusion
We touched on some of the different kinds of easy woodworking projects for weekend hobbyists. Because everyone’s tastes are different, we opted to stay general rather than go for specifics. Once you decide on what kind of project you want to make, you can look for specific plans. The best ones will tell you the wood you need, and the tools to get it done.
