Wooden Potential

  One of my favorite articles is from Shara at Wood shop Diaries Her articles are very motivational, and she goes into great detail for every aspect of the wood project. This article, however, I find extremely helpful. Howto Choose Plywood for Furniture and Cabinets | For Beginners(woodshopdiaries.com) Before finding her website, I do not know how many times I had google searched for information about plywood and which plywood would be the best for cabinet building and so on. Every article or YouTube video I came across was the same and was mainly focused on the actual building of the cabinet and not the plywood used. Shara explains the difference in almost every type of plywood, not just the ones used for furniture building and even goes into detail about the different grades.   One thing that I learned when reading this article is how plywood plies can vary by board, which means boards with seven plies can be the same thickness as boards with fifteen plies. The higher number o

  When I first started out crafting with wood, I simply drilled screws right into the outside of my projects and filled them with stainable putty. The downfall with this method is that the putty, although stainable, will never completely blend in so you will still have that imperfection on the outside. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great way to build things. In fact, I still do this with some projects. But after watching several other videos of DIYers using pocket hole jigs, I had to buy one and try it out for myself. I purchased this less expensive version of a pocket hole jig called the  Kreg Pocket Hole Jig  that can be found on Amazon or any other local hardware store for less than $30 and let me tell you, this product is a game changer! The instructions are an easy read for woodworkers in all stages of experience. For those of you who don’t want to buy a joiner or learn how to do dovetails, this is an affordable way to make projects look more professional. I learned that when usin

  One of the easiest projects I have done so far is this handmade floating shelf.    Depending on the size you want it, the shelf requires little to no wood, tools, or expertise to make. The longest part is waiting for the stain to dry. I first came across this style of shelf on a popular home décor website listed for $149.00 that price blew my mind! I knew I could scrape up some wood and make this myself for under $20.  Step one The first step into making this shelf is to get your materials. For a 4ft shelf, you will need: 1x3x8 board 1x2x8 board (you will have scrap left over) Stain of your choosing Sandpaper Wood glue Clamp s Finish nails and hammer (or a finish nail gun ) Step two Cut your boards. You will need to cut the 1x3x8 in half. Take your tape measure and measure the exact length of the board and find the center. You can use a  hand saw with miter box   or a miter saw if you have it. Whatever tool you have on hand and are comfortable with. For this proje

As you begin your woodworking journey, there are a few tips I can give you to help guide you on your path.  Set up a work space Having a designated work area is important. This does not mean you need a whole garage set up with a workshop and bench, just an area where you can work in. When I was living in an apartment, my workshop was set up in my living room with a cloth tarp on the carpet where I cut, glued, sanded, painted, screwed, and nailed all my projects together. Having your workshop in your living room really makes you want to complete the project quickly, but the con is that you live within that project until it is done. Learn how to read a tape measure Learning how to read a tape measure is so crucial to building with wood. Cutting a piece of wood even 1/16 th of an inch off could throw the whole project. A side note I must add is to use the same tape measure for the whole project. I am not sure why, but some tape measures are different and when you switch back and

Hi, I'm Becah Gruenwald and I started Wooden Potential blog to help other people find a potential starting place in their own wood working journey. Since I was young, I have had a passion for art and have dabbled in all sorts of different styles and techniques from drawing, painting, and ceramics. All of which take time and patience and require a certain talent. If you have tried any of these then you know what I’m talking about. One thing I love about art, however, is that you just need confidence and a desire to get down and dirty with it. Most recently I have started working with wood and I love it! There is something so satisfying about turning raw building materials into a piece of art pretty enough to display inside your own home. I am not a professional by any means and do not have any degree that states such, so my blogs are solely on personal experience and my learning process. My father is a carpenter by trade, so I have been on job sites surrounded by lumber and power to