Eastern Shore Chest

Here's the perfect project for expanding your skill base with a router. This chest combines cope and stick joinery, sliding dovetails, panel raising and a few flutes just for fun. It's got the appearance and quality of an heirloom keepsake, so it's an excellent candidate for investing in premium lumber and taking your time to get things just right.

Shaker Table

This adaptation of a table originally built in the mid-1800s stays true to the Shaker tradition of simple, functional furniture that is built to last.

Arts &Crafts End Table

Necessity sure is the mother of invention for some projects. If you're always searching for a heat-safe surface to park the morning coffee cup, this granite-topped end table provides a perfect spot. Plus, this project will provide an opportunity to use your jointer for some decorative profiling and try your hand at simple machine-cut inlay.

Serving Tray

This tray table's simple and elegant lines are a study in positive and negative space. The "X" shaped leg joiner's history is traceable to the ancient Egyptians, but Woodworker's Journal uses entirely modern methods to execute the rest of the design.

One Board Hall Table

One board doesn't usually describe the style or look of this table, but it is a pretty complete description of the material that goes into it. If you haven't been hoarding special pieces of stock (maybe you're just getting started with this hobby or haven't yet become a "wood-aholic") then shopping is really simple. A seven-inch-wide, eight-foot-long piece of 8/4 stock is all you will need. This one board approach creates a beautiful table with consistent figure and color. Woodworker's Journal made this project from a wonderful piece of Lake Superior flame birch.

A&C Picture Frame

Sure, the focal point of most artwork is generally the art and not the frame that contains it. But that's no reason to ignore the need for a proper and visually pleasing frame. Our double-frame design features pinned mortise and tenon joints for durability. Its proportion, wood grain, and warm finish contribute to a harmonious whole.

Can-Do Can Crusher

There's no question that recycling is here to stay, and those piles of empty cans take up a lot of space unless you flatten them down. Store-bought can crushers aren't expensive, but most are as flimsy as they are cheap. Our version is both economical and fun to make. It's also rugged enough to last for years of hard use.

Craftsman Style Rocking Chair

Start with a classic design, meld fine machine joinery with a few hand toll operations, and you have a beautiful introduction to Arts & Crafts chair making. This will be an involved project, but there's no reason to fear its construction. Most of the joint cutting can be done by ordinary shop machines with excellent results, and the handwork amounts to fine paring and fitting.

European Workbench

If you'd like to build a bench to top all other benches, ours was designed by master woodworker Frank Klausz. It takes a lot of wood and a lot of work to build, but the result is worth the investment: you will use it for a lifetime. Your children's children will use it, too.

New England Bench

Here's a quick project you can make for an aspiring young artist. It recalls a time when even a set of pencils befitted a special wooden container. Our design will hold a collection of colored pencils and an eraser for carting along in a bag or backpack. It's a perfect way to put some attractive or exotic scrap wood to good use.

Arts & Crafts End Table

There are many signature features of Mission-style furniture, but one of the more prominent details are the mortise and tenon joints where the tenons show. You might think they are difficult to make, but a simple drill press technique and a few chisels are all it really takes. This Woodworker's Journal end table will give you ample opportunity to try these joints on for size. 

Bombé Box

Carving shapes with your table saw, building a low-tech mortise and cutting finger joints...from a technique stand point, this project will give you a woodworking workout. When you're finished, you'll end up with a shapely accent piece with three inner trays for storing jewelry or other collectibles. It's a great project for building skills without breaking the project budget.

Stickley Leather-top Desk

Without sacrificing any of the charm or structural integrity of Woodworker's Journal's Stickley-inspired design, modern methods and materials bring this white oak desk within reach of almost any woodworker's skills.

Early American Dresser

Building this dresser may mark a number of firsts for you. It may be the first time you'll build early American furniture. It may be you first large solid-wood casework project. And it may be your first shot at cutting dove-tails by hand, if you so choose. But jumping these hurdles will surely open up creative possibilities while helping you build a truly classic dresser.

Cherry China Cabinet

Inspired by Woodworker's Journal readers' request, this china cabinet features classic clean lines, gentle arches and hidden hardware. It's amply sized to store all your finery, and the upper cabinet will proudly display its contents through glass doors. Made carefully, this could be the signature project for your dining room or a wonderful family gift.

Bowfront Bed Table

Woodworker's Journal offers this handsome, contemporary design made of ash and walnut with a gentle curved face.

Nesting Tables

Beautiful walnut nesting tables make the perfect accent for any living space.

Veneered Checkerboard

Brush up on your veneering skills and get an early start on holiday gifts. Production methods allow you to build identical projects quickly, and different pairings of veneer make each checkerboard unique. It's a truly hand-made gift in no time flat. 

Kitchen Island

This project is reminiscent of an old-fashioned butcher's table, but it's a lot easier to build because the top is a slick, built-up assembly rather than a heavy chunk of hard maple.

Artist's Pencil Box

Here's a quick project you can make for an aspiring young artist. It recalls a time when even a set of pencils befitted a special wooden container. Our design will hold a collection of colored pencils and an eraser for carting along in a bag or backpack. It's a perfect way to put some attractive or exotic scrap wood to good use.