We are living in difficult economic times. Many of us are having to tighten our belts and this may extend to woodworking projects. 

Popular Mechanics has a page on their website listing eight different easy woodworking projects that emphasize frugality by such tactics as using reclaimed wood and avoiding high cost machinery. The eight projects themselves are from the website Instructables, which gives step-by-step instructions on how to complete them in detail with pictures. The projects are as follows:

1. A table made from reclaimed wood. The finished product is a stylish, modern-looking table with steel legs. The reclaimed wood has to have nails, staples, and other debris removed and must be sanded before it is ready to use.

2. A method of flattening out lumber without using a jointer. A jointer is an expensive, specialized piece of equipment that many of us do not have access to. This article explains how to use a sanding drum in place of a jointer.

3. Projects using old fence boards. Several projects are detailed in this article using fence boards as old as fifty years. They include a router table, saw stand, picture frames, kitchen hutch, signs, and fence gate.

4. A substitute for a lathe. This project shows how to use a drill and grindstone for wood turning instead of using a professional lathe. It includes a method for creating identical objects such as drawer handles as well as how to create a unique object.

5. Woodworking without metal hardware or glue. This project explains how to make mortise-and-tenons, hinges and dovetails, and simple joints without using glue or metal fasteners.

6. Stool made from wheelbarrow wheel. A designer describes how he salvaged a wheelbarrow wheel to make a stool with a swivelling seat.

7. Low cost marquetry. This article describes how to use a wood burning tool to draw an image onto a wood plank and stain it to simulate the expensive practice of marquetry.

8. Make your own oars with 2×4s. The process of crafting oars from a 2×4 is described here, avoiding the necessity of buying the expensive item. You must have an existing oar to trace for the project, however.

These projects are worth checking out as low cost, do-it-yourself ways of creating economical quality projects. Who can afford to be wasteful in these times?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate in September 2009 was 9.8%. With that many people unemployed, it’s no wonder that more Americans and others around the world are turning to do-it-yourself projects in the home to save money. However, as pointed out by an article on courier-journal.com, this increase in do-it-yourself work such as woodworking projects leads to an increase in home work-related injuries. When embarking on easy woodworking projects, there are a number of  precautions to take and dangers to keep in mind. 

One precaution that you should take when doing woodworking projects is to wear eye protection such as polycarbonate goggles. If you strike a nail with a hammer and a piece of the nail flies off and through your eye, the eye will either be gone or irreparably damaged. Wearing eye protection is even more necessary when working with such tools as high speed saws. It may seem like an inconvenience, but just keeping some goggles in your workshop and putting them on before you work could save your eyesight.

Another step you should always take is to read directions. This includes directions for building a woodworking project as well as directions for how to use the necessary tools. It is easy to skip this step and be too hasty about getting to work, but it is important that you know what you are doing in order to go about the job safely and responsibly.

One of the dangers to keep in mind in doing easy woodworking projects is the use of ladders. If you are doing some outdoor work such as repairing molding on the side of a house, it is easy to forget about the danger of being on a ladder and use an unstable one or reach out too far and fall off. It is not hard to do and a fall of about ten or fifteen feet can kill a person or leave them with severe permanent injuries to the brain or spine. You should always be very aware of the necessity for caution when using ladders.

Power tools also create a danger for injury, especially for the hands. According to Dr. Alexander Trott, an emergency room physician in Cincinnatti, it is common for them to see injuries to the hands and fingers such as amputations and severe lacerations. You should be extra mindful of your hands and fingers when using power tools such as table-saws.

Something to avoid any time you do woodworking projects is alcohol. It is tempting to have a few beers while you are working in your shop, but it can also be dangerous. You should save that cold beer until after you are done working and have put all of your tools away. It is important when working with power tools or getting on ladders to have your wits about you and to have good balance. If you know you have been drinking or are even a bit too tired, you should save the work for another time.

Wearing eye protection and reading directions are two precautions to take and using ladders, power tools, and alcohol are hazards to beware of on do-it-yourself projects. This economy had led more of us to doing projects such as easy woodworking ourselves, but that carries an extra responsibility.

There is a lot of talk about going green and reducing your carbon footprint these days. It is refreshing to read in an article from Ashland Daily Tidings that some young people are taking that goal seriously and working toward it. Three high school students from Ashland, Oregon, are taking on a green easy woodworking project by building a wind turbine.

Ashland High School students David Erhun, Noah Slater and Jordan Alexander are currently working on the project. The idea originated with 16 year-old junior Erhun, who recruited seniors Slater and Alexander to help him. 

Erhun got the idea when he was in London this summer, attending the Camp for Climate Action. They discussed grassroots energy projects there and the wind turbine discussion peaked Erhun’s interest. He attended a workshop to teach people to build wind turbines and he decided to pursue the subject further when he got home. 

Because he did not have the knowledge to take the project on without research, he turned to a book by Hugh Piggott, a leader in the field of small wind turbine technology. A Wind Turbine Recipe Book, published in January of this year, proved to be Erhun’s guide. After reading it, he recruited Slater and Alexander and they began to work on a small wind turbine using Piggott’s book as their guide.

The wind turbine that they are building is about a quarter the size of a normal small wind turbine and will be made of wood and metal. The teenagers realize that it may not produce a huge amount of energy, but see it as a good starting project and will be proud of the accomplishment. The wood blades of the windmill are about one meter long each and were cut and sanded using simple woodworking tools. Their next steps are to install an alternator and a metal base. The metal work in the project is also simple but will require some welding that they will need help with.

The young men plan to have the project completed between November and January. They will then use it as a demonstration of how three high school students can complete an easy woodworking project that benefits the environment.

I think we could all take inspiration from these three young men from Oregon and work on our own environmentally friendly woodworking projects.

Recommended Reading:

• www.windaction.org | Another wind turbine before board – The Otter Tail County Board is scheduled hear from a property owner regarding a proposed wind farm near Parkers Prairie. …The discussion on the wind farm, proposed by Prairie Wind Energy LLC, is scheduled to take place at 9:45 am The …

• Use The Tax System To Reduce Your Small Wind Turbine Cost – Just a few months back, before President Bush left office, he signed the revised Emergency Economic.

• www.windaction.org | School mulls wind power – The Indian River Central School District is looking into putting a wind turbine on one of its campuses to decrease the district’s energy costs and carbon footprint. …”We are proposing a study to assess the wind we have,” district …