We are all familiar with the story of how the craftsman made the tables and chairs from the wood that was available at his place, and how he put it together in the way that only he could. The same thing happened with the tables and chairs that we used to sit on in our homes. A woodworker with years of experience would no doubt have a table saw that he could use to make just about any joint that we would require. Today we can enjoy the same quality of furniture, but they come in all sizes and shapes and even materials – the options are many.
One of the best pieces of modern technology is the table saw and router joint. In the old days we would have to work out the joint manually using a table saw, or even a hand drill. The joint that we used then was held together by two wooden dowels that were nailed, with small screws on the underside. The router is a tool that have both a table saw and a router joint built into it, and we can simply use this tool to make just about any joint that we wish.
The router now has its own router attachment that can be fixed to the table saw for a precision joint that is impossible to achieve manually. In fact a router that has been used once may well be unsuitable for jointing purposes, because it may not have the strength to hold the two pieces together. The table saw on the other hand has a mechanism that allows it to make just about any joint that we want. This is an option that we can now take advantage of in order to improve the quality of the furniture that we own.
The router is of course used to join pieces of wood together, but it is also useful for making dado rippers. This is a tool that joins the edges of two boards, with the middle board left free. The edges are not sharp but are rather beveled, as this will soften the effects of the edges when the table saw is used. This is necessary if you want your cuts to look nice. The dado ripper has a slot at the bottom, so that it can be used without having to remove the whole board. To use it you simply slide the blade across the slots and it cuts the wood in the direction that you want.
If we are looking for some more complex joint structures, then we will find that we are now in luck. There are now a variety of wood furniture plans that will allow us to construct very intricate structures, such as birdhouses or even toy boxes. These plans are available online and come in a variety of formats, such as illustrated plans, full color wood cut outs, and even videos. With the help of a woodworking plan we can now join different wood parts together, just by following instructions. This means that we no longer need to guess what the right way to join a piece of wood is, because the plans provide clear and precise details.
As well as using woodworking plans to build our own custom made furniture, there are a number of ways in which you can make the pieces even cheaper. By using cheap wood we can still create something beautiful, that will last a lifetime. I think the best thing about wood furniture is that you can change the style according to your mood or the season. For instance, a summer garden can look completely different from one that has just been planted with flowers. For wooden tables and chairs we can stain them to achieve the look of the cushions, or even a natural wood color. You can really add a lot of character to a table by choosing a few carefully selected colored wood.