This Online Group Is Dedicated To Showcasing People’s Unique Woodworking Skills, Here Are 50 Of Their Best Projects (New Pics)

Redditor u/MeanCoach kindly shared the story behind the impressive photo where he's hanging on a wooden cabinet, showing how much he trusts his own work. The photo got 13.3k upvotes on the r/woodworking subreddit.

As it turns out, the cabinet was a gift for his grandmother.

"It was a cabinet made for my grandma's house, she's almost 88 and has been asking me for a new cabinet for a long time," he told Bored Panda.

"The one she had previously is more than a century old, and has many rotten parts, as she inherited it from her parents," the redditor explained that it was definitely the time for an upgrade!

At this point, the old cabinet wasn't as safe as the family would have liked.

"She [my grandma] has a lot of stuff," redditor u/MeanCoach said that she has plenty of plates, pans, and cookware in general.

"So we were afraid that the cabinets wouldn't be able to hold it, the uppers specifically."

The whole project took just under a week to complete, spread out over less than a month.

"We spent 3 weekends on her home," the redditor told us. "1 [weekend] for the lowers, 1 for the uppers, and 1 for organizing the cabinets, putting the stuff of the old cabinets on the new ones."

The redditor also shared some advice about woodworking with Bored Panda's readers. "As grampa, who has been a machinist for more than 80 years, says, always triple-check everything before assembling it. It's a lot harder to fix things after than before."

The r/woodworking subreddit is absolutely massive. At the time of writing the online community had just over 4.6 million members. It’s been growing by massive leaps and bounds ever since it was founded in 2008. And it continues to expand.

The main draw of the community comes down to several factors. First of all, the subreddit encourages people to share their own work, meaning you can get feedback on your finished or ongoing projects. And the second part is that it is chock full of incredible photos. They’re a feast for the eyes and serve as inspiration.

Another part of the sub’s appeal is that it works as an actual community. If you have any questions about woodwork, need specific advice about a problem you have, or crave constructive criticism, everyone’s happy to help.

It's subreddits like this one that are proof that there are tons of kind and friendly people around the world. All it takes is a shared hobby to find them!

The only thing you have to do is follow the subreddit’s rules, as set out in the sidebar by the moderators. That means avoiding talking about religious and political topics. Meanwhile, threads “related to firearms, religion, or flags will be allowed but locked.”

Moreover, there’s to be no sale of items or self-promotion. Memes and low-effort posts are also to be avoided.

Recently, Bored Panda spoke about woodworking with Dr. Paul Bones, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Texas Woman’s University. He shared how he got into the hobby and also gave some advice to anyone who’s new to DIY and working with wood.

"I love woodworking for many reasons. I’m a disabled academic, so having the ability to make something tangible, something I can see and hold helps keep me grounded. And relatively sane,” he opened up.

“I also like how there is so much to learn and so much to make. I started turning pens, then went into bottle stoppers, then bowls. Lately, I’ve been working with inlay rings and knives. It’s just a lot of fun learning new skills, applying them, and watching myself improve,” the professor said.

“It also gives me time to just sit with myself, disconnect from deadlines and emails, and be more present in the moment. That’s what keeps me glued to woodwork," he told Bored Panda.

Patience and adaptability, according to the professor, are key to woodworking. They’re as important as any tool. Perhaps even more so.

"Woodworking is a skill you have to hone; no one starts out as a master craftsperson. Also remember there are so many types of woodworking: woodturning, furniture building, carving, knife making, ring making, box making, etc. It may take a while to find the type of craft you like," he told Bored Panda during an interview, earlier.

According to the woodworking enthusiast, anyone who’s starting out with the hobby ought to watch a few how-to videos on YouTube. They’ll help quite a bit while you figure out what exactly it is that you’d like to work on. 

"While you’re watching, think about what kinds of craft work with your temperament and existing skills. For example, I do not have the patience for hand carving or furniture making. But turning small items like pens, rings, bottle stoppers, and bowls? Those are fast enough projects where I can have a finished item in no time, and there’s enough variety that I won’t get bored," the professor said.

"There’s an old adage that a poor craftsman blames his tools, and that’s mostly true. Woodworking tools can be very expensive, and in some cases, price does equal quality. However, there are a lot of garages and shops full of topline equipment that can only produce mediocre items. Having the right tool for the job is really all that matters. Once you have experience with it, you’ll know when it’s time to upgrade. That’s a skill too," he explained.

"I started woodworking after a couple of cross-country moves for work. I needed a table and a desk. I didn’t have a lot of money at the time. I had worked in a furniture shop for six years prior to going to grad school, so I had practical experience putting items together," the professor had shared how he got started with woodworking in his spare time.

"A trip home for a funeral introduced me to life-edge wood, and after playing with it for a while, I was hooked. I didn’t have the room (or the patience) to build furniture all the time though, so a friend suggested a lathe to me. After making like 50 pens, my wife demanded we start trying to sell what I make."