Got a patio umbrella but didn't want to pay for a base. Have rocks, and and pail, figured I'd try making one myself.

So I have a piece of PVC secured in the bucket and then needed to lock the umbrella post into it. A person who values their time would have simply cross drilled and put in a pin, but I wanted to turn something so I made a circular wedge.

Turn a taper:

Bore for the post:

Then cut in half:

And done!

It's held up just fine in its first weekend of use.

Last fall I got an inexpensive 3D printer (Ender 3 Pro) and have been surprised at how it's made "shop life" better. What are your favorite things you've made for your shop? Here are mine:

#1: Milwaukee M12 Wall Mounts

Pictued above, this have 100% solved how to store these things. Just printed with PLA, they're quite strong and fit the tools perfectly.

#2: Tool Well Storage Bins

I made these to fit my bench's tool well. I had been using jars and other round containers but their shape wasted space and they didn't have internal divisions.

#3: Hex Bit Rack

Nice way to keep my most often used bits out of a drawer and easy to find.

#4: 4" x 120mm Dust Hose Adapter

While not glamorous I use this every time I use my table saw.

Finally got around to making a tool Caddy for the drill press. Clearly inspired by Lee Valley's.

I have holders for all my drill bits so this is just a tray to hold small stuff used with the tool.

Here it is disassembled:

I was able to use some barrel nut hardware saved from some big box furniture kit.. Lesson to never throw that stuff away!

This old catalog has large crosscut saws (sold by the foot!). They all have a rounded "belly" on the business side and I'm wondering why.

My best guess, without just googling it, is that it widens the last strip of wood thus reducing snap offs.

So my kid has lost a bunch of these shapes and I'm going to make a replacement set.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to get a consistent roundover on the corners? I have a router table but no CNC.

The square and rectangle I could do with a roundover bit and the blocks on their sides. But I don't see any obvious solutions for the pentagon and triangle.

I'm totally fine just hand sanding these, but this kind of problem solving makes woodworking fun!

This has been my workhorse for probably five years now. It's a split top Rubou-style bench with a face vise and Veritas inset shoulder vise.

Construction is all Southern Yellow Pine. The legs are tenoned into the underside and top with stretchers in between the short sides.

In between the two top sections is a removable plane stop. When shifted to the side it sits proud to top by about a quarter inch.

The gap allows for more variety of clamping options such as supporting a long board for planing.

Spring bench dogs seen in a Paul Sellars video.

The tool well and writing surface are both removable. I needed a place to look able to sit down with my knees under the surface.

I have threaded inserts on the end for a large large planing/work stop

This is a pretty cursory description.. I'd be happy to answer any questions about it.

Full album and writeup here

This is a set built-ins I did two years ago. A full one third of the project was spent painting! I did it all with a brush and regret not getting a sprayer.

Just finished this set. Black walnut and maple blanks. The hardware is from Lee Valley .

The insert gets glued in the blank with the metal cap screwing on. I wasn't super happy with the kit because it's expensive and needs odd-sized holes. I bored undersized (7/8“) and expanded with a square end scraper, but the taper on the tubes makes it difficult to get a snug, consistent fit. Had to use some blue tape to shim the gap.

Simple stopped dado construction with a 1/4" plywood back.

I even remembered to see how high the vacuum cleaner head is in order to position the bottom shelf!

An expandable dining table & set of chairs I worked on over the last ~18 months.

The chair design is from Jeff Miller's "Chairmaking & Design" book, the slat-back chair.

The table is also based on a Jeff Miller FWW article. I used metal extension slides from Rockler.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions about it!