Outdoor grill Side Table - Red Cedar & Single Tile

Rough cut red cedar

Dimensioned at the jointer and planer

Stacked dado blades make quick work of cutting grooves

 Home made groove cutting jig

All, except the bottom rail, were joined with exterior glue.

Side table tile  top matching the grill base tile.

 Wood will remain unfinished (no stain or any finish), hopefully the cedar will age "gracefully"

Pocket Hole Joinery

One of the oldest forms of strong joinery in woodworking is the pocket hole system.  What has advanced is the new method of boring the holes with simple commercial jigs coupled with the new screws that is very easy to master.  Here is an example of a project where every joinery is done with screws that can be mostly hidden from view and the ease of assembly makes for a fast construction, yet aesthetically sound.

The ease of construction is possible because all the cuts re 90 deg. straight cuts.

The Kreg Pocket hole system is one of several commercially available jigs.

Assembly is easy and quick and can be done with or without glue.  Even when glue is used, there is no waiting time for it to dry.

Hoes can be plugged but even if left exposed they're not unattractive.

Krenov Saw Horse

Every Do-it-yourself-er has a saw horse - store bought or home made.  This one is the latter.  Named after a Russian immigrant wood worker who designed and made a lot of it at his workshop.  Advantage of it is its versatility and easy stowage when not needed.  There are many ways this can be constructed and can be made as robust or delicately aesthetic for uses other than woodworking.  For example, it can be used to support hobby platforms - gardening and assembling.  My Russian readers can be proud of James Krenov (he passed away a few years ago) I hope I hear from you through the comments section including those from Ukraine and Lithuania (there's a number of you who had read this blog) 

Drilling pocket holes with a commercially available pocket hole jig.

I used bolt and barrel connectors to join the two uprights but other joinery can be used

Here it is used to support a narrow platform

Easy stowage is a great attribute for this sawhorse.

And for an even narrower platform, this sawhorse still works.

Work Table Clamping Platform

Clamping work pieces is an essential, if not a crucial, part of woodworking.  In a small workshop it helps to have a clamping platform that can be stowed away when not needed.  It should naturally be portable.  Adjustable double clamps ($40/pc) are key to this project.