Oaken Gearbox

This is a leaning ladder style dumbbell rack I recently made. Built mainly from 2x4's, its cheaper and better looking than the steel ones commercially available. The plans below use a slightly different shelf design than I used, to better support weights of different sizes.

I grew up building fences. Pounding steel posts into the ground and stringing wire fencing was one of the better jobs on the farm. This fall I decided to fence in my small city lot, but my wife wanted something a little nicer than barbwire. I flat out refused a white picket, so we compromised on a scallop top picket board fence. I opted to use 4x4 green-treated posts, five quarter decking boards ripped in half to 3" wide for stringers, and 1x4's for the pickets. Some online research and conversations with friends indicated that recommended post spacing was 4 to 8 feet. I opted for 8 ft spacing, which seems sufficient for my 4 foot high fence. Tools Needed Gas-Powered Auger Manual Post hole diggers Spud Bar Circular saw Drill Router (optional) Level Step 1: Design your fence Decide: How far to space your posts How wide to make your pickets and how far to space them Where your gates will go, so you can set hinge posts Step 2: Plan your fence Thi...

Nothing beats the smell of a freshly cut 2x4. Seriously, it's the one of the best smells on earth, and when you catch a whiff of that smell and hear the high pitched whine of an electric saw on a sunny Saturday afternoon it means times are good. Two-by-fours are generally used for construction, but they are good for a whole lot more than just building houses. You may have to spend a few minutes sorting through the bin at your local big box hardware store for good, straight boards without a lot of knots, but its time well spent. Two-by-fours are cheap, sturdy, and easy to work with. You may not end up with an heirloom quality piece that will be passed on for generations, but for less than $20 in materials and a long weekend you can construct some basic furniture that far surpasses what's available at Ikea or Target. Take this small kitchen table I built to go next to our gas range for example. Materials 2 2x4's 1 3/4" x 5" board 1 16 x 36" pine ...

This is something that is really easy to do, but many people aren't aware of, including, apparently, the previous owner of my house. Simply lower the blinds all the way, pop off the little plastic covers on the bottom, and cut the strings off. It's a little scary,  but just make sure they aren't too short and you'll be fine. I also took this opportunity to take out the broken slats from my blinds and replace them with extras from the bottom that I cut off. Retie the strings at the bottom of your blinds, making sure the pull cords are even. Cut off the extra string, and burn it with a match if you're worried about fraying. That's it. Clip the plastic plugs back in and you're ready to go.