Five Tips for Building Your Own Furniture

You don’t have to be a carpenter to have a knack for building things that would look great for your home, like bed boards, coffee tables, or simple stools. But while your first attempts at woodworking will be far from perfect, that doesn’t mean you can’t make them better.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind to make your furniture look professionally built: 

Sanding is always necessary

No one really likes sanding, but this part of carpentry is definitely a must-do if you want your finished product looking clean and polished.

However, what you can do is make the sanding process easier by smoothing down every piece for the table, chair, drawer, etc. before assembling them. This saves you time since smaller areas are harder to sand after assembly.

Be on the same page with your partner on any projects

Another thing to remember when building your own furniture is that you and your spouse need to agree on whether you should focus on design or functionality in your projects, especially if you have a limited skill set.

When you’re starting out, it’s best that you focus on something more functional rather than aesthetically pleasing since it’s easier to do and leaves you with just a little more room for error.

Measure twice, cut once

You want to be extra careful every time you cut a wood panel down to the size you want. After all, one of your goals for building your own furniture is saving money, so it’s important to not rush the process.

It also helps if you label the cut pieces of wood to avoid confusion, to avoid having to re-cut and have too many extra scraps every time you finish a project.

Don’t go crazy on the tools

If you want to make woodworking and carpentry into a hobby, you definitely need quality tools that will last a long time, but that definitely doesn’t mean you should go out and get all the latest ones on the market right now.

In fact, apart from the basic tools that you should own, you will find yourself borrowing many tools for many one-time projects. From there, you can pace yourself and buy the equipment you need one by one until you have a complete workshop.

Start simple

If you are not a carpenter, most difficult projects can be, and usually are, outright impossible for your current skill set.

This is what practice can help you out on. By starting with one simple project at a time, you learn the basics like cutting and measuring straight lines, and as you make your way towards more difficult projects, you will eventually be able to do them with ease.