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Home > Search for DIY Projects by Trade Type > DIY How To Guides Covering Carpentry, Joinery and Woodwork > Carpenty Projects and Woodworking Plans

Carpenty Projects and Woodworking Plans

A full range of plans and practical instruction for carpentry projects around the home and garden. There are step by step instructions and detailed drawings to follow so that you can get your project completed quickly and efficiently. We cover all sorts of projects from bird and bat boxes to boxing in pipes, from building cupboards and floating shelves to building a workbench.

  • How to Build a Bat House

    Bat boxes - how to make - In this DIY guide you will learn how to build a bat box from scratch. The guide includes full bat box dimensions and plans


  • Fitting Bath Panel

    Baths - bath panel fitting - Learn all about how to fit an acrylic bath panel to a bath in easy steps including the types of baths panels are fitted to


  • Making a Beehive

    Beehives - build your own - Step by step instruction on how to build a beehive in your garden and start your own bee colony, includes beehive plans for cutting timber


  • Wheelie bin storage area

    Bin Store - How to make a wheelie bin store - In this DIY guide you will learn how to make a wheelie bin storage area using fence panels to hide your wheelie bins


  • Building a Bird Box

    Bird boxes - how to build - In this easy to follow DIY guide learn how to build a bird box or nesting box for your garden including detailed plans showing all the cuts


  • Bird table

    Bird Table - How to make a bird table - Learn how to build your own bird table for your garden including full measurements and dimensions and a cutting plan to get you going


  • Boxing in a Boiler

    Boilers - boxing in a boiler - How to safely box in a central heating boiler using kitchen units. Boxing in a boiler can be done using kitchen units to match your existing kitchen.


  • Folding breakfast bar in kitchen

    Breakfast Bar - How to build a folding breakfast bar - In this DIY guide you will learn how to build a simple DIY folding breakfast bar or Work Surface for your kitchen


  • Sloping ceiling built-in wardrobe

    Built-in Wardrobe - How to build a sloped ceiling wardrobe - Learn how to build a bespoke wardrobe to fit in a loft conversion room or other room that has a sloped ceiling


  • Chicken coop made fromold pallets

    Chicken Coop - How to build a chicken coop out of old pallets - In this DIY guide, learn how to build a decent sized DIY pallet chicken coop using just old pallets, a few screws and some roofing felt


  • Chicken nesting box

    Chicken Nest Box - How to build a nesting box for a chicken coop - In this guide you will learn how to build a nesting box for a chicken coop and attach it to an existing coop


  • Enclosed chicken run

    Chicken Run - How to build and enclosed chicken run - Learn how to build a fully enclosed chicken run to keep your chickens both safe from predators and fully entertained and happy


  • Fitting Cupboard Handles and Knobs

    Cupboards - fitting handles and knobs - In tis guide, learn about fitting cupboard door handles and knobs, about the types of door handles and knobs and how to position them


  • Building a Timber Cupboard

    Cupboards - how to build cupboards - How to build a basic timber cupboard. How to plan, prepare and make your timber cupboards and what joints to use


  • Installing Floating Shelves

    Floating shelves - how to fix a floating shelf to a wall in your home - Learn how to fit floating shelves in your home and find out what advantages they have over more traditional shelving


  • Folding workbench

    Folding Workbench - How to build a folding workbench - In this DIY guide you will learn how to build a sturdy portable folding workbench that can be easily stored or transported in a van


  • How to Build a Workbench or Sturdy Shelving Unit for your Workshop or Garage

    How to build a workbench or shelves for your garage or shed - Easy to follow guide on how to build a sturdy solid workbench or shelving unit for your garage, workshop or shed with minimum fuss


  • Garage storage racking

    How to build garage and workshop storage racking - In this DIY guide we show you how to build your very own timber racking and storage shelving for garages and workshops


  • Kids playhouse or play fort

    Kids Playhouse - How to build a kids playhouse - Learn how to build a kids playhouse or play fort in your garden, getting the kids outside and keeping them entertained for hours


  • Office chair made from a car seat

    Office Chair - Building a DIY office chair - Find out how to make a comfy office chair using an old car seat and how to construct a base and mount the car seat to the base


  • Old pallet to be broken down

    Pallets - How to break down an old pallet - In this guide you will learn how to dismantle a pallet using 4 different techniques that minimises any damage to the timber slats


  • Picnic bench

    Picnic Bench - How to build a picnic bench for your garden - In this DIY guide you will learn how to build your very own picnic bench for your garden in fully explained easy to follow steps


  • Boxing in Pipes

    Pipework - boxing in pipes - How to box in and hide pipes. Making a box to hide central heating and water pipes in your house


  • Kitchen unit plinth drawer

    Plinth Drawers - How to build kitchen unit plinth drawers - In this DIY guide you will learn how to build a plinth drawer to sit in the gap below a kitchen unit and the floor


  • Shelving

    Shelving - how to make shelves - Find out how to build alcove shelves or a cupboard in the recess areas around chimney breasts and other similar areas


  • Sliding mirror in bathroom to slide behind sink

    Sliding Mirror - How to build a space saving sliding mirror in a bathroom - Learn how to build a handy sliding mirror that can extend behind a mirror when there is no wall to install mirror on


  • Standing desk attachment for standard desk

    Standing Desk - How to build a standing desk frame for a standard desk - Learn how to build your very own standing desk attachment and turn a standard sitting desk into a standing desk


  • Building an Under Stair Cupboard

    Under Stair Cupboard - How to build an under stairs storage solution in your home - Find out how to build cupboard under stairs and create an additional and valuable storage space for your home


  • Under stairs drawers

    Under Stairs Drawers - Building under stairs storage for shoes, coats and bags - In this how-to DIY guide you will learn how to build under stairs drawers that can be used to store coats, shoes and other items


  • Easy to Follow Woodworking Plans and DIY Joinery Designs

    Woodworking plans - In this DIY guide find a selection of woodworking plans and DIY joinery that you can easily build yourself


This section is all about practical and straightforward instructions to get your carpentry project done easily. We have clear instructions on projects that you are likely to be attempting around the home, as well as some that are more recreational woodworking projects such as building furniture.

For information about joinery and carpentry techniques we have a separate section that explains these in detail. There you will learn practical techniques from Mitring to Countersinking and understand some of the practical aspects of working with wood and timber in a DIY or Home Improvement context. See more about Carpentry Techniques here.

Complex carpentry ceiling
Every carpentry project should follow a plan! (Image: Architonic)

There are a range of timber cuts and joints that you will need to know it you are going to be doing any carpentry around the home. We cover all these in detail, explaining when they should be used, there relative advantages and disadvantages and how to make them in our Timber Joints and Cuts section.

The tools that are used commonly in carpentry have developed over hundreds of years; there are lots of them and some can be difficult to use effectively. We have an excellent section all about hand tools where we cover most of the tools that are commonly used in joinery projects.

Tips, Tricks Hints and Advice for Carpentry Projects

There are so many tips that we cannot possibly hope to include them all here. In fact we have a fantastic Tips section with another article dedicated to Carpentry Tips – see here.

Here as some more that we think are really helpful. They have been collated by seasoned pros. Some you might already know but other might ‘flick on the light’ in your mind.

  1. Good tools, great work – Well serviced and sharp tools will be easier to use and give you a much better result. You should use tools that match the quality of your aspirations; there is no need to spend a fortune on tools that you are going to use rarely, conversely if you are doing fine work and often get yourself the tools to match
  2. Mark Clearly – Use a sharp pencil or knife to mark where you are going to cut. A fat line will lead to errors before you even factor in your cutting. Make sure you know which is the waste and which part you are keeping. It sounds crazy, but it is easy to get confused at times. Stick a piece of masking tape on your tape measure so you can write on it the measurement you need to remember; particularly handy as one gets older!
  3. Check you measurements – “Measure twice, cut once” is the old adage. But also make sure your tools are accurate. If you tape measure hook is bent it’ll miss read. Check your combination square is really square by putting in on a square surface with the rule fully extended, draw a line and then flip it over; the rule should follow your line if it is square
  4. Offer up – When measuring you cannot get more accurate that actually measuring up the wood that you are about to cut to where it should fit. You can’t always do this, but where you can it is a very useful trick to making sure you are right before you cut
  5. Support your work – When you are cutting, you will find it much easier and quicker if you stop and find support for the end you are cutting off. Make sure the piece you are cutting is as stable as you can get it; your cut will be more accurate and easier to achieve.
  6. Get a clean cut – Sometimes you will find that the cut is ragged, particularly when cutting across the grain or cutting ply wood. Circular saws are notoriously bad for this. Make sure that the saw blade cuts into the ‘good’ side rather than out, leaving it ragged. Or you can use a knife to score the edge you are cutting along so that the grain is already cut and will not fray. Using a piece of waste wood clamped to the side that will get ragged will stop this as the waste wood will protect and ensure a cleaner cut
  7. Practice makes perfect – Have a quick practice with a scrap piece before you move onto the real thing. Start in an obscure place before moving on the more visible areas once you have got the hang of it
  8. Nailed – When banging in a nail at the end of a piece of wood, what out that it does not split it. You can prevent this by banging the tip of the nail with your hammer to blunt it. This will reduce the chances of splitting. A Nail Gun is a great way to avoid splitting, and it a whole lot quicker and easier, but is more expensive than a normal hammer!
    Ryobi nail gun
    A Nail gun will reduce the chances of the wood splitting
  9. Clamp and Saw – When sawing a long straight cut it is often much quicker and easier to clamp a straight edge along the line you are going to cut (less the width of the saw frame). You butt the edge of the circular saw frame against this, knowing that the blade is in exactly the right place, and then slide the saw along the straight edge
    Using a straight edge to cut a board
    Clamp a straight edge to guide your saw for a long straight cut
  10. Stain and Glue don’t mix: Literally, they don’t mix; if you are planning to stain a piece and glue get on the surface you will end up with whiter blotches where the stain cannot colour the wood with embedded glue. Offer up the pieces without glue, then tape over the middle of the join. Run a sharp blade down the join cutting the tape, leaving half on each side of the join. Now when you glue the pieces any excess glue will not sit on the surface of the wood but on the tape which can be peeled away

Please get in touch if you have more – we can always add to these and help people who might be struggling.

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