Roland Rolson

I’ve always wanted to make one of these, they have a classic, timeless look and can be used for anything. The bottom of this box is attached flat to the sides, using screws. I’ve never liked that and most of my projects use a different approach – bottoms are secured from the sides or rest on rails. This box, however, is a replica of many other projects and if that works for other people including the Army – it’ll work for me too. Most of the screws used in this box don’t go into end grain – it’s usually edge…

Using a scroll saw was never easy for me. I find it complicated and tricky, but I don’t give up and do some practising from time to time. MDF scraps seem to be the best for this purpose. I printed out a template and fixed it on the board with contact adhesive. It’s always easy to peel it off after use. Following the line, on my scroll saw, was the most challenging part. I have already learned that drilling holes for the blade has to be done from the other side, just to keep the backside flat and easy to…

It’s nice to have a doormat, especially at the back door, where some mud can be carried into the house from the garden. It creates a barrier between the wet and dry surfaces. Hardwood would be ideal for this project, but I only had some pressure-treated softwood on hand. Also, some decking stain could be the best finish for this, but again – I used what I had. It’s OK to do some experiments from time to time, am I right? I started by ripping the 2×3 in half and cutting to length 6 equal pieces. The only trick I…

I liked the look of the small rustic planter and simply couldn’t resist making another one, bigger and probably stronger too. Same as the small one, this one too is built of 1x7s, I also ripped some 2x3s in half for the legs and the bottom rails. I used screws instead of nails and drainage slots instead of drilled holes. Very heavy and deep box, ideal for plants with longer roots. It’s supposed to last 3 years, maybe longer. The first thing to do was to rip the 2x3s in half and next cut them to length. Then I cut…

Made of pressure-treated wood, cut with a hand saw and put together with nails and butt joints. Simple and quick project, but quite enjoyable as it involved woodworking and gardening. It’s just this time of the year, perfect for combining these two. There was a need for another planter and there was leftover wood, so I measured the board, marked the cut lines and cut the pieces I needed. A sharp hand saw did the job in no time. I used the simplest approach to join the boards together, and that was nails and butt joints. To give some structural…

Simple construction and the look that matches my other projects in the room, i.e. my pedestal table and the cascade shelf. I used scraps to build this platform, some of them were even pre-finished with lacquer. I didn’t want to remove that finish from them but also wanted to treat the charred wood with oil. The top coat on both of them had to be glossy lacquer. Luckily, a combination of oil and lacquer is completely fine, as long as the oil has fully dried first. I started the build by removing the twist from the post, I clamped it…

The box is made from a 1 x 9 pine board and a 6 mm MDF. Large and sturdy, good for storing anything and everything. I wanted to try out 2 router bits to cut self-locking corners, I had used them in the past with rather bad results and this time I just double made sure that they were not going to work for me. Before throwing them away I had to give them a last chance, or at least one of them as the other one works using the same principle. I started by cutting the 1 x 9…

Designed for use with hand towels, each rolled up and suspended onto 2 dowels. A light-duty construction made with good quality materials and simple enough to not overwhelm the beauty of fresh towels. It’s built to stay in the background, not showing its structure and playing the supporting and not the leading role. I started by ripping the thickest one exactly in half and roughly cleaned the surface with a block plane. Then I attached a fence extension which worked as a stop block and cut 5 rails that were further processed in the next step. I wanted a partial…