Toy Storey by Danny Proulx

Even though he passed away nine years ago, I still miss woodworking author Danny Proulx. He was a great woodworker and an awesome teacher of the craft, and he was the first real woodworking celebrity I had ever made contact with.

While he is no longer with us, his website still lives on with the help of Danny’s protégé Luc Rousseau. Many of Danny’s free plans are also still on the site, and this one is a real gem. Using common lumber and standard plastic bins, woodworkers can build a simple toy storage solution to beat the clutter that comes with kid’s toys.

Having stepped on my share of Lego blocks in my day, I can tell you that something like this would have been VERY handy in my house!

Popular Mechanic’s trestle table plan

A dinner table is so much more than you might believe. It’s a place to dine, of course. It is also a homework center, a place to spread out for a marathon game of Monopoly, a family gathering spot… well, it has a lot of uses!

Because it is such an essential place in the home, most woodworkers want to build their own. Today’s plan is a pretty easy one from Popular Mechanics magazine, showing how to build a classic trestle table.

While there are other table designs (believe me, I will be featuring a lot more), this is one I am particularly drawn to.

Ana White’s closet organizer

Oh, we woodworkers love to build furniture for the rooms in our homes. Dining room tables. Comfortable chairs. Beds.

But, when we put our clothes away, we often hang them in bare-bones closets with one hanging rod, maybe a few shelves and a whole lot of clutter. Wouldn’t it be great if you could focus your attention on building a closet organizer?

Well, today’s plan is all about that. Take your closet from messy to meticulous with just a few sheets of plywood, some time in the shop and an easy-to-follow cut list. If spring cleaning is in your future, this is a great place to start.

Oh, by the way, this scary looking bunny wants to wish all of his amicos everyone Buona Pasqua!

From the looks of that mook, you might want to watch the candy in your basket very carefully…

About.com’s Portable Miter Saw Stand

Powered miter saws are handy tools to have in the shop. From cutting lumber down to size to executing compound angles for moldings, they can do quite a bit of work.

But, only if they are easy to get to and have a solid station on which to work.

That’s why today’s plan is so great. Made from common construction lumber, the stand is easy to build and can be broken down to be moved to where you are working. If you own a powered miter saw, a project like this is a must.

Fine Woodworking’s Shaker Rocker

Darn those Shakers!  They were a community of such industrious, clever and creative folks that their furniture style lives on longer than they did.

I guess maybe that strict no-kids policy must have been their downfall.

Anyway, today’s weekly plan comes from our friends at Fine Woodworking. Ernie Conover drew up some sweet, easy-to-follow plans for how to build a tape back and seat Shaker rocker. In addition to the plan, there are also online lessons for steam bending, spindle turning and tape weaving.

If you are looking to build a comfortable place to rest your bones after a hard day at the shop, this may be what the doctor ordered.

Jeff Branch’s Queen Sized bed plan

So, I got maybe a few hours into my new weekly woodworking plan idea for the blog, and Jeff Branch contacted me. It seem he had a plan he designed that he wanted me to feature… and the story behind it is pretty cool. I’ll let Jeff explain its origin:

I built this bed as a small part of the relief effort after a massive tornado outbreak in northern Alabama on April 27, 2011. Sixty-three tornadoes touched-down in our state that day killing 247 people – a very traumatic day for sure.

The bed was designed to be simple so it could be built quickly, but I also wanted it to be more than just a basic bed. I added a paneled headboard and unique finials to the posts. The joinery is mortise and tenon and stub tenon.

It was a fun and meaningful project. The bed was donated to a family who lived about 75 miles from my home.

Since I started Tom’s Workbench back in 2007, a regular feature of my weekly posts has been the weekly poll. In fact, the last poll I did was my 300th iteration of the feature.

While it would be easy to keep going the way I have, I have decided to change things up a little bit.

From now on, Sunday’s are going to be links to woodworking plans I think are pretty cool. I hope to spread the plans around the house – bedrooms, kitchens, offices, shop fixtures… the like. Some of the plans may be free, while others may cost a little, but I hope that this new feature allows you an opportunity to explore some pretty cool ideas you might want to tackle in your shop.

This week,with spring in the air – and a request from reader Kevin Lambdin in my inbox – it’s only appropriate that we kick of with a plan to build an outdoor classic – an Adirondack Chair. This plan comes from our friends at Popular Woodworking, and was build by none other than the New Yankee himself, Norm Abram.  

Now, where have the polls gone? Trust me, they haven’t gone anywhere. In fact, Marc Spagnuolo has asked if I would be able to do weekly polls over at the Wood Whisperer’s site. This way, you can keep voting – and submitting your awesome ideas to me, so we can keep that up and running.