Woodworking Woodworking Basics

Break out a Router for These Woodworking Projects

By
Chris Baylor
Chris Baylor

Chris Baylor is a woodworking expert and writer with over a decade of hands-on commercial carpentry experience. He has studied under master carpenters and also designs wooden tools and furniture, sharing tutorials on websites including Woodworkers Workshop and Homemade Tools.

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Updated on 12/09/19
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Petardj / Getty Images

The router is one of our favorite woodworking tools, probably because there are so many cool profiles that can be applied to an edge using a router. The number of profiles that can be applied to the edge of a board is almost limitless, whether using a complex profile or making a series of partial profile cuts.

There are plenty of projects on which you can use a router: you can use a plunge router base and drive the bit into the wood for the length of the cut; you can use a stationary base router and ease the bit into the cut on the edge of the board; and you can even mount the stationary base router upside down in a router table and move the wood past the router bit.

  • 01 of 05

    Oak Book Stand

    Oak Book Stand

    Chris Baylor

    A coffee table is ideal for displaying books with great images. Sometimes, it's easier to display the book vertically. In that case, an adjustable bookstand can be just the ticket. In these free woodworking plans, learn how to build an oak book stand with two matching halves separated by a pair of hinges. This is a fun project and one that allows for creativity on the edges with a router.

  • 02 of 05

    Make a Hardwood Cutting Board

    Hardwood cutting board

    Oana Coman-Sipeanu / Getty Images

    Another great woodworking project for the kitchen is a hardwood cutting board. You can use a variety of hardwoods to build a cutting board, and each one will give a different look. With breadboard ends and rounded edges, this is a fun, educational, and practical project.

  • 03 of 05

    How to Make Louvered Doors and Window Shutters

    Window shutters

    David De Lossy / Getty Images

    A louvered door or window shutter allows for considerable airflow through the opening but provides the privacy of a traditional door panel. Louvers aren't difficult to build if you have the requisite jigs for cutting the notches in the stiles.

    In this project, learn how to build the necessary jigs for your router, then learn how to build the louvers from the jigs.

  • 04 of 05

    Build a Knickknack Shelf

    Knick Knack Shelf

    Chris Baylor

    Everyone has knickknacks that they've picked up over time; little photos, trophies, and other mementos that they'd like to show off. Why not show off your woodworking skills at the same time? In this project, learn how to build a three-shelf knickknack display that looks as good as the items you want to show off.

    The project is simple to build, lightweight, and looks great. Download the measured drawings and build one from your favorite hardwood today.

    Continue to 5 of 5 below
  • 05 of 05

    Build a Clay Pot Hanger

    Clay Pot Hanger

    Chris Baylor

    Every gardener has at least a handful of terra-cotta clay pots that they use for container gardening or starting seeds. The problem is that they take up a lot of floor or counter space. In this woodworking project, learn how to build a nifty wooden pot hanger that holds four clay pots of various sizes, not only getting them up off the ground but in a manner that looks great.

    The project is quick, fun and becomes a real talking piece when friends come to visit!