I have been putting off this form of learning for a while now, due to the fact that in other areas of my life, I tend to gravitate towards this form of learning. That is of course the humble YouTube tutorial. I have used it in some ways during my learning project such as, to help with the learning of programs or to gain inspiration, but this week, I wanted to see how it would go if I built something alongside the video, in real time.
Throughout this experience, I have been trying to make practical items that I will be able to use every day and this week is no exception. As I was looking through YouTube to gain some ideas, I came across a video talking about coasters. I thought this would be a perfect build as it is not something that I currently own and I believe it is another approachable project for someone who is just getting started with woodworking.
There were two videos that I decided to follow, the first was by Ben Grimsley Woodworking.
This was an great place to start for building the coasters. I decided to make some modifications to the size as I did not like how thick these coasters were but that was a simple enough adjustment. In the video Ben is using a hardwood, which I did not have available to me so I used some old scrap pieces of pine we had around the shop. As you can see from the thumbnail of the video the coaster holder is very basic. I wanted to challenge myself a little more with a more appealing design. Lucky for me a video appeared in my recommended feed from Keddie Woodshop which had exactly what I was looking for.
Something I found challenging at first was the fact that my coasters were one measurement and the coaster holder was a different measurement. I almost made the mistake of copying each video exactly as they were, but I am glad I caught this before it resulted in a lot of frustration.
Keddie Woodshop’s video also finally inspired me to create a crosscut sled for the table saw.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/table-saw-crosscut-sled/
They are very easy to make and in addition to making all your future cuts much easier, it adds a slight level of safety as your hands have more surface to hold onto while you push the board through the table saw. I constructed mine on my own however if you are interesting in building one yourself, Jay Cork with Family Handyman is an excellent website to check out. He has an instructional video as well as a step by step walk through with images on the website for you to follow along.
Overall the coasters turned out really well! As I anticipated watching a step by step YouTube video is my preferred way of learning a new skill. Being able to see exactly what the individual is doing helps a lot when you are trying to replicate it yourself. You also have the luxury of pausing at anytime so analyze the image further or even replaying certain steps if you did not fully understand the first time.
I am enjoying the process of exploring other methods of learning online, but I think myself and instructional YouTube videos will forever have an unbreakable bond.
Until next week,
Kyle
Kyle,
You seem like you are a skilled craftsman when it comes to woodworking already! I really like the look of the coaster holder in the second video that you shared. It is much more appealing than the wooden dowels in the first example.
Do you plan to paint or stain your coasters?
I appreciate that you settled on a project that will be useful in your life and that you were resourceful and used some supplies that you had available to you. I decided at the outset of my learning project that I didn’t want this project to cost me much money so I’ve done some borrowing of materials as I test things out.
Good luck on your continued learning journey!
Hey Kyle,
Coasters are looking great! I briefly checked out your resource and it seemed to be really user friendly. Are you planning on teaching carpentry in high school? I feel like that would be right up your alley. I loved that class in high school and I think with a passionate teacher on the topic like yourself, you’d make for a great teacher!
Good luck in the future in whatever you decide on.
Zach
Hi Kyle,
What a great skill to learn. I feel like with woodworking that the possibilities are endless with what you can create! I see online that restoring furniture is very popular these days. Maybe a different direction to take your skills in!