I made this Magazine Rack out of wood and clear acrylic. This is an easy woodworking project that would make a great gift for any avid reader. It only took a few hours and it's made completely from scrap materials I already had in the shop.
I enjoy going into the shop with just an idea for a project and making it up as I go. If you've ever watched the American Pickers show, you've probably seen them talk about "Freestyling" where anything goes and you just wing it. I did some freestyling to create this Magazine Rack out of leftover materials. It's going to look great in my library!
It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I decided to open up the shop doors and make a Miter Saw Stand out of scrap wood that was taking up valuable shop space. I didn't follow a plan...I was just winging it with the camera rolling. Watch my video to see how it turned out!
This was a fun project, but it was a challenge to build. You have to measure your scrap wood to see what you have, then the material will dictate the design of the project. This is the reverse of buying material according to a plan like a regular project, so you have to make your brain think backwards.
My only requirements were for the stand to have wheels, be at a comfortable height, have a bin for sawdust, and not restrict the saw's range of motion. I kept the back of the stand short so that the saw can move over it, yet saw dust would hit the back and fall into the bin.
Since most of the dust would be at the back of the saw, I made the bin half the depth of the stand. This allowed space for a shelf where I could keep my tape measure, pencils, and square.
The two lower shelves are great for storing pallet boards and small cutoffs. I was stacking these on my lumber rack, but they just got in the way and kept falling off. So this was a huge bonus.
It's not the prettiest Miter Saw Stand, but it fits my needs just fine. I will probably add some locking casters so I'm not chasing it around the shop, plus I may give it a really cool paint job sometime. If you have scrap wood taking up valuable space, make something useful with it!
