Spooky projects offer unique woodworking challenges

Issue 16, October 2021

Hi ,

Boo!

Sure, it’s only the beginning of October, but it’s never too soon to start enjoying Halloween! 🎃

Those of you who are fans of my podcast, The Woodworking Talk Show, will want to tune in on October 8th to listen to my conversation with Jaimie and Jay, The Wicked Makers, and get inspired with some next-level Halloween DIY projects. You must check out their YouTube channel.

Also in the works is another episode with Ethan James, The Honest Carpenter. This time, we’ll be talking about our shared passion for spooky movies and give you some recommendations.

Halloween projects offer a creative break from typical woodworking fare, pose interesting new challenges, and are a great opportunity to try new techniques.

The first time I ever tried intarsia was when I made this fun scarecrow. If you’re not familiar with intarsia, it’s a technique where you cut various species of wood and assemble them into a sort of picture. It’s like painting with wood!

My ouija board from 2018 gave me a chance to try some pyrography. A woodburning kit is super affordable and doesn’t take long to learn the basics. It’s a fun way to customize any project.

I made my own coffin in 2017. It was fun to make it look like it was slapped together with scrap wood (in a way, it was) but it still needed to be functional. It needed a working lid that wouldn’t trap someone in it and become a real coffin! 😬