I come by my nickname, “the 2-by-Guy,” honestly. Whenever I’m scoping out new tools as an editor for HGTVPro, in the back of my mind I’m imagining how they will advance my first interest: building projects with 2 x 4s, 2 x 6s and so on. Typically, this lumber is used for decks and framing walls, but there’s nothing like it for experimenting and honing your basic woodworking skills–without investing a lot on materials or devoting too much time to a single project. The wood rack shown on the next page is a good example. It’s simple but good-looking, and it takes just a few hours and commonplace tools to build. Best of all, it proves that not every worthwhile project requires gossamer-fine precision and lots of little pieces. Come winter, I’ll store hardwood logs on the rack to feed my wood stove. And during a recent warm-weather remodeling project, the structure proved to be ideal–appropriately–for safely storing 2x stock off the ground.
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