Uses for Hardwood Timber Outside of Construction

If you’re interested in getting into a woodworking hobby, or you have a bunch of construction lumber around and want to put it to use, you might be wondering what your options are.

Well, you’re in luck.

Woodworking is a massive skill that branches far away from just building structures, and most of the niche skills you can start to dabble in with hardwood timber are fairly beginner friendly with massive skill ceilings. So, you can take your new hobby as far as you want.

Here are some of our recommended uses for hardwood timber outside of construction and renovation.

Carving

If you have a penchant for artistic endeavors, you have to try wood carving. Unlike some of the other hobbies we’ll be going over, this one allows your creativity to run wild, and there are no rules. Functionality can be entirely tossed out the window, and you can just create whatever you want.

This is also a fairly cheap hobby to start in most cases.

The type of hardwood you choose will have a great impact on how easy it is to carve designs, but you can work with anything with the right tools and a bit of patience. There are also two main ways you can do this.

If you’d prefer to work on bigger pieces that don’t require as many tiny details, you can get into totem carving and similar projects. These are usually done with a combination of carving hatchets, chainsaws, knives, and even angle grinders with various attachments. Because the tech used to make it easier is more expensive, this is the more expensive route to get started; unless you want to do it purely the old-fashioned way, but that’s typically a more advanced endeavor in terms of skill requirements.

If you’d like to do smaller projects that can be completed fairly quickly with minimal gear, you only NEED two items besides the wood. You’ll need a saw to cut your hardwood timber into manageable blocks, and you’ll need a suitable carving knife. This can be an old whittling knife or a cheap carving knife when you’re starting out. The good thing about these projects is you can find endless beginner projects online, and as you get more invested you can buy far better gear piece by piece. You don’t have to buy expensive things right off the bat.

Furniture Making

Furniture making is a popular use for hardwood timber. It’s creative like carving, but it doesn’t require as much artistic skill. Plus, each project will give you a functional item to use or sell; potentially outfitting your home with high-quality furniture or earning more money for future projects.

The tools of the trade for this one are more in-depth, but there are guides to help you build a modest toolset on a budget.

Tool Building

If you’re not looking to get into super creative projects, but you want to save money buying things for your workshop, this is the way to go.

Homemade workbenches are typically far better than prefabricated ones. So, that should be a beginner project. Also, consider making various vices, shooting planes, jigs, spokeshaves, and other tools that can easily be made for pennies on the dollar for what you’d pay in a store. Then, you’ll have more to work with for the projects you really care about.