Awesome Wood

For his latest Scrapwood Challenge, Pask Makes decided to see if he could build an electric fan from wood. But this isn’t just any fan, it’s got a ring-style design like Dyson’s innovative bladeless “Air Multiplier” fans. It could use a more powerful fan blade inside, but it looks really awesome.

UK leathersmith Victory Leathercraft is working on collectible pens made from oak timber from the famed ship HMS Victory. The wood was gathered during renovations of the British warship, which fought in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Available in ink or rollerball versions, and with an optional leather case.

Scrap wood City wanted to make a sword out of wood. But rather than just build a weapon, he created a funky musical instrument instead. The three-stringed electric lap guitar features brass and copper hardware, and can be played with a slide like a steel guitar.

While most of us use our phones or computers when we need to do math, sometimes a desktop calculator can be more convenient. This model from Sengu will look great on your desk, with its case and keycaps made from real bamboo wood. Available in 29-key or 18-key variants.

Give your over-the-ear headphones an appropriately elegant place to rest when not in use. These handmade wood stands from Beveled Edge offer refined looks, and come in versions that hold one or two pairs, compact DACs, cables, and other accessories.

Celebrate your hometown with Neighborwoods‘ laser-engraved wood coasters. Each one is etched with local neighborhood maps for cities around the world, from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., Montreal to Paris. Sold in sets of two or four. Also available on Amazon.

Larch Wood Canada creates beautiful cutting boards using meticulously-selected sticks of Canadian larch. The end-grain pieces are lined up by pattern, revealing repetitive shapes that occur in nature. They also make custom countertops. See how they’re made here.

This impressive model of Tony Stark’s office tower from The Avengers series was built by FoBIRD using skinny wooden sticks and glue as its primary building materials. Watch as he painstakingly builds up the facades section-by-section, using architectural elevations he initially drafted onto paper.

There was a time when floors made out of wooden bricks were commonplace. In this serene DIY clip from Mr. Chickadee, he takes us through the process of building such a floor for a blacksmith shop by pouring and smoothing dirt, cutting wood logs into bricks, hammering them each into place, then finishing them with fire.

EnjoyTheWood’s laser-cut wood maps are a beautiful addition to any wall. They can be ordered blank, or with shaded countries and engraved country names, and with pushpins to document your travels. Comes in M (39″ x 24″), L (59″ x 35″), XL (79″ x 47″) and XXL (118″ x 69″) sizes.

Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasies will love to see this amazing wood carving by artist Jonas Olsen. After sketching out his concept, he took a hunk of burled wood and worked painstakingly with his Dremel to reveal the terrifying eye of the one dragon to rule them all, the mighty Smaug.

While flat screen TVs are all the rage these days, sometimes a projector is still a better solution – especially if you want a huge image. Builder Laura Kampf shows off a neat design for a coffee table that has a cubby for concealing a projector neatly beneath its lid.

Keep your legs moving and your blood pumping with this omni-directional rocking board. Simply stand atop it while you work, and it’ll give your legs a bonus workout, while improving your balance. Save an additional 20% with code GREENMONDAY20 in The Awesomer Shop.(Good 12/10/19 only)

Hobbyist Crouzier Benjamin loves to build complex structures using thousands of Kapla wooden planks. For this build, he took about 2 weeks assembling 20,000 of the beams, then watched it all fall in about 30 seconds. Check out his YouTube playlist for lots of other fun architectural collapses.

Normally, basketballs are made from rubber. But DIYer Cammie’s Garage works in wood, so he decided to see if he could make one by turning layers of maple into a sphere instead. It didn’t take the stain perfectly, but it’s still pretty cool. He previously made a sweet wooden football.

We can’t get Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song out of our head after laying our eyes on Fred & Friends’ whimsical beechwood cheese board and knife set that looks like a slice of felled wood with a hatchet buried in it. Just don’t try chopping down any trees with this tiny axe.

Yohann’s elegant wood laptop stand puts your Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro at a more ergonomically-correct height and angle, while adding a beautifully-sculpted work of art to your desktop. Made in Italy from either walnut or oak wood. Save 20% on Black Friday with code FRIDAY20.

Whether you roast or fry, there are lots of different ways to prepare your Thanksgiving bird. The guys at BOSSlaser like to make their turkey from wood. It’s not as tender or tasty that way, but we’re sure it’s got lots of fiber. Have access to a laser cutter? Grab the design file from MAKE CNC.

Builder April Wilkerson was looking for a way to get all of the small hardware items out of the way and organized in her shop, so she opened up a section of wall, and built in a series of slotted wooden beams which hold dozens of plastic storage bins. It’s a great idea for an unused interior wall.

Induku’s miniature chess sets are laser cut from baltic birch plywood, and make a great stocking stuffer of bonus gift. Once you pop the pieces out, they hold in place in the cutouts on the board. The set can also be personalized with an engraving up to 40 characters.

This mini pagoda from 1Man1Garage was inspired by classic Japanese architecture. It’s made from laser-cut birch, and comes flat-packed for you to assemble yourself. Load it with a tea light, and it’ll cast nifty shadows on your wall and tabletop. Measures 7″(h) x 6″(w) x 6″(d).

If you’ve ever wondered how trees are turned into plywood sheets, this video will answer your question. Paulownia shows us how a log is shaved into a ribbon of flat, pliable veneer, which is dried, layered, glued, pressed, then trimmed to form strong, flat boards.

While these wooden nightlights are designed for a space-themed kid’s room or nursery, we think they’d look great on any desk, dresser, or bedside table. Artist Sara Collet Watson sells these and many other cool nightlights in her Etsy shop. Sold with a curved outer skin, or with an open skeletal structure.