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Hobby Thread - October 10, 2026 [TRex]

10102026-wood.jpg

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling spooky and decided on a furniture theme for this Hobby Thread.

Furniture hobbying?! Yes! Tell me more!

[Top photo: pre-furniture]

***

Furniture can be fun. Do you appreciate interesting and well built furniture? Are you a collector? Do you like antique furniture? Do you like restoring old furniture? Do you haunt garage or estate sales for furniture? Do you watch YouTube videos by furniture makers or restorers?

***

What are you hobbying?

The theme may not be your favorite but give it a chance before you judge and bail out. Any adjacent hobbying is in scope, so jump in with your interests, stories and questions.

In any event, the thread is not limited to to the theme. Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something or be entertained. If not, offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants? Nope. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

***

Restoring an antique desk:

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Build furniture like an engineer:

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This guy had to be in the content somewhere:

His channel has so many good projects. Tough to pick just one.

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More secret compartments:

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Japanese joinery - next level:

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Hidden compartments in antique furniture:

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Clever concealed home storage solutions:

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Old school hand built automobile body shaping:

Going to be the first of a series, so watch and follow along to see the process and final result.

Forming aluminum panels by bending them around wood bucks was common in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. It took a lot of skill to build the wood frame and a different set of skills to hammer the aluminum panels against the wood to create a body panel. The cars are works of art. Few original wood bucks survive, but they're works of art too. Maybe we'll do a deep dive down this rabbit hole in a future thread.

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Nothing to do with wood or furniture, but appropriate for the season:

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Nothing to do with wood or furniture, but this might be interesting to astronomy hobbyists: starfront space

This company caters to the remote astronomer from its location near Brady, Texas. Do you want telescope time in a place with dark skies? You don't have to be located in the same place as your camera. You can rent time on one of their cameras or ship your camera to them and pay a monthly fee and let them point it to the sky. No personal knowledge and not an endorsement but amazing that such a service and business model exists.

20261007-telescopes.jpg

20261007-telescopebuildings.jpg

The roof slides open and closed to protect and expose the equipment.

***

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a Halloween hobbying theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

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20261005-funsize.jpg

***

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

***

Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.

Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 1

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 10, 2026 05:31 PM (eRlcH)

2 Furniture making? Should get pretty stickly in here.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 10, 2026 05:31 PM (1Ff7Z)

3 Add the right kind of fabric on your furniture and you get furr-niture, something that can be shared with this post and the previous one...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 05:31 PM (l3cgK)

4 Top 5?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:32 PM (wzUl9)

5 My mother's uncle made the table and chairs we used in the mid-70's. Was nice work; at least I thought so as a kid.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 05:32 PM (l3cgK)

6 Every time I've made something, it has fallen apart. Easier to just buy a kit or complete piece.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 10, 2026 05:33 PM (1Ff7Z)

7 6 Every time I've made something, it has fallen apart. Easier to just buy a kit or complete piece.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 10, 2026 05:33 PM (1Ff7Z)

Can Ace make furniture? I'm not so sure knowing his history with shelves...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 05:33 PM (l3cgK)

8 Oooh, I made comment of the week...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 05:35 PM (l3cgK)

9 Can Ace make furniture? I'm not so sure knowing his history with shelves...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 05:33 PM (l3cgK)

(shakes magic 8 ball)

"My reply is no."

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 10, 2026 05:35 PM (1Ff7Z)

10 No hidden compartments in my oldest furniture, a library table that my father brought home and assembled about the time I started school. It's basically three slabs of wood, the top and two leg or side pieces. There once was a drawer in it, but that's long gone, and there were two captain's chairs. I took one chair and the desk from Mom's place after she passed.

The table has served as dinner table, model-building table, cat-sitting area, card table, and since 1986 as my desk. I know of a wood furniture shop here in town; they have pre-made items you can buy and have them stain your choice of color, and they will make certain items for you. My TV stand is from them, ca. 2005. I'm sure they would refinish the table and chair to a high standard.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:37 PM (wzUl9)

11 My other major piece of furniture is a Mission-style armchair I bought from a shop in Colorado, Fort Collins I think it was, in late 1997. I chose the Indian-blanket style upholstery for it and the ottoman. The cushions that came with it I leave on the love seat. The chair was my reading chair when I lived in Denver, and will be again some day soon.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:39 PM (wzUl9)

12 I need to work on my furniture project today - building stupidly over-designed legs for my project desk.

And film it, because I'm putting the making videos on youtube.

... I probably ought to go buy the hardware I need to attach the stretcher board between the feet.

If I play that right, I could use that hardware as part of what secures the feet to the legs.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at October 10, 2026 05:39 PM (C0Nlv)

13 Never built furniture, per se. My wife had a dresser-drawer she'd built herself (with some drawer not working). I reworked them for her. I don't count that.
I did redo the aquarium cabinet to have a bigger door on one side so I could fit in the filter system...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 05:41 PM (l3cgK)

14 My dinette table and its four chairs are from World Market, purchased on a cold rainy January in '04, I think. I had it delivered and then assembled it myself. It has held up very well despite various cat-claw marks on it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:42 PM (wzUl9)

15 Welcome Hobbiests, at comedy club to see Adam Corolla
Shame didn't know have made quite a few pieces of furniture

Posted by: Skip at October 10, 2026 05:44 PM (xxYed)

16 My living room bookcases were a special order from a small independent furniture shop in Denver in '97. I wanted something deep enough front to back to hold my stereo and CD changer. The changer is gone, but the receiver and speakers remain, along with loads of books. Both are deep enough to have two ranks of books on each shelf.

Another bookcase was a find at a big furniture store in southern Denver. It turned out to be the perfect size to hold my set of the Britannica. Two others in my bedroom were from Target, and they do not look cheap or poorly made. (It's hard to find bookcases nowadays.)

Finally, in my bedroom is a wooden chest from This End Up Furniture. Remember them in the malls of the '80s? Real wood, and it holds all sorts of stuff. In early '87 I was going to buy more items from them, but then lost my job. And they vanished not long after. A shame.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:45 PM (wzUl9)

17 Finally, in my bedroom is a wooden chest from This End Up Furniture. Remember them in the malls of the '80s? Real wood, and it holds all sorts of stuff. In early '87 I was going to buy more items from them, but then lost my job. And they vanished not long after. A shame.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:45 PM (wzUl9)

Woulda bought stuff from them, but had too much furniture already when I had a place of my own. I got excited once when I found a nude furniture store in Reno, but they were only unfinished. Used Danish oil on the pieces. Still have the table and one complete chair and one for parts.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 10, 2026 05:48 PM (1Ff7Z)

18 As for pipe smoking: I am waiting for a delivery of two tins of cigarillos and two oz. of a pipe blend. It was, according to the USPS website, out for delivery on Monday 10/5. But the mail truck could not get into the complex because they did not have a gate code. The website said that the package would be delivered on the next day.

Uh-huh. It still says that, four days later, and no package despite other mail arriving. And there'll be no mail on Monday. I'm girding up to visit the local substation on Tuesday, to see if the package is still sitting there.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:50 PM (wzUl9)

19 If you look closely at that wood pile, you can see hundreds of hungry eyes peering back at you.

Posted by: Spiders! at October 10, 2026 05:51 PM (V+cxR)

20
Some of the best furniture we have came from estate sales.

Posted by: four seasons at October 10, 2026 05:54 PM (/QHx4)

21 I always enjoyed that little side joke in the movie "The Patriot" where Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) was always failing at making furniture. I think there was a scene where he tries to sit on a rocking chair he made and it collapses.

Posted by: Orson at October 10, 2026 05:55 PM (dIske)

22 Oh, and I have a tan fabric love seat purchased from a local vendor around 2012 after my old cream-colored one, bought in Denver, finally got too shabby. Flanking it are two Mission-style end tables, each with a shelf underneath perfect for magazines (or for cats to sit on).

My bed also dates to 1997, when I moved to Denver. The same shop who did the deep bookcases sold me the box spring, mattress, and a blond wood headboard and matching night stand. Now that I look back, I realize how much I spent with them -- and how good their work was.

The box spring still works, but that linen-like underfitting has holes in it now. When I move, it'll stay behind, and I'll buy a new box spring to go under the mattress.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 05:57 PM (wzUl9)

23 My dad was a master carpenter and made a china cabinet, sideboard, and credenza for my mom. I have them. He also restored my grandmother's desk, at which I am sitting, and some tables. He loved doing that.

My cousin's husband does a lot of refinishing of garage sale and auction finds. They have some very nice, old cabinets and tables in their house.

Posted by: huerfano at October 10, 2026 05:58 PM (2Xqig)

24
Do be wary about buying upholestered furniture second hand unless you know the seller.

People are gross and heaven only knows what is on that furniture.

Posted by: four seasons at October 10, 2026 05:58 PM (/QHx4)

25 I always enjoyed that little side joke in the movie "The Patriot" where Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) was always failing at making furniture. I think there was a scene where he tries to sit on a rocking chair he made and it collapses.
Posted by: Orson at October 10, 2026 05:55 PM (dIske)

I was just recalling that very same scene. His little daughter not knowing whether to laugh or not is very sweet.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Sounding the Carnyx at October 10, 2026 05:58 PM (0aYVJ)

26 Some of the best furniture we have came from estate sales.

Posted by: four seasons at October 10, 2026


***
And certain kinds of antique stores. The only problem being delivery if the item is too big for your car. Furniture stores deliver; small thrift/antique places don't. But I guess nearly all of them know somebody with a truck who'd be willing to haul your new dresser for a fair price.

I've seen dressers and end tables and dining tables I'd love to have, if I had the room. I'd have to arrange for delivery too, but they'd be worth it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 06:00 PM (wzUl9)

27 We gave our son my Dad's old piano. It's an upright built in the 1920s. It really needs to be refinished, but, after a friend repaired and tunes it, and fixed some of the mechanisms, it plays beautifully. The thing is a brute, takes four strong men to move it.

Currently it resides at son's pastor's home. Pastor D. is a very good piano player, and he is in his 80s, so son wants him to enjoy it for a while.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Sounding the Carnyx at October 10, 2026 06:02 PM (0aYVJ)

28 Buying dead people's stuff, I'd worry about the dead people coming with it.

Posted by: Every Day is Halloween if You are Superstitious Enough at October 10, 2026 06:03 PM (jJhtM)

29 We like 'Mission style' tables and chairs. Don't build them though. We buy them. We have one mission chair. One.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at October 10, 2026 06:03 PM (NnhvP)

30 This End Up is still around: https://thisendup.com/ Just not in your local mall, I guess. Their love seats, for example, are not cheap, but they have lots of bookcases.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 06:05 PM (wzUl9)

31 Do be wary about buying upholestered furniture second hand unless you know the seller.

People are gross and heaven only knows what is on that furniture.

Posted by: four seasons at October 10, 2026


***
I suppose if someone allergic to cat dander bought my current loveseat, he'd have a hell of time until he got it cleaned.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 06:07 PM (wzUl9)

32 Blue Angels in the air.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 10, 2026 06:09 PM (RIvkX)

33 31 Do be wary about buying upholestered furniture second hand unless you know the seller.

People are gross and heaven only knows what is on that furniture.

Posted by: four seasons at October 10, 2026

***
I suppose if someone allergic to cat dander bought my current loveseat, he'd have a hell of time until he got it cleaned.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 10, 2026 06:07 PM (wzUl9)

I don't think four seasons was writing about animal dander...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 10, 2026 06:11 PM (l3cgK)

34 I don't have a painting with even a single piece of furniture. Surprised myself.

Posted by: polynikes at October 10, 2026 06:12 PM (KC5Lt)

35 I fashioned a rudimentary lathe

Posted by: Kindltot at October 10, 2026 06:12 PM (rbvCR)

36 I made a tractor seat.

Posted by: Ronster at October 10, 2026 06:18 PM (xtXF+)

37 I made a bench out of chunks of old concrete driveway.

Posted by: fd at October 10, 2026 06:20 PM (MWfyi)

38 Well, I am done for the day. Nasty cold out, 32 degrees with a strong North wind, and the odd flake of snow. I took a trash bag to the transfer station, and 2 old 20# propane cylinders and a big propane "manifold tank", all purged. Attendant said to drop the cylinders "over there", and to throw the manifold tank into the metal pit, which I did. No longer my problem. Got home, and repaired the screen/storm door which had had its hinges torn out of the frame by a gust of wind a few days ago. Managed to refit the hinges to the continuous pin in the door frame, and rehang the door. Also spent time making a custom screw eye to hook up the restraint spring, which may help prevent a future occurrence.

Speaking of secret compartments, I was wearing an old club jacket today. Black melton cloth body, black leather sleeves. Was fishing around in the inside pocket (found a rock, lol), and noticed a tiny zipper joining the sateen lining to the lapel, started at the inside pocket, and went towards the collar. I don't think there is a hoodie in there, and the entire lining is not zip-out. What gives?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 10, 2026 06:25 PM (quk5M)

39 I have Grandma's old oak dining table & 6 chairs. Chairs are press-back and need new fabric on the seats. Table has pull-out leaves at either end, pretty cool.

Dad said his parents bought the set *used* from a Montgomery Ward store in the 1940s.

Posted by: JQ at October 10, 2026 06:27 PM (rdVOm)

40 4 frames in formation just over the house

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 10, 2026 06:27 PM (RIvkX)

41 Unrelated to furniture, but related to hobbies: I did my first SOTA hike in about 2 months this morning. My usual lightweight radios are both out of service, so I hauled a G-90, a big battery, and a vertical antenna up a hill. It was much colder than I planned for, but I made up for it by making contacts on the east coast and across the pond into France.

I'm still working on the Bayou Jumper that was featured here recently, and I'm also about halfway through assembling a QCX‐Mini (40m version).

Posted by: PabloD at October 10, 2026 06:28 PM (OXSZa)

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