Wood Scraps to Door Stops

I ‘collect’ a lot of wood scraps. Well, not really collecting them; I just seem to be unable to throw them out! Why not turn them into pretty door stops. A simple project; and they make nice gifts. So if you have a box of scraps you are using as a door stop, turn them into a bunch of real door stops!

The project shouldn't take more than a couple hours of work plus the gluing, finishing, and drying time.

The scraps I use are from these kinds of prior Instructable projects:

Toy Workbench

Novel Way to Set a Box Lid

Backenzahn

You need a bunch of wood scraps, ideally at least 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. Thickness doesn't matter that much. Smaller pieces will work with some adjustments in the design. None of the dimensions are critical. Different woods, different colors give you the nicest end results. I had walnut, maple, cherry, and oak.

Tools:

Table saw, bandsaw, belt sander

The first step is to glue up (or laminate) a block from these scraps that is about 8 inches wide by 8 inches long by 2 inches tall. Again, work with what you have and don’t obsess about the dimensions! If your scrap pieces have smooth/clean faces use wood glue; otherwise use epoxy. Arrange the wood colors for a striped look, whatever you like! Clamp really well, and let dry for a few hours or overnight.

Now cut off 1 inch to 1-1/2 inch slices from the glued-up block. This will be the width of the door stops. Make the cut perpendicular to the laminations. Be extra careful when you make these cuts on a table saw. You should get about 5 to 8 slices. Then trim each piece so that all surfaces are flat. I ended up cutting 6 pieces that vary from 1-1/2" down to 3/4" in width.

Lay these pieces on their side and mark the diagonal with a pencil line. On a bandsaw cut along the diagonal and you get two door stop wedges from each piece. A simple way to make these repeated diagonal cuts cleanly is to make a quick ‘push stick’ jig from a scrap piece of plywood (another use of scraps!) like shown in the pictures. Then use the jig against the bandsaw fence for clean and repeatable diagonal cuts.

Sand the door stops and round the tips and heels. Use these handy templates from my prior Instructable to mark the corner rounds. If you wish you can seal the door stops with a clear finish to show off the different woods.

Congratulations, you just turned a box of scrap wood into a bunch of pretty and functional door stops! Give them as gifts or sell them at the local farmer's market or craft fair.