The scrap wood leftover from previous woodworking projects does not need to go to waste. There are plenty of enjoyable projects that enable DIY enthusiasts to use scraps of wood to build something attractive and useful.
These projects do not require advanced skills, and anyone who finds scrap wood lying around can discover how to upgrade their home themselves. Using scrap wood for projects is also an excellent way to try your hand at something new without investing in brand-new materials.
As an aspiring hobby woodworker, you can learn more about the essential power tools necessary for beginning woodworker projects. Then, you can read on to learn about 21 easy DIY projects with scrap wood anyone can do at home.
Here’s the list of 21 DIY projects you can do with scrap woods:
- DIY Pallet Wall Shelving
- DIY Owl Bookends
- DIY Wooden Jewelry Organizer
- DIY Pallet Serving Tray
- DIY 2×4 Creative Block
- DIY Wall Planter with Address Number
- Scrap Wood Kid’s Table and Chair Set
- Scrap Wood Shadow Box Frame
- DIY State Pride Magnetic Key Holder
- DIY Wooden Spoons
- Wooden Cup Holder and Sofa Sleeve
- DIY Cutting Board
- Scrap Wood Kitchen Shelves
- Mason Jar Crate
- Scrap Wood Candle Holder
- DIY Drawer Dividers
- Wine Crate Window Box
- Scrap Wood Christmas Tree Stand
- Scrap Wood Coasters
- Handmade Cribbage Board
- Smart Phone Charging Block
01. Easy to Craft DIY Pallet Wall Shelving
Wooden pallets are everyday scraps of wood items commonly used for transportation and storage. However, innovative woodworkers can quickly transform a pallet into beautiful and practical shelves.
This project is relatively simple and only takes about an hour to complete. The materials required include a pallet, sandpaper, and stain. Homeowners can use this tutorial to craft shelving that can suit a variety of purposes and styles.
Find the full plan here: Homedit Wall Shelving
02. DIY Owl Bookends
This fun design demonstrates the creativity possible with small pieces of wood found around the shop. The final product of this project is a cute bookend to help organize bookshelves.
The bookend resembles an owl thanks to specific facial features cut by a jigsaw. This tutorial results in two bookends of about 6 inches in height and 5 inches in length.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Bookends
More creative DIY bookshelves you can build: Free Diy Bookshelf Plans
03. DIY Wooden Jewelry Organizer
This project builds a rustic jewelry organizer, turning spare scrap wood into a beautiful potential gift for a loved one. Beginner handymen only need a few pieces of wood and essential hand tools to create this piece.
Woodworkers need to pick out a style of knobs to hang the jewelry on and a stain to make the organizer uniquely theirs. Woodworkers can find instructions on how to complete this fun and simple DIY wood project here.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Jewelry Organizer
04. Rustic Wood Pallet Serving Tray
A pallet serving tray presents another creative use for pallets found in the scrap lumber collection. This simple and functional item can become a surprisingly stylish piece of rustic home décor.
DIYers will need to use a template from a large piece of paper to create a plywood cut out to trace onto the pallet boards. This project is a cheap and straightforward way to repurpose scrap wood for the dining room.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Serving Tray
05. DIY 2×4 Creative Block
This creative block is a perfect gift for a student or artist. The holder consists of two connected 2×4’s of equal size that creates a customizable and straightforward stand in this project.
Glue and screws join the scrap wood, and handymen can customize their blocks with different paint designs. Holes are drilled in the top of the stand to hold creative tools such as scissors, brushes, or pencils.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Block Desk & Art Utensil Holder
06. DIY Wood Wall Planter with Address Number
A DIY wall planter with address number allows homeowners to increase the curb appeal of their home with just a few pieces of scrap. This project enables DIYers to update their home’s exterior without purchasing expensive decorations.
In addition to providing a stylish address wall, the planter can also hold flowers and plants of all kinds. Readers can find a list of the tools and materials required in this tutorial, and individuals can easily customize the project to match their house.
Find the full plan here: Shanty2Chic’s Wall Planter with Address Number
07. Scrap Wood Kid’s Table and Chair Set
This table and chair set for kids is ideal for people who have a large amount of wood scrap available that they need to put to use. The building process is surprisingly simple and results in a functional set that is perfect for family backyards.
This project’s instructions include a list of materials, such as 1×6, 1×4, and 2×4 boards that construct a table that is 21 inches high. It is also possible to build a structure that features additional storage space.
Find the full plan here: Her Tool Belt’s Kid’s Table and Chair Set
Some more DIY projects you can do with your kids: DIY Playhouse and DIY treehouse
08. DIY Wood Scrap Shadow Box Frame
A shadow box is a great way to showcase flags, ribbons, or other items someone may wish to display proudly. Building a frame from scrap pieces is simple and significantly less expensive than buying one from the store.
This project requires plywood and plexiglass in addition to leftover scrap wood boards, which are glued to the plywood and trimmed before framing.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Shadow Box Frame
09. DIY State Pride Magnetic Key Holder
Display state or city pride with this customizable build that creates a functional décor item that provides a stylish and practical way to organize keys.
An appealing piece of scrap wood can quickly transform into your home state through a simple process of template tracing, and a few additional materials turn the item into a key holder.
In addition to scrap wood, woodworkers will need a custom template, jigsaw, drill, and super magnets to attach to the piece. Every step for creating this piece is well explained in this easy to follow guide.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s State Pride Magnetic Key Holder
10. DIY Wooden Spoons
Another unique use for scrap wood, anyone can carve custom wooden spoons of their own out of waste pieces already available in their shop. This handmade design results in a beautiful rustic spoon that can be decorative and functional.
The materials required in addition to scrap wood include wood carving tools, a pencil, sandpaper, and oil. The project begins by drawing the spoon on a board and cutting it with a saw before carving into the desired shape. The final step of this tutorial also includes oiling to make the spoon water-resistant and durable.
Find the full plan here: Dremel Europe’s Wooden Spoon
11. Wooden Cup Holder and Sofa Sleeve
This DIY wood project provides a handy item at the end of a simple building process. The sleeve protects your sofa, providing a secure cup holder and an ideal flat surface for books.
The first step of building this item includes measuring the specific sofa to customize the sleeve to fit the furniture. This guide offers simple steps that require limited materials and is suitable for any level of woodworking experience.
However, DIYers should remember to seal the sleeve against moisture from drinks to protect the sofa.
Find the full plan here: A Beautiful Mess’s Sofa Sleeve With Cup Holder
12. DIY Cutting Board from Wood Scraps
While this project requires slightly more skills and tools than others on this list, it presents an ideal way to use different types of scrap wood to create a single practical item. This cutting board features a stunning design that results from arranging different colored pieces together.
Instructions begin with precisely cutting the different pieces of scrap wood so they can seamlessly glue together before being clamped. This guide features detailed steps and helpful pictures to help anyone build a beautiful kitchen item using leftover wood pieces.
Find the full plan here: Fix This Build That’s Cutting Board
13. DIY Wood Kitchen Shelves
Another use of scrap wood in the kitchen, DIYers can transform scrap wood into these beautiful shelves that provide a unique feature for any home. This project requires a significant amount of scrap wood to create a suitably sized rack.
However, DIYers could also use a more limited number of scrap pieces to create a smaller accent shelf. The process involves cutting and sanding the wood before oiling it with butcher block oil for protection.
This step by step tutorial guides homeowners through the process that allows them to create beautiful shelving themselves from spare wood.
Find the full plan here: Keeping It Cozy’s Kitchen Shelves
14. Mason Jar Crate
This project is incredibly easy to complete and allows DIYers to build a unique mason jar crate that can hold flowers or kitchen utensils. Homeowners often repurpose mason jars, and this crate provides a stylish solution for their organization while also recycling other materials like scrap wood.
A mason jar crate is an ideal project for somebody with limited materials and time, requiring only 1×6 boards and essential tools. A simple guide provides instructions on each building step to create a unique centerpiece for any occasion.
Find the full plan here: Shanty2Chic’s Mason Jar Centerpiece
15. Scrap Wood Candle Holder
This simple DIY wood project combines wood pieces to create a beautiful candle holder. The combination of different wood types results in a lovely end product that boasts an elegant look despite being a simple DIY project.
The instructions in this tutorial account for different size candle holders depending on the material’s initial measurements. Other steps in the building process include cutting the wood, gluing the pieces together, sanding, drilling, and finishing the candle holder.
Find the full plan here: Instructables’s Candleholders
16. DIY Wood Drawer Dividers
Simple drawer dividers provide another incredibly easy DIY project to increase organization throughout the home by using scrap wood to divide drawers for any purpose. The dividers allow individuals to easily separate eating utensils in the kitchen or creative tools in an artist studio.
The building process for these dividers requires limited materials. DIYers only need ¼ inch boards, glue, and shelf paper to get started. This straightforward guide provides interested readers with step-by-step instructions to correctly measure the drawer and assemble the dividers.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Drawer Dividers
17. Wine Crate Window Box
Wine enthusiasts often find themselves with excess crates left as scrap wood following the empty bottles they previously held. These crates can quickly transform into beautiful window boxes that contain plants and other decorative items.
DIYers can easily take apart crates of any size to rebuild into the appropriate dimensions for their windowsill. This tutorial guides interested builders through the simple steps to create a unique window box that ideally suits their home.
Find the full plan here: Pretty Handy Girl’s Window Box
18. Scrap Wood Christmas Tree Stand
Woodworkers can embrace the Christmas spirit during the holidays by using scrap wood to create a festive Christmas tree stand. This stand works beautifully with holiday decorations and provides a more rustic appearance than store-bought plastic stands.
DIYers can choose the size of wooden boards they’d prefer to work with, and a combination of sizes can create a beautiful frame to stabilize the Christmas tree. This guide offers detailed explanations of how to build the stand and fix a pipe with a mortar mix to hold the tree stump.
Find the full plan here: The Kim Six Fix’s Christmas Tree Stand
19. DIY Hardwood Whiskey Coasters
These elegant wooden coasters provide a beautiful accessory that protects a cherished dining or coffee table. This project takes under an hour to complete and is incredibly straightforward.
DIYers can quickly transform leftover scrap wood into a practical accessory by customizing the piece’s size and color stain. This simple guide provides easy to follow instructions to create coasters from scrap wood.
Find the full plan here: Man Made Diy’s Whiskey Coasters
20. Handmade Cribbage Board from Wood Pieces
A handmade cribbage board also offers an incredibly easy project to repurpose a single small piece of scrap lumber into a unique game piece. This project even features limited cutting and no gluing to build the final product.
DIYers can find a small template here to create a board that appears professionally made by using a drill press, hand drill, or cordless power drill.
Find the full plan here: Art of Manliness DIY Cribbage board
21. Smart Phone Charging Block from Wood Pallets
A scrap wood charging block can bring a rustic appeal and functionality to the technological world. This DIY project provides a simple and cheap alternative to the expensive smartphone holders available in stores today.
A single block of scrap wood leftover from previous projects provides the foundation for the charging block, which a power drill can easily mold. Readers can view detailed and customizable instructions here.
Find the full plan here: Man Made Diy’s Phone Charging Block
Final Thoughts on DIY Projects with Scrap Wood
All of these projects provide simple ways to repurpose leftover scraps of wood into beautiful and functional pieces. Even beginners can enjoy these small DIY projects with scrap wood without special tools or expertise.
Each project provides a fun and simple introduction to woodworking, and you likely have bits of wood on hand already. While often disregarded as firewood, scrap wood can transform into timeless items with a little creativity.
Even if you mess up, you haven’t wasted anything but a few scraps. With a bit of time, effort, and inspiration, anyone can use leftover scrap wood to build something new and useful that they can be proud of.
