• How to read a tape measure
• How to use a speed square to mark the cut
• How to use a hand saw to make the cut

How to Read a Tape Measure

Getting the correct length for the cut is extremely important. Part of that is understanding how to read a tape measure.

When marking the length to cut just remember the old saying,

“Measure Twice, Cut Once”

How to Use a Speed Square to Mark the Cut

After you have the correct distance marked with pencil, it is important to have a straight and square line to use as a reference when cutting the board.

The following video will show you how to use a speed square to quickly get that straight reference line.

How to Use a Hand Saw

Now that you have a good reference line to make your cut on it is time to actually cut the lumber.

Remember, when you cut the board to cut on the waste side of the board and not exactly on the line. You do this because

• The line represents the length you want the board to be
• It is easy to lose your reference line and not cut straight if you’re cutting the reference line

Cut Board on Waste Side of Line

The video below shows how to use a common toolbox saw to cut a 2×4 to length.

The biggest problem I had when I started using a hand saw to cut boards was keeping the saw straight up and down.

Correct Hand Saw Blade Angle

There are tool guides to help with this, but I found that just being conscious of technique and practice is the best way to overcome this.

Hopefully you feel more confident in being able to properly cut boards to length and generally use a hand saw. When I do projects I love using my great grandfather’s hand saws as much as I can, like when I built some pet steps for my dog. Besides giving me a sense of hand crafting something, it gives me a connection to my families past.

Lastly, it is a lot harder to cut off a digit with a hand saw

All the trim was cut to 1 ½ inches and was made from the same sheet of 1/2 inch mdf as the toe kick. It was all glued and tacked in place with small brads.

Side Trim Installed

The steps were put in place before the small trim on the toe kicks was installed. This was to ensure the trim was above the steps.

Test Fitting the Steps

The toe kick trim was made by

• Splitting the left over ½ inch mdf trim pieces used above
• Making those split pieces 1 inch in width

At this point I was really running out of that sheet of scrap mdf.

Small Trim Cut

When installing this trim, the step was kept in place while the piece on top of it was being glued and nailed in place.

Test Fitting Trim With Step In Place

With all the trim installed it was time to get ready to prime and paint the carcass.

Small Trim Installed On Toe Kicks

One of the last steps was to fill in any gaps and nail holes with wood filler.

Trim Holes and Gaps Filled

Everything was given a quick sanding to level any wood filler from the previous step. I used 120 grit sandpaper because it was aggressive enough to smooth out the filler but didn’t leave a lot of scratches the paint couldn’t fill.

Trim Sanded

A primer was used on the raw wood before painting.

This step wasn’t really necessary since the Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint used for the final coats has a primer mixed in it, but I had it lying around.

Two coats of Ultra Pure White semi-gloss were applied. I really like the that white from Behr. It is really clean looking and makes anything next to it really pop.

The walnut was so beautiful it would be a shame to hide that natural beauty with a stain. A danish oil and eventually furniture wax was used to finish the steps.

Dog Stairs Primed and Painted

To install the step, the carcass was flipped upside down while the top step was maneuvered into position. When possible a storage container was used to help hold up the carcass.

Positioning Top Step For Installation

Once everything was in position a drill was used to drill 6 holes for screws that would hold the step in place.

This was really overkill but you never know if your furniture pieces will be used by the circus and have an elephant step on it.

Pilot holes are necessary so the step wouldn’t split.

Screwing Top Step In Place Through Pilot Holes

Installing the other steps was similar to the first one except the steps were held in place with clamps instead of resting on the floor.

Installing Second Dog Step

Finally a coat of furniture wax was applied to add a little bit of protection.

Applying Wax on Dog Steps

It might seem that the steps on the dog stairs would be slick, but the natural grain of the walnut seems to be enough grip for my dog to walk up them.

For more anti-slip factor I would use stair tread installation kit along with some custom cut ruminant carpet.

Funny thing is after a month or two of finishing these stairs she got better and was able to jump on things again. At least we have something nice to sit on while getting ready.

If you’ve enjoyed seeing how I’ve made some fancy dog steps for my “Little Helper” please share these post with people on your social network.

I chose 3 not so pretty pieces of walnut for this project. The irregular shapes meant that I would have to cut them into smaller strips and glue them up.

Reclaimed Walnut for Steps

I really didn’t feel like hauling out a circular saw so I used a Japanese saw to cut the boards into manageable widths.

There were certain pieces with cracks that only part of the cut board could be used.

Cutting Boards to Width

Some parts of the boards had cupping. To get around this, I ripped the boards as close to the center of the cupped area, jointed the pieces with a jointer and planed all the boards to a consistent thickness.

Warped Boards

Using most of the strips of walnut I was able to put together three steps. I was looking for 19 ¼ inches in width for each step.

I knew the overhang wasn’t going to be exact, I was making this off of a 10 minute sketch , I just wanted it to be between ½ and ¾ inches. More importantly to me was to make the top step a little bigger of a landing so the dog could turn if necessary.

Figuring The Right Step Depth From Walnut Strips

I was originally going to use my Ryobi biscuit jointer, but I was out of the larger biscuits.

The glue up was done on a piece of melamine board to make glue clean up easier.

Gluing Up Dog Steps

Only thing left after the steps dry was to trim the sides to the necessary width of 19 ¼ inches, scrape the glue joints and sand them down.

Dog Steps Drying In Clamps

Now that the steps are made it’s time to pretty up the dog stair carcass that was made in the previous post.

This is the first of three posts on making a fancy dog / pet step.

Planning and Design

When sketching some quick plans for building the dog step I kept the following in mind.

• Maximum rise and runs for the steps – did a quick post earlier that went into some standard code details on this.
• How heavy the person / dog would be. This thing is sure handy to sit on
• Height of the bed

Pet Step Rough Plan Sketch

The idea for this project was to use up some the scrap and reclaimed wood I already had laying around, and use some of my Great Grandfather’s tools.

Making the Sides

The sides are made from some 1/2 inch thick plywood because that is what I had left over from making a cabinet.

I lucked out that there was enough on that one piece of plywood to just cut it in half.

Measuring Plywood For Stair Sides

Marking The Sides For Cuts

The saw in the picture was my Great Grandfather’s cross cut saw. When cutting with a handsaw, just take your time and blow the sawdust away as it build from the cut. That way the cut line is still visible.

Cutting The Step Sides

The two dog step sides are sandwiched together and clamped in place for the layout marks. This is so both pieces are cut exactly the same. Even if the cut is a little off, it will be the same for both pieces.

Rise And Run Marked

Good thing I measured twice because I messed up the first time.

X Out Section To Cut

When getting closer to the corner cut, remember to shift the handsaw so the cutting portion of the blade is perpendicular.

First Cut Section

Cuts For Stair Sides Completed

Interior Supports

For the interior support structure for the pet / dog steps,

• 2 x 4s were resized to 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch.
• This yielded two pieces from one 2 x 4.

I did this because I had some 2 x 4s laying around. The sizes I cut these to can be picked up as stock lumber from most places.

Resizing 2×4 Lumber For Interior Supports

This is where I started to work backwards. Normally the support structure is built first then the sides attached to it.

To keep the lengths consistent I used a block of wood and rip fence on the table saw and cut all the width pieces the same.

Gluing And Nailing Bottom Supports

Everything was attached with glue and brad nails.

Top Support Attached

With the opposite plywood side attached it was time to start working on the other interior support pieces.

Opposite Dog Stair Side Attached

Installing Back Piece and Toe Kicks

Once everything was framed out a back piece of scrap plywood was cut to cover the back. In retrospect, this would have been a good time to put a hidden compartment in.

Supports Completed And Back Attached

The pet step carcass was finished off with some scrap 1/2 inch mdf for the front of the steps.

Pet Step Carcass Finished

Next will be making the step portion of the dog steps.

I came across and article a while back where the author made a sharpening surface from sandpaper and floated glass. Instead of putting one grit on each side of the glass, I decided to allow for 3 different grits on each side.

I’m sure my piece of glass wasn’t floated glass, but for under $7 how could I complain? Total cost for this project was under $15 using 3 different grits of sandpaper.

Sharpening Stone Replacement Materials

First thing was to clean the glass.

Cleaning Glass

The sandpaper sheets were halved and torn by hand. These will eventually get scraped off the glass when they become no good anymore so I’m not concerned with nice edges.

Halving The Sandpaper

Glue was applied and spread on the backs of the sandpaper pieces that would be adhered to the glass.

Spreading Glue On Sandpaper

Finally after gluing the sheets on to both sides of the glass, weight was added to the top to make sure the sandpaper didn’t curl on its edges while it dried.

Weighing Down For Drying

Many of the shows aired are from 4-5 years ago, but the techniques are timeless. My favorite aspect of the show is the fact that some of the power tools used regularly in the show were purchased used originally with some being 25 years old.