important working area

In class, we can nail down some scrap wood on the tabletops to keep the wood from moving all about. But where I’m doing my woodworking when not in class, I can’t do that. So recently, this is an example of how I was working: 

This picture shows my leg holding up the drawer so it doesn’t break when I put all the force into it.

While I was pleased at my idea to make do with what I had, I knew this was temporary. I had to make something more useful and one I can carry to class.

So then tonight, I made this:

I learned that if you put a nail too close to the edge, it can split the wood like in the following photos: