Community Brag Posts

kids workbench

My wife and I were looking for a larger table for our deck and after searching and seeing that everything out there was 300 dollars and up for something decent I decided I would try building something. This table was perfect for our needs and looked easy enough for me to put together. The most time consuming part was staining all of the boards as I went but it was totally worth it in the end. I also deviated from using screws and used my nail gun along with some glue to put the top frame together and the slats on but I did use some 2inch deckmate screws to attach the legs. One problem I did run into was I was about half a board short on the slats which wasn't a big deal just ripped one on the table saw, not sure if I miss measured or what but either way. We love our table and will entertain around it for years to come.

Simple pine farmhouse table, top is 2x6 Pine cut down to 5" wide strips top was joined with pocket screws and glue

Base is 4x4 pine joined with lag bolts

Longest part of the buld was sanding the top smooth, special care was needed in measurig the notches to fix the X-Brace legs

Tools: Drill, Table Saw, Circular Saw, 1/2 socket drive

I took the pony wall idea and went with it.

I had been on a search for a while for new furniture for my son’s new big boy bed room but couldn’t justify the money for new furniture and couldn’t find anything remotely nice on craigslist. I ran across this plan on Ana’s site and just had to have it so it became my first large furniture project.
It was fun to build and very rewarding when my son told me he loved his new bed!

I did have some issues with using the kreg jig on the platform so I did use wood screws on the outside frame. I had better success with the kreg jig on the headboard, guess I just needed practice.

There were a few things I did to make it easier to move the bed if needed:
I did not attach the slats but I did lay them on a non skid grip (like you put under rugs on wood floors).
I attached the headboard to the platform using carriage bolts so it could be taken apart easily.

The plans were really easy to follow.

I. LOVE. MY. BATHROOM.

This started with an EPIC FAIL. "Yes Dad I think I hit a pipe with a nail!!!"

Fast forward through plumbing & drywall fixes and life. I added the Board & Batten, made a mirror frame and installed a new mirror. I finally love my guest bathroom.

I modified the plans so the top was 2 ft x 4 ft, more suitable for a college student like myself. I also used a full sheet of 3/4 MDF and used that for the top as well as all of the 3/4 plywood pieces. MDF was much cheaper but next time I would spend the extra money on plywood because the MDF cracked a bunch and was not as easy to work with. Thanks for the plans!

DIY Pet / Baby Gate

Michael

My wife wanted matching bookcases for our library rather than the hodgepodge collection we had assembled over the years. We looked at several different options but the trick was getting them to our house in a cost and time effective manner. We came across the Willy Bookcase plans here and, after pricing the wood vs. pre-built options, decided to strike out to build our own bookcases.

The library took 5 McMansions, 1 Highrise, and 1 3-Bed/2Bath bookcase. We liked Ikea's Billy corner bookcase set, so we purchased a corner bookcase bracket from them to create the effect and stabilize the Highrise between two McMansions.

We decided to do the entire length of the bookcase sides with shelf holes to allow for maximum flexibility in spacing of the shelves. We fixed the middle shelves across all units to match the top of the short 3-Bed/2Bath.

The simple design made the project simple overall - a single bookcase is an easy weekend project. Since we decided to use stain with wipe on poly, finishing took the vast majority of the time (four hours to cut, sand, and build, 44 hours to finish...) Purchasing a good shelf pin jig and making consistent measurements is a necessity for mass producing shelves with consistent spacing on the shelves.

This is the 3 box storage daybed, as you can see I added an armrest on one end as it sits in a corner.

Tips for building this project: Buy a decent circular saw, I used a cheap one and really regretted it. Square your timber, I ended up squaring my timber using a sander, which wasn't as easy as it sounds. Check you measurements, the bottom of one of my boxes was a little short because I didn't double check the measurements and I ended up having to fix it with an extra piece of timber. 2 or 3 saw horses are a real help and lots of clamps.

I used the cutout outline from the link below but had to convert it all to metric since I live in Sweden, also a standard single mattress here isn't as wide but longer then the one used in the linked project. I didn't take this into account and ended up having to buy an extra piece of plywood.
http://ana-white.com/2009/12/plan-stratton-daybed-as-request-by-you.html

I got the single mattress and the pillows from IKEA.

This was a lot of fun and I look forward to spending many hours relaxing on my new daybed.

I used pallet wood to create a completely different look for this project. The frame and some of the trim pieces stayed the same, but there were a few edits made to support the pallet top, sides, and shelf. In addition, the drawer design changed a little bit to allow a false front instead of the inset one from the original plan.

More info in the link below!

Created this as a gift for my uncle. I recycled an old pallet for the material. I used his birth date to create the ammunition shell specs and his name as the manufacturing company.  I found the vintage hardware on eBay and added a sliding shelf inside.  Lettering was created with stensils and spray paint. I distressed the lettering to match the vintage feel of the piece. 

Our local youth built a nature play area on our church grounds for local children. Jack was 16yo and he worked together with Geoff 85yo to build this bench for parents to sit on while their children play.

davechamberrs777

This is a solid maple desk with two drawers finished with shellac and paste wax. I altered the plan by giving the desk and overhang, as well as changing the way the legs were built.

I made this armless outdoor sofa using scrap teak and Ikea cushions.

This project has been one that I've been putting off for a while now. My wife was threatening to just go out and buy one so I figured it was either now or never! Our little girl loves to help in the kitchen and standing in one of our old wobbly dining chairs just wasn't cutting it anymore.

I knew that I wanted to build something that would be more like an heirloom piece of furniture instead of one of the cheap knockdown types that you see in stores. I am sure that I could have possibly come up with my own design, but Marc already had already come up with a good design in the arts and crafts style, which is my favorite style of furniture. I saw no reason to come up with a "new" design just to say I did, plus I was lazy, and Marc already had plans hahaha. In all honesty, I think sometimes as woodworkers we get in our own way trying to be "original", when at this point, it's pretty much all been done before.