Community Brag Posts

Fancy X Farmhouse Table

Submitted by KatieC on Tue, 06/11/2013 - 08:25

This was my husband and mine's first DIY project! We started off using a miter box, and quickly caved and bought a miter saw. We also had trouble getting the X's to fit correctly, so we redid them and made it in a different order than Ana--we lined them up on the boards they would be attaching to and drilled in there. So we didn't make X's and then attach, but rather did it all at once. This made sure everything fit together!

Also, we didn't stain the top pieces of wood before we assembled, and it was hard to get in-between the boards, definitely recommend at least one coat of stain before attaching the top!

Had a great time making this bench, and love it!! Everyone that sees it is so impressed!! We made this one for outdoors, but we are thinking of making another in nicer wood for our indoor dining room table....

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Nativity stable

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 11/28/2021 - 14:45

Stable made from scrap wood I had on hand (plus a few toothpicks).

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Faux Fireplace with Hearth

We made some modifications by adding a hearth for additional height (the room we have it in is very large and open) and joining 2x4s for the mantel and base which I stained grey for contrast. We decided to use thin brick for in the "firebox" to make it look more realistic. We also have a newborn and spent over two months putting it together a little at a time in our free moments so I'm not sure how long it would actually take to do at once, but cutting and putting up the brick was very time consuming. 

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
White paint, Minwax "Classic Grey" stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

westmoundstar

Thu, 08/27/2020 - 11:16

This looks great! I'm actually in the middle of this build with the hearth as well. Couple questions....
How did you connect the two pieces? Also, did you connect to the wall? I'm assuming you didn't leave the 5 1/2 inch gap on the bottom of the fireplace and connected direct to the hearth. Let me know, thanks!

Seasonal And Holiday

Modified Miter Saw Cart

Submitted by DavidH on Fri, 01/19/2018 - 20:56

I started with the basic plans and dimensions, then made it my own from there. I added a center shelf, used regular (cheap) hinges and a removable brace instead of the shelf brackets, with stop blocks on the brace cleats to help easily center them. Added 2x4s on the sides to mount the hinges and let the wings fall flush, 2x4s on the bottom to mount 4” casters, 1/4” plywood backing, and 1x3 trim on the front for aesthetics and as a lip to hold items in place. The backing completely covers the lower shelf, and I left a gap to run cables through in the upper shelf backing. Velcro strips on the back hold the wing braces when they’re not in use.  Even though it’s plywood, I sanded everything thoroughly to reduce splinters and snags. 

 

 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100-$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Unfinished
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

nzmitchell11

Sat, 02/03/2018 - 08:22

Hi there. I’m planning to use Ana White’s plan to build this miter saw cart but I like some of your alterations like with adding the 2x4s to allow the leaves to fall flush and the 2x4s at the bottom to attach the casters. How did you attach the casters? I have ones similar to yours- plate casters with 4 holes. Did you use bolts or screws? 

King Shiplap Headboard.

The Beauty Queen described a headboard with shiplap and sort of cottage style. I modified the Ana White plan to fit my needs and the wife’s taste. I used the preprimed shiplap and 1x material from the big box store so it was a little more expensive but still very reasonable. Then I made side tables. 

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Marquee Semi-gloss enamel in antique white
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Memorial Urn

Submitted by Rkh81989 on Tue, 03/06/2018 - 04:49

Memorial Box

Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Graphic3211

Sun, 06/21/2020 - 07:09

This looks fairly straight forward but there is one factor that needs to be taken into account when you make an urn. You need at least one cubic inch per pound of the person whose cremains are going into it, so a 200 pound person needs 200 cubic inches.

Simplest Stool

Submitted by DWeen on Tue, 08/11/2015 - 17:34

I modified the Simplest Stool plan for this project to use some old threshing floor boards that I had leftover from another project. I like the blocky and chunky look it gives it. We chose to distress these stools to make them look as though they've been around for awhile. The stools didn't take long to build, but since the finish needed time to cure between coats, the overall length of time for the project was about a week. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax 'Early American' with two coats of polyurethane. The legs and rungs were painted with Behr semi-gloss white paint, and distressed using Minwax 'Early American' stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Tilt out trash can with drawer and shelves

Submitted by tholler on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 19:59

A few 2x4’s and some old fence boards. 

Danish oil - walnut. 

Estimated Cost
Used mostly scraps. Bought 4 2x4 at $4 each. Hinges were $4 too I think. Had 1x6 in scrap pile for drawers.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Danish oil - walnut. And great patina from old fence boards...
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Adirondack chair

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/10/2022 - 15:53

I had a customer ask if I could make a chair , they sent me a picture and I used your,and another persons chairs as my pattern, I made a few adjustments for my liking. Turned out great, thanks for always sharing and inspiring your ideas

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Outdoor Farmhouse Table

Outdoor farmhouse table built using Ana's plans. Modified the plan slightly, used 3 2X4s on the top (instead of the 2 1X4's that Ana's plan used) and attached everything from underneath using pocket screws so that no hardware is visible from the top. Used a nailer board under each side of the tabletop to provide a place to attach the top without using huge screws.

Table was built using non-pressure treated lumber (because we wanted the stain to stick well). The finish was done with 2 coats of a chocolate outdoor stain. Took 2 days from start to finish, although much of that time was waiting for the paint and/or glue to dry. Very simple project, only used a few tools. The only "big" tool we used was a 12" sliding compound saw to make the end cuts. Also used the Kreg jig in a few places where we didn't have clamps large enough or, in the case of the table top, we wanted the wood to be able to "float" without warping other boards.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Chocolate outdoor stain/sealant (2 coats), no rubbing off the stain, applied moderately thick coats and allowed the wood to absorb the stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Free Standing Barn Door Cabinet

I needed a pantry cabinet for my walk through kitchen (I have a generic 1970's ranch with a walk through kitchen--10' wide and the dining area is small, so I wanted lots of storage with minimal depth) and I am a big fan of cabinetry that looks like furniture--when I saw this project, I knew I had to make it.  

 

I enlisted the help and guidance of my 73 year old Mom----she has been making things for years and has an entire basement full of all the woodworkig machines I will ever need.  We started this project about a month ago and have been working at it on and off since (my Mom is a thinker and has lost sleep over a few issues we ran into, but the final design is AWESOME!  Thanks Mom!).

 

I would have loved a much wider cabinet, but the wall I will be putting it on had a few items that I did not want to move or cover up (light switches & a cold air return).  I ended up making the cabinet 89" tall (my ceilings are only 91") and 57.5" wide (I'm a stickler for symmetry and I wanted the white space on either side of the cabinet to be the same.  This project took a couple of weeks to complete due to work, kids, pets, etc).  I just had my son and better half carry it in tonight and it fits perfectly----now to clear out all my upper cabinets and start taking them down so I can fix my ceiling and start making my kitchen cabinets!  

Thanks Anna!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Total cost for materials, paint, hardware - $250.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Chalk Paint - Aged Grey
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

King-size stratton storage bed

Submitted by melanieann on Sat, 09/03/2011 - 14:53

This was our first time building furniture. We built our new bed over the course of four days. We don't own any power saws so opted to give the cut list to our local hardware store who only charged us about $50 for all the cuts.

Day one consisted of picking up all the lumber, sorting into the three sections and labeling all the pieces. Day two was the longest day, lots of drilling and measuring and screwing and gluing and even the first two coats of shellac. On the third day we built the drawers, and finished coating everything with shellac. The last day was the installation of the drawer hardware, including the slides.

We're quite happy with the quality of our work, and appreciate the directions and plans. Though we aren't fine furniture makers, and probably none of our corners are 100% square, we finished in the time we thought, pretty close to budget, and with the satisfaction of doing it ourselves.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$600
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
shellac dyed a bright, happy blue.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Entryway Hall Tree

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/11/2023 - 04:01

I modified the plans for the farmhouse hall tree to build this for our entryway. The farmhouse hall tree was a perfect base plan for this project! We went from a mess of jammed in jackets and piles of shoes to a clean and organized entrance! Thank you so much for providing the original plans! We love this!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Dog Houses

Our local Habitat for Humanity puts on an annual event where they get folks to restore discarded or worn down furniture and sell them at auction. My wife and I participated last year and this year I was asked to build 4 dog houses and then they were going to let local designers/decorators finish them out.

I figured it would be easy to find a good dog house plan, but I was wrong so I had to come up with my own designs. I did not want to use plywood becauase I wanted them to look good. So I used 1x4's and 1x6's. I built them all just a little bit different, but the same basic design on all 3. Since I am not very good with circular cuts, did not do any fancy 1/2 circle doorways!

There are "after" pictures on the Blog. Thanks for looking!

Estimated Cost
$100 each
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
I didn't finish them out, but did use screws to attach everything, so filled those in with wood putty and sanded down of course.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Cindy from Indiana (not verified)

Sun, 11/06/2011 - 16:10

Great job for a great cause!

Small Cedar Fence Picket Storage Shed

Submitted by Pembat on Sun, 10/06/2013 - 20:37

Built this in a weekend, took about 1.5 days. I ended us using 2x4's instead of 2x2's, I think it resulted in a much stronger frame. I also built a base for it to sit on. I got pre-stained cedar fence boards, and overlapped them 1" instead of a 1/2". Pretty easy project, I ended up siding the back on the ground, installing it, and then adding the side walls without the siding (just the framing), and then sided them in place. The doors work perfectly. I took my total inside dimension between walls, made sure the opening was square, and then divided that by two to get the width of each door. I then took another 1/4" off that, so each door had an additional 1/8" gap, it worked perfectly. When I set the doors, I put them on a piece of roofing closed as I screwed in the hinges, and then opened them and removed the roofing. I opted to run the door siding horizontal to use up a bunch of waste wood. I'm happy with the outcome. I also found some 6" self starting lag bolts and lagged through the back of the shed into studs (through the siding) into the garage behind it.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

rustic baby crib

Submitted by KL728MX on Tue, 01/05/2016 - 12:32

my wife and I had our first son, Mason, over the summer and I was in love with the idea of building his crib. It was a lot more work than I had anticipated but it was well worth the hard work. it came out beautifully. I made a 2X4 spacer that we can remove as he gets older to lower the mattress height. i used all pine lumber for the crib.

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
rustoleum American walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

A successful build!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 04/30/2023 - 14:52

I decided to make beds for my kids after looking at ones to purchase that all had bad reviews about the sturdiness.
Thank you for providing such comprehensive plans here. I have never built anything from scratch before, and this project was a lot of fun. I'll be starting a second one this week.

Comments

Fancy X Farm Table

Submitted by lrnjlange on Mon, 12/16/2013 - 08:58

My husband and I built this together. Once we figured out how to use a Kreg Jig it was sooo easy!! I stained the top in English Chestnut and then chalk painted the based.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments