Community Brag Posts

Simple under-counter helper tower

This was our first time using the kreg jig. We bought the recommended $99 one and boy was it worth it. Can see a lot of kreg jigging in my future! :) We cut the legs at 35" and omitted the arches so it can be stored under the kitchen counter. The crawl-in space is definitely a little tight, but he's getting the hang of it after just one day of practice. We built the tip resisters, but haven't added them yet. It seems sturdy enough without them for our cautious 17-month-old, but I suspect we'll have to attach them when he gets bigger and more rambunctious. We sanded the edges liberally, and notched the top four corners to avoid taking eyes out. We also added felt pads to the bottom of each leg so it doesn't damage our wood floors.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
40
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Tower is painted with Behr self-priming interior enamel color-matched to my kitchen cabinets. Platform is stained, then painted with a simple clear coat. I wanted them to blend in with the cabinets and coordinate with my bar stools.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Arialvetica

Tue, 06/18/2013 - 20:07

The tower gets constant daily use. My son is now 20 months and pushes the tower around the kitchen to access counters and light switches. Definitely the #1 most used baby item in our home!

Reclaimed Wood Farm Table

I built this table for a friend a few weekends ago. The reclaimed top turned out amazing!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Polyurethane Satin
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Classic Bunk Beds modified for toddler mattresses.

Submitted by sjs1220 on Tue, 03/31/2015 - 11:13

Started with the classic bunk bed plan. Changed most of the 1x4s to 1x3 except the boards at the mattress level. Added an additional rail up top to make safer for my young children. Also added 1x3s on both ends of the head/foot board to make the legs a litter sturdier and to widen the frame as our mattresses turned out to be a little wider than standard. Took out the built in ladder and matched the rest of the rails. Then added detachable stairs to be able to remove during the day and make it easier for my girls to get up and down. Made a few mistakes along the way (when you write 57.5 inches and transfer 52.5 inches to your cut list you eventually have a really bad/sad day), but had a ton of fun!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax wood conditioner to start. Minwax (1/3 red mahogany, 2/3 dark walnut). 3 coats of spray poly. Then sanded with a 0000 equivalent fiber sanding pad.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Weatherly Outdoor Sectional!

Submitted by Celeste808 on Sun, 05/19/2013 - 07:40

I really wanted some outdoor furniture but did not want to spend the thousands for a sectional. I used this plan and created the entire sectional for less than $500!

Wood =

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Valspar Outdoor White Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

spiceylg

Tue, 05/21/2013 - 04:43

This came out so beautiful! Okay, I usually don't bring attention to typos, but this one you might want to fix. You wrote suck instead of such. Oops! :)

Storage Daybed - Lessons Learned

Submitted by QueenMahin on Sat, 03/12/2011 - 05:12

Hello Builders!

I made this bed for my daughter right after finishing Ana’s Simple Bed for myself. This bed is great because it is cool-looking (the most important factor for my middle-schooler) and because it adds tons of storage space (the most important factor for me, the mom!). Ana has this bed marked as easy, and it was easy. After working on the Simple Bed with lots and lots of cutting and gluing and nailing, I was amazed at how quickly this bed started looking like itself.

As a newbie builder, I read and read and re-read Ana’s plans and the comments on the plans and any similar plans until I feel comfortable. The Storage Daybed is just three separate benches that sit side-by-side and the mattress just lies on top. Somehow, when digesting the plans, I was really confused about the divider in the middle of each bench, but eventually the light bulb went on (the divider is necessary to support and strengthen the top, but the end result is that there are three cubbies in the front of the bed and three cubbies in the back – perfect for storing off-season clothes).

So I went to the Blue home improvement store and decided on birch plywood. Special thanks to Jen for working up the plywood cutting layout that Ana included in the plan. I don’t think I could have figured out how to get the pieces cut without you. The associates at the large home improvement store were very nice, and they offered to make the cuts for me even though they said that they really weren’t supposed to make “project cuts”. The problem was that their cuts were oh, so bad! They marked out all of the cuts at once, which doesn’t account for the sliver that the blade takes out, and when measuring they didn’t even have the tape measure blade flush against the top in the first place.

On my other projects, I made plenty of mistakes. But they were my mistakes, you know what I mean? On this build, I spent so much time trying to fix bad cuts. But it’s my fault. I was concerned, but I second guessed myself and didn’t speak up while they were cutting. I ended up having to cut a thin strip of plywood to lengthen the side of one of the benches, and had to sand and sand and sand. Also ended up having to re-cut the dividers.

Oh, well. I got a little life lesson in assertiveness, and I got to add a circular saw to my toolkit! After all was said and done, this really is a great bed, and it made my heart glow to hear my daughter going around telling folks: “My mom is making my bed!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Glossy white paint on the trim, flat white on the sides and top. We're debating about repainting it in a bold color.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Anastasia's new bed

Submitted by dave on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 18:57

This is my daughters new bed. We modified the plans to fit what we wanted. I added drawers to the stairs. Then put shelves behind the stairs. Added doors so we can hide the shelves. We used rope lights inside to add light with her own light switch.

PS Don't mind the date on the pictures. Forgot to change the date.

Estimated Cost
450.00 USD
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
We routed all edges to round them over and sanded.
Then primed and painted. We used a hvlp paint sprayer.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

4x4 Truss Beam Table

Truss beam table with bench and 4 chairs

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

swestberry71

Tue, 11/30/2021 - 18:29

the chairs i just drew up on a piece of paper and just got out in the shop and made them.....i have to build some more so i will kind sketch some plans down if you are interested in that

Treehouse Bunk Bed

Submitted by Maymer on Thu, 06/27/2013 - 12:18

My kids are very into the "Magic Treehouse" books so my version of the Sweet Pea Bunk Beds is called The Treehouse Bunk Beds!
I made a few modifications, mostly for ease of access and airflow. I added windows for each bunk on the non-stair side of the bed because my kids room tends to be really hot so I thought they would appreciate more cross ventilation.
I made the side panel on the upper bunk removable (so that I would have access to put the fitted sheet on that end) by using pocket hole screws to hold the boards together, which make it one solid panel then I put 1x2s behind where the panel would go so it wouldn't fall in and used 4 slide bolts to hold it in place so it wont fall out. Also I made the two front panels on the lower bunk hinged doors so I could just lean in to change the sheets. The method for these was basically identical to what I described above but I attached them with non-mortised hinges.
I'd love to get the storage boxes made on of these days. Maybe after they start kindergarten!

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
I used primer and two coats of low-voc interior paint on the light brown and dark brown areas. The green trim and stairs I decided to experiment and I really liked the results. I just put one very thin (practically dry-brushed) coat of paint and it came out really interesting. You can still the grain of the wood so it almost looks like colored stain. For the stairs, I was worried about durability so I put 3 coats of clear satin polyurethane on top and it seems like it will hold up just fine,
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Garage Workshop Bench

This was my second project, with so many more projects in mind, figured I needed to get started on a Workshop bench. This was a fun and easy project and such a great plan.

Comments

Farmhouse Style Bar Table - San Diego

My husband modified these plans by making it a 42" tall bar high table. He built it and I stained it with Dark Walnut Danish oil and it came out better than we imagined. Thank you for these awesomely cool DIY plans.

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

Comments

Convertible Picnic Benches

With the condition of our inherited 6-sided picnic table in my mind, the idea of these picnic benches was too appealing to ignore!
I gave away our old picnic table, and bought some cedar 2x6 from the lumber mill down the road. (He had a pretty good price so I used 2x6 for everything)
I decided to make them 6feet long instead of 4, and with an overhang of 8 inches rather than two I was able to avoid making a third leg set.
I got everything cut and gave it all a coat of stain before I assembled anything and then screwed the boards together with cedar deck screws.
I discovered when I had the tabletop bolted on that the 2x6 caused some issue with the tilting, so I had to go back with a handsaw and trim the front top corners of the back legs so that the table could tilt to the bench mode.
I'm still puzzling out why I have a bit of play in the top when it's bolted in either configuration...
Now if only this chilly rainy weather would quit so we could put them outside and start enjoying them!

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Cedar Naturaltone Exterior Stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Yellow Queen Headboard - First Project

Submitted by jbl02a on Sun, 06/19/2011 - 18:41

My first woodworking project. Found the instructions very easy to follow. Took me a couple weeks because I only had a few minutes to work on it at a time. Biggest issue was I happened to have picked up a few warped boards.

Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Behr primer and paint in one. Color is "Honey Pot."
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Fancy X Farmhouse table with built in copper cooler

Submitted by J Dixon on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 01:54

My version of Fancy X Farmhouse table with a built in copper cooler!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Dark walnut colored danish oil base with satin poly top coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Codding58

Thu, 05/12/2016 - 12:27

VERY nice build!   How did you make the copper cooler, if you don't mind me asking.    Great Idea and love that you can hide it away!  Cheers

Twin Farmhouse Bed with Trundle

Took the farmhouse plan and added a Trundle.   Was initially going to build two farmhouse beds for my two girls, but thought adding the Trundle would free up some much needed floor space.  The girls love it!

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Latex paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Twin Sleeper Chair

Submitted by Hoff7.62 on Sat, 06/04/2022 - 15:20

This was my take on your Twin Sleeper Chair. I made it into a full. I used 2x4’s where there was suppose to be 1x4’s because I changed the width. This was a very fun project, my first project actually. Thank you for the plans and idea.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Barn Door Console

Submitted by raybotelho on Tue, 12/15/2015 - 15:36

$

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Marea baja by SW and weathered oak by minx for the top
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

U881999

Sat, 02/13/2016 - 05:04

Your console looks wider than some of the others and exactly what I am looking for. Can you provide the dimensions of your console; including the dimensions of the doors? Where did you find your hardware. Thx. 

raybotelho

Fri, 02/26/2016 - 14:28

I made mine 10ftL x 36"H x 24"D. I put the hardware together with different pieces form lowes/home depot. I built the doors after having the whole console already done, so it would fit perfectly.

Dog Crate

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 02/24/2023 - 06:28

I modified the Grandy Console to be dog crates for my Grand Pups so we didn’t have to have crates set up in the house. Middle divider can be raised to make one big crate.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments