Community Brag Posts

I used your basic plans,  but modified it to use some scrap wood I had from another project. I used blue stain pine,  tongue and groove. 

I made this toy box for my niece who is expecting her first baby (it's a boy).  I know she likes things clean and uncluttered,  so I added a lid, and then added some corner pieces to make it a little more juvenile. 

It was so much fun. 

My son had a 'lightning Mcqueen' toddler bed- but we needed to get him into a little bigger bed.  We had a spare full bed, and Batman is his current favorite... Since there aren't Batman full race car beds- time to start planning and building from sketchup!  Took me about 2 weeks of evenings (after the kids go to bed) and about $110 in materials.  The model is available in the sketchup warehouse at:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=u6b750a53-37a4-4d52-9d31…

For the wheel covers I ordered online at Amazon for $25 for a set of 4.

For the Wheels both HD and Menards make a 18" wood table top for ~$7 that I just cut the middle out  with my router to fit the wheel covers.

The slats to hold the bed (made to fit both box spring and mattress) were just 1x4 pine boards from menards.

The body was made from 3/4 MDF, though you could of course use plywood. 

I used a projector to project the image from sketchup onto the board to get it transferred- else it would have been 50+ pages if printing..

For the logos I just used a minila folder as my stencil and cut out the logo.  Needed to touch up the 'tabs' to hold the logo in the circle after pulling off the stencil.

Had some old skis I've been wanting to make into a chair.   The Home Depot plans worked perfectly for the base.  Cut the back brace a bit longer to fit the skis

I found the table to be pretty wobbly so I reinforced it with some triangulation and I moved all the legs into the centre so the triangulation wouldn't get in the way of people sitting on all sides. 

I had tons of help from this website and from the employees at Lowe's in deciding what to purchase and what steps to take. I ended up spending around $130 on all the items needed - but if I ever need to make more it will be just the cost of the lumber!

I am the poster girl for making mistakes while learning, no joke. Generally, I make the uh-oh on a step that I’ve done a zillion times, because I am so busy making sure that the parts that are brand new to me go well. Years ago I was trying to impress a roommate and I worked super hard on a lemon spaghetti dish. I learned to zest and juice a lemon but completely forgot about draining my noodles. Hello disgusting! Putting together my Ana-White project was no different. I gently sanded the wood with my sanding sponge and wiped them off with a rag. I then placed two of the 1x4’s together and made sure that they were even. I discovered that it would be next to impossible to have perfect shelves, so I was going to let it go and just have fun. I pre-drilled a hole, then used a countersink bit to match the head of my wood screw, and held the boards together with all my might while I drilled in the first screw. Of course, since that worked out so well… I decided to try something different! Cap had told me that these particular screws practically countersunk themselves. Sweet! Therefore, on the second screw I predrilled and then tried to see what would happen if I skipped the countersink bit step and just put the screw in. Fail! The wood made this groan sound and the screw didn’t go into a nice neat hole, but instead just kind of escaped in like a finger in pudding. No good! I realized that I had forgotten to use wood glue, so I took both screws back out, put the wood glue in, and back in the screws. I returned to the first method of predrill, countersink bit, wood glue, then screw and finished it off. I held the 1x2 into place and used finishing nails to attach it to the 1x4s. Using a nail punch, I made sure there was a little hole atop each nail. I filled all the holes and a few of my mistakes with wood filler. While the filler was drying I repeated all the steps, sans many of the mistakes adding in a few others, and was done with the first step of building shelves! Next I used a two inch angle brush and applied the primer. After it was dried I applied the paint using a two inch roller. When it was all dried I marked my studs and my board, predrilled, and screwed them into the wall! That was it! It was so much fun and completely empowering. I can't wait to do the next one.

This is a solid, quartersawn white oak 5-legged dining table. It was originally built in the late 19th or early 20th century. The table was in need of a refinish. The massive turned and fluted legs were full of cracks, chips, and splits.

I took the table completely apart and began stripping and sanding. The legs were re-glued where needed and clamped. I filled the cracks, splits, and and chips with wood filler, sanded, and repeated until I was happy with the results. I replaced some bracing and replaced the screws where needed. Heavy duty casters were added. They have brakes/stops that can be locked to keep the table from rolling on a hardwood or tile floor.

Once the final sanding was completed, I applied 2 coats of Minwax Dark Walnut stain with a foam brush. I wiped down after each coat after waiting 10-15 minutes or so. After drying I began applying Minwax Fast Drying (oil based) polyurethane. The table received 3 coats and the top received 6 coats. I hand sanded with 220 grit sandpaper between coats.

After applying the final coat of poly to the top, I allowed it to cure 48 hours. I then hand sanded the top very lightly using 400 grit paper. I did the same using 0000 steel wool. I then added a few drops of dish soap to a cup of water and wet sanded with the 0000 steel wool. I used a circular motion to remove any scratches. I then wiped down the table and buffed out two coats of Johnson Past Wax with an orbital buffer. It resulted in a super smooth finish.

I am very happy with the results. By the way the table if for sale ($600) and is located in Evansville, Indiana.

We modified the plans for the Camp Loft Bed to accommodate a full size mattress.  We also extended the platform so that the bed spread wall to wall in the bedroom.  Since the platform was extended, we added a short railing to prevent falls.  The height was pushed up to make it taller than the junior size of the original design.  This way we were able to place a desk and add 2 pine shelves underneath the head of the bed.  

We added a board along the long side at the bottom to take out some wiggling.  The bed itself still seemed a little shaky until we attached the platform and now it is rock solid.  We have had 1-2 adults and multiple kids up there at the same time with no problem.

The bed itself could have been built in a weekend.  However, the time it took to sand, stain, and clear coat added many more hours.  Those hours were definitely worth it for a finished product.

This was my first time using my own measurements for an Ana White build. I was really nervous but having completed a few other projects by following plans exactly, I felt confident I had gained the skill to branch out of my comfort zone. I had been looking at coffee bars for my kitchen, but at $300 and up, cheaply made and in the wrong dimensions,. I just knew I could build something with better quality for a portion of the price. This project took me half a day to build the carcass and then another afternoon to figure out the door hardware and stain. I used all 1 x boards and the final bar is 12" wide so I used 1 x 12 boards for everything except the trim.  All in all you could complete it in a few hours, it was really simple. I made the door hardware by popping open two pulleys and attaching them with metal somethings (not sure what they are) that I found at Lowes. I then ran a flat bar across the front using spacers like Ana did in hers. I painted the hardware with Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and stained the top of the bar with Minewax Dark Walnut, the bottom is Minewax Ebony. I still need to poly. One thing I changed up was the top. Instead of using a piece of plywood, pine, or combining pieces together, I used a stair tread! It was a little thicker than a typical 1 x, and also had a rounded edge which I think gives the piece a finished look! This is a piece of furniture I will truly use every single day and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! The grand total? $60 for the wood and $20 for the hardware. $80 all in all (I had the stain leftover from another project). There's no way I could have bought a piece this nice for that price! 

Thank you for the plans for this fence! So many sites tell you what you need to do to plan for a fence, but don't give you any dimensions, materials, etc.

I didn't do it exactly like your instructions, but close enough to give you all the credit!! I am a 45 year old woman, with only a little do-it-yourself experience. I went to the hardware store, and asked "what are these PH screws?" and felt a little stupid. But my friend Tanya and I built this fence this weekend, with a post level, stakes and string, a chop saw, two 18v drills,a sledgehammer, a string level and a sharpie! We are so proud of ourselves.

I still need to trim off the tops of the posts, and do a few little tweaks. Also, we did not dig post holes. We used oz-posts, and pounded them in with a sledgehammer, attached the wooden posts into the oz-posts with heavy-duty construction adhesive and 8 screws, and straightened them with a huge wood clamp. And next weekend, I'll be putting in raised flower beds along the bottom to cover the lower space. :-))

This table was my first build. Once I learned how to use the Kreg Jig and my husband taught me how to use the table and miter saws, I have fallen in love with building furniture. Since building this table, I have built a twin bed, two farm tables, a bench, the kitchen island/rolling server table from Ana's book, and an awesome workbench with red racing wheels! This past weekend I finished my first custom order - an 8-foot Husky leg Farm table using Ana's plan. I now have orders for another balustrade coffee table and an end table using the matching legs from Osborne. THank you Ana! 

I built this American girl doll house for my daughter. I wanted to give her something to keep her youth alive! 

Built these two adirondack chairs from pallet wood that I had at home. Made the perfect seating area for my fire pit. Can't wait to enjoy the fall evenings in my $0 chairs!

What I really liked about this plan is its versatility. Relatively easy with pocket hole joinery and inexpensive materials, I used paint to match existing furniture and solid wood tops and drawer fronts to add just a touch of elegance.