Community Brag Posts

This project was a challenge because of the instructions regarding the "recommended" pocket holes for the aprons. I soon realized you can't put a 3/4 pocket hole on a 45 degree mitred edge, and when I adjusted the depth of the pocket hole, I could not for the life of me screw it into the legs without the apron getting sucked past the edge of the legs. I ended up putting the pocket screws on the outside which I know is a major faux pas for wood workers, but because I used Kreg wood plugs and painted it, you can't see the little ovals where the screws are.

The photos are just for scale. The little girl is a big 2 1/2 year old, and the dog is not a St. Bernard.

We love the table and it works great for baby brother's room.

Thank you Ana for another great project!

This playroom set was inspired by the plans you posted.  I was forced to make some significant modifications due to the fact that our bonus/playroom has angled ceilings.  We have a rock climbing wall, ladder, crawl tunnel with windows, trapeze bar, monkey bars, miniature baskeball goal and a slide.  My boys are 6, 3 and 19 months and they love it!  Thanks for the inspiration.

Jim and Caroline Sparrow

Sewing table with a square top variation 

I changed the plans a little bit to add on the extra shelf on top as well as making the shelves an inch narrower than the plans. The project was actually pretty easy and really only took me about a days worth of work.

Super Easy.. I like it better without the doors. Recommend getting a KREG Jig. I have the Jr and it was perfect for this project.

Thank You Ana-White for the amazing plans for this beautiful farmhouse queen bed! Not bad for the first try!

We built this table for my brother and new wife's wedding present. We modified it to use as an outdoor dining set. Instead of using the 1x10 for the tabletop we used 2x6's and for the legs we used 4x4's. We attached the top boards with a Camo fastening system we used last year on our deck (works great to conceal the screws). I stained the frame in Behr Cordovan Brown and the top boards in Behr Cedar Naturaltone. It was our first attempt at building a table and I think it turned out great, only problem was giving it away!

I built this table with the dimensions described in the original plans, but made a slight modification by using my Kreg Jig to add pocket holes for attaching the tabletop and seat boards from below rather than drilling down through the top. I'm never really happy with the way a finish comes out after using wood filler, plus not having to fill holes saves a step in the finishing process (which is the really arduous part of the job for me). I also like the sturdiness of the Kreg joints.
This was my first project using the Kreg Jig in an application that didn't have the location for the pocket holes specified, so for the first bench I followed right along with the plans and just detached the drill guide and clamped it to my project to drill the pocket holes as I went along. For the second bench I was familiar with where all the holes should be drilled, so I was able to quickly mark off the location and pre-drill all the pieces assembly line fashion. The second one practically flew together.
If you want to use this method, you will be drilling your pocket holes in the boards labeled "seat support" and "tabletop support" (there are 2 of each of these pieces for each bench/half table). You can mark the position of the tabletop boards on the tabletop supports and drill your pair of pocket holes to correspond roughly to the center of where each board will be (so 6 holes in each of the 2 pieces labeled tabletop support for each bench). Nearly the same process for the seat supports, but remember that the holes to attach the outermost seat board won't be centered because of the location of the front leg. I chose to add a couple of pocket holes through the front leg board as well for extra sturdiness in case it gets picked up by that outermost seat board when the bench/table is getting moved. I have included a picture of the pre-drilled pocket holes to help clarify the above directions.
The build itself can definitely be classified as a beginner project and easily manageable by one lady (although it would be really nice to have a buddy to help move the finished bench...I had to take the tabletop back off mine to move it from my "workshop" (carport) around to my patio). In terms of time, the build for both benches could easily be completed in an afternoon; I ranked it as a weekend project because of the finish. The tabletop and seat boards each have 4 coats of an exterior semigloss paint and I custom blended the colors so that each board gets progressively darker as you go down the bench. I was inspired by the ocean, with the water getting darker as you go deeper and deeper. As you can see from my photos, I rushed headlong into the first bench and put it together unfinished (I was more concerned about figuring out the placement of the pocket holes than the finish.) For the second one I pre-drilled my pocket holes, then put on 2 coats of base coat and 1 coat of color (on seat and tabletop boards) before assembly, saving only the finish coat on the colored boards and touchups on the white boards for after assembly. I definitely recommend the second method.
I worked on the project over a couple of weekends and evenings because of weather and time constraints, but under the right conditions it could be completed in a weekend or even maybe a long day (especially with a second painter and in good paint drying weather). I'm really happy with the final product and I've already been enjoying the comfy bench seat for reading.

Due to rain (and horrible ability) this project has been taking a LONG time it seems. =) We had one of those "cheap" playsets from one of the warehouse clubs that would scare me to death anytime my girls got to swinging on it. So... we knocked it down and I took some liberty with the details from Ana's playset plans.

I had worked on this project a while ago, but did not had time to add my brag post. I actually modified the dimensions to fit my needs. I enjoyed making this pedestal along with my son.