Community Brag Posts

Needed a new Patio set after Hurricane Matthew destroyed mine.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/03/2020 - 18:00

Between my day job and daily chores I somehow managed to build this, make the stain with the vinegar/steel wool, and sew all the cushions in about a week and a half.  The hardest part for me was lifting the sofa onto the deck by myself after I built it.

I also made the chairs from this site (simple white outdoor chair) and the coffee table.

Thanks Ana and everyone for contributing your plans and for everyone posting their projects.  It helps me do it to.

 

Estimated Cost
for foam, wood, screws, sand paper pillow stuffing, waterproof fabric 400 bucks
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
steel wool/vinegar/coffee grounds and then UV flood protector
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner
Seasonal And Holiday

Modern Industrial Adjustable Work Stand

$120 for 2 bases, one top ... less if you have scrap lumber and pipe

The hard part of some woodworking is what to do with the stuff BEFORE and AFTER it goes through the tools.

We need an infeed and outfeed table for routers, drill press, and saws but have no room to install a permanent workbench with an adjustable tool lifter.

We saw the coffee table to desk height adjustment mechanism and lightbulbs went off! This adjusts! We can take the top off! It stores!

The first photo shows it adjusted to align with the miter saw's cutting area.

As built, there are a couple of changes:

1 - It's taller. Lowest table height is about 30" ... add 8 inches to each leg.

2 - We only used 1 leg brace, about half way down the leg. Cut it to fit after you get the legs screwed to the top.

3 - the wobble of the adjustable bar on the threaded rod is not good for precision woodworking ... the second picture shows the guide pipe that keeps the threaded rod straight up and down.

4 - No pocketholes (sorry Anna) because this is a workbench, not fine furniture.

5 - The tops are cut from one sheet of 4x8 3/4 in melamine coated MDF ... 2 are 2x6 and one is 2x4.

This could also make an adjustable craft table. Raise or lower it to handle fabric for your sewing machine.

Estimated Cost
$120 for 2 bases, one top ... less if you have scrap lumber and pipe
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

coffee table

My version of benchright coffee table. Made this for my daughter. It's made of solid cherry.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Poly 3 coats
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Chicken shed

Submitted by diegaeb on Wed, 10/07/2020 - 08:32

I had started this project last year in September and finished it finally 2020 in March because I get my chicken then.
I did modify the chicken coop a little bit due to the material I got.
The instructions and most of all the cutting list I like best!

Antje

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

Comments

Outdoor Furniture Set

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 11/08/2020 - 16:56

This set was the first thing I've built. I did it completely by myself and am so proud! I started with the coffee table to get a hang of the tools the. Moved on and made the sofa, love seat, and two chairs. I had a little trouble finding cushions but eventually found some at Lowe's. The cushions are just so expensive. I didn't love the color of the stain on the coffee table and the plan was to sand it and retain after staining the rest but I actually like how it stands out. It took a long time to finish because I had to work on it whenever I had spare time but a motivated individual with some building experience could do this all in a weekend or two. Coat of wood and screws for the whole project was $350. All the cushions were $518.

Estimated Cost
$875
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Garden shed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/28/2020 - 13:19

Our take on the small garden shed. Ours is 4 1/2 by 7 feet. We used cedar fence pickets and 2x4 construction. Left over shingles from when our house was built. We are definitely not roofers or framers, also chasing around a 3 year old didn't make things easier. Turned out beautiful for what we want it for. Just rustic enough. Great intermediate project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Thompson's clear water seal will be applied this summer.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Seasonal And Holiday

Walk-in Master Closet

Submitted by DionneM on Fri, 03/15/2013 - 17:18

I've been drooling over those custom closet organizers for years, but they were either too expensive, not well made or some combination of not right for us. So seeing Ana's master closet plan really sent my imagination soaring. My challenge. My master closet is a small walk-in 5'x7' so I did have to do some adjusting. I love having a place for shoes and sweaters. One of my favorite parts is the continuous top shelf that connects all the parts together forming a big 'U'. I used my Kreg jig to connect each of those pieces. Anyway, thanks Ana White for the inspiration.

Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Ace Hardware Trim and Cabinet Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Square picnic table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/08/2021 - 14:13

Followed Anna White’s plans except I beveled all the edges and flooded the table leg bottoms with penetrating epoxy sealer. The table looks great!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$425
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
2 coats exterior semi-transparent sealer (Padre)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Amazing Farm Table and Benches

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 19:55

Built this deck dining table and benches from Lowes cedar, and the results way exceeded my expectations! The plans were so well written, it was easy to slightly modify (made both table and benches wider and longer) and the build was very simple. The clear directions helped give me the confidence to do this and we have got so many nice compliments. There was nothing this sturdy and simple even available to buy. I even built a coffee table and bar table after modifying the plans a bit. Thank you Ana!

Comments

Bike Storage

Submitted by vendo on Wed, 10/13/2021 - 10:10

I live in a smaller rental with limited garage space, so I needed a place for my kids bikes. This is what I came up with. It required minimal screw holes in the treated fence posts and I attached a rail system(rubbermaid fasttrak) for the bikes to hang from. I used Ana's easy shelves plan for the upright supports and then just added some corrugated roofing and cedar fence pickets (which I had on hand) to finish off the top.

8 foot long shelf with a little twist

Submitted by Daniel_ram on Mon, 01/03/2022 - 17:25

I just made this shelf using 2x4s 8 ft long wood. It is very strong and looks great. My garage size required the shelf to be max 16 in deep, so I used a 1 plywood sheet divided by 3 equal parts for the upper 3 shelfs. Since I made a 4th shelf, I used 3 1x2s for the 4th bottom shelf instead of a new plywood sheet and avoided having extra 2/3 of the sheet around and also saved like 30$ since the 2x1s were only 2$ea. That touch makes it look a bit stylish too so a win win. If you do that, here's a tip: use the outer 2x4s as rails - make sure that the cleats on the lower shelf are placed a bit lower ~ 1in. In such way, you can place the three 1x2 rails at the same level as the outer 2x4s and this you end up having 5 rails total in the shelf. Do use the wooden screws with star head if you can, they were muuuuuch easier to use compared with the regular ones. Note, this shelf is very strong, probably too strong for my needs. For a 8ft long, and my storage needs (camping, Christmas stuff, other lighter things), I'd probably use 2x2s instead of 2x4s. That would save costs, specially since wood isn't cheap these days( I spent ~$150 in materials Jan 2022).

Comments

Tool Caddy

Submitted by docbromo on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 15:21

I repurpose furniture as a hobby and I got tired of having my tools hanging on a wall on the other side of the garage so I bult this rolling tool caddy. It is made out of 3/4" plywood, a couple of 2x4's and some heavy-duty casters. I built one about 3 years ago and realized that there were some things I wanted to do differently so I sold it and bult this one. My wife gave me a subscription to SketchUp and I had fun drawing it up and tweaking it. I left an over hang of 3" on both sides so I could store my clamps. I also attached an electrical cord reel on the right side and reversed the ends so the male end can plug into the wall and I can roll the unit across the room allowing me to be able to charge my batteries. The back side has a 44 drawer storage organizer and also a few shelves for additional tools like a router and a multi-tool. I'm not nearly the craftsman many of you are and I'm sure you could do a much better job. I didn't build it to look pretty but to be functional and it works for me.

Comments

Jayp413

Fri, 01/21/2022 - 09:16

I really like this idea. I have my tools hung up neat all around the garage, but I keep walking back and forth for tools and batteries. It would be great to roll this over to a project and have everything you need right there. Nice work. I will modify one for my needs.

BigMacQue

Fri, 01/21/2022 - 10:06

there are some very thoughtful features on this, notably the wings at the top and the bottom for clamps and extra tools and the different shelf heights. Well done! I'm going to build one just like it and a power strip for battery storage.

Coffee table

Submitted by aderosa on Tue, 02/13/2018 - 05:42

It was time to replace our 12 year old rectangular coffee table. I used the corona coffee table plans with a few modifications.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Only cost me $30 because I had some scrap wood from another project.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar cabinet paint (white) mixed with coastal gray minwax stain. Bottom shelf is stained with natural stain by minwax. Finished off with two coats of satin polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modified miter saw cart

I love having this new addition! Freed up space in my small shop and now it’s more functional and organized. I followed the plans with modifications in the leaves using scrap 1x’s (which I may decide later to change to 2x4s but I had 1x’s on hand) instead of the brackets and then the extra 1x’s holding on the leaves so they would fall flat to the sides. Love it!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Under $75 (don’t remember exactly)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Didn’t finish
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

How to Build a Raised Balance Beam for $60

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/31/2019 - 14:49

From watching Olympic gymnast Simone Biles on the television to running, flipping and twirling all around our living room — my girls LOVE everything gymnastics. Both girls began competing with a local gymnastics club. Now that my oldest has moved up and is pretty serious about practicing her beam handstands and dismounts, she begged me to build a raised balance beam with suede covering so it would have a similar feel to her beam at the gym.

If you can relate to this, or even if you have a new gymnast (like my youngest in the pic above) wanting to improve their skills at home, then this comprehensive tutorial on how to build a raised balance beam is for you.

Full plans available on my blog The Creative 'Carr'penter. You can also find and pin this tutorial on Pinterest here.

Estimated Cost
Cost of materials were about $60. Could vary depending on materials used.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
I used an outdoor flat paint to finish the exposed pieces of wood. The remainder was covered in padding and suede fabric.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Console Bookshelf

Submitted by jlamorey on Fri, 11/04/2011 - 12:10

A bookshelf to help with the everyday clutter in our kitchen.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Used MinWax Ebony stain and rub on poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Claudia

Sat, 11/05/2011 - 12:07

Glad to see someone build this plan--have been considering it, but wanted to see a finished photo. Thanks!

wpaul

Sun, 05/26/2013 - 11:04

The plan shows a total width of 39" but that's a bit too much for me (I'm mostly just wanting to store reference books next to my desk and don't need that much space). I like the proportions on your build, can you say how wide it is? (I'm assuming it's not 39", unless you have some massive countertops!)

Thanks.

My wife built a bed.

Submitted by AKMan279 on Sun, 06/02/2019 - 20:45

We looked for a simple plan for a bed and found this one on Ana’s site.  Easy to build in a weekend.

Estimated Cost
$140 with all lumber and stain.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Poly stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Kitchen island

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 04/21/2023 - 11:56

my first project!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments