Community Brag Posts

This table was super easy to build... it took me only 3 hours! I opted to use hardwood poplar 2x2s for the legs because furring strips frustrate me to no end (bowing boards, splitting wood, etc.) and the poplar also made it sturdier. Had I used furring strips, this table would have only cost me $15, but I opted for the more expensive route... but still, $35 ain't bad!

Also, I used the Kreg Jig for this project, set on 3/4" with 1 1/4" pocket hole screws - EXCEPT when I drilled the base frame onto the table top. I used 1" pocket hole screws for that, just in case the 1 1/4" screws were too long and came poking out the top of the table.

Click my blog link for the complete play-by-play!

Shortened the legs to 17" and used 1x2s on the shelf because that's what we had on hand. Sealed with Thompson's aerosol clear waterseal. 

Built using the plans as a starting point and built it bigger than the plans called for.. The deck is 10x10 and the playhouse is 6x10. I used pressure treated lumber for everything but the playhouse. I still need to paint the house and stain the deck, then put the roof on.. if it would stop raining.. Once i'm done staining the deck I can put the slide back on also. ''

Swings, monkey bars, and rings / trapeze was ordered from Amazon.

I built this using Ana's plans for her outdoor play kitchen. I live in North Carolina and took it to my grandchildren in Ohio. They love it! I used an inexpensive beverage dispenser installed into a trashcan and connected a small aquarium pump to recirculate the water from the sink to the water tank. I'm super pleased with how it turned out!

$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.

My attempt at the murphy bar featured on this site. Still have to add the sash locks. Added pallet crossmembers at the back, an x in the leg, and a french cleat to mount to the wall. 

Built this Pergola next to my house. Worked by myself, took several days. a Very relaxing spot !!

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

I used the Master Closet system plans with a slight modifcation for the slanted cellings

Over the course of a couple months, my husband and I created this beautiful poker table based heavily on the Benchmark Octagon Table plans found here. The farmhouse style base was essentially the same although the size was modified slightly to better accommodate our poker table top that was completely custom. We even created slide out cup holders that work perfectly.  So much wonderful inspiration from both here and Pinterest that gave us wood working virgins the confidence to tackle our first project together. 

We wanted to replace the vented / painted bi-fold closet doors in our Master Suite with something that was warmer and more consistent with the decorating motif of the house.  We priced out various wood bi-fold doors and were shocked at the $350 - $600 price range of what was available.   We decided that building them ourselves was a much better choice.

The frames are made from 1” Knotty Pine and the panels are from ¼” Knotty Pine.   Frames were made to fit and assembled w/ Kreg screws & Glue.  Rabbet channels were cut w/ the router and the panels were brad nailed & glued.

It was finished w/ the same stain used on our Knotty Pine ceilings / walls and finished w/ a satin varnish for a perfect match to our house.

This was a very straightforward, quick & inexpensive alternative to purchasing expensive bi-fold doors.   

The doors took about 15 hours to build / sand and 10 hours to finish.   Total cost was around $100. 

We wanted a round table that would seat a full Monopoly game. To do this we needed about a 5' diameter tabletop.  The base was made consistent with the plans.  

A few tips on the base:

1. Get your angles as close to 45° as you can.  Otherwise, there will be much sanding and puttying in your future.  
2. If you want to hide your lag screw like I did, I used a spade bit to recess an area for the screw head.  Then I glued in a plug made from dowel and sanded flush.  

If you want to make a round tabletop, here is what I did (there may be better methods).  Keep in mind this was for a ~60" diameter table, I was assuming that the perimeter arc pieces would be about 4.5" wide and that I would cut the inner circle at a 50" diameter.

1. Picture 1 - I built two 5' slabs of (7) 2x4s pocket-holed together.  
2. Picture 2 - Then I cut two pieces from each slab that would later make up the 90° "pie slice" pieces.  Make sure to remove the screws that will be in the way your saw blade. Also, you just have to concern yourself with the angle since the radius will be dealt with later.  There is a lot of wood waste with this method, but I think it avoided headaches. 
3. Picture 3 - I assembled (screwed and glued) the "pie pieces"to the cross pieces. The length of the cross pieces don't matter much since they will also be to cut to a specified radius.  Since I would be cutting a 50" diameter circle, the large cross piece had to be at least 50" and the two small pieces had to be at least 22.25" (subtracting the 2x6 width).  
   1. Picture 3 - I mounted my router to a piece of MDF and drilled a hole at the necessary distance to cut a 50" diameter circle. This distance is 25" + half of the bit diameter.  Since I used a 1/2" straight bit, my point was 25.25" from the center of the router bit.  I screwed this jig to the center of the tabletop assembly so the router could pivot and cut a circle.  As for logistics, I rested this assembly on some scrap wood and kneeled on the tabletop as I was cutting it.  It took a large number of passes with the router since I was cutting through 1.5" of material. 
4. Picture 4 - The perimeter pieces required some time and geometry. I found that I would need (8) 23" 2x8 pieces (the 23" is approximate because I was a little off for some reason, though I can't recall why).  From those pieces, I used the same router jig to cut the perimeter arc pieces. You will need to make two new radius holes in teh jig to accomplish what you need.  To cut the inner arc you need a hole set at 25" - half of the bit diameter (24.75" for me).  To cut the outer arc, I used a hole that was 29 5/8" from the center of the router bit.  You may need to do some fine tuning to these pieces to get them to fit correctly, but for me it pretty minor.  I trimmed a couple pieces with a miter saw but that was it. 
5. The rest is screws and glue. 

This was a fun project. Easy instructions great piece of furniture. It is very sturdy. I'm a beginner at DIY wood projects so this was a rewarding project.

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.