Community Brag Posts

Shoe organizer

Submitted by Liz H. on Wed, 06/01/2011 - 21:26

I took the 25 cubbies plan and changed the dimensions to fit shoes. I made a simpler version for my husband too. This project went together quickly and was so fun to build.

Estimated Cost
$10
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
White paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Cupboard

Submitted by Olof on Thu, 08/13/2015 - 22:01

Spend some time on pintrest and made this nice Cupboard hard to find the right plan but its my first furniture so freebasing and a few misstake later.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
150$
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Wife's Kindergarten Classroom

Been a while since I had time to actually build anything worth posting about! My wife wanted some items for her Kindergarten classroom this year, so built several items, most inspired by the Farmhouse family.

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Grill table with stainless steel top

Submitted by krochelle on Tue, 08/20/2013 - 08:00

I made this table to go next to an outdoor grill to be used as a food prep area or just a surface for holding ingredients (instead of using the deck railing!). The top is stainless steel which fits tightly over 2 3/4" pieces of plywood laminated together. The bar/handle in front is made out of galvanized pipe. All wood was treated.

Legs - 4x4 posts
Bottom shelf - 1x6's
Sides - 1x4's
Top - 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together with a stainless steel top (custom fit) over top
Towel bar - galvanized pipe (cut and threaded to size at Lowe's), floor flanges and 90 degree elbows

Estimated Cost
$120
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Kona stain but since it was over treated wood the stain did not take as dark as it should have. I will have to restain this piece after it has completely dried out.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

spiceylg

Tue, 08/20/2013 - 09:07

Love this. Where did you get the stainless steel top? Did you have to special order to fit?

In reply to by spiceylg

krochelle

Thu, 05/15/2014 - 10:33

Sorry about the late reply! Yes, I just gave my dimensions to a local steel supplier and they made the top. I think I have about $40 into the stainless. They didn't weld the corners but I've never had an issue with them.

krochelle

Thu, 05/15/2014 - 10:46

No...I didn't have any plans when I built it but it's a very simple concept. I chose to use all treated wood since I knew it would be sitting outside unprotected. However, my 4x4 posts weren't square so this caused a lot of problems and everything was built to fit. I believe I just used 4x4's, 1X6s (for the bottom shelf) and 1x4s for the sides (top and bottom). For the top, I just laminated 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood together to bulk it up and then had the stainless top built to fit. It fit perfectly so I didn't glue it to the plywood. This makes it easy to remove and clean, if necessary. For the galvanized pipe (towel bar), I bought it at Lowe's and had them cut/thread it to fit my dimensions.

Pie Safe

Submitted by Duckhook18 on Wed, 10/28/2015 - 18:56

This is my first, of hopefully many projects to come. I modified Patrick's Jelly Cupboard plans to be 40" tall and added the tins to the doors. I used spruce and pine board from a local lumber yard. The finish is Miss Mustard Seed milk paint inside and out. With kids in the house I didn't want to use stain with the heavy chemical smell so I mixed the milk paint with a lot of water to look like a stain. That product is so easy to use and looks great. Needless to say my wife loves her pie safe. Thanks Ana for this site and the inspiration to give this a try. I'm hooked!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$140 including the tins, paint and lumber
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint - Shutter Gray (exterior), Curio (interior mixed 1 part paint to 3 parts water)
Topcoat - 2 coats of hemp oil
Painted entire piece in Curio first to get the layered look on the distressed finish. 2 coats of Shutter Gray over the Curio.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Joni

Sat, 10/31/2015 - 09:36

This is really beautiful!  Might I ask where you got your tin inserts?  Thanks!

Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Submitted by Me-go-Eco on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 10:42

Built this coffee table as a housewarming present for my buddy who got me hooked on woodworking as a hobby! Made from reclaimed wood.

You want to see more? Check out my blog and follow me.

http://me-go-eco.blogspot.com

my twitter is: me_go_eco

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, RECLAIM! Thanks!

Estimated Cost
$10 thrownout wood and leftovers from old projects from Re-use Hawaii.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

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

Modern Bench

Submitted by cinschultz on Fri, 07/19/2019 - 18:46

Built this modern bench to put in my prarie.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Exterior Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Horizontal Murphy Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/09/2023 - 17:49

We are remodeling our 3 bedroom house into a 4 bedroom. In doing so, my youngest is getting the smaller room. We decided to go with a Murphy bed to allow more play time space. I do not particularly like the fact that this bed doesn’t sit off the ground but overall love the simplicity of making it. We turned it horizontal and just love the overall product. I can mot wait to make something else from this site!

Tams

L-Shape Outdoor Bench

Submitted by ShannonG on Mon, 07/24/2023 - 13:21

Modified to make an L shaped bench . Absolutely love it! Thank you!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Cedar 4x4 Truss Beam Table

We had gotten a piece of granite for free, so my husband modified the plans to fit the slab. We made one in pressure treated lumber and loved the look so we decided to make a nicer one in cedar. The benches are a little wider because of the size boards available. We could have ripped them down, but we prefer the wider seat. I will sand the seats and seal the wood to keep it looking fresh longer. We look forward to many great memories at our new table by our outside fireplace. Thank you for the great plans!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modified Square

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/14/2016 - 21:46

We modified this table to make it larger for our growing family. It measures 42" (10 inches larger than the original plan). We added 10 inches to the length of the 2X6's and added 5 2X2's to increase the width of the width of the table. We love the interest it added to the table. 3 coasts of minwax cherry and three coats of minwax helmsman poly.

Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Mixwax Cherry Stain
Minwax Helmsman Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Easy to Build Workbench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/06/2023 - 09:09

I was wanting a work bench for my outside shed to work on occasionally and help keep organized. This is the first piece of furniture I have built totally on my own! The plan was easy. I sized it down a little with no problem. I'm a little off on a couple of the cuts but will practice more! Overall, thrilled and extremely proud of it!

Lori B

Rustic Banquette Bench with Storage

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 11/04/2023 - 14:16

I needed some extra storage space and have always wanted a storage bench in this corner of my dining room. It took me a week to build from start to finish. I’ve never done any woodworking before, so this plan was good for me, as it was easy to follow with the color coding. The only thing that was “off plan” were the X’s on the face of the bench. I had some leftover 1x1 trim, from a handyman project a few years back, that I was happy to use up. It fit perfectly and I had just enough for all X’s. My biggest challenge with this project were the lids. They have a very minor bow, so one of the corners isn’t flush. But, it’s not enough to bother me or need to re-do the lid. All-in-all, I’m super happy with this banquette and may have caught the woodworking bug!

Sturdy Bunk Beds

We were shopping for bunk beds for our 5 and 3-year-old kids, and everything I saw was overpriced, mass produced junk. I'm not kidding - we were looking at $800-$2000 for anything that appeared to be remotely stable, let alone well-designed.

Naturally, I started searching for plans (it's the right thing to do), and naturally, I found my way to Ana White. This project began in earnest when I found the Side Street Bunk Bed plans here:
http://ana-white.com/2012/03/plans/side-street-bunk-beds

I figured I'd give it my own twist. I needed to practice using my DeWalt compact router (and the new trim router table my wife had given me months before), and any excuse to bust out my Kreg Jig is fine by me. I also had different ideas for the ladder and guard rails...so I printed out the plans, sketched out my variations, and proceeded to suffer through the indignity of lumber shopping at Home Depot.

I know what you're thinking - WHY would anyone even bother trying to find a straight board in THAT place? Well believe me, I suffered for the convenience of driving to the HD two miles from my house. I had to work each and every board like crazy, but eventually I got em all into fine shape. Wood wants to be good, even the crap they sell at HD.

About halfway through the build, I started to worry that what i was building was TOO sturdy - total overkill. But now that it's in use, I can tell you I'm glad I built with these plans. I can still climb up on top of the bed with both my kids if I want to and this thing doesn't budge. Not an inch. Not a creak. SOLID. Exactly what any parent wants.

Not a lot of complex tools involved here; my trusty Delta chop saw, my DeWalt 18v cordless drill, a DeWalt palm sander ( I spent hours with this), the Kreg Jig and a couple of clamps (of course), and the DeWalt Compact Router and table. The router really made a difference in the overall design – and I wasn't afraid of screwing up the lousy lumber I was working with. In the end, it all finished rather nicely.

I treated every piece with Minwax wood conditioner, then a single coat of Minway Polyshade in Pecan. Nothing fancy, but after sanding it down and giving it a polish, I gotta say it looks just as good as your average IKEA finish. Not bad at all.

This is the largest piece of functional furniture I've ever built, and my kids LOVE it. They talked about it for days after, and you can't buy that on Amazon. It was a real confidence builder, and I'm PSYCHED to move on to some nicer lumber and more complex projects!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Polyshade
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

hammertime

Thu, 05/24/2012 - 09:42

That is really lovely. You should be proud and how wonderful that you created this experience for your boys instead. No doubt you have inspired and impressed them. Way to go.

Trent (not verified)

Sat, 07/14/2012 - 16:01

Great job. We just bought the wood to make the same bunk bed. Would you mind sharing your dimensions/cut list for the ladder on your bunk bed? We would like to build the same ladder instead of the one that goes out to the floor.
Thanks.

Roll Away Workbench with Miter Saw Stand

Submitted by advanlente on Sat, 03/28/2020 - 11:03

After collecting my tools, I needed a place to store them that would protect them. I had already had two jigsaws break because I was storing them in a rubbermaid tote. When I saw this plan I knew it was going to be perfect for my shop. My husband was supper happy because I would finally have a central spot for my workshop. My boys were happy to help when they could. 

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)

Old Barnwood Farmhouse table

I was super duper lucky and i had someone give me....yes give me 100 year old barn wood. I had been wanting a farmhouse table but couldn't afford the ones I had seen in PB or other stores. After i was given the barn wood, I came immediatly to Ana's site and found the plans. I could have made the table entirely out of the barnwood, but i wanted an old looking white base, so i bought pine 2x4's. It's all i ever wanted an then some!

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
English walnut for the top. I wiped it on and then immediately wiped it off. The base i used Valspar eggshell latex paint for the base. Top got about 7 coats of satin poly, and the base received one coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

First Woodworkig Project - X Console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 12/27/2023 - 11:43

First time building a piece of furniture. Definitely get a small Kreg Jig for the project. Built it for my wife for Christmas. She loves it. A lot of imperfections, but not too bad and very sturdy.

Built from Plan(s)