Community Brag Posts

I built this for my daughter after building a ladder shelf for my kids bathroom. It took more time to install and adjust the drawer slides and paint the project.  

I've finished my swing but my porch don't have enough clearance so I built A frame stand for it.

This book caddy was just what I needed...a small shelf to store the books that the girls are currently reading, so I am not constantly returning books to the bookshelf. Now we can keep a bunch of books at ready access, without them stacked around the room.

I shortened it to 18", but otherwise followed the plan as written. Some of the spaces/angles were a bit tricky to get into to with my tools, but the concept was straightforward. I did it myself, but a second person would have been handy to help hold the pieces while I fastened.

Best looking greenhouse and great size!

I made this in an afternoon. Loved this project. It is made with 2x4's using a Kregs Jig and mitre saw (plus additional tools like a drill and square).  This was my frist time using the Kregs Jig and I am sold!!

The free plans were taken from another website. They are very detailed and there is even a video (I recommend it as he gives a great tip for making sure the back stays equal/level to each other before putting the back on). Even though you can build this by yourself, I did have help for the heavier sides once they were assembled.  I plan to build the additional side table soon and finish them both with sanding and staining when the weather seems less iffy for rain.

If you are looking for a good beginner project that doesn't take forever or have complicated steps, this is your project.

I've been planning on building a patio table for this coming spring and summer, but didn't know where to begin. I found Ana's wonderful site and now I don't know where to stop! So many great ideas.
After seeing ewood's great table I decided to make one similar. I made my square table based on Ana's and ewood's basic designs. Thank you both. I also made a bench based on Ana's design.

I found these plans online and was just waiting for the kids' grandpa to come out and build it. Could be built in one afternoon (depending on how many trips to your local Home Depot, and availability of the correct tools)
Modifications from original plan:
6x6 instead of 4x4
Brackets to hold patio umbrella for shade
Added seat gussets for additional support
Added "wooden flange" around bottom of box to run lawnmower on
One additional center back support on each bench
One centered handle (instead of a handle on each end)
Stapled landscape weed barrier fabric onto the bottom
Sanded all exposed edges

Materials:
4@2x10x8'
12@1x6x6'
2@2x6x12'
8 hinges
2 handles
3 1/2" decking screws (for attaching 2"x boards)
1 5/8" decking screws (for attaching 1"x boards)
2+ 1 1/4" 2-hole straps for metal conduit (for attaching patio umbrella*)
*Our patio umbrella pole was 1 1/2" diameter, but 1 1/2" straps had too much play, so we used 1 1/4" straps and misc flat washers to adjust the snugness to the pole
Cut lengths:
2@2x10 cut to 72" (long sides of the box)
2@2x10 cut to 69" (short sides of the box)
Cut one each of the following out of a 12 footer:
2@2x6 cut to 75" (long side "flange")
2@2x6 cut to 64" (short side "flange")
No cuts were made to the 12 1x6's
Used one leftover 2' from the 2x8x10's ripped in half cut to 11.5" for arm rests
Used two leftover 2' sections from the 2x8x10's ripped in half cut to 21" for back supports
Used the last 2' cutoff to make two seat gussets (cut about 9 1/2" off and then ripped it at 45 degrees)
Used the remaining piece (ripped in half length-ways) to attach to the center of the backrest for additional support and as the attachment point for our handles
We decided to do one handle in the center of the backrest so one reasonably strong adult could open the lid
The bottom "flange" was assembled with the box upside down. Basically a 2x6 screwed to the bottom edge of the box allowing 1 1/2" overhang all the way around
After making cuts, but before assembly, we recommend using a quarter-sheet pad sander (or similar) with 60 grit paper to break all of the edges and round over any ends or corners that will be in contact with sandbox users
Followed other general assembly instructions

For my first woodworking project, I foolishly decided to build a rabbit hutch without plans for my daughters new Easter Bunny. So I literally scratched some ideas on my wood working bench and started going to work. I did some construction over a decade ago, but never attempted to build any furniture before, so I'm pretty happy with how this came out.

I spent a few days researching various rabbit cages and for our place we needed something that was ascetically pleasing and functional as it was going in our living room. I got some ideas from the web and decided the best thing for us would be to have an entry ramp, 2 sets of barn doors for each level (for easy cleaning) and an open roof. We went with linoleum floors since she's already litter trained. The floors could easily be modified to add 1/2" wire mesh if we decide to change things down the line. Also, we chose an espresso finish with silver hardware to accent the wire mesh

I pretty much crashed and burned on the staining as I've never done that before, but it ended up looking ok after all. I did a light sanding, but will probably invest in a planer and jointer to get my wood in better shape before assembling in the future. Also, I'll probably lightly dab some stain on ends of wood before final assembly as it made it difficulty trying to hide the white pine with the dark stain.

Other cages I saw ran around $200-$350.00 so i don't feel so bad about the cost. It's really the time that it took learning and making mistakes. I'm sure if I had plans I could of cut my time in 1/2.

Total Cost came out to around $150.00 but probably would of been cheaper if I had some plans to go by. I probably wasted a few 2x2s and accidentally mis-cut a scrap piece of 1/4"plywood which added another $16.00 to the bottom line.

Here's a breakdown of my total cost.

Hardware - $30.00
Includes 5 latches, 4 sets of hinges (8 total) and a 3' piano hinge

Stain - $8.00

Linoleum Tile @ ¢.69 sq ft - $16

Brushes, Stain Rags - $5.00

Screws - $6.00

Wire Mesh Roll $30.00
Needed 2 rolls at $15.00 each. I used 1" Wire Mesh measuring 2'x15'

Total Wood $50.00-$60
I used 2x3's for the legs - 2 @ 8' - $2.00 each ($4.00)
probably 15-20 2x2's - $1.52 each - can't remember how many I used to be honest ($30.00)
and a few 1x6's for the Doors - $2.00 each ($6.00)
Sheet of 1/4 plywood - $12.00

I built this project totally from pallet wood and leftover 2x4's. I already had the paint and stain from other projects, so the only cost was for the baskets, which were $6 a piece at Ikea. This project turned out even better than I expected and I couldn't be happier.

This was my first attempt at building anything....ever. It was so incredibly fun and I certainly learned a lot. My 8 little chickens are loving their new home and I can't wait to build my next project!