Community Brag Posts

I've thought for a while about building a bed for our dogs, but wasn't sure where to start. We had an extra crib mattress so I set out to find a toddler bed that would work. I decided the Lydia Toddler Bed plan would work best. It doesn't look anything like it, but it was a great starting point.

First, I got rid of the canopy and the decorative side pannels. I also raised the bed 12 inches. (The hope is to add a rug on the floor underneath as sort of a "bottom bunk") The lumber store didn't have 2x2s so I used 2x3s for the legs. I also only used two 1x6s at the head and foot of the bed. They are seperated by 1" because when I got home, I realized they were actually 1x5 (RUDE).

All in all, it turned out exactly as I had hoped and the dogs love it! GOODBYE stinky dogbeds!

**Photo 1: Just finished building--the slats weren't screwed down yet.
**Photo 2: Deacon is testing out his new digs! See the stinky dogbed underneath?YUK!
**Photo 3: Dog Bed Completed! Mac & Deacon love it!

I had some leftover plywood after I made my storage bench and asher/dryer pedestal so I made plans for a storage ottoman with it. After I put it together I cam to Ana's site to upload my plan only to find out she had already made something similar. The only difference in mine is that I added a divider so my wife and I have our own sides and used polyester filling for the top instead of foam (about half the price).

I built the queen sized version of this bed and love how it turned out! I decided to use two 6" bolts on each post to connect the side rails. The reasoning behind this is so that it would be sturdier and easier to disassemble/reassemble.

I also made the headboard larger than the plan. We may add finishing touches to it to make it more polished.

Daniel

This was a blast to make, we added 2 roooms and a swing but every thing else was the same!

I made this sliding mirror jewelry cabinet for my wife for Christmas. 

I designed this desk from another desk I built. With this one, I wanted the overall foot-print smaller but still something that was able to organize all our office stuff and be able to close everything to keep it clutter-free. We have a small apartment, and although this desk is about the size of an up-right piano, it works perfectly into our living space!

I made it out of raw hardwood (Ash) and because I knew just the wood alone would make this desk heavy/bulky to move I made the top hutch removable. It's held in place by wood pegs (dominos). All the shelves are adjustable and the drawers are full-extension (something I've never had - wahoo)! The drop-down door is help up by 2 pull-out boards on each side (my first desk had chains). I spend a lot of money on this desk because I knew it was a chance in a lifetime to make and wanted it to be perfect and something that would last generations.

I built the main carcass off of plans/measurements I designed, but then all the insides, drawers, shelves, doors, etc where made as I built (because just a millimeter difference in building changes everything)!

If you want more pictures/descriptions of the building process I wrote about it in a 4-part series on my blog.

Since we moved into our house over a year ago, we had no closet doors for our TV room. Just a giant gaping hole in the wall. Filled with 2 boxes of DVDs. Needless to say, it was really unattractive. I saw someone on the Knock-Off Wood facebook page building her own closet doors, and I was inspired. I drew out a quick sketch and got to work. They were really simple to make, but because they were so bulky they were a bit hard to manage. (The husband never helps out with my "buildy" projects, but I definitely needed an extra hand getting these into place!) I also built the behind the door storage to go on the larger door for all of our DVDs. What turned this project into a "Weekend" project rather than a "day" project was really the bulk and the finishing. While I am normally the self-proclaimed queen of spray paint, I took the time to do a really nice hand painted and glazed finish on the doors. (The DVD storage, though, went back to my area of expertise with the spray paint.) We LOVE all of this extra storage! We definitely have room to grow our DVD collection now!

Thank you Anna for providing the template plans for this project. My wife had a mirror leaning on the wall in our bedroom that rarely got used and jewelry all over the dresser. So thanks to you I was able to turn this cheap mirror into useful storage and organize her jewelry.  Thanks! 

I used Ana's plans for this project, but had to deviate since I built it for a friend who needed a table for 14!!  This thing is huge, 12 feet long, and about 44 inches wide.  I made it out of pine, 2x8s for the top but stuck to the plans for the frame.  It weighs about 200lbs or more, and had to move it with 4 guys...used an enclosed trailer to move it from my house to theirs. They love it so that's all that counts!  Oh ya, in the picture, you will see Ana's rustic X console table too! 

To help keep things aligned, in between step 4 and 5 I cut a 15” temporary support and attached it to the back of the stringers, opposite the front apron and then removed when finished attaching chair back. I used Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutter to make the stencils for the name and logo. Home Depot can mix Glidden paint in official campus colors.

Adapted Ana's full length mirror storage idea.  I needed to recess the cabinet into the stud cavity to save needed floor space.  Opened two cavities and made the interior the same length as the cheap $6 behind the door mirror.  Was able to just sit them on a ledger board and the shelves hold them from falling forward.

The cabinet looks wonderful and holds a TON of things.  Thanks Ana for the inspiration!

Here's a dog bed that my boys and I built about a year ago (our very first build). Pretty basic but our pups love it! 

This project started because a corner bathroom vanity that fit my space requirements and budget did not exist. A plan specific to what I exactly needed also did not exist. After combing through what plans I found online, the Wall Kitchen Corner Cabinet best matched what I wanted. I modified it with the Momplex Sink Base Kitchen Cabinet in order to turn it into a sink base.

But, there was a problem. I hadn't actually built anything before. In order to get at least one project under my belt, I built the Vintage Step Stool. It turned out great, so I figured I was ready to go! Strangely enough, after spending about $100 and several weekends picking away at this project, it was done! It looked great, even. Then, I moved the vanity into the bathroom and realized that, while it may have looked great, it wasn't very square. Lesson learned was that this is a two person project. It is too difficult to keep things square and screw at the same time when there is only one person.

At this point, everyone was tired of having to use the kitchen sink to brush their teeth and wash their hands, so we needed to get this project done. $100 later, we had more material. Since I had figured out what needed to be done with the first vanity, let's call it our prototype, the second vanity went together REALLY quickly. 

Within a few hours, it was pieced together. Since it was going to be painted, we used Bondo to cover up our imperfections. Yes, of course there were imperfections. While much better than the prototype, it still was only my third woodworking project. Sanding, caulking, and priming took another hour or so. A few coats of the finish paint went on, followed by a couple more coats of a clear sealer, and it was done.

We moved it into place, screwed it to the wall, put the soapstone countertop on along with the sink and faucet, and it truly was complete. Sink is Kohler, faucet came from our local Habitat for Humanity store and I'm not sure what brand it is, and the soapstone came from soapstones.com. If we had oiled the soapstone with mineral oil, it would be a very dark gray.

So I finally finished the dog bed I've been working on for over a month now (I've been trying to avoid the 100+ Texas heat but it just wouldn't go away!) It was based on dmanar33's farmhouse dog bed (linked below) and I just made it larger for our greyhound, Daisy. It's far from perfect but it's been another good learning project for me while practicing before I start our desperately needed King bed.

The bed was made using 2x8 for the internal structure (with one 2x4 center "slat"), 1x6 and 1x8 boards for the surround, with 1x2 as trim and 3/4" plywood for the cushion base. It is rather heavy but can easily be moved with two people. This was my first project using my finish nailer ($16 at Harbor Freight) and it was worth every penny! I can't believe I never picked one up before.

For the cushion I tried to find a cheap, thin 3" futon mattress on Craigslist to cut up (as I've done before), but after 2 days of looking online I ended up settling for a $12 full size foam mattress topper from wally world. I folded it in half and wrapped with some thick batting I had laying around so the cushion ended up ~2" thick. And for the cover I used Ana's doll mattress tutorial with some wally world Chino Cotton curtains for $16 as fabric (thick, durable, cotton and cheaper than anything I could find at the fabric store) and it worked out great! I left one end open to put a zipper into once I pick one up, so right now it is like a large pillow case, but it works just fine.

I'm very happy with the total project and I love that Daisy (~75lbs) won't be breaking it anytime soon. She has plenty of room to stretch out and it looks much nicer than the old lumpy "giant pillow" style dog bed on the floor we had before.