Community Brag Posts

I made this without the fancy headboard, but I'm very happy with how it turned out! See my blog for complete details.

My son needed more room in his bedroom...and to be rid of the very girly furniture he inherited when he moved into his "big boy-ish" bedroom. At 10 yrs old, it was high time he got a bed that wasn't pink-tinged, white washed pine with 4 posters and enough curlicues to choke a forest. He also needed a desk which I couldn't really fit in his room with the armoire and chest of drawers that came with the Queen sized bed.

So off to Ikea we went and I saw a black loft bed for $300, but it was really, really high which meant I would have to cut it down and it was not sturdy at all. I looked at PB and saw the $1800 bed. Um, no - that wasn't happening. So, off to Ana-White I went and I'm so happy I did!

I built the full sized version of these plans and, to keep costs down, used wood I had on hand. This meant I had to work a bit at the cuts, but it all worked out.

Mods:
1) I modified the railings to have the ladder at the end of the bed to keep away from the ceiling fan.

2) Because I put the ladder at the end of the bed, I got very nervous about having a soon-to-be teen climbing on to a ladder secured to a 1x10 that was only connected to the side railings with glue and screws. So I sandwiched extra 1x3s over the bottom rails and attached them to the top railing.

3) I was very nervous about making sure that the bed was adequately supported so I put a 2x4 down the center instead of the 1x2.

4) I went a wee-bit overboard screwing things together to the point where it's a bit embarrassing and now I have to paint over the screw heads.

5) I made the ladder treads with 2x4's, modifying the inside spacer board cut lengths.

Because I had quite a bit of lumber on hand, the bed only ended up costing me about $90.

For the bookcase, I did end up buying the 1x12s and the adjustable shelf railings. I made the book shelf the entire width of of the bed and split the two sections based on width of the 1x24 board I bought for the desk. I only put the backer board up half way so that the daylight could get underneath the bed and make it not so cave-like.

The book case cost me about $70.

The desk was the easiest...but most costly item. A 1x6x24, 4 table legs and the table leg mounts ran me about $80. The plexiglass top that I had cut for the top cost me about $80.

Time wise, this would have taken me a lot less time than the 4 months it took - but I worked on it as I could and when I could, by myself. I got some friends to help me bring it upstairs and put it back together, but it was mostly done when I could fit in some time.

My son LOVES this and it really does give him so much room!!! Thanks Ana - I really appreciate it!

This is not my first build, as I built some tables for my shop using various plans.

Anyway, here it is, the hall tree! I changed up the trim a bit. So much of me went into this, and a couple of times I pulled out the crowbar and started over on the moulding and on the cross supports on the top because I was a bit of a perfectionist... something I need to learn to control with this new found hobby.

Let me know what you think! Already the picture have about 50 likes on my facebook and people want me to build them one! I think I'll just send them the link... !!!

This was our first build from this website and we are so pleased! Having seen very involved plans on an Australian website for a similar sandpit, I was so pleased to come across this version, with its far simpler design!
We wanted a slightly bigger sandpit, so I needed to do some modifications, and while I was enlarging it, I also converted to metric sizes, and designed specifically for the timber I knew I could buy locally (very obscure and inconsistent seeming German sizes). So the end result is a 1.5x1.5m sandpit, that has so far had 6 kids playing happily in it at once!
I've put in the drawings I used, and the cutting list for larger sizes in case anyone else is working in metric, or wants a bigger size!
Our other modification was to offset the shorter sections of the base to run along the front plank of the bench seat - there were two main benefits for this - we need a lot less sand, as there is none wasted under the seat, and the seat is supported and can't bow downwards!
The dimensions and layout we used are in the images.

Supplies

Timber
2 - 200 x 40 x 3000mm
6 - 120 x 24 x 3000mm
1 - 80 x 50 x 3000mm

Hinges
12 - 140mm long (the original design had 8, we went with three per edge to allow for the extra width)

Self tapping decking screws
18 - 5 x 80
48 - 5 x 50
96 - 3 x 20 (or enough for your hinges, depending on the design)

Paint
3 - 375ml PU Acrylic Paint, suitable for exterior use (top planks and seat supports)
1 - 750ml PU Acrylic Paint, suitable for exterior use (base)

Weed matting and staple gun

Sand
I calculated I would need 20 x 25kg bags - in the end we needed 11 - don't ask me where we went so wrong!

Cutting list

2 - 200 x 40 x 1500 (long sides of base)
2 - 200 x 40 x 1415 (short sides of base)

12 - 120 x 24 x 1495 (top slats - just under half a plank, to allow for waste)

4 - 80 x 50 x 245 (armrests / seat braces)
4 - 80 x 50 x 495 (back supports of seats)

I gladly paid 5 Euro for the wood to be cut in Hornbach - it should have been more than this, but the guy was generous!

12 hinges (the original design had 8, we went with three per edge to allow for the extra width)

On Sunday we had the idea, on Monday I drew up the plans, on Tuesday I went shopping! Once all our wood was home safely, we sanded it down - most edges weren't badly finished, but there were a few splinters that needed getting rid of!
The next two nights Mr W gallantly set to work with the paint brush. After two nights, the wood all had two good coats of paint and we were ready to start assembling on Friday.
I pre-drilled the base of the bench before the second coat of paint - three holes for each butt joint - with some careful measuring this made screwing the base together really easy!
The top planks were also pre drilled, but there unfortunately my tiredness made me make mistakes, and some had to be re-drilled! Spacing the planks out took a lot of time, but I am glad I made the effort. I used cereal box, and experimented with different numbers of layers - I knew I wanted a theoretical 5.4mm gap, but it took some time to get the right number of layers of carefully creased and concertinaed card!

Having got our spacing wedge sorted, we screwed the blue planks in place at either end of the base. We then assembled the green seat section, and the blue/yellow back rest. Following a tip from the comments section, we added the hinge to the seat/back combo first, as this ends up being on the underside. Once those two hinged sections were made, they were then laid in place on the base (card wedge spacers in place) and then the final hinges added. The final assembly took about 5 hours - but this was partly because we started outside, then had to move everything inside when a huge thunderstorm rolled in!

The next morning we got busy with the staple gun and tacked weed matting over the base, then it was hauled in to position and filled up! For us getting this done and dusted was important, otherwise it could have dragged on a lot, but we are terribly proud that it was done in less than a week from being fist conceived!
I hope the metric/enlarged plans are of use to someone else too. One other idea we had, which we didn't get round to building in, was a support bar to be fitted when you close the pit, so the kids can play on top as a stage when it is not being used for a sandpit!

I wanted a table with storage, I added a couple extra "shelves" This was the easiest design to do this with. Just be sure to add from the top shelf to the bottom if you are using a Kreg Jig. You might want to pre-paint also . My shelves are 5 inches apart to fit perfectly my little flat style containers for art stuff and playdough.

Play Deck and Swing

I originally built this for a small closet in an old home.  When I moved, I took it with me and was able to rearrange it to fit in a traditional closet.  The center section is a modification of a toy storage plan that I use to store folded clothes.

I desperately needed storage in our 1910 house that was not in the basement.  I wanted a place to keep my sewing machine and accessories, at-home school supplies, and other odds and ends.  We had an alcove in the kitchen that was about 74 inches wide and 17 inches deep, so I decided to build something to fit that space.  I really liked the Simplest Armoire plan but I also really liked the Kentwood Bookshelf, so I ended up somewhat combining the two.  Since I had a fairly large space, I made the cabinet about 6 ft X 6 ft.  The hardest part was getting it into the house.  This project was my first big DIY building project without my dad's help.  I did call him a few times during the project however, and he helped me hang the doors.  I really enjoyed using the Kreg Jig and I appreciated having all of the Kreg Jig instructions for the Kentwood Bookshelf.  It was a huge help, as I had only used the Kreg Jig a little and with my dad in the past.  My husband has been a great support as I have ventured into building furniture.  He works from home, but any time that I needed him to help hold a large sheet of plywood he was quick to help.  This was definitely a big project for a beginner, but I enjoy a challenge when it comes to fixing things and creating things. Fortunately, this one worked out in the end!  Now what should I build next summer...

I modified the origianl plans by making the cabinet taller.  I also built 2 cabinets and trimmed them both together to make it appear as if it is 1 giant cabient.  It measure over 7 feet tall and just over 6 feet wide.  I did add an additional 1x2 brace in the center of the cabinet to help support.  I also cut an additional 1x4 to use a brace when anchoring it to the wall.  I also chose to add an additional 2 trim pieces to each door because they are much taller than the original plan doors.  

After watching Ana White's video on easy garage shelving on FB, I knew right away it was the perfect technique for adding shelves to my laundry room.  The project was easy and turned out great!  I did the majority of the work by myself, although my Hubby did help me with some heavy lifting at the end (we had to add the shelving before the front frame due to the walls on either side). The shelving unit itself took only a few hours to build.  I painted it the following day making it a weekend project. We have considered adding trim to the front to give it a more finished look, but right now, it is serving its purpose. I will definitely use Ana's technique again.  It was simple and straightforward!  I loved it. 

I'm so happy that I found the plans for Ana's miter stand and rolling carts!  It was just what I needed for my garage shop... so everything can be organized and stored compactly but things can pull open and expand when I have a project (which is all the time, actually).

The actual miter stand was super easy to build - the carts took a few days working non-stop (when the kids permitted).

I made a few obvious changes from the plans:

-made deeper shelves on one of the carts

-added drawers on one of the carts

-added ped board on the end caps of miter stand

Something I didn't consider before building this was the slope of our garage floor.  There's a 3" difference from one end of the legs to the other so I had to use riser blocks to get everything perfectly level.  Unfortunately there's no way to level the carts as they aren't stationary but they slide in/out just fine.

I'd recommend this build to everyone!  Check Home Depot clearance often for deals on plywood!

I have built some other stuff before, but not with paint and sanding and such. It was definitely a great learning project. There are imperfections, but it's a toy, so kids will be having fun and that is all that matters.

I built a wooden toy truck using a leftover 1x4 board in my garage.  For this build I used Ana White's plans for the wood wheelie cars.  This was a quick and easy project  and my first project using my scroll saw. Not too shabby for my first go at toy making.  However, I am not happy with the finished toy.  If I did it all over again, I would take my time with the finish.  Also, the driver was not perpendicular to the truck's body when I created the holes for the axles, so the truck leans slightly. My son does not seem to notice its flaws, so I will try to overlook them as well!  Check out the blog link for more project details!