Community Brag Posts

My wife wanted a table to seat 12 and she liked the looks of the 4x4 Truss Beam Table from Ana White.

So we modified the plans, our table is 54 inches wide (not 37) and 98 inches long (instead of 87). The legs are 4x6 not 4x4. The lower center beam is 4x6. The plans call for 2x4 aprons ending at the legs, we used 4x4 aprons and extended them beyond the legs to within 3 inches of the end of the table. Finally, we laid the tabletop across the table with a combination of 2x8, 2x10, and 2x12 boards.
We built this all with cedar. The cost is a little over $1,100 for materials.

We were in desperate need of a lego storage solution for our son's small bedroom. I made this for his 7th birthday. I saw a photo of a similar one as a result of a google or pinterest search and decided to draw up some plans.
I recessed the top slightly so that pieces won't fall off. I just glued thin cleats to the inside of the box to hold the lid, (using spacers to get it at the height I wanted) Ideally the top would be reversible however I didn't quite get one of the dividers square so it only fits one way. I used Posca water-based markers to do the text. Make sure you wait until the text is really dry before you try to seal it (don't ask me how I know that...) Turns out that the markers don't react well with the brush on poly so I just left the text unsealed.
I was just going to have one handle on the front but then I made a stupid mistake and wrote the text so it would be upside down when pulled out (I know, dumb right!) So I added another handle on the other side. I used a water-based enamel for the whole box. Not sure if that was worth it of if I should have just used flat and given it a top coat of poly. I used a brush on the inside corners and found it really hard to get an even finish because I rolled the flat surfaces. Painting the pieces before assembly would probably fix this.
Added some castors so it can be pushed under the bed.

My wife and I really love the farmhouse look and feel. We saw one of these tables at a furniture store for $2000 with no chairs. I had already bought the Kreg Tool, something that I cannot believe I have done without for so long, when I went to build some $10 Shelves that Ana has on her site. My wife asked me how hard it would be to build the table and I told her I have never done anything like it. I also told her if she didn't like the end project, we could use it as a picnic table outside. It was fantastically easy with the plans and Kreg Jig. Thanks to Ana for all the helpful tips!

Now to the build. We decided that the table needed to be a bit wider and longer for our needs, so I adjusted the plans. It came out to 90"x48". The center board is a 2x12 with the other 4 being 2x10s. The end pieces are 2x8s that I had from building garden boxes. The benches that I also built were from scrap lumber, they are not pictured here as they need one more coat of stain and then three coats of polycrylic. They are 52" long and go on the ends where the kids can use the cross beam as a foot support.

Building this project was rather quicker than I thought. Of course, borrowing a radial arm saw helped out a bunch with the legs. Once it was all together, I sanded the table three times. I used 80, 150 then 220 grit. The palm sander got a real workout over the space of about a week and a half.

Finishing the project, I decided to follow the plans and went with Minwax Weathered Oak and topped that with Minwax Polycrylic. The legs and underside of the table received 2 coats of each, but the top I gave 3 coats of stain and 2 coats of the Poly with a very light sanding in between each coat.

The table then sat completed in the garage for 3 weeks as I had to find enough help to get it into the house. This is one heavy bugger. If we ever sell the place, it stays! There are ~150 screws and all but 12 of those had pocket holes.

Fantastic build and now I am going to build the farmhouse king size bed. And a murphy bed. And more shelves. And a shoe cubby with coat rack. And a wine rack. And a greenhouse... the list goes on and on...

Well, this crib is STILL unfinished, and the date-stamp says I built it December 5th.... So... Uhh.. I should really get on that!

I had initially built this crib for a friend's daughter's birthday gift, but the baby (8 months old at the time) got REALLY sick, so I wasn't able to finish it in time (don't worry, we got her a Pillow Pet - she got a gift still!). It was just before Christmas, so instead of going out and spending more money that we were tight on, I just bought 3 1x2s and used scraps for the rest of it.

The crib's basically been sitting in the baby's room looking cute until about a month ago. That's when she decided that her stuffed owl (from Build-A-Bear) needed to be put to bed every night before I put HER to bed. It's become such a routine that I have no idea how she'd react if we couldn't put her owl to bed! So I'm scared to try to start filling all the holes and painting in fear that we'd have a mental breakdown if I didn't finish in time for bed! EEK!

As Ana mentioned in her video, this project could be made with scraps. That’s just what I used.  I used a lot of scraps and cut offs for this project.

I needed to make a K cup holder but also space to hold tea in addition to other coffee "toppings" if you well. In the pictures you can see mini creamers.

This modification was made by adding a small drawer in addition to the holes that would hold the K cups. The small drawer was made with 1/2” plywood (even more scraps) ripped just shy of 1-1/2”. I did this to make sure we did not see the plys of the drawer as I planned to add 1/4” plywood to the top all around. I wanted this to make it all uniform with the K cup area. 

I added little rubber feet’s to the bottom as this will be on a granite countertop which could results in slipping and sliding. 

Saw this clever side table on Pinterest. It's made out of 1 1x8x8. I was able to figure out how to build a jig for the table saw to suit the project and then it was easy peasy lemon squeezy from there.

I wanted a window seat that would fit my window. There was no way I could afford to buy anything. Ana's site inspired me to modify her plans to create what I wanted. My husband and I worked on this during the weekends and between my son's nap. The piece is so large that 2 people were needed just to pick up the wood. The finished piece is 8' long, 2' deep and 18" tall. If we ever move, it might have to stay with the house.

First time building furniture. This turned out much better than I thought. After this I probably could've build the farmhouse table myself instead of paying way too much for my wood dining table. Only if I have found Ana's site sooner. :)

Having a Kreg jig also made the whole process much easier.

Built in closet to replace builder grade wire wracking.  Closet is approximately 11 feet by 5 feet.  consists of two shoe racks with 7 shelves each.  6 large drawers and 4 small drawers.  Two hanger sections with storage  above them.  End wall has hanger for longer items and storage above and a cabinet with shelves.

Yet to finish the floor.

Seen a picture somewhere and I liked it . It was on my mind so I made this Nativity Manger, no plans just went for it by memory.