Community Brag Posts

We wanted a shallow table behind our sofa where we could charge our phones and laptops while relaxing in the evening. I used three 1” X 6” pieces of cherry, connected with pocket holes, and put a small gusset in the corners. With a couple of power strips inserted in the top and plenty of polyurethane, that was it!

His Hands

Used the sturdy work bench plans for the base. The base is 60" x 20". The top is 6'x2'. I wanted 2" overhang all around to accomodate clamping. I used 3/4" oak plywood for the benchtop. It's stacked as follows, oak plywood, 3/4" mdf x 2, oak plywood for a massive 3" thick top. I used pocket holes to join the legs and on a few of the other joints including to attach the top. The benchtop layers are screwed together with 2.5" wood screws with countersinks for the heads. I would have put a full shelf in but that's the piece of wood I had so I used it. I bought the 7" undermount woodworkers vise online for around $70. It's mounted with 2.5" lag screws and washers. I did not use exact 2x4's for the base, I used the standard 2x4's (which are actually 1.5" by 3.5"). The bench is pretty sturdy as is but with the massive top/vise and not using standard 2x4's it is not as solid as I would like. It's fine for now but eventually I going to install some threaded rods through the legs length and width to pull it together rock solid. I put some tung oil on the top and later i'll put some wax paste over that. I'm going to seal the edges with shellac or maybe just leave as is. Eventually put some bench dog holes in the top for my vise. I did this all with a cordless drill/bits, kreg jig, circular saw with homemade fence, rulers, squares, random orbit sander etc. Took about two weeks time, working mostly on weekends. The bench alone is around $130, all bought from a "big box" store. Be ready to spend more $$ on tools if you don't have them. This is my 2nd project.

I put an ad in a local classifieds for free wood. Got some heavy oak beams I had local carpenter saw to make the leg posts. The top boards are construction scaffolding boards. All will be sanded and stained some more, top boards sanded and varnished, bottom boards and posts stained and some holes filled w epoxy and it is good to go.
This was a really fun project. We stood on top of the boards to make them bend down when screwing them in from the top as well as bottom, as the middle board is cracked and bent. I love the table as it is now but it will look even better when the boards are even more worn and grey from the elements. Thank you Ana White!!!!!!!! we can't wait for a book of yours' to come out for a European audience, as we Europeans have a hell of a hard time to convert the measurements! This means we improvise a lot. The tables in your book help, but the local wood we buy in many different countries and stores.. have different measurements!!!!

This was my first ever DIY project as I wouldnt consider myself a handy man, but I had alot of fun making this table and bench. I modified the design as I wasn't confident in making the necessary cuts for the X but I added a long support underneath the table top so that the top wouldn't sag (hopefully!).  Since completing the table, I've grown more comfortable with my carpentry "skills" and all I want to do on the weekends is build things! I'm sure I'm driving my wife insane!

It took me a lot longer as I had a couple weekends where I could only work on the table and bench for an hour or two but you can definitely do it in a weekend.

Thanks Ana! 

This bar is constructed from blue true dimensional 2x and 4x blue pine. The top of the bar was put together with biscuits. Bottom portion was joined with lag screws. Stained with mini wax.

I found your plans for the child storage chair while searching for chair designs to build a student desk for a customer. With the addition of the table to the chair it works well. The wood is from a local sawmill where I work so I can cut it to my specifications right from the log. The wood is Curupay or Bolivian Rose Wood and changes color from brown to red from the sun light. The finish is shellac and varnish. While taking the first one to the customer another person ask for 2 so it looks like I may be making chairs for a while.....

 I followed the plans to build the counch.  My wife liked it so much she requested the love seat and chairs.  The chair plans were not up on the site yet.  That said, the plans were so easy to follow, I was able to adjust the loveseat plans to make the chairs with ease. Thank you very much!  

We used Ana’s Farmhouse queen bed plans to build a replacement for our master suite. We did change a few things such as instead of construction grade lumber I used red and white oak and went with dowels and tenons rather than pocket hole screws. I also lowered the height significantly due to us having a really thing mattress with pillow tops. The result has been wel received by 'management' as well as her friends. Thank You Ana!

Rustic X Console, built as directed. After building we sanded the whole thing pretty well, and did one coat of walnut stain. After the stain dried, I went back and painted over with a bright beachy blue, and while the paint was still wet, wiped it with rags. You have to work in small sections so the paint doesn't dry too quickly. I also went over some areas (where the paint was too thick and on the shelves) with a wet rag, then back over with a dry one. Two coats of satin polyurethane (spray) on top and all done! I want to get rid of the lamp and do 3 different sizes of white lanterns instead!

Second project. I built this bench for my front porch. This was a practice project to get comfortable with pocket screws before I attempt a large table for my back patio.

I used leftover plywood (1/4 inch) instead, but would only recommend it, if you plan to paint the cradle (due to splintering when you make your cuts). I also used my nail gun instead of screws, which worked fine since the wood is a lot thinner and lighter. The cradle is very sturdy and my 4-year-old loves it. Thanks for the awesome plans!!

Under staircase unused space now a puppy palace!

We had pool toys and nerf guns all over our porch! I decided to build a locker system for all of it! I already had the bench, so I modified the plans a bit to fit around it. I also added extra hooks for wet towels and goggles to be hung up to dry. Some of the hooks are large bolts that we had laying around the tool shed. They actually hold wet towels in place better than store bought hooks ;)

This was my first project. It was really easy to execute. I thought that I would have a hard time with the strips, but it was not what I imagined at all. It turned out very well.

I made this couch and chairs using Anna's instructions. I think they turned out nice.

Just finished these for my 3 yr old twins, and they love them! Took me about 5-6 hours of work, including painting/drying time. I definitely recommend spray painting the parts before assembling to get all edges sealed.