Community Brag Posts

barnwood frame - poster size

Submitted by kari on Sat, 04/28/2012 - 09:48

Our family loves Doctor Who, and I had given my son 2 posters as gifts. Apparantly keeping them rolled up in the tube would not do, so I tackled a frame.

One of things that I did to make the frame more difficult to build was to use the table saw to cut the angles. I did use the angle guide on the wood pusher, but the pieces were too long to lean against the fence. So, I was aiming the sawblade at my mark. The angle was good, but it was difficult to get the 2 pieces exactly the same length. Next time I will cut the 2 pieces at the same time so they match. I think a miter saw would be the saw of choice here.

Also, I wanted to use glass. To inset the glass on the back I had to learn to use the router. That added a bit of time to the project. But me and my router are friends now, so the next one should go quicker. I cut a 1/4 groove on the inside edge on the back where I could add the glass. I used glazing points, sold by the glass at the depot, to hold the glass in the frame.

Estimated Cost
$18 (includes glass)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Krylon satin black spray paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Wall Bookshelf

Our second project for our son's room makeover. I love that I can build this for $15 compared to a certain website where they want $89 for MDF. This was also the second project where I used Rustoleum Wood Stain, loving how easy it is and how quickly it gives a great color to pine.

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Wood Stain in American Walnut, Rustoleum Satin Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Smith Media Console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/31/2019 - 09:08

We recently moved into a new home and needed extra space to store some of our "stuff". I've built several of Anna White's designs and looked here to find one that would suit us.  This plan was relatively simple to follow.  I did alter the plans a bit to fit our needs (mainly making the center console piece wider and the sides a bit thinner). The crown molding was by far the hardest thing for me to master.  

Estimated Cost
Around $300-400.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Twin Raised Planter Boxes

Submitted by dave92082 on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 18:46

This is a build of the Raised Planter Box design by Tracy. While it is a fairly simple plan, I would still call it intermediate. One thing to note is that the bottom Cross Supports are listed in her plan as 46" when they need to be 47 1/2 to match the side panels. You can see in the picture above, I laid the incorrectly cut piece on top of the correct one that is screwed in.

Estimated Cost
Around $50 each ( a little less not counting hardware)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Going to prime and paint soon.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

tracysmith

Sun, 04/29/2012 - 20:34

Thanks Dave for posting the pictures.. I see what you did differently from my plans and I think the way you did it was MUCH better. Congrats on the build, they look great!!! I'm going to rearrange my plans to make the changes and post the correct measurements to reflect that.

Rustic X Console

Submitted by TLinskey on Sat, 02/15/2014 - 12:51

Rustic X Console....... I have made this table four times and love it!!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
80
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Special Walnut, Weathered Oak, Ragged White and Hellsman Spa Urtheane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/12/2016 - 21:07

I lile the modern lines of this bench and it is easy to build. The longest part is waiting for the glue to cure.

Clair

woodpaintcreate.com

Estimated Cost
$25
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Waiting to decide
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/17/2020 - 17:44

I'm a 17 year old just getting into woodworking. I built this for my mom, it was my first big project. She loved it, thanks for the plans and I'll definitely be using more plans to build other things!

Estimated Cost
$25
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Carbon Gray stain.
White Chalk paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Turning a Chest into a Console Table

Submitted by lbrown on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 19:47

I love the little tansu chest that I bought for my apartment while I was living in Japan, but at only 14" high it has been hard to incorporate into my home in the U.S. without it looking like a piece of doll furniture.

To solve my problem I decided to try to turn it into a console table. I wasn't able to find wood with the fine grain to match the chest for legs so I decided to match the black metal pulls instead.

While I was trying to figure out what to do I remembered seeing the DIY Industrial Cart here that used pipes between the shelves which inspired me to use pipes for the legs.

For details, check out my blog: http://www.homeandawaywithlisa.com/blog/2012/4/30/turning-a-chest-into-…

Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Book Nook For The Girls!

Submitted by strotter13 on Sun, 02/16/2014 - 21:48

My wife and I wanted to turn our upstairs hallway/vacant little area into a book nook for our girls. My wife found some shelves that she wanted me to copy, so I did, but I added some custom routing to them. I had an area where I wanted to build an L shaped bench for the girls to hang out and read on. I had some old chair legs lying around, that I decided to recycle and use for the bench. I knew it would be a lot of work to sand them down and restain them, and my wife LOVES everything painted white (I don't get it) so I painted them white. At that point I had an idea to use some maple hardwood plywood for the bench seat, but I wanted it to be trimmed/outlined in white. I ran some pine furring through my joiner/planer and then I did some custom routing to it. I finish sanded the pine trim pieces and then painted them white as well. The maple plywood got a lite scuffing with 220 then stained and clear coated with some water based oil modified minwax semigloss poly. After I finished building the nook, there was some concern of the girls climbing up over the top of the bench and falling from the second story. I then custom routed some kiln dried pine, and planed some 2x2 furring, until it was square. The 2x2 was painted white and the kiln dried pine was stained and cleared, then I installed the safety rail. If anyone wants a build plan, I can write a step by step on how to build this or something similar to it.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre Stain - 1 coat with foam brush
Minwax Special Walnut Stain - 1 dripping wet coat with foam brush, then whipe off puddled stain after 15 minutes.
Minwax Water Based Oil Modified Semi Gloss Polyurethane- 3 coats with a light sanding using 220 grit after coat number 1 and 2. Wait two hours after coating before you sand.
White Paint (I just purchased some that matches my base board paint)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Thanks Ana!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/16/2016 - 11:10

I needed some storage area for the guest bath, and this was perfect! Always an easy build when using Ana's plans!

Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Early American w/ 2 coats clear brushed laquer
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Shoe Basket Tower

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/15/2023 - 18:47

Our shoes have always been a very messy area that we couldn't keep clean with not much of an entry area. I saw your laundry basket tower and thought it might work for our shoes. We're very happy with how it's helping to keep us organized!

Crystal

Benchwright Console Table

So now that everyone at work found out that I could build furniture I started getting special request. I modified the top of the benchwright table that way my co-worker can use this table to hold their 30 gallon fish tank. This was a pretty easy build once I found a place without warped wood.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
40.00
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Light Walnut and Valspar Flat Black. Two coats of Poly on the paint and three coats on the stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

CLubhouse/Treehouse Bed

I took the Ana White plans for this bed and modified them just slightly. I decided to cover up the top opening on the front, and add some plywood "trees" so that the ned looks like it is being suspended by the trees. I used whitewood from Lowe's, a compound miter saw, the AWESOME Kreg Jig, and a drill. The whole thing took about three days to construct and about two days to paint 2 coats. If you see from the pictures that the side pieces of 1x4 trim are missing, you are right. When I measured the 34" instead of the 34 1/4" it was too short for the sides and wouldn't match up with the front trim. Even if I used the 34', there was a gap so I left it off. I added a fourth step and I also put grip tape on the stairs because my homeboy like to sleep in socks and I didn't want him to slip coming down.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Classy Farmhouse Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 05/20/2016 - 11:23

This was my first table, so there were a few hiccups, but I was pretty content with it.

I recently made the bench that you see in the picture as well. I made it to match the table, so I pretended I was making a mini table. Used plywood for the top, padding, and wrapped it with fabric. I was trying to match the charis as much as possible. Finished it by making the buttons and tufting it.

Estimated Cost
About $120
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Weathered Oak and sealed with a satin clear coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Full Loft Cottage Bed with stairs and shutters

Submitted by dannymd22 on Sun, 02/23/2020 - 10:11

My wife started off looking for a commercially available bed for my daughter (age 4 when I started), but after not finding a style and size that she wanted (e.g., at Pottery Barn Kids), she convinced me to design and build one. This was the biggest projected I've ever undertaken, so I looked for inspiration on a number of websites including ana-white.com. 

The Sweet Pea Bunk Bed served as major inspiration for this bed, but I also took ideas from many other designs.  However, I made a few changes:

  • I designed it as a single full-size bed with play-area underneath
  • Designed to be cottage-like
  • To get it into the room when complete and if it ever needed to be moved, I designed as 6 separate pieces: the 4 walls, the roof, and the stairs
  • All of the main pieces are held together by 6 bed bolts at each corner
  • I added some cabinets and drawers with raised-panels. these came out nice, but added a lot of time!

In all, it took me 9 months to design build. However, much of this is because this is new territory for me, I'm a bit OCD, and I could only dedicate about 4-8 hours per week on it. Plus, we were hit by Hurricane Harvey during this, so things slowed down for a few weeks. I decided to go with hardwood for most of it for durability and paintability, but this could likely easily be done with less expensive pine.

Note: I did not build the appliances seen in the images. Those were purchased. 

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
2-3 coats of Semi-gloss Sherwin Williams Paint Latex pain for bed. Shingles are 3 coats of Miniwax water-based poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Comments

Puzzle Bookshelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/16/2023 - 09:51

Modern Puzzle Bookcase

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Sawhorse Bench

Submitted by jtsmith2 on Sun, 02/23/2014 - 18:11

So this was a bit harder than I imagined it would have been given it was my first time to try a plan from the site! The hardest thing was getting the middle beams cut correctly.

I shortened the length of the bench to 56" to fit our space and so that changed all of the angles (well, the angles on the center beam). The Kreg Jig is a must here and really helped.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
50
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Dark Walnut on the top, black spray paint on the bottom.
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced
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