Community Brag Posts

I've been wanting to build this swing for a year now, and finally it's completed.  I LOVE it!  The modern design is perfect for our front porch as our home is more of a contemporary style.  It was the first project I've done using the Kreg Jig Kit, which is AWE-SOME!    

I modified the plan a bit:  I made the swing 52" long, and used 1x4's for the back support instead of 2x4's.  I also upgraded the top and back 1x4's and 1x6's to poplar wood so the grain would be finer.  The plan was simple to build.  Thank you for your blog and providing plans!  There are other things on your site that I look forward to making.

Built this for my wife from warehouse floors from the Mare Island Naval Station. 150 plus year old planks. Doug Fir.  Hope it will become a family heirloom!

A collection of different sized perfect end tables for my mother.

I built this bench for my niece on her birthday. It as easy and fun to build. My niece and everybody at the party loved it.

We wanted a bench for our daughter for our front porch, both for sitting and for storage of her rain boots, outdoor toys, etc. I'm definitely a beginner woodworker so I wanted something easy I could tackle in a couple of days with only basic tools, so I chose the Kids' Country Bench project. I liked the version posted here by a user named Jenny Anne, who modified the bench to make three cubbies rather than two on the bottom shelf, so I did the same thing.

It was easy, and the bench turned out great! I used no power tools except for a cordless drill to do the 40+ pilot holes & woodscrews. I don't own a jigsaw and I want to learn hand tools anyway, so I used a coping saw (a kind of miniature hacksaw) to do the curved cuts on the trim & the legs, and used heavy-grit sandpaper to smooth out the wobbles (there were a lot of wobbles).

For the rest of the cuts I used a Japanese-style pull saw (a cheap one from Ace Hardware). Cutting all the boards to length with a handsaw was probably the hardest part, and I had a tough time truing the edges. Next time I would probably use a miter box and miter saw to get perfect 90-degree angles, but I got better as I went along, and was able to finish the edges pretty well with a wood file and sandpaper.

I wanted to stain it a deep red color, but my better half insisted on a clear stain, so I used clear Polycrylic, four coats on the top & outsides, and three coats on the inner & undersides.

The bench feels pretty sturdy and is definitely strong enough to take my 3-year-old's weight. The trim on the front and back acts as a brace, so it's got some structural integrity. I don't know that I would trust it to hold an adult's full weight for very long -- I probably won't be dancing on it or using it as a stepstool or anything, but for a kid's bench it's solid and level.

The whole build probably took me four sessions in my "workshop" (i.e. my basement), at probably 2-3 hours per session. With woodworking it's definitely true that you learn by doing -- I gained confidence as I went along and am excited to try some more advanced projects!

I made this all by myself, using a borrowed R3 kreg jig. It took me about four days, working several hours a day, in between babysitting sessions when the grandparents had my kids. I'm proud of how it turned out. I planned to put a back and solid sides on it because I need it to function as a bookshelf for the kids' books, but I couldn't figure out how to attach my panels and in the end I liked the airyness of the X sides. 

sand box with seats

This is a queen size mantel bed with storage as cubbies only (also Ana White).  The paint is Eider White from SW (white with grey undertones, no yellow) and water-based poly since I really didn't want any yellow in in.  

First project decided to do two of them one for a boy and one for a girl. I built and my wife painted. she already has plans for the next project.

Coffee table stained in Jacobean, and finished with Minwax satin Poly.

Bar height table witb 4 chairs and 2 benches. My mom wanted a new table big eight to sit 6 to 8 people, I think it can fit 10 though!