Community Brag Posts

Two projects that I recently built for my wife and my daughter. My wife wanted a tea bar and a beach vibe, my daughter wanted an outdoor couch so it is made out of cedar. They both loved them.

Todd Springer

Here is my Farmhouse Table project! I made this table to fit my growing family.

Using the 4x4 Truss Bench plan (http://ana-white.com/2013/10/plans/4x4-truss-benches), we built this bench using entirely reclaimed lumber. (We had removed an old patio and part of a fence.) We already had all of the lumber, screws, etc. so the only cost to us for this project was the cost of the stain.

We modified the plan slightly, using 2x4s on the ends.

My husband is obsessed with decking screws. Thus the entire bench is held together with 2 1/2 inch decking screws. (Unfortunately, we purchased our Kreg Jig a day following the completion of this project.)

Because the lumber was very old and weathered, there is a lot of character to the wood. There were some incredibly soft spots which made sanding a challenge, and some of the boards were somewhat warped. However, we still really like the way it turned out.

I sanded (and sanded and sanded) using 60 grit, then 80... then 120... then 220. I filled the screw holes with wood filler (and sanded again). I then conditioned the wood with Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner. I used Minwax Early American oil based stain on the entire project. I then went over the top only with Minwax Weathered Oak. After about 36 hours of drying time, I used 2 coats of Minwax Fast-Drying clear semi-gloss polyurethane.

This bench is a beast! I'm sure it weighs over 75 pounds. It is extremely solid, and quite beautiful in our dining room. The plans were easy to follow, and the whole thing went together fairly quickly. (It would have been completed even more quickly had we had our Kreg Jig at the time. Lesson learned.)

This is my king size farmhouse bed with storage. I also changed the height of the footboard to be even with my mattress. 

DIY Farmhouse Bed

I was looking for a nice project with compound angles and found this plan of Ana's, it was easy to build as well as fun and rewarding. I picked the colour as we had just returned from a trip to florida and then up the East coast and found this to be reminiscent of the beach.

 I had heard about Ana on the YoungHouseLove podcast and she inspired me to take on this storage bin! It looks great and my 2 year old son loves it!  I documented the process on my blog at 1thing1week.com where I take on one new challenge each week. 

Loved how easy to follow along the instructions were for my first ever project.

First project with my new (to me) wood shop. Really liked this plan and enjoyed putting it together! It came out great!

My cost was really low on this because I was able to use a lot of wood that I already had. The main cost was paint/stain and poly.

My wife wanted a rock-solid table for her sewing and craft projects, and this Ana White design fit the bill perfectly. We substituted Obsorne's Massive Farm Dining Table Legs to give it a more imposing look and feel.

I ended up spending a fair amount of time on the finish, but I couldn't be happier with the final product.

King size, so I added two 1x3 supports on the back. I love it!

I made a few changes to the original plans for this island. I had to convert all measurements to metric to begin with. I live in Portugal and standard size woods, such as 2x4s are simply not available. I found a lumber yard that had some extremely nice German Oak which was a pleasure to work with. Although, this did add some weight to the finished project. All wood needed to be jointed and planed to ensure straightness. The "X" cross braces are full length. I used my router to remove half the thickness where they intersect so that they interlock with each other.
The granite top was a remnant we brought with us when we moved here and was sized and shaped previously. Instead of using pocket screws to join pieces together I opted for doweling all pieces and did not use screws at all, except when attaching the tracks for the drawer.
Fortunately, the overall plans did not require much alteration to accommodate the granite.
I would have liked larger wheels but these allowed for the island to match the countertop height in our kitchen.

My first project from this site. My 3 year old daughter uses it every day. BTW...she picked out the color and she helped me paint it. gotta love pink?

This was my first project from Ana's site. I wanted something simple and cheap to make, so all in all, this project was very simple.
I think I will paint instead of stain next time though as the quality of the wood I purchased from Home Depot wasn't the best.
Very happy with it though, and I'm planning on making more.

I had been searching for a loft bed for my son for some time but couldn’t find anything affordable until I stumbled across these great plans! I found the instructions to be very easy to follow (though I did spend a lot of time going over them first) and the cut diagrams were great to prevent waste. I also fell in love with hmkeith11 paint job which I copied as well. I used Behr paint in pencil sketch and just a large grout sponge to make the bricks. Super easy and turned out great.

I made a few modifications to the plans. First I made the towers 6ft tall but did not change the height of the mattress platform. I also made the towers one piece and just cut the tops of them to get the “castle look”. I made the towers taller so the rail on the front would be bigger and allow for a more “secure” feeling when sleeping (and to ease my fears of two fearless boys jumping on the bed). I also eliminated the small front piece that connects the slide to the tower. I just made the front door panel longer and attached the slide right to the tower with a few screws. I like the look better and it eliminates a small rail at the top of this small panel giving it clean look (in my opinion). I also added a small door under the stairs since the wall was long enough in my son’s room. Its fun and adds a second exit point. Lastly, I modified the supports for the mattress based on some other brag posts feedback. I rested the support beams on the plywood sides and added a third beam and 2 beams going across tied into the wall studs and the front door panel. I wanted to feel 100% sure my very active kids couldn’t bring this bed down. I also added a piece of plywood on top of the bed supports since we have memory foam mattress, this gave the mattress the correct support it needs.

This was by far the biggest woodworking project I have ever taken on. It took me 2 months of working just weekends for only a few hours a day and some evenings after my kids went to sleep. Perfect size project for me. I’m also a short female, so go for it moms! You can do it!

I had also never cut such large pieces of plywood and didn’t know how to get my cuts straight. I found out how to make a skill saw guide and boom! Problem solved. Just buy a piece of Masonite, rip a 4 inch piece then glue it down on the other piece with the manufacture straight edge pointing in and you got yourself a guide for straight cuts! Here is a link: http://www.provenwoodworking.com/woodworking-saw.html

My son is thrilled with his bed and it was a great challenge to build!