Community Brag Posts

I have completed a few projects but this is my favorite so far. I love it!!

Tons of fun to build!  I wanted a firmer base so I used 4x4s instead of 2x4s. I also tried a new staining method for me. I laid down a light coat of special walnut. Once that was dry, I rubbed on a somewhat thicker coat of classic grey. It kind of has a marbled effect now! I also stained the letter "C" for my friends last name using a black Walnut color. I think she turned out alright! 

I moved into a new house and needed a new chicken coop. I am retired and not a woodworker but these plans were easy to build. Thanks Ana.

My husband and I built this together. Well, I helped! It was my first time using power tools. I'm the one who designs and picks out themes/colors and he does the manual labor but I wanted to learn a few things this time.
We modified the Shirley Console table and combined a few features from some of the other console tables. As you can see we modified the front of the drawers. We wanted the table to match our decor but also wanted some of the wood to show. I said, "I wish they made gray stain!" Miniwax does! This was our first experience. It was challenging because it dries so quickly and you are threatened with an uneven look but we love the way it turned out. We also bought pine instead of plywood so i cost a bit more but it was worth it! It also took us a bit longer because this was our first project and we modified the measurements to fit our entryway.
I chose these drawer pulls to match my gray and white damask curtains that hang nearby. I purchased them in brushed nickel from Home Depot for ~$3 each and spray painted them white. When I told people what I was doing I got negative feedback but I think they turned out great! Now to decorate it and make a matching entertainment center!
Also the Kreg Jig was a HUGE help...it really makes the piece look professionally made!! Thanks ana-white.com!!

2x4ncoffee table 

This is the first project I tried, and it really took a whole lot longer than it should have. I started it without all the tools I really needed to do it the way that I wanted to, so it sat upstairs with no trim on it being used for probably 2-3 months. I managed to pick up a sander, and then I finally saw a sale at Lowe's for a finish nailer and air compressor combo that was too good to pass up, and was ready to put the trim on it. Then when I finally had everything, I was able to finish it in about a week, between the sanding and the sanding and the sanding.. and then the sanding! The stain and finish took a few days too. I definitely learned a lot from this project, definitely check for square to cut down on sanding time to make things line up, and go easy on the wood glue. Trying to sand it off of the exposed parts of the wood are a real pain. Then a big thing I learned the hard way was to be careful with the stainable wood putty, I read that it would be good to use a Qtip to put wood putty in the holes. Sanding all of the excess putty off the wood was a really time consuming process, but I do think that mistake did make for an extra smooth finish, I must have spent an entire day sanding all the excess wood putty off that was dried on from my original mistakes. All in all it was a great learning experience, and I really did have a lot of fun with this one. Can't wait to start my next project, thanks a lot Ana! You really are an inspiration to those of us who are still learning, and I can't wait to explore my new hobby a little further in the future and see where I can go with it.

I been wanting to make this for a long time and today I just went out to my work shop and did it. It was fun to make. I didnt have any 1x6s so I used 9 1x4 and 1/8" spacing it worked and looks amazing!

These lounge chairs were made from 100% redwood.  The cushions were from Pottery Barn and were about $130 each.  

I went off Ana's plans but also had inspiration from other sources.

We live in an old house with lots of windows in the kitchen but not much storage space. Having previously tackled a kitchen island with the help of ana-white.com, I knew that the Under Sink Kitchen Organizer Shelf would be a much simpler project. We already had the tools and screws, so I picked up a couple of 3-foot 1x8s for about $7. The organizer is 20 inches high, 15 inches wide, and 7-1/4 inches deep. The shelf is only about 6-1/2 inches deep because I used 1x8 for the back, but it works.

I based my bed off of the Fillman Platform Bed plans. Just bumped the dimensions up to fit my mattress and added the mid supports. The frame was built using 2x6 boards taken from a fallen barn. I ripped 2 2x6 boards down the center to make the the supports for the slats. My feet are 3 2x6's screwed together and then attached to the frame. Next time I will cut a notch out of the feet so that I can rest the bed on them and then try to find some old lag bolts to attach them to the bed. The frame was put together using a Kreg Jig. I put the Cedar boards on to dress the front and sides up some and to help keep the slats from showing when the sheets were tucked in. My finish is 1 coat of Linseed Oil and 2 coats of Teak Oil.

Let me know if you have any further questions on this build. As soon as I find some doors I will be building a head board for this bed.

I needed a console table for an area by our front door. The plan as written was too long, so I adjusted the length to 42". I also needed it to hold books and files, so I adjusted the shelf heights, changing the overall height to 32".

We used the wonderful Fancy X Farmhouse table plan with modifications. We needed the table to be shorter for our space, so we shortened it by 12" - this brought the angled pieces closer - we chose to do this instead of altering the angles. Also, we used 4 X 4 posts for the double 2 X 4's and also the cross pieces and angled pieces. I posted two blog posts about the process with lots of pictures, including how we rounded the ends per the plan. The finish is a equal mix of dark walnut and classic grey, finished with Trewax.

Great plan - we are so pleased with the results, and the price tag!!

I came across some old 4x4s left over at my job so I decided to do something with them. I was in desperate need of an outdoor table. I found the plans for this table, grabbed the 4x4s I needed and went to work. The 4x4s where in really rough shape. It took me about 7 hours to sand them down to bare wood. In a way I was ok with how old they where because I didn't have to wait to stain them. One thing I would do if I could do it over again is stain, paint and protect the wood before I assembled the table. I had a hard time protecting the table top cracks. Down the road I may epoxy resin the top. I also have the wood ready for the matching 4x4 truss benches, so those are soon to come.