Community Brag Posts

Lots of fun building all of this - very easy to do as well. Built a coffee table, 2 end tables, 2 console tables, and the book case. I changed a couple things up like doing 1x4 instead of 2x6 for the tops, and used the advice on aging/oxidizing the boards as well.

I tripped over some boards in my attic a few times before I realized how perfect they would be for my island! I planed, biscuited, poly'ed the boards and, along with a few other modifications, tada!! My new island! Love it. Now I just gotta get over the "new car smell" long enough to actually use it!

My daughter asked if we could build this together for her new apartment. We had fun putting it together over a month or so. I was easily able to duplicate the plans, even with my limited woodworking experience. I think it came out rather well. It was a lot of fun! We mounted it to the wall with a 1x4 board installed between the fireplace uprights and flush with the back edge of the mantle. I built a mounting bracket by overlapping two 1 inch thick, wide boards 50% and nailing them together. The width of the bracket boards were about 4 inches shorter than the mounting board on the fireplace to allow horizontal adjustment. I screwed the bracket to the wall. The bracket forms a pocket. The fireplace is lifted up and over the bracket so the fireplace mounting board slides into the pocket between the wall and the upper bracket board. I screwed the bracket a bit lower on the wall so the weight of the fireplace is supported by its legs. The bracket just keeps the fireplace snug against the wall. It worked great. Just be sure to screw the bracket into studs. I also removed the base board trim from the wall and cut it to fit around the fireplace. I also cleaned up an old fireplace log grate I had with a wire brush and flat black Rustoleum. I used a scrap piece of board painted flat black to put on the grate as a shelf for candles.

I changed the plans just a little and instead of using the 1x12's on the bottom I used some left over 2x6 scraps. I had to use the table saw to rip one board to fit. I personally think it gives it a better look. also the top of the table I added to butt boards to match  the rest of the furniture in the house.

Thanks for being there, love your designs

Bench for Grandma!

This is my first build and I learned a lot along the way. I have to say I am very happy I used my scrap before I cut into my "real" wood. Definitely helped with the nerves!~~Sorry for the sideways photos can't seem to get them to straighten out~~

This was a fun project for my husband and I! My 4 year old absolutely loves her bed. We have plans to add a curtain to the bottom to let her open and close it for her reading nook (or as curtains for her "stage")! :) 

Started with a reclaimed old barn door and framed it with Ambrosia Maple, see atop the base of the Fancy X Farmhouse Table base.

Full size bed frame.  Made from 4 by 4 posts.  ! by 4 and 1 by 6 boards for footboard and headboard.

Side rails from 1 by 8.

This cabinet was inspired by an Ana White project. My wife wanted more storage in our new home, and we had a sofa table at this location. But it was just a top, no shelves. I custom fit it to be flush with the window sills at the top and ends so it takes on a bit of a built in appearance. The top and bottom are oak faced plywood, all edges covered with iron on oak facing. As I was short of the expensive plywood, the ends, shelves and kick are doug fir plywood with a light oak stain; while not a perfect match gave a pleasing result that guests have not caught. The doors are 1/2" MDF, with a 2" solid oak end glued on where I routed the slots to open them. Slots are 1/4" +, 3/8" apart, and the top and bottoms of the doors routed to leave a 1/4" rail. The bottoms of the bottom slide slots have a slick poly tape in them, which really helps the doors to slide easily.

Sides and interior are brush finished with 3 coats of semi-gloss polyurethane, while the top has 5 coats. The MDF on the doors has one sprayed coat of white primer (oil based to avoid bringing up the MDF) with a final sprayed coat of mat finish enamel. I need to do one more step, light sand with 320 grit and paste wax the top to get that really fine finish.

While not as easy as Ana makes it look, it turned out pretty well. That hard part on a piece this size is getting all the pieces cut precisely, and I mean with less than 1/32nd difference, to provide a good fit. As it was I had to custom cut the oak opening ends on the doors to account for the small differences in widths at the top and bottom to obtain a nice fit against the sides. Next time I'll triple check all finish dimensions to make those small adjustments in parts before assembly, then triple check again for placement during assembly.

While I'll always see the small "errors", my wife is very pleased with the finished cabinet.

I actually used Ana's "Grace's kitchen" plans and modified them to make a single unit kitchen that was smaller to fit my space, after I was done this new project plan was posted! My kids love this kitchen and I love it's smaller size. I used all plywood scraps to make it, so the cost was minimal.

First project for me. Easy to do even with limited tools. Now I realize I need more tools to do bigger and better. It was a nice stress relief to go to garage and build something. My wife wanted something so it made sense to do this.

Built this

 Ana, you're the BEST!! Thank you so much for sharing these plans. This was a very simple build ... my problem was trying to decide how to paint and decorate it. There's a lady in our little town that cut out the letters for me. I think it turned out so cute. I'm working on a Christmas collection for our church auction next April and thought it would be fun to have Christmas in April :-). Thanks again Ana!!!

I modified the Salsa console table plans a little for my version. Assembly is pretty much the same, just added more detail like making 5 piece doors and draw fronts, adding back brackets to allow for cedar paneling behind the doors and recessed the middle walls so the doors close on them instead of inside the opening. The center will remain open for now.

the whole table and parts are poplar, minus the drawer bottoms which are beech ply. Because its made out of poplar, it jacked the price quite a bit. However, i wouldn't consider using anything less then select pine to make this table which is only slightly less that poplar. The #2 pine is total crap and not suitable to build a piece of furniture out of. Anyway, I've got about $300-$350 in building supplies (wood, screws/plugs, finish), and about $80 in hardware (hidden euro hinges and bearing drawer slides).

Hope you like it, as i am quite proud of it!

One other thing, if you plan on building this table, double check the material & cut lists. I found discrepancies.