Community Brag Posts

This was a very easy project from scrap wood I had leftover from previous projects. I modified the box a little. I cut slits in the box so the top slides on nicely. I also stained the box and sealed because I love the look of stained wood. I used early American wood stain.

I built this for my four year old son! He even helped me out so that made him love it even more :)

This is actually my third project from your site Ana.

I acctually decided to make this table ten inch wider since my wife has a loooooooot of crafts :)

This project took a little longer then I thought.
It was my own fault!!! I thought I would safe some time and get some of the wood cut buy the clerk at Home Depot. That turned out to be a really bad idea. Most of my cuts were uneven and even after I gave the clerk the exact measurements, a few of the boards were up to 2 inches too long. At the end I had to buy two more boards because I had to cut peaces away to have straight edges.
Lesson learned!!!

I love building wood furniture. And I already got my next plan from your site that I'm going to build.

I decided to build bookshelves on either side of the fireplace, where it was just drywall. I wanted them to be flush with the wall, and the garage is behind the wall. So, I built them into the garage.
I put headers above where the bookshelves would be, and framed the back side in the garage with just 2x4's. I used full sheets of bead board to cover the backs and sides, and tops. Then I bought pre made shelves and put them up using quarter round to support the shelves on all three sides.
I then bought a door frame kit that I liked, that came with fluted pieces for the sides and top with decorative squares to put at the corners. I caulked and painted it all once it was built. I used a circular saw, framing nail gun, compressor, trim nail gun, chop saw and a hammer total. It was a pretty simple project but has made the space much more useable and pretty. My next project is to build a mantle and surround that matches the bookshelves.

LOVED doing this! I am a total beginner so it is not truly perfect but that is what we love about it! My five year old helped me and learned how to work an electric screwdriver. We saw Pottery Barn was broadcasting a table like this and using that the screws showed as a marketing piece - so we have some screws showing and it is soooo warm and inviting. It looks 100 years old. Everyone loves it!! Thank you for the great inspiration. We made ours 6 feet long and 3 feet wide to fit our space and 4x4's for the legs.

This was such a fun build and a wonderful addition to my Christmas collection.

This was my first major woodworking project, and I am so pleased with it! I have been looking for a piece of furniture like this and couldn't find something that I liked and could afford. I spent about $180 in lumber, and also took Ana's advice and invested in a Kreg Jig. I HIGHLY recommend this! It is expensive ($100) but so worth it. I had to learn a few things along the way, and had encountered some obstacles, but in the end I am very pleased with the project. A few things I learned on my first project:

1. Exact cuts are SO important. Every 1/8" matters. It was helpful to do as many cuts as possible at the lumber store.

2. Ana mentions this in her beginners section, but it bears repeating: wood glue will repel stain. Be sure to wipe away ALL residue of wood glue before staining, and be sure to give extra sanding attention to areas that had wood glue. Otherwise you will have a white spot in the midst of your stain.

3. On this plan in particular there is one change that I recommend. Do not add the wrap around trip on the top and bottom until AFTER you have put the plywood backing on in the last step. The reason is that the plywood adds another 3/4 inch, and so there was a gap between the edge of the trip and the back on the furniture. I redid it on the top because it was so noticeable.