Community Brag Posts

This week I built a picture frame by re-purposing a cheap store-bought picture frame.

Blog Article: http://www.lanebroswoodshop.com/2015/04/picture-frame.html

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-2-300Kwcw

I hope everyone is having a fun summer! I decided to take advantage of the long 4th of July weekend and tackle my 2nd woodworking project: a custom-built cabinet to house all of my nail polish! While I don’t consider myself a “girly-girl”, I have always enjoyed painting my nails and thus have accumulated quite the collection over the years. The building process went fairly smoothly. I began by cutting all of the pieces to size (hooray for using a miter saw for the first time!) and pre-staining them a trendy weathered grey. After that, the piece came together quickly. I constructed the cabinet and door separately, added the stainless steel handle and glass inset, and finished the piece off by attaching the door with 2 profile hinges.

I'd been keeping my eye open for an affordable workbench that was both large and sturdy. Anything I liked was over $300 and anything under that price was small and/or not very sturdy.

I was very encouraged when I accidentally stumbled on Ana White's plans for a sturdy workbench made from 2x4's and a piece of plywood, estimated to cost around $50. Best of all, the plans looked so simple, nothing but straight cuts and all fastened together with 2.5 inch wood screws. While I've become fairly handy with a saw and screwdriver renovating my house, building a piece of furniture seemed a little more daunting than a frame for a bathtub.

The project was as easy as advertised. So simple in fact, that I was able to easily modify the plans a bit on the fly to change the approach for the bottom shelf. In stead of just two lower braces on each side with a few 40" 2x4's spanning the width to make the lower shelf, I framed in all four sides with 2x4's in order to suport a solid shelf made from a single sheet of melamine board (24" x 48" trimmed in both length and width to fit the spot). The melamine board shelf is sturdy and will be easier to keep clean.

I also opted for only one cross support in the centre of the top of the frame since the instructions suggested that more or less cross supports can be used depending on the sturdiness of the material used for the top. I chose a 3/4 inch Russian Birch plywood (24" X 48") which is thick, solid, hard, smooth and has a beautiful wood grain pattern. I am considering adding 8 right angle triangular pieces of 2x4 into the insides of the 4 corners of both the bottom and top frames for added rigidity.

In the future I plan to add a shallow, light weight drawer for hand tools, just under the top.

I have not yet applied a finish, but the time estimate of 3-6 hours includes the time required to stain it.

After posting a picture of this, my first ever attempt at a functional piece of furniture, on facebook I received many "likes", positive comments, and one inquiry from a friend as to whether I might be able to build him an aquarium stand.

Ana White - you are amazing, thanks for creating your website and sharing your many plans and thanks also to your followers for posting their projects which are both beautiful and encouraging.

This is the blog post for my first attempt at building furniture.  Thanks Ana White!

I have had this space under my television that I never knew what I should do with it. There is a baseboard heater on the wall so I always figured I could put anything against it. I also have a lot of shoes. When I saw the plans for the vegetable bin I figured I could convert it to hold my shoes. 

I used 1x8s for the middle legs allowing the cabinet to sit over my baseboard heater. I adjusted the height of each cubby to fit the various sizes of shoes I own. I put 1x4s along the back so as to allow everything to breath. It took me about 2 days to complete. 

This is made from the Tryed Side Table plans. I made a few changes to it that made it easier for me. I made the top from 5/4 deck boards that I had left over from a deck I built recently and I used pocket hole screws to hold it all together. I also chamfered the boards on the interior and used a round over bit around the edges. I really like the table and it is sitting next to two Adirondack chairs I made. I painted them blue to remind me of the ocean since I don't get to see the ocean much where I live.

Great little table that is perfect for snacks or drinks while watching the game or a movie.

We used the least expensive pine at Lowe's because I really like the variation in the wood.  I think it adds character.  This was the first time I've used Weathered Oak and boy is it sheer!  You can hardly tell it's there over the dark walnut but it did seem to lighten it just a little and give a slight grey to the very dark areas.  Really liked the outcome!

Instead of building a free-standing, 4-poster Pergola, I attached one side directly to the house. There are various Pergola design types and shapes. Simply Google for "pergola" images and decide which design you like best, or combine design ideas together (as I did).

Couple things to consider:
A: Is your Pergola more for decorative purposes or actual shade?
My design was more for actual shade (but with a decorative design), which is why I added the 1in x 12in x 12ft Pine boards between the cross beams at the very end (last picture). If your design is more for decorative purposes, you can space out your support beams and cross beams wider (using less wood and money).

You can also choose to use 2x4s as your support beams with 2x2 cross beams on top (essentially furring strips) either close together or spaced farther apart. This would also reduce the overall cost of your Pergola and make it much lighter as well. I chose to use all 2x6s for both support beams and cross beams.

B: What path does the sun follow across the sky over your Pergola?
If the sun passes directly over your Pergola and you want a lot of shade, you'll obviously need to consider this in your design (i.e., more cross beams that are close together).

C: Do you want your support beams and cross beams to inter-lock (by cutting square notches and assembling them like linking logs), or simply stacked on top of each other? (Again, Googling for Pergola images will help you see the differences in designs.)

I chose to interlock all of my beams by cutting notches and fitting them together. Obviously more time consuming to measure each notch, cut, and chisel them but the stability of inter-locking beams should hold up a little better in the strong winds of Las Vegas.

HOW TO (abbreviated)

Overall Pergola Dimensions: 10ft Height, 12x12ft

Tip: Paint or stain all your wood prior to assembly. Much easier. You can always touch-up scuffs and scrapes after it's built.

1. 2x6x12 installed directly onto the house (thru the stucco into the studs) using 3/8in. x 5in. lag screws. (Tip: Seal the top edge of the 2x6x12 that's against the stucco so water doesn't run behind it and down into the lag screw holes.)
2. Install the 2x6 Double Shear Hangers (as many as you need for your design)
3. 4x4 post anchors secured directly into the cement patio using Tapcon 3/16 in. x 2-3/4 in.cement anchor screws.
4. 4x4x10ft posts screwed on top of the anchors. Ensure level on all sides (use a partner to help hold the posts).
5. Attach the front and side 2x6 beams to the 2 posts (again, use a partner to help hold posts while you're up on the ladder screwing your beams to the posts)
6. Attach the remaining 2x6 support beams.
7. Attach the 2x6 cross beams on top (whether you inter-lock them by cutting notches or simply resting them on top, be sure to toe-nail screw them in with 2in exterior screws).
8. Lay 1x12x12ft pine boards on top in between the cross beams and secure with 2in exterior wood screws.
9. Construct the post bases ("sleeves" or "leggings") which greatly adds to the look, as outlined in the "Weatherly Pergola" plans.
10. Touch-up paint / stain any areas you need.

This bed was a lot of fun to make! The plans made it super simple and my daughter loves her new bed! The drawer width was a challenge at first but I learned a lot in the process.

I recommend getting the plywood ripped at the home store if you do not own a table saw. Thanks for the awesome plans!

I assisted a friend in building a loft bed for her daughter.  We followed free plans by Ana White for the junior loft bed. We made a few modifications such as changing it to fit a full-sized mattress (more details on my blog). The loft bed is the largest furniture item that I have built thus far. I have learned a lot from working on the project.

Our baby girl is due to arrive in August, so dad thought it was about time to start building her furniture. We liked different things about two very different plans on the site, so he combined them to come up with plans for his build. We liked the design of the simple changing table, and the wings on the Brookstone plan. The nursery is Beatrix Potter character themed, so we went with bunny rabbit drawer pulls. Now he just needs to find/come up with plans for a farmhouse style convertible crib.

This was my first ever project. I learned a lot about choosing better wood but I made due with what I bought since I live 30 minutes from the home store. I had badly cupped 2x6s and some twisted 2x2s, which is why I ended up not doing the X on the end and just doing one angle.