Community Brag Posts

i started this project during the pandemic, and it was amazing I did make even for my neighbors

This was my first BIG project. I was inspired by a console table from a blog Take the Side Street and the Ikea Hemnes Sofa table. I didn't use any plans, so just winged the whole project. I was a bit afraid taking on this project, so I used 89 cent utility boards (roughly 1'x4') that I found at Menard's. So I wouldn't feel bad if it turned out like crap or fell apart. Little did I know how wonderful it would look. I added parson legs to the bottom that I bought from the Home Depot and finished it off with a coat of Minwax Ployshades in Mission Oak.

I'm really excited about how it turned out and have less than $20 invested in the whole project by using the utility wood. This console table holds it all.

The table measurements are 48"x32 1/2"x11 1/2"

I love this table!! Simple build using recycled wood from dumpsters. 

Best looking greenhouse and great size!

This was a great collaboration between a designer and an engineer, me being the designer and my dad the engineer. I recently moved from a small condo to a single family house with a nice wrap around porch. My father is recently retired and believes idle hands are the devil's playthings so I thought this would be a good project to undertake. Full disclosure, we built this in my father's wood shop and needed to purchase no tools.
I took on this project because every couch I looked at was either very expensive or did not meet my tastes. When searching for a design online this one really stood out to me for a couple of reasons, the first being the design looked great, the process was easy to follow, and the construction methods seemed pretty solid. The only drawback I found was that standard lumber at a big box store had to many knots and shied away from it for the slats and arms and went with 'select' grade pine, this change increased the price. It also took some convincing my dad to use big box store lumber as most of it is warped and knotty, he wanted me to purchase cypress from a high end mill so that it could truly weather the elements. His theory is a good one, you are putting a lot of work into building this why not spend a $100-200 more and get a very long lasting wood? My answer, my wife will kill me if I spend $500 on this project!!!! In the end this was much easier than I thought it would be. The chop saw made quick work of the cut list, and the Krieg jig worked great. Painting took the longest, I used a power sander to sand it down. I then used left over wood conditioner and the shellac primer. This took about 4-5 hours. After the primer dried I sanded out a few areas where the primer had pooled. Using a paint sprayer we sprayed at least 3 coats probably more like 5 coats of white exterior semi-gloss. This took about 3 hours. I attached the back to seat after I painted them.

Modifications:
I reduced the overall depth in order to accomodate a 24" cushion instead of the 27.5". I researched online buying foam and fabric as suggested, but this in my opinion made the project too costly. I found outdoor cushions at Ikea which work very well with the style and layout. They are not super cushy but do the trick for a 1/3 of the price.
I also added heavy duty rubber furniture slides to the bottom to prevent any marring to my deck and hopefully reduce moisture wicking up the end grain.

Costs:
Lumber and screws: $190
Cushions: $120
Paint: I used an expensive shellac for the primer $42.00
and exterior grade latex for $25, plus a few paint bushes $10.00
Grand Total: $387

Timing:
1. Acquiring lumber - 1 hour
2. Measuring, cutting and labeling - 1.5 hours
3. Krieg drilling - 3 hours
4. Assembling - 3 hours
5. Sanding - 1 hour
6. Conditioning and Priming - 4 hours
7. Painting with sprayer - 3 hours
Total 16.5 hours

Easy DIY Toybox

I built this jewelry box out of scraps as a prototype to test out my Easy Jewelry Box plan, which is inspired by the Willy Bookcase and Master Closet System drawers. When Mom saw it unfinished, she liked it and called dibs on the first one! Well, since this one is now for Mom (and the lumber was free), I went ahead and spent some extra $ for hers – used the self-adhesive felt for the drawer and box bottoms, some embossed felt to line the drawers, added adjustable drawer dividers, and solid antique brass knobs – ‘glammed’ it up a bit. It is painted and stained to match her bedroom furniture. For Mom, I even stained the inside of the drawer box. :)

The build was easy, and took less than 2 hrs. I did both stain and paint for the finish on this one, and it took about 2 hrs to do that. I’m planning to make several more of these in different finishes, and give them as gifts.

This is my first Ana White project and was a great learning experience. This project is a modified version of the 6 cube bookshelf plan.

Rips of Pine were used for the top, sides, and facing. 3/4" Plywood was used for the shelf planks and the shelf dividers. The sides were also modified so they worked as the legs. Overall dimensions for this piece is 72"x14.5"x35.5".

This was a blast to build, but more fun the watch my grandson enjoy it.
Thank you for the best plans.

We removed the tiny closet in our mudroom (because kids and husbands seem to be unable to open a closet door to put their coats away). I found some pictures of cubbies that I liked, and then used some of Ana's plans to hybrid together what I had envisioned. They came together really easy and quick - the most time consuming part was the finishing. This was my first attempt at drawers and using glides, so that took a bit of tweaking. I bough a square AFTER building this, and I should have done that first! This was also the first time I used my new Kregjig.

2 of the planes I've made for gifts for my nieces and nephews. Love making these. Such a fun project. Made modification to the prop giving it angle.

Cool project!  My wife liked it without the doors!

Potting bench with a few modifications to fit our space.

Bill N