Birthday Seesaw
I decided to build this for my kids while they were at camp for a week this summer. It was easy and very inexpensive. They love it!
I decided to build this for my kids while they were at camp for a week this summer. It was easy and very inexpensive. They love it!
I loved this project! First time I got to use my kreg jig!! Which I would recommend to any builder. Took me a few hours. Not sure how I'm going to finish them yet!
That was my first real handmade project after just reading and following Ana Whites story and her diy projects for a while.
I´m coming from Germany and it took quite a while to "translate" all the lumber measurements to the german equivalents, since we don´t have the same ones. So I just took the similar lumber sizes I could find in a hardware store (Baumarkt), all in all 23 € for pine lumber plus wheel casters for 30 € each, which was the most expensive part of the project. I modified the size of the table as well and am very proud to present you my first project: my very first industrial coffee table for the home office.
I made the stain myself, by the way!
Here is the summary:
- one layer of black strong coffee (3 table spoons + 500 ml hotwater)
- 2-3 layers of steel + vinegar solution (sanding a bit inbeween)
- 2-3 layers of spar varnish (sanding a bit inbetween)
Hope you like it;) and thanks a lot to Ana White for being so creative and delivering loads of beautiful diy projects for woodwork lovers all over the world!
Looking forward to my next project!!!
My first ever building projects. I just wanted some nice planters, then i tweaked to make it bigger and made a herb garden one. I've always been creative and handy but never really got into working with wood. I am so happy to have come across your site as i now have a garage full of wood.. THANK YOU!
PS I have had several neighbours comment on how awesome these look!
Tue, 07/04/2023 - 07:08
I was just looking at making it bigger! Love the small but love the big version too. Looks like you have room for one more box😊 well done! Love the color!
I used the plans for the Kentwood Nightstand to make a Bathroom cabinet to hold the Vessel Sink. I made it taller and wider and used a Butcher block top treated with Tung oil and Spar Varnish.
I also changed the doors to 1/4" Overlay double doors with a Sash latch. Much nicer, and sturdier than what you can buy and less than $100- in materials (Excluding the Sink and Faucet) And of course, it's wood, not pressboard.
It came out great and I am not a very experienced wood worker!
Judy H in Idaho
My 19 year old son made this for me in an afternoon. I did the finishing and used an oil based outdoor stain. I would try a different finish next time. One coat did not seem enough, and two coast were tacky. I love the finished table though. We will use it outside on our patio. I am considering having my son build another using better wood for the kitchen.
This took me almost a week as I'm 8 months pregnant and have a very busy toddler! I love the way it turned out, and so does he :) I was able to consolidate a toy bin, a small box of toys, stray toys, and a small bench toy chest full of toys all into this one, huge toy box!
This is a coffee table built out of pine, doug fir and redwood. I mistakenly bought redwood for the top, but I think it came out pretty nice! I had the "x" but decided I liked the look better without it.
Went with the horizontal slats and added a bottle opener on the left leg.
I had a friend who does cabinets, complete two drawers for me from your example. And he did two for my sister's place (one being a double decker slider because her drawers are deeper). Thank you for the inspiration!!
Michelle R.
This is the mini version of the Tommy Bookcase. I am using this piece as a storage bench in the bathroom. I loved what we did with the Tommy Bookcase, so we made a mini and used the leftover trim and moulding to make this piece. I love cherry wood, but it can be very pricey. We used cherry plywood to save on costs.
The one with the extra shelf is 3" taller than the one in the plan and I also took 3 inches from the bottom shelf as well as lowered it. The X's for the taller one were very challenging but turned out pretty good and I chose to use wood guides underneath instead of purchasing metal ones. the drawer fronts are 1x12's and sides are 1x8's. I used my router to cut a grove to hold the plywood bottom and added a support in the center. I have a dovetail joiner but haven't learned how to use it (hopefully will learn soon).
Overall I am very pleased with the way these turned out. I plan on making some with single drawers with the left over wood!
Thanks Ana I couldn't have done any of this had it not been for your site!!!
Put together mostly in accordance with the Ana plans, but this one is one 1x6 wider than the original plans with aprons, legs, breadboards, etc. widened as necessary. Also, the table-top is connected all from the bottom so I could avoid having to patch a bunch of nail holes on the top (lots of screws and pocket holes to pull it all together that way). I'd highly recommend a Kreg jig for the table, as it allows for most of the screwed connections to be hidden.
We're moslty just happy to have a rock-solid table that's easy to clean with our 3 and 5 year old boys. The table this is replacing was a hand-me-down antique that was quite shaky.
The matching benches will be coming along as well, but most of my stuff is put together after the kids go to sleep, so takes some time.
I didn't use wood conditioner prior to the stain - as I read from a good source that the gel stain will essentially do the same as conditioner + traditional stain, and somewhat wishing I would have, as there are a couple blotched areas I'm not happy with, but I'll probably notice them more than anyone else.
This was a great first project, I now feel more confident to make more beautiful wood pieces, thank you for sharing the easy to follow plans!
Ayse
I made another turned leg table... this time on accident! Lots of finishing details on my blog. http://whitneysworkshop.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-accidental-table.html
Fri, 07/20/2012 - 05:28
Nice rescue job on the legs for both the find and the finish. They turned out very nice.
After searching for many months to find the perfect potting bench, it was clear I would have to create it myself. We finally used my moms old photography sink, that was lonely in our shed, to good use. My hubby and I just adjusted the dimensions to drop in the sink. It turned out so much better than I could have ever expected.
Tue, 12/27/2016 - 11:37
That is so nice! Looks great and I bet it is super handy to boot.
Took some liberties with this one and combined with another plan. My first stencil project.
Wed, 05/27/2020 - 08:28
I love this. Functional but also decorative. Would you mind sharing the plan for your version?
I love these plans, and my son loves his new bed!
Adam
I really enjoyed making these nightstands (I made a pair). They were pretty easy to make, and I'm 7 months pregnant! I highly recommend the Kreg Jig - they made building these nightstands super easy and efficient. They're really sturdy too! If I can build them, anyone can! I'm still unsure about the finish; I may sand them down again and re-stain them a different color in the future.
Check out my blog link for the full play-by-play!
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 13:33
The finish is awesome, have been searchin around for some inspiration for the next project and just found it! great job and thanks!
-Justin