Community Brag Posts

12/16/14 UPDATE:  Posted a plan for this project, linked in this brag post

This is a variation of the Easy Jewelry Box plan. The completed measurement is 11” wide, 14 ½” high, and 7 ½” deep. This one has a center “tower” with 5 drawers 5 ½” wide, and a wide overhang on the top and bottom, which covers the 2 side doors that open out for hanging necklaces. The drawers are lined with embossed felt, and the drawer bottoms and insides of doors are covered with sticky-back felt. The 2 removable ring drawer inserts are some scraps of 1” foam, covered with scraps of the sticky-back felt, with slits cut into the foam with a utility knife (cut the slits into the felt first, attach it to the foam, then cut the slits into the foam). Cost breakdown: antique brass knobs: $28, sticky back & embossed felt: $14, hooks: $15, wood: $35, hinges: $7, paint: $5. (already on hand: finish nails, glue, sandpaper, left over stain & poly) . I worked on this a few hours a day over a long weekend, probably about 12 hours total. Finishing took most of this time, the build was actually only a couple of hours.

We loved the playhouse loft bed, but not the complexity or cost of materials. Then we found the camp loft bed with stairs. It was mostly 2x4 and 2x6 construction. We then cut out holes in plywood for door and windows then screwed it to the bed frame. The other deviation from the plan was making the stairs steeper we needed them to take less space. We just used 2x6 for the stringer and treads. the stairs are at a 30 degree angle instead of a 45. We also attached the rails using brackets from Rockler. This bed is super sturdy. Beware - it took us about 3 days from buying wood to painted completion. For the paint, we just used semi gloss latex, but my paint person recommended a paint additive called Floetrol to make the paint self leveling and prevent brush marks - it really does work well. Materials including wood, brackets, mattress and paint cost us around $500.

My husband and I made this for my daughter for Christmas.  It was a huge hit!

We have been doing some work in our garage and the old workbench had to be dismantled. My husband asked for a new workbench for father's day, but I didn't like any of the ones we saw at the stores. I told my husband that I could build a better one for cheaper and he said ok (although I don't think he really had much faith in it turning out). We bought the wood and then, after putting the baby down for a nap, knocked this thing out in 2 or 3 hours. It was very easy, just straight cuts and screwing the pieces together. I did the whole thing myself with a little help from my brother at the end. My husband loved it and showed off pictures of his Father's Day present to his boss and co-workers. We probably spent about $60 in materials and it really did just take a few hours. I changed the dimensions to fit our space and needs. We had some extra wood left over so we added a back-stop to the top to keep things from rolling off the back and I made the bottom shelf deeper. It was a fun and easy project to do.

My husband made this for our son! He uses it everyday and sometimes our 5 year old does too! Best idea ever!!

Built this Pergola next to my house. Worked by myself, took several days. a Very relaxing spot !!

I built this on the floor of my apartment with just a drill for power tools.  (Lowes cut the wood for me.)  After two years of having the headboard up without stain or paint, I painted it white and moved it into my guest room of my new house.  I also made the two little bedside shelves.

My nephew and I made this bench for his mom and dad's 24th Anniversary

We took the basic plan but made it a smidge higher (36" high) and added a second shelf. The island is longer that the plans, at 60". Provides us space for all our pantry items.

For the top I followed the plans for the most part.  I made this for my mother for Christmas and she wanted shelves under the bench instead of a storage bin so I modified the original bench plans.  I purchased the baskets for $12.99 each from "At Home" and the medium size fits pretty good.

I used Ana's Queen size Farmhouse bed with the modifications for the box spring. I also changed the plans slightly, instead of the 1" x4" on the footboard and head board I used 2" x 6" at the bottom. I don't have a nail gun or finishing nails so this provided the stability and saved me a few dollars. I also made the corner posts longer than the plans to make the bed taller.

I love this bed, I made it extra tall, so you have to jump into it. And there is plenty of storage underneath!

It took me and my dad about 4 hours of actual cutting and assembling, but an additional 10-20 hours of sanding and painting. It took me a few months to actually finish it after work.

THANK YOU ANA for the plans!!!

My version of benchright coffee table. Made this for my daughter. It's made of solid cherry.

This was an anniversary gift, so I wanted it to lean more "chic" than "shabby" and as a result I spent a little extra money. Instead of using different colors of stains, I used different kinds of hardwoods to provide the color contrast. I changed the dimensions to fit our space and my wife's requests. In the end I believe the dresser was 50" wide, 31" tall (not including legs) and 20" deep. 

Carcase - The carase is made of 3/4" plywood and the the divider is held in place by a dado groove. I used a roundover bit to soften the edges. I then applied a vinyl spackle to the edges of the plywood so the paint would go on uniformly.   

Drawers - The drawers were made with 1/2" plywood for the sides and 1/4" for the bottoms. Isntead of nailing the bottoms to the drawer sides, I routed a dado groove into the sides that holds the bottoms in place. I used full-extension ball-bearing drawer slides, which in hindsight may have been a mistake. Combining the the full-extension with weight of the hardwoods created a decent tipping hazard. As a result, I've needed to add wieght to the backside of the dresser for stability. 

Feet - In lieu of casters, I bought some premade 6" legs from a local big box store for about $10-$15. I don't regret this purchase as they worked out very well. 

Finish - The paint I used was super thick and covered great but was difficult to brush on with any consistency or finesse. It was like painting with pancake batter. I had impossible visions of being able to sand the finish down to an incredible flat surface but after redoing it twice, I settled for a brushed look. 

We constructed our farmhouse bed from rough-cut lumber (mostly pine with a few eastern red cedar panels). However, the top rails of the headboard and footboard were reclaimed from an old railraod depot and maintain their faded red color. I will admit, using rough-cut lumber practically tripled our efforts because nothing was square or even, but all in all, I think it was worth it!

My first project using countertop concrete mix.  This specific concrete calls for very low water mix ratios, and I was hesitant to over water the mix. I should have used more because it came out very pourous. Not bad over all though. I used a urethane Matte finish on the concrete and a semigloss poly for the wood base that is made from 4x4's and 2x4's. I used a special walnut color stain from minwax for the base and used a browning triler hitch cover for the emblem.

First project since high school woodworking class. I was pleased with the outcome but, I had a few bumps along the way. I learned from my mistakes so the next one will be better!