Community Brag Posts

My best man (and his wife) are expecting their first child and this was my very first project. The Kreg Jig is great but you need a right angle clamp to put this box together. I stained the project using Minwax white tint base in their driftwood color, I'm not a big fan of the color on the entire box but it serves it purpose as being gender neutral for any future kids. I bought the letters at a crafts store and painted them white and then sanded off the edges and rubbed Danish Oil on it to give it the "distressed" looked.

I used Ana's simple closet organizer and some other brag posts and created a closet organizer for my craft/kid size room.  

I used:

(6) 1x12x6' pine for tower and shelving

(4)  1x4"x6' pine for all the cleats

(3) sets of closet rod holders

(2) 4' 1.25" wooden dowels

I primed everything outside after cutting the pieces, which took way too much spray primer - I should have just used brush on.  Then painted the finish coat in place using some good Benjamin Moore trim paint.

I'm happy with how it all turned out - errors and all.  

This is my interpretation of the Rustic Modern Nightstand. The top is made from Padauk, an African wood that is reddish orange in color. It is surrounded by a band of hard maple. The front legs are Poplar. The shelf is Jatoba from South America. The drawer fronts are African Mahogony. All wood was left natural and finished with three coats of Varathane Satin water-based finish.
My wife and I needed two new nightstands for quite a while. When I saw this plan, it just seemed right. I built two of them in tandem. I was quite surprised at the weight when they were finished. Much heavier than most furniture.

We have been using TV trays as bedside tables for two years. The room is a work in progress... I was waiting to find the perfect pieces...or a plan to build the perfect pieces! So glad I found that plan here. Too impatient to wait for nice weather to head outside, I built this in February on my kitchen floor. It was a little messy and a little dusty, but I am a lot happy with the result :). Cheers.

We modified the plans a little so that our little girls bed would fit snug into the bedframe. We also cheated and bought round short legs from Lowes and stained them with Rust-Oleum Dark Walnut. We wanted the bed to sit low since she is only 3 and I also didnt want her to be able to stuff things under her bed!!

Our daughter wanted to decorate our house for fall with pumpkins. We had scraps around and I decided to create some colorful ones for our house!

VPrice

So much fun!! :)

Custom love seats built

This was our first build. I have always wanted a rustic table and bench set, but they are so expensive. We already had a miter saw and jig saw, so I thought why not. We did not use a pocket jig when we built this, so we had to brainstorm for the bread boards. I found these really long screws at Lowe's and they worked great. I actually love the way they look. We are going to use the screws on the next bench even though we have a Kreg Jig now. Soon I will have my dream table without spending $2,000!

I combined a few different plans here, mostly the Playhouse deck, swingset.

I haven't finished it yet, this spring I want to finish the exterior as it's just primed plywood right now. Still going to add a window above the balcony (there is a loft up there).

I insulated the roof/ceiling and will insulate the walls when we finish it. In the bottom we'll be putting in a sandbox with a cover that folds up into benches.

It was a fun project and should give our girls many years of fun.

I built these tables for a friend in need. I enjoyed building these. Need these for my house now.

Fatbike rack! Ten minute project for the beginner. Heavy enough to keep your bike standing upright even in windy conditions. Great if you are short on space.
(2) 14" treated 2x4
(2) 28" fence posts
(8) 3 1/2" outdoor screws
6" space between the fence posts
Alter width, if needed, for your bike tire.
No part of the bike hits the wood except the tire.'

I found this table idea on:

http://diy-my-homes.com/stunning-purebond-plywood-dining-table/

...then went for it. This is only the third thing I have built so it was one of those "Sure, I can do that" projects. At first I tried the hairpin metal legs, but they just didn't look right so I went with another design which I feel came out much better. Did a mix of 1 1/2" Birch and Oak strips on top of 3/4" MDF for the top. 2x6 routed out X for the legs bound together with 3 1/2" lag bolts and a 4x4. The chairs you see I picked up for $10 each from IU's surplus warehouse and the before/after are in the picture. All in all I am happy!

Thanks to Ana, Kelly and Dave for sharing their plans.

I built this mostly with scraps I had from other projects so I didn't follow the plans exactly.

We were shopping for bunk beds for our 5 and 3-year-old kids, and everything I saw was overpriced, mass produced junk. I'm not kidding - we were looking at $800-$2000 for anything that appeared to be remotely stable, let alone well-designed.

Naturally, I started searching for plans (it's the right thing to do), and naturally, I found my way to Ana White. This project began in earnest when I found the Side Street Bunk Bed plans here:
http://ana-white.com/2012/03/plans/side-street-bunk-beds

I figured I'd give it my own twist. I needed to practice using my DeWalt compact router (and the new trim router table my wife had given me months before), and any excuse to bust out my Kreg Jig is fine by me. I also had different ideas for the ladder and guard rails...so I printed out the plans, sketched out my variations, and proceeded to suffer through the indignity of lumber shopping at Home Depot.

I know what you're thinking - WHY would anyone even bother trying to find a straight board in THAT place? Well believe me, I suffered for the convenience of driving to the HD two miles from my house. I had to work each and every board like crazy, but eventually I got em all into fine shape. Wood wants to be good, even the crap they sell at HD.

About halfway through the build, I started to worry that what i was building was TOO sturdy - total overkill. But now that it's in use, I can tell you I'm glad I built with these plans. I can still climb up on top of the bed with both my kids if I want to and this thing doesn't budge. Not an inch. Not a creak. SOLID. Exactly what any parent wants.

Not a lot of complex tools involved here; my trusty Delta chop saw, my DeWalt 18v cordless drill, a DeWalt palm sander ( I spent hours with this), the Kreg Jig and a couple of clamps (of course), and the DeWalt Compact Router and table. The router really made a difference in the overall design – and I wasn't afraid of screwing up the lousy lumber I was working with. In the end, it all finished rather nicely.

I treated every piece with Minwax wood conditioner, then a single coat of Minway Polyshade in Pecan. Nothing fancy, but after sanding it down and giving it a polish, I gotta say it looks just as good as your average IKEA finish. Not bad at all.

This is the largest piece of functional furniture I've ever built, and my kids LOVE it. They talked about it for days after, and you can't buy that on Amazon. It was a real confidence builder, and I'm PSYCHED to move on to some nicer lumber and more complex projects!

We decided to build this a bit bigger and taller. I will caution you to be careful as we came inches to not making it through our doorways. We expanded the depth 15" to make it a full bed and we extended the length of the legs to allow for 48" clearance underneath.

We also went with a rock wall instead of a ladder. I 1st built the angle too steep; recommend at least a 30 degree angle on a wall. Kid's love it; mom not so much when attempting to make the bed! :)

We went with military theme - green rope lights, camo netting for a roof, and sandbags filled with old clothes from my high school years for a bunker underneath.

Still working on a sign for top of the door.

Great project! Thanks for the idea!