Community Brag Posts

We built this bed for our daughter. We needed more space in her bedroom and she LOVES it! Thank you so much www.ana-white.com and Pinterest for the plans! Turned out awesome!

I've been looking at this project for 2-3 years. After spending a lot of time in the lumber store looking at 1x boards for planks (and not finding any that I was very happy with), I walked by the plywood section and saw a really nice looking piece of plywood made by the Araucoply company. Not only did it look better than the plank boards I found on my visit, it was 1/2 the price of the board I was looking at. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and it only cost $29 for an 8' sheet of Aruacoply. I brought it home and ripped it with my circular saw, using a homemade rip guide. I made the table 2' wide by 8' long and stained it with ebony stain. I spent the next two weeks cutting stencils and painting the table top. Once it was covered with some of my favorite quotes, poems, lyrics, and graphics, I sealed everything with three coats of semi-gloss polyurethane. I blurred out poems written by my kids in the photo attached to this post. 

I built the base in about two hours and stained the legs with a light blue Varathane stain that was on discount at the local box store because the can was dented. If I hadn't spent so much time stenciling, I could have easily been done with the whole thing in no more than 2.5 hours.

The better half wanted a coffee table for the rec room to use for snacks and board games. I had seen the use of a hayrake stretcher on tables so, since I like to experiment, give it a try on this table.

This was a fun build. For the benches I used the storage sofa plans to figure out how to build the backs but I used removable cushions So I can easily wash them as needed. The bench against the wall is deeper so the subway bookshelf fits on top. I only used 2 pedestals for the table since it's only 48" long. I made the entire project 48 inches long so I could get the most use out of the wood. It comfortably fits 4 people and I love how it turned out.

Thank you all for your inputs.  I ended up building it 80x49 and was very surprised how well it turned out.  The chairs were unfinished from homedepot.com.  The key is buying straight boards and clamping.  I'll be doing some other projects after seeing how well this one went.

So easy when you have the right tools. It is exactly what we needed. I can't wait for my next project!

Modeled after the rustic table.  I made it smaller and taller.  I used Pine boards and golden oak stain and also jacobean stain.  The legs can come off by unscrewing them.  

A full write up of this build, including photos & dimensions, is here: http://imgur.com/gallery/YyawW

This was a modification of the Shirley Console Table. I had to change the dimensions to fit our entryway, and I wanted some color variation. Because I used two different stains, the pieces had to be fit together, sanded accordingly, taken apart, stained, and then glued/screwed together again. I learned how to use a router on this project, so it was a learning experience (thank goodness for wood filler!). I also inset the sides and back, though it's not really obvious in the picture. The drawers slide on a tongue and groove track. The pulls are white porcelain covered in teal sharpie (baked then coated with acrylic). Definitely learned a lot on this project! As this was made basically from wood scraps, I'm not sure what the cost was. The drawers, minus the facing, is 3/4" oak veneer plywood.

The design of our planked entertainment center is a compilation from various designs offered on Ana White; Planked Sideboard http://ana-white.com/node/4682 &  Media Center http://ana-white.com/2012/04/plans/rebecca-media-center-console-piece.  This is the 1^st piece in our collection of 6 being made in the Farm House style for our Great Room and Dining Room.   We considered this to be our “practice piece” in preparation for the remainder of the collection with many important lessons learned.

The wood used was Red Grandis, which is plantation Eucalyptus and has just recently been made available in the U.S.   Red Grandis is being sold in California to replace Mahogany due to the environmentally unfriendly agriculture practices of many Mahogany producers.  While highly recommended by our local hard-wood retailer, we were reticent as we couldn’t find much information about Red Grandis on the internet.  And, while we don’t completely know how it will stand the test of time, we found it to be very user friendly, and it cut, machined, drilled & stained very well.   

This was our first attempt at making drawers.  While it took some re-cutting / re-routering, we are pleased with the final result and have gained some cautious confidence for the next pieces.  We did learn, in our hands at least, that the Rockler 45° Lock Miter Router Bits  provided a much more reproducible drawer corner than the Rockler Drawer Lock Router Bit - 1" Dia x 1/2" H x 1/2" Shank .

This was also the first time that we have used Miller Dowels and we were very impressed with their ease of use and outstanding fixation.  Additionally, I called the Miller Dowel company a couple of times for information and found them to be very accommodating and informative.  Based on our experience, we would recommend that you consider them for your next project.  One tip that we learned along the way was to put shipping tape around ( 5”strip above, below and each side) the dowel before you cut off the tip as it, apparently, lubricates the flex saw and protects the finished surface from being damaged while removing the tip.  

Getting back into projects. Started with this little table. It was well received!! 

Saw your plan for the vintage stool and had to build it for my grand daughter. I added a little twist to it by adding a saying found on stools back in the 70s. Used a router sign kit for the lettering. The last picture shows the grand daughter's approval

I couldn't find a kitchen hutch to fit my space/needs so I modified this bedside table plan. I widened it 3 inches then extended it up! Now I have room for all my cook books! I love it!

This puzzle is similar to the other puzzles I posted over the last year. The goal is to remove the rope/ball from the piece of wood. With very little parts, it was really easy to make – less than 15 minutes. Go to the video for the solution if you cannot mentally figure it out from the pictures.

More Info: https://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Rope-Puzzle/
Solution: https://youtu.be/NmcurEs-BIA

We (myself and my girlfriend) decided to build this daybed after considering several options for a new sofa. With three big dogs we knew we wanted a big sofa and after looking at many $400+ options we saw several issues (besides cost), The biggest was the availability of slip covers for easy cleaning. We went with the daybed route because a mattress is far cheaper than foam for sofa cushions and twin sheets are readily available for low prices in many colors.

Obviously I altered the plans significantly as I wanted a chunkier, heavier frame that would withstand the abuse of day to day life. Also I removed the canopy as it's not needed indoors. The rear legs are 4x4 nominal which I resawed to 3x3 actual. The rear frame is 1x3 nominal horizontal pieces with 2x3 nominal boards as the verticals. These have rabbets cut in them to join with the horizontal pieces. The bottom support for the mattress is a 2x6 resawn to 2x5 actual and rabbeted to fit each vertical and the legs. Also, the top two horizontals are longer to fit into rabbets in the legs - this allows the back structure to be far stronger.

The sides are constructed of 1x3 horizontals with the leg and arm cap being 2x4 nominal resawn to 1x3 actual. The verticals were rabbeted like the rear to accept the horizontal pieces. The front crossmember is a 2x6 nominal block planed to match the front legs.

Joinerys consists of the following -
All rabbeted joints are glued and brad nailed together.
The legs and arm/top caps are pockted screwed to the horizontal crossmembers.
The front, sides, and rear join with 3 1/2" deck screws and 5 1/2" lag bolts.
Stringers/mattress supports are 2x3 nominal.

Finish is Behr premium plus interior latex eggshell paint/primer sprayed with an HVLP sprayer.

If anyone is interested I can take some measurements and more photos. Right now we just have our old futon mattress on (we're saving to do some other projects).