Community Brag Posts

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

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. 

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!

I was looking for something to make for my niece for Christmas that could be treated as an heirloom to hand down to future generations...thus, it had to be sturdy. My mother made the mattress, pillow, and blanket sets. I loved the way this turned out and my niece was pleasantly surprised!

My wife and I looked all over town for just the right piece of furniture for our entry at our new home. After looking and looking I decided I would build this plan. Turned out amazing and all our friends want help building their own.

A fun project to make ending with a functional product to boot!  I went all out making sure that each truck/shelf would coordinate with each grandson's theme/decor in their bedrooms.  Chase, who will turn one next month, has a super heroes/comics theme for his room.  Therefore, I selected Captain America as the star of the big rig shelf.  Red, white & blue paints, some wooden shapes and some creativity and Captain America was ready for Mr. Smiles.

Built this table using plans from Anna's amazing book. It was a much easier build than I anticipated. The actual finishing took longer than the construction. I did a slight modification by attaching beadboard to the top of the table. I had some leftover from a headboard my daughter and I made so I put it to use! Anyway, LOVE the table! Thanks, Ana! I would never have ever attempted building furniture without your virtual encouragement! Blessings!

Built these some time ago, but I forgot to post my brag til now! I took Ana's plans for the Barn Beam Ledges and simply modified them by making them into 5-foot lengths. They were very easily and quickly built. The longest part was waiting for them to dry! There are three keyholes on the back of each, aligned with the studs, so they sit nice and flush against the wall and no worries of them falling down! They hold lots of picture frames, which I love. No individual nail holes all over my wall! lol Very happy with the end result. :)

Biggest tip for everyone is to make sure you are square at all times! I would also recomend springing for the better drawer slides. I used the cheap white ones and regret it. Overall, this was fun to make and looks great in my office! Thank you for the plans