Community Brag Posts

Built this media tower based off the plans inspired by the Pottery Barn Benchwright Towers. I used Annie Sloan's French Linen chalk paint followed by a clear then dark wax. The door panel was made using a decrotive bronze aluminum sheet cut to size. It makes a nice addition to my living room. 

I built the entire project to plan.. I did however engrave my daughters name instead of painting it on.. I think it gives a little more personal touch..

My wife got a large fountain for her birthday. She likes the sound of running water while she reads. What she doesn't like is damp carpet because the fountain splashes a little, as running water is wont to do. We had a choice of returning the fountain or me getting busy to build her a table for it.

The entire project is simply 2x4s and 2x6s. The top measures 44" x 36" and is made completely of pocket hole-joined 2x6s. The base is all made of 2x4s and is 16" high (plus top). I went for a little different look on the legs with a 15 degree cut, to a height of 4".

We both liked the look the Corona square table (the top especially)...BUT! She likes to be able to vacuum under furniture without having to move it or get Down on hands and knees with the wand attachment. So...recessed cross-brace to the rescue! I rigged up the miter saw to cut 1 1/2" into my bottom braces (2x4s on edge front-to-back), the exact depth of my cross piece (a 2x4 laid flat), and made repeated cuts, then leveled with a chisel.

I made sure to adequately brace the top, since the fountain, plus rocks, plus water comes in at well over 100 pounds. The pictures aren't all that great, but what can you expect when some are taken in an unfinished basement with no windows, on a cell phone...right?

You could probably replicate this for less than the $150 I spent, but I needed the wood, new stain, urethane, and new brushes.

This is the coffee table again with the matching end table.

Jim Carr

I live in Japan right now and my wife and daughters went to the states to visit family for 3 weeks. I decided to make a few projects. I went to my local home improvement store (HOMES), which is a combo of Lowes, Walmart, a pet store, and a furniture store rolled into one crazy store. I purchased the wood for about 11000 yen, paint for 1080 yen, hinges 800 yen, and door knobs for 2880 yen. Grand total of basically $200. I found that it is not cheap to buy supplies over here. I modified the plan and made 16 "drawers" instead of 20 due to the height of the space where I am putting the table. I used the plan for finishing with the distressed coffee stain. I really like it in our room.

Tools:
Miter Saw
Table Saw
Jig Saw (b/c my bandsaw is down)
Oscillating Spindle Sander
Orbital Sander
Router
1/8" roundover bit
1/4" roundover bit
Kreg Jig
Tape Measure
Tri Square

Materials:
S4S Poplar
Kreg Screws
Kreg Stain Grade wood plugs
3" panhead screws with matching washers and wingnuts to attach basket to rocker.

This is my third "Ana" project. I've built her baby changing table and the child tower thing for toddlers to stand at a counter.

I built two of these rocking stands for the Moses Bassinet (found on Amazon). The first was a prototype and joints at the rockers were just straight pieces of wood cut at the angle of the rocker. I built it out of pine from the big box store and used my Kreg jig for the pocket holes.

The second one (featured) I used S4S poplar which cost more but came pretty well uniform. I still had to find boards that were free of twist and bows, but that just took time and was easy to do. I use a "lay it on the floor" method and flip it to see if it rocks, twists, etc.. It works for now. I still find myself cutting around imperfections though. With this second rocker, I molded the sides into the rocker-bottoms./
I'm saving to buy a planer, which will be the last major tool for the wood shop (garage), so then I can mill my own lumber and be done with HD and L's.

Just some observations and steps I took:

To make the rockers and other parts of the project uniform that had curves which needed to be parallel to each other, etc., I used double-sided tape and put the pieces together when cutting and sanding. I recommend using the least amount of tape as possible. I learned the hard way and on the prototype rockers, I covered the entire surface of the pieces with the tape. It took an act of God to get the pieces to release after I had spent an hour or so cutting and sanding the edges. It nearly failed to come apart and I would've had to start over because it was the 3 major components that were taped together like this. On the second run with the featured rocker, I used a couple small pieces of double-sided tape. This held together through cutting and sanding without any issue.

I rounded some of the edges w/ a 1/8th or a 1/4" roundover bit on my router. On the pieces that weren't hit by the router, I just broke the edges with sandpaper, to keep hands from getting splinters, etc.

For finish I used Minwax wood conditioner, oil based stain and polyurethane. I first sanded the entire piece to 320 by hand. I applied the conditioner as instructed. It's a must on softer wood such as pine, poplar, whitewood, etc. Otherwise, you will have blotches. After that I applied one coat of stain. I applied a coat of poly with a foam brush. I didn't like the results. I sanded it down w/ 320. I then went and bought a "nice" brush for polyurethane at the big box store for like $8.00 and applied another coat. This one came out better. I sanded it with 400 grit and applied one final coat with a fine cotton cloth.

I followed the plans on here for the most part. They are complete and were easy to follow. Thanks Ana!

I made twin beds for my boys. It was the first time making furniture. It was a pretty easy plan to follow. Lowes did all my cuts for me so I didn't even need to find a saw.

Built from recycled yellow pine bleacher seats my school I worked at wanted me to toss. No plans just made it up as I went along.

Love these outdoor Chaise Lounges. They are very sturdy and comfortable. I am hoping to make a loveseat and tables to match. Makes a perfect patio sent for my back porch and pool!

Used the Benchwright Coffee Table for all of the base which was very easy to follow. I used rough cut Alder, which I would not try to do again (way too many linear feet to cut!). I've done drawers before, and I've found that it's easier to attach the slides to the drawer box and the horizontal pieces that attach to the table. After that, attach once of the horizontal pieces first, and shim the other before attaching to the table. The top is 3 boards tall and is comprised of 1 layer of birch plywood, 1 layer of spacers, and the mitered edges on the top. The infinity mirror feature comes from a row of LED's sandwiched between a mirror (base) and glass with a semi-transparent mirror film (also known as one way mirror).

Great plans!  I modified the bench by adding a slanted back (which enabled me to put the slats closer together), extending and curving the front of the arms and extended the seat to the outside of the legs.

This is the first thing I have ever made. I had my wood cut at Lowe's, bought a Kreg pocket hole jig and screws. I borrowed a friend's drill, sander and stain. I was amazed at how easy this was and how well it turned out.

Fairly easy to make with a jigsaw and sander. I would suggest to whomever makes one of the Charlie scooters to use a hardwood as some of the section in the handlebar area can be fragile when weight is applied.