Community Brag Posts

I was wanting long, skinny end tables for my couch and when I came upon the spa bench plan I knew it was perfect length and size for what I wanted. I only altered the plans by making it taller to fit my couch. This was my second build and I learned a lot through the process so these are not perfect but I love the imperfections. I also didn't like the first stain that I put on the tables and when I tried taking it off my sander made weird marks but it gave it a more rustic look which I ended up loving. (Which I could never recreate on purpose)

Clara table and 4 dollar stackable chairs. I used Minwax Early American on the table and a variety of paint colors on the chairs to keep it fun. I also used select pine on the chairs which increased the cost but cut down on sanding time. I also routered the top edge of the table to create a smoother edge.

After too long fiddling around with other things, I finally finished the hall tree for my wife. Used a sheet of bead board for the backing and it didn't turn out too bad. Thank you for the plan and the inspiration Ana, very much appreciated!

Steve

I saw Gina's post and this moved straight to the top of the to-build list. It's gotten my saw off the floor of my garage and provided a ton of storage for my other tools and bits. I also added another shelf after taking this picture. I modified this slightly: I made the wings 24" only, added a short back to provide more stability and reinforcement to the top shelf, added a diagonal support to the wings, and reinforced the top shelf from the sides with 3" dowels. I got my wood from a local lumberyard and the wheels from Blue.

We built a toybox for our son and discovered that he isn't quite tall enough yet to really get into it. So, to remedy the problem I put together a stool for him. I modified the "simplest stool" plan to make it short and wide. Perfect as a little boost to get into the toybox. We also use it in the bathroom as a little step stool for the sink.

I made this Farmhouse X Table from Ana's plans with the adjustment of adding a breadboard to each end (a perpendicular piece of wood). This table was my first woodworking project ever! Now I am hooked ;) I have made a bench to match. Both are stained with minwax English Chestnut and finished with minwax fast-drying polyurethane, semi-gloss. Now I just have to figure out the rest of my chairs! Thanks Ana!

I wanted both shelves to slant. Cutting the hand holes didn’t go well for me. I used 3” wheels to better maneuver on carpet. I originally tried two fixed casters and two swivel casters but that was too difficult to maneuver so now all four swivel.

I actually got the idea from Shanty 2 Chic and I thought I would share my take on it here. It was super simply...I just kreg jig'd the boards together and built a frame to the size I wanted. I bought the aluminum from Lowe's and cut it down. I actually built 6 of these so I could give 5 away as thank you gifts. The price for all 6 was under $50 and I think only about $30 of that was the materials to make the boards. The rest was spend on the stuff I made for the boards.

Here is a link for their post! http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2012/05/diy-12-magnetic-memo-board.html

This build was quite easy. I didn't run into any issues. I went with stair balusters for the legs instead of the 2x2's that the design calls for, but the balusters ended up being 2x2 anyways so I didn't need to make any changes. My building costs were a bit pricier as I find there's a slight price difference for lumber here in Canada. The construction of the table itself took about an hour or so, however the finishing took much longer due to the painting, staining and then lacquering and waxing!
I decided to go with a more distressed/aged look for my finish, and I thought the glass knobs would look gorgeous. I also decided to line the inside storage area because it just looked a little bland to me! All-in-all I'm very happy with the outcome!

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. 

We built this table using Ana White's patio table plan. We modified it slightly only to use pallet wood for the top. With the pallet wood varying by width, we had to adjust the quantity of slats needed for the top. Using the pallet wood for the top also reduced the cost a bit. We think it turned out great! The plan was VERY easy!

This was my first major woodworking project, and I am so pleased with it! I have been looking for a piece of furniture like this and couldn't find something that I liked and could afford. I spent about $180 in lumber, and also took Ana's advice and invested in a Kreg Jig. I HIGHLY recommend this! It is expensive ($100) but so worth it. I had to learn a few things along the way, and had encountered some obstacles, but in the end I am very pleased with the project. A few things I learned on my first project:

1. Exact cuts are SO important. Every 1/8" matters. It was helpful to do as many cuts as possible at the lumber store.

2. Ana mentions this in her beginners section, but it bears repeating: wood glue will repel stain. Be sure to wipe away ALL residue of wood glue before staining, and be sure to give extra sanding attention to areas that had wood glue. Otherwise you will have a white spot in the midst of your stain.

3. On this plan in particular there is one change that I recommend. Do not add the wrap around trip on the top and bottom until AFTER you have put the plywood backing on in the last step. The reason is that the plywood adds another 3/4 inch, and so there was a gap between the edge of the trip and the back on the furniture. I redid it on the top because it was so noticeable.

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!