Well worth the time and effort!!!
I built this new workbench for my garage to accomodate my table and miter saw and to add some stowaway storage and I cant tell you how much I love it, especially with being able to pull the tables out to make an outfeed for the tablesaw. I altered theplans a bit to shorten the entire length by nearly 1.5 feet and instead of the board mounted tool space I added my bench vise to this gap and use shelved underneath for storage. The plan was simple to follow and allowed me to build a bench that all of my neighbors talk about now! Thanks so much Ana!
With another total lockdown happening here in Cyrpus, right at the same time as my Daughter will be on Easter holidays, I'm trying to knock up as much outdoor play kit as I can to keep her entertained and off the iPad.
The design of this was very simple, a 2x2 frame clad with T&G; the countertop, shelves, and roof are from marine grade baltic birch (the roof also has additional levels of water prof membranes, root barriers, etc to support the living roof).
Finish-wise, for the pinks and blues, I've used wood aqua by Kraft paints, and for the counter, shelves, and picnic bench, high protection wood stain in walnut by V33.
My wife asked me to build her a sewing table so I modified the x console a bit. Pretty happy with the result. Still need to add the hardware to complete the piece. Finished with the vinegar / steel wool solution after pre treating it with black tea. First time using that technique and will definitely use it again.
In reply to beautiful by katiemakes
Fri, 04/05/2013 - 22:20
I can't remember where I stumbled across the technique but basically you take some steel wool (0000), tear it up, put it in a big glass jar, fill it with stinky white vinegar and let it sit for a few days to dissolve the wool. Shake the jar every day or two and don't cap it tight. In about three days the wool will have dissolved and you will have a murky liquid.
I then brewed some black tea I bought at Walmart and painted the entire piece with the tea. After it dried I painted over it with the vinegar, and wallah! it totally changed colors...not sure why it does...something to do with oxidization and tannin and chemical reactions.
Then I went over the entire piece with furniture wax.
There are plenty of online tutorials which go into more detail. My suggestions is make sure your surface is completely clean and as smooth as possible. Let your tea layer completely dry before applying the vinegar and then let your vinegar layer dry outside. We rushed the table into our house mere moments after it was dry to the touch, so our home smelled like stinky, rusty vinegar for a few days. I can't stand the smell of vinegar....I loathe salt and vinegar chips....blah.
Anyway, glad you liked it.
Tue, 04/07/2015 - 06:05
Love this mod. Might copy but will cut into the desk portion so the sewing machine surface is flush. I have a desk in which it sits on top now and have thought of cutting into it, but it's Amish made and the thought of ruining work gives me the willies, ha! Anyway, great job!
Wed, 04/08/2015 - 08:52
Love this! Would like to build for a make up/get ready table! Do you have the plans you used or how did you modify this?!
Using the Junior Height Camp Loft Bed plans...
I raised the height from 65 to 67 inches to better accomodate a bottom bunk. Added bottom rails and extra 2X4s for the head board.
I shortened the width and length of the stairs to better fit in the room, and in doing so, made a small mod to the post by the stairs to prevent the boys from falling down the stairs.
Kids Love them
I adapted the garden tool storage project to fit my small space. I used some reclaimed wood as well as 2 x 4s since lumber is so expensive right now. I placed the racks up high to open space close to the ground in our little 12' x 16' workshop.
This was a recycle from a window replacement project on my 108 year old home. I removed the leaded glas window from the top of a 4.5 by 4.5 street facing window with a reciprocationg saw, attached a 1x4 pine board with trim screws on the ends and trim nails on the mid-portions. Painted it with satin black with a sweep of gold and pewter for a little dramatic effect, purchased a heavy weight mirror hanging plate and attached to the wall and window back. I'm thinking of backing it with a mirror to improve looks,
Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:39
This is just lovely! What a wonderful use for a piece of history, it's now a one of a kind piece of art, and an instant heirloom!
Ana's instructions were very easy to follow. The main problem I had was the 4X4 lumber was S4S, therefore the edges were rounded, which made for awkward joints with the aprons. Other than that, I used wood conditioner before staining and sealing.
I pretty much followed the plans for this build, with the exception of adding breadboard ends to the top as well as builfing the hardware. I also changed the dimensions a bit and compartmentalized the shelves. The attached photo is of the table on a dolly, ready to load for a customer. I really enjoyed this build and as always, this site is the best for new to experienced woodworkers to use as a resource.
I built this picnic table for my mom’s Mother’s Day/Birthday gift. With the price of lumber being as high as it is I figured this table would be her gift this year. Fairly simple design. Ana was right about pre-sanding and staining. Would’ve made it a lot easier. I applied to coats of external poly for durability. Keep plans coming Ana!
Wow! Did we ever pick a "small" project for our first build:) We had never built so much as a birdhouse and here we were building a playhouse. It was so much fun though and I'm glad that we did it. My daughter LOVES it and we are so pleased with how it turned out. We ran across a few problems due to our inexperience but nothing we couldn't overcome.
Tue, 04/02/2013 - 05:29
Aww. Thank you so much! I promise you, you can do it!!!!
I just made the center part of the console. My daughter didn't want any cabinet doors or drawers on it.
It started out being painted yellow, then she changed it to the distressed light green in the first pic.
Made this for my granddaughter and worked on it 40+ hours. I borrowed the removable window boxes and shutters off another plan to girlie it up. If I were to make it again, then I would add an extra 2 inches on the sides, front and back to make it easier to make up the bed. It's so adorable and I can't wait for her to see it.
I took the idea of the "small cedar shed" and decided to upsize it for a new chicken coop. Our old one was small enough that we had to let our six hens out to roam the yard. Chickens. Poop. Everywhere. I wanted one big enough to have them live in it. The nesting box is about 24 sf. The whole coop is 18' long, about 6-1/2' at the back with a 15° slope to the roof, and about 4' deep. I built the ladder up to their nesting box and made a mitre-cut panel under the nesting box for cleaning out, feeding, and watering. Total materials cost was about $1000, but a couple of local homebuilders helped by letting me scavenge the lumber for the nesting box from around houses that they were finished framing.
Made this for a friend. Followed the plans from the Clara table, chairs were made from the 4 dollar stackable chair plan.
Finish was Watco Danish Dark Walnut oil, which i just discovered and love. Goes on even and isn't blotchy on pine. For the table top i added a couple coats of polyurethane.
The table was easy to make, but the chairs took quite a bit of time with the amount of slats. Also there are about 30 screw holes per chair to drill, countersink and fill with putty. I am making another set for someone else, and will probably go with a single, wide slat for the back and seat. Also I would suggest adding braces to the legs, they seem a little flimsy
I built this for some friends who are having a remodel done in their house to get their washer and dryer out of the kitchen. The new area was a perfect size for a cool piece of furniture and because of how well my other projects turned out they asked if I would make something for them. My friend is a great cook and has some really nice cookware that needed housing so we used the "planked wood sideboard plans" as the bones for the project. I saw some cool things from Pinterest (Glideware) that I wanted to incorporate and we drew up some plans. All in all it took me about 36 hours to complete. Two weekends and some work at night after work. I used my miter saw, table saw, circular saw, power drills, wood clamps, Kreg pocket hole jig, and my electric sander to knock this one out.
Mon, 03/02/2015 - 20:25
Hi thank you! I actually made them from 2x4's and 20 inch ball bearing drawer hardware. I mounted them to 1x4's then mounted the whole system to a 1/4 inch thick ply and attached it to the underside of the butcher block. The hooks were just 3 inch hooks from Home Depot screwed in the 2x4.
I just want to thank Anna for inspiring me! I would've never thought that I could actually build my daughter a loft bed from scratch if it hadn't been for this website! This loft bed took about 3 weeks to build but the reason why it took me that long is because I did it in my spare time which was a couple of hours each alsmost everyday excluding the weekends, also this was my first time using my husbands table saw and drilling pilot holes but once I got the hang of it everything went smoothly. I wanted to save money so I purchased the Mini Kreg Jig which is about $20 from HD and let me tell you it is a must when your drilling pilot holes. I purchased my lumber from HD as well. It took me about an hour to pick out the wood. I decided to paint the loft bed with DecoArt Enamel craft paint because it's non-toxic, the paint cures into a hard finish, no primer, I didn't have to sand in between coats, or put a protective finish. It also dries fast. I put 3 coats. This paint can get pricey if you pay full price but I just used a coupon everytime I went to Hobby Lobby. I used a tea, vinegar and steel wool mixture for the stairs, again because it's non toxic. I also raised the height of the 2x4 posts 6 inches so my 7 yr old daughter could walk under there without hitting her head. I'm so glad I decided go for it! Thanks again ANNA!
Added a shelf for plants at the top, coat hooks.
I mounted the back panel to the wall so I could remove the supports between the bench and the back panel.
I wanted to build my kids a sand/ water table, but wanted something that would could also serve as other purposes. My father helped me since I used his tools. We shortened the whole project by 16% so my kids would be able to reach it better. We also changed up what wood was used. My father came through and had a pile of wood that he had no use for. So we used 1x6's that we cut down for the shelves and 2x4's for everything else. We also added a brace on the back to add a little more stability to the bench since my kids were going to use it. To finish it up I bought a plastic storage tub with a lid and some sand. The bottom shelf is used for toy storage.
I used the Rebecca Side Hutch and Side Base plans to create a slightly wider version to fit the TV in our master bedroom. The building took one whole weekend and then it took another week to finish it up like filling holes, sanding, painting and then reassembling. My final cabinet is 36.75" wide at the top and I changed the doors to overlay instead of inset. I love the finished cabinet!
Fri, 02/27/2015 - 12:27
This is really nice! It fits perfectly in your space!
In reply to This is really nice! It fits by Ana White
Mon, 03/02/2015 - 20:23
Thanks so much for all the plans!
Comments
Ana White Admin
Thu, 02/05/2015 - 10:54
Darling!
Great job, I love the estimated cost breakdown, too funny!