Community Brag Posts

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.

Thanks for the plans.  My little brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters and I made this table and had lots of fun doing so.  We made a few modifications which might be useful to others:

1.  We modified the center joints (at the lower and table level) so that one 2x4 could continue across the entire diameter of the table for greater strength (see pictures for details).

2.  As recommended we extended the seats out 4".  This made it very comfortable to get in and out.

3.  We started the center with 2 pieces of 2x6 rather than 6 with the thought being that this would help strengthen the center of the table.  (see pictures for details).

4.  We added a stiffener at the center 6-way joint on the lower level to help really strengthen that center joint.  This was made out of 2 pieces of 2x6 as shown in the pictures.

Thanks,

John

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 used Ana's plans for this entertainment center. I wanted tour pride my husband so I built it while my he was out of town. When he got back into town and settled in to watch television I heard him say "oh wow.....where did you buy this, it's gorgeous"! He thought I had bought it.

thanks Ana for providing easy to follow plans!

My wife wanted a table to seat 12 and she liked the looks of the 4x4 Truss Beam Table from Ana White.

So we modified the plans, our table is 54 inches wide (not 37) and 98 inches long (instead of 87). The legs are 4x6 not 4x4. The lower center beam is 4x6. The plans call for 2x4 aprons ending at the legs, we used 4x4 aprons and extended them beyond the legs to within 3 inches of the end of the table. Finally, we laid the tabletop across the table with a combination of 2x8, 2x10, and 2x12 boards.
We built this all with cedar. The cost is a little over $1,100 for materials.

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).

I built this PVR/DVD cabinet by combining my stained glass hobby with my woodworking.

The stained glass door works well as the remotes operate through the glass, I left the rear of the cabinet open for wiring but also to allow any heat to escape.

I used some brushed finish cedar that a neighbor gave to me but used dressed ply on the interior, any wood of choice would work.

This was one of your online plans, with a slight change to the front of the doors. Great project, made from pine, stained, and varathane applied.

Just finished this Twin Size Simple Bed direct from the Ana White plans. This is my first project that I've completed, and it went well! The plans were great, and my only advice would be to take your time. I know that some people don't like to paint the wood, but this white just fit the room perfectly. As a side-note, this bed is SOLID and very heavy! Amazing what a difference real wood is to the stuff you get at the furniture store.

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.

I am so happy to be able to submit a brag post. Besides shelves and flower beds this is The first piece of furniture I make besides  some mistakes and frustrations in the learning process it went relatively smooth! I am super happy to have made my first piece of furniture on my own :). Thanks for the great plans and for everyone who made helpful suggestions in the comment section. I also recommend  using another 2x2 piece above the drawer railing to

hold it in place so it doesn't tip out. Thanks again! 

We were in desperate need of a lego storage solution for our son's small bedroom. I made this for his 7th birthday. I saw a photo of a similar one as a result of a google or pinterest search and decided to draw up some plans.
I recessed the top slightly so that pieces won't fall off. I just glued thin cleats to the inside of the box to hold the lid, (using spacers to get it at the height I wanted) Ideally the top would be reversible however I didn't quite get one of the dividers square so it only fits one way. I used Posca water-based markers to do the text. Make sure you wait until the text is really dry before you try to seal it (don't ask me how I know that...) Turns out that the markers don't react well with the brush on poly so I just left the text unsealed.
I was just going to have one handle on the front but then I made a stupid mistake and wrote the text so it would be upside down when pulled out (I know, dumb right!) So I added another handle on the other side. I used a water-based enamel for the whole box. Not sure if that was worth it of if I should have just used flat and given it a top coat of poly. I used a brush on the inside corners and found it really hard to get an even finish because I rolled the flat surfaces. Painting the pieces before assembly would probably fix this.
Added some castors so it can be pushed under the bed.