Community Brag Posts

Balin console table modification

I absolutely loved this table but needed to modify it to fit into a specific area of my house, so I put two drawers on top of each other instead of having all four across. I also shortened the legs as a result. I really love the way it turned out. It is so pretty.

The only thing I dislike is the drawers. They are incredibly heavy, don't slide that well (not because of any mistake on my part, just because they are wood sliders and not metal or plastic), and the shape and size don't make them very usable. They're sort of awkward. I originally wanted it to be a place for my boys to store their Thomas train tracks and Legos, but there's really no way a kid can use drawers that heavy and deep. So that's a bummer.

But overall it's a really nice addition to that part of our living room!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax's cognac
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Linda7

Thu, 08/02/2012 - 10:40

Your console table is beautiful! I read a recent post that addressed the awkward drawer slides. This person used teflon tape on the slides and said it worked well. Here's the post...
Submitted by alexnb on Thu, 2012-08-02 00:30.

That might work for you, too, so that you could actually use the drawers for those pesky little toy train and Lego pieces! :-)

Lady Goats

Thu, 08/02/2012 - 10:44

I've loved the Balin console since Ana first posted the plans, but haven't gotten a chance/place for it. Your modifications are amazing, and the finish is stunning. WOW!

katiesommer

Mon, 08/06/2012 - 09:13

Thanks guys. Your nice words made me feel so good. Linda, can you send the link again? It didn't post here.

Thanks again. :D It was a fun project and the mods make it unique.

Narrow Farmhouse table

Submitted by ajreilly on Tue, 05/27/2014 - 15:52

This is my third project - built the Full Farmhouse bed and Haley platform bed. Son wanted a 6 ft table to accommodate all of his computer/gaming devices.

Came together quickly - sanding/stain/finish took majority of time. Stained base with Minwax ebony (2 coats), used Minwax weathered Oak on table top (1 coat) and 3 coats of Satin Polycrylic.

I now have a long list of projects....

Estimated Cost
$60
Finish Used
Weathered oak stain
Satin Polycrylic
Ebony stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Rustic Console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 08/28/2016 - 16:58

My first project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Dark Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Simple Wood Pantry Shelves

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/11/2024 - 13:31

The wire shelves that the builder placed were not cutting it for storage. This setup from your plan helped garner so much more space for organizing. The pantry is roughly 54”x 35” and we were able to place five shelves instead of the four. Thank you so much for your assistance!

Built from Plan(s)

Console Table

Submitted by LaserTech on Mon, 08/06/2012 - 08:37

I built this in just a couple of hours. I thought it would look good in our living room. I also wanted to try the Gel stain and thought this would be a good project for that.

Estimated Cost
$44
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Sand, Minwax Red Elm Gel stain
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Farmhouse Coffee Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/12/2020 - 12:08

Took combination of farmhouse coffee table and side table to make a square coffee table for our sunroom

Estimated Cost
60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Painted Base- endless sea by Sherwin Williams
Top- Rustic Oak from Minwax - 2 coats
Sealer- 3 coats
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Butcher Block Island

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/18/2024 - 10:20

I really needed a kitchen island. That would work for me & last.
We, my husband & I, based our plan off of the Easy Kitchen Island Plans. I printed the plans. Then modified a few items. Originally I was gonna do a 4ftx25" but my butcher block we found was 6ft. So we left it with 6ft. My barstools slip under the overhang so kids can pull them out & use when needed but not be in the way.
We also made it custom to my height for mixing & kneading dough. The selves are different to work.with my tupperware containers. (Goal is to get all the same eventually).
We used cedar & a little pine for the main structure. The top is European walnut butcher block.
It's on wheels. So I can move it out of the way if needed.
We did seal the sides (kids & messy cook). The shelves & top I used butcher block oil & conditioner. Ever month I add a thin coat of conditioner to the top.
I love that I have so much room now to create.
Thank you so much for the inspiration!
Faith & Jonathan Flesher

Built from Plan(s)

Back to School Lockers

Submitted by imalearba4 on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 12:50

It is almost back to school time (20 days) and I am home alone with my 4 kids while my husband is away on business for 2.5 weeks. What is a woman to do? Find a project.
There has always been this weird little nitch in the front "formal living room" that I use as my photo studio. It is only 55 1/4 " wide and 7" deep so nothing I could find would fit there- I usually have a coat rack there- and last year I had my boys' backpacks for school hung there. But... This year my twins are going off to school- which means 4 backpacks. Enter project! I modified the Small Locker Project (http://ana-white.com/2010/08/still-not-locker.html) and built the lockers to 1.) fit the space 2.)to fit their existing shoe baskets that used to be in an Ikea Expedit shelf.
I am soooo pleased with how they turned out.
I built this in pieces- first the bench, then the dividers and backing, and then the cubbies above. I built it using 1/2 in birch veneer plywood (that happens to be Purebond) from home depot. I had Home Depot cut the wood (which I normally do for the easiness factor- but this time it was a mistake. My favorite cutting guy was on vacation and I wanted to start now so I let Moose cut it. So not a good idea. One piece was 15" wide at one end and 15 1/4 " at the other... I gave him a cutting guide, hello?
Good thing I have my own table saw so I could fix it. (from when I built my girls beds: http://ana-white.com/2010/05/plans/corner-unit-twin-storage-bed)
I sanded and stained the wood with custom stain from Sherwin Williams. I then gave it 3 coats of waterbased Poly .(sanding between each one)
Then I glued and nailed it together (for the record, 1/2 plywood is harder to shoot nails into- just sayin')
Then I had the wood cut for the dividers and back (sand, stain, poly, glue and nail, install)
Finally the cubbies at the top: (sand stain, poly glue and nail, install)
After that I put on the trim so now I have a built in lockers for my kids- their backpacks and shoe baskets fit exactly, and there is room for when they grow for the backpack hooks to move up. I plan to use chalkboard vinyl to put their names above the hooks. Thanks Ana again for inspiring me!!!!!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Sherwin Williams stain, with 3 coats of Minwax Semigloss Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Shelf for Organizing Supplies

We were throwing all of our woodworking supplies into this closet off my patio, and it was really hard to find what we needed when we needed it.
So we made this shelf using two 2x4x10s cut to an inch less than 5ft each for the legs, and 4 1x3x8s cut to half inch less than 2ft each cut. (one board per shelf). (Measurements are for minimum waste)
Kreg jigged the 1x3s together 4 deep for each shelf. Used 1 1/4" Kreg screws.

We might go back and add a shelf or two to fix the odd spacing at the top and give us more shelves for the little things.

Estimated Cost
$12.50
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Didn't finish as it's just going on a closet on the balcony and we needed it quick and finishing is the most time consuming.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Entry Console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:52

I liked the look of the spacers on the bottom shelf, but decided to leave them out since I just wanted to be done with this project :) I modified the plans to only have one shelf, as well as feet on the bottom (instead of having the piece go completely to the floor). As a result of adding the feet, the bottom is framed with 1x2s instead of 1x4s. I needed to purchase 6 1x2s to do that (but only needed 3 1x4s). I attempted to miter the cuts on those pieces...wood filler came to the rescue in the end. This was a lot of fun to make!

Estimated Cost
Approximately $200
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Varathane Early American. Brush on one coat, let sit for 5 minutes, then wipe off excess and blend together for an even finish. Follow with 3 coats of poly (I used Miniwax water-based satin finish), sanding between each coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Adirondack Chairs

Submitted by hgordon on Tue, 06/16/2020 - 09:18

Modern Adirondack chairs with added cup holder holes. Will be adding cup holder inserts as well.

Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Varathane “Early American” stain
Cabot clear wood protector
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Storage Bedframe

I used pine for the 2x6's and 2x4's (and 1x3's) and fir plywood for the headboard, footboard and drawers. I also modified the drawers and used a square piece of 3/4" plywood for the bottom - made it way easier to build the drawers square so they slide nicely!

The pulls are from Lee Valley.

Estimated Cost
200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
2 coats of Minwax Dark Walnut stain and 3 coats of Verathane Crystal Clear Satin Interior. I applied the first 2 coats, then lightly sanded then a third thin coat and it turned out super smooth!
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

StacieM

Sun, 08/12/2012 - 17:36

I love how the storage drawers are off the floor. The finish looks great and the "in process" photos help a lot. Great Job!

theresalynn

Sun, 08/19/2012 - 11:02

The plans were great, but the drawers took FOR EVER to get them to slide properly. It is a very much recommended build if you live in a house like mine, with small bedrooms! (Yay older houses!)

Patio bench

Submitted by chipona on Mon, 06/02/2014 - 14:11

This bench for 2 was made of leftover pine wood planks I had in my cellar. I used different saws and a router to make sure the ends where smooth and give the overall project a elegant touch. Since I love to see the texture of wood I chose a walnut stain.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
walnut stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Coat Rack

I built this coat rack a couple of years ago for our house when our little girl ripped the one we had out of the wall trying to get her coat off the hook lol. I was actually able to reuse the hooks from the cheap little coat rack that we had bought from the home store. It attached into the wall using drywall anchors so it wasn’t all that secure to begin with. I set out to make one that would look a lot nicer and have some room for storage. The design I came up with works great for  storing all our coats and hats, but also the cubby storage at the top is great for storing keys and gloves and whatever else you may need to store.

Estimated Cost
$150
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Round Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/17/2020 - 22:23

Like any good DIY project, I started with plans and then changed pretty much everything.

We wanted a modern but sort of rustic table for our dining area. The Modern Round Table plans almost fit the bill but not quite. The local Lowe’s had the perfect answer—Birch plywood. It also fit our Alaska setting.

I laminated two half sheets of 3/4” together, then cut out a 48” round top with a router.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Danish Oil Natural, then 4 coats of Polyseal
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Rustic X coffee table

Submitted by mkwsrt4 on Thu, 06/05/2014 - 02:56

This was my first woodworking project and I absolutely love it. I think it turned out amazing and was actually very simple to do. I just got some construction grade lumber from Home Depot and borrowed some tools and got started. I did have to buy a Kreg Jig, which is an amazing tool by the way. I am not complaining about having to buy it since I have used it on many projects since!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$180
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used steel wool dissolved in vinegar to chemically distress the wood. Then I sanded it down and applied a dark stain, I can't remember exactly which one. I applied two coats of stain, then I applied 3 coats of polyurethane, sanding in between each coat.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modern Storage Benches

I built these modern storage benches for some friends of ours. They needed some space to store their little girls toys. They planned to use some wicker baskets they had. I took the measurements for the baskets and built the storage spaces around it. 

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Puzzle bookcase

Submitted by MandyM on Sat, 06/20/2020 - 15:59

Made over two weekends - used pocket holes - stain is charcoal grey and the paint is rainwater by Behr - had some issues with warped wood but it still turned out great - I did not secure the cubbies to the bookcases; my hubby likes the idea of being able to change the size - overall very happy! Plans are so easy to follow

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
100
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Charcoal grey and rainwater by Behr
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate