Community Brag Posts

I'll be honest I didn't use these plans to build this cooler chest but this was the first place I saw the concept of building a box around a cooler to make a cooler chest so I give anna props for inspiring me I already had an old cooler to use so it helped keep the cost down I also used 1x4 blue pine and cedar fence picketts and repurposed the bottle opener from a growler carrier (in hindsight the bottle opener on a growler carrier doesnt make sense) all told this cost me about $45

My wife and I really love the farmhouse look and feel. We saw one of these tables at a furniture store for $2000 with no chairs. I had already bought the Kreg Tool, something that I cannot believe I have done without for so long, when I went to build some $10 Shelves that Ana has on her site. My wife asked me how hard it would be to build the table and I told her I have never done anything like it. I also told her if she didn't like the end project, we could use it as a picnic table outside. It was fantastically easy with the plans and Kreg Jig. Thanks to Ana for all the helpful tips!

Now to the build. We decided that the table needed to be a bit wider and longer for our needs, so I adjusted the plans. It came out to 90"x48". The center board is a 2x12 with the other 4 being 2x10s. The end pieces are 2x8s that I had from building garden boxes. The benches that I also built were from scrap lumber, they are not pictured here as they need one more coat of stain and then three coats of polycrylic. They are 52" long and go on the ends where the kids can use the cross beam as a foot support.

Building this project was rather quicker than I thought. Of course, borrowing a radial arm saw helped out a bunch with the legs. Once it was all together, I sanded the table three times. I used 80, 150 then 220 grit. The palm sander got a real workout over the space of about a week and a half.

Finishing the project, I decided to follow the plans and went with Minwax Weathered Oak and topped that with Minwax Polycrylic. The legs and underside of the table received 2 coats of each, but the top I gave 3 coats of stain and 2 coats of the Poly with a very light sanding in between each coat.

The table then sat completed in the garage for 3 weeks as I had to find enough help to get it into the house. This is one heavy bugger. If we ever sell the place, it stays! There are ~150 screws and all but 12 of those had pocket holes.

Fantastic build and now I am going to build the farmhouse king size bed. And a murphy bed. And more shelves. And a shoe cubby with coat rack. And a wine rack. And a greenhouse... the list goes on and on...

I've built several things from the page but this is the first that I have posted about.  I love this site.  Everything I have built has been so easy because of the way the plans are laid out.  I added my own little touches to the buffet but for the most part I followed the plans as they were.

My 2 grand girls wanted a cottage bunk bed.  Not wanting to disappoint, I took the plans from the cottage loft bed and modified them, adding a lower bunk.  I also added the steps, with storage on the side instead of the ladder, and made a drawer for the front step for the little one.

I made the wreath from Pom-Poms purchased from Jo-Ann's and battery operated string lights.  

I opted for a cedar shake roof, which was purchased from Home Depot, then painted.

Needless to say, they love it!

This is the half done lake sign I have been working on. We have a new CNC carving machine, and this was first.

From the pallet style coat rack plans we saw from Ana and what she did for Ryobi Nation.  Real simple to follow.  I just change measurements to fit my space and other modificaitons because I didn't have quite enough 2x lumber.  I saw the railroad spike hook idea on Pinterest and had a metal worker down my road cut them and thread them for me.  I am very happy with it.  I found a water-based stain (I HATE the clean up for oil based stuff) in a color called Aged Leather.

Built by my son and I. Followed the awesome plans for that most part. 

I made the worm composter from Ana's plan and built a cabinet out of old pallets. The stack of worm composters drawers slide in and out of the cabinet on a heavy duty drawer glide set. I used cedar fence board. For 3 bucks a board, it was worth the work to rip them down and sand them. The bottom drawer has a tray built out of old flashing and slopes towards a hose bib in order to collect the worm tea. I designed the drawer insert out of cardboard and cut it out of flashing, using a pop rivet gun to put it together, sealing the seams with flashing caulking. The drawer has a sheet of aluminum window screen under the top square of cedar.

I made these stools to use with my counter-height dining table.  The only modification I made to the original plans were I did not use the diagonal support and I used 2x6s to make the seat for the stool.

Thanks Ana, built it out of pressure treated wood for South Florida. Had the Home Depot cut most of the wood from your plans.

My wife and daughter wanted a shelf for her room - had to be pink. All I had to go on was a picture from a Pottery Barn ad. It's made from poplar and was my first kreg pocket hole project.

This was my first real build and it was a lot of fun. My girlfriend helped me out from time to time even though it was brutally cold in my un-heated, uninsulated, detatched garage.

We used a sagey green for the paint and 2 coats of gloss poly on the top. Added holes in the back with a hole saw for wires and cables. I stacked the false fronts and drilled them for the knobs all at the same time for consistency.

All in for about $210 including $40 in knobs, but I did make the drawers out of some scrap I had laying around.

The pocket hole joinery makes this pretty easy, but I'd highly recommend a table saw for consistent cuts and deminsions. Also, definitely use lay out lines and double check for squareness before driving the screws during assembly. Take your time, and enjoy the process. It starts to look very much "diy" in that not good "ummmmmm..." kind of way before the end where it all comes together.

I liked the other brag post with shorter arms

Really helps add storage to my office.  Thanks Ana and Shanty 2 Chic

We just moved to a farm and luckily the house has a wood shop! So we chose to do this farm house table as our first build at our new house. It was so much fun....and it was a great project for my husband and I to work on together! Total working time was about 10 hours, that did not include the time it took for the stain to dry and the poly to set. I am incredibly impatient and probably applied the poly over the stain too early, but with a project like a "rustic farmhouse table", the imperfections from my haste go unnoticed. Next build: barn doors.