Community Brag Posts

For my first woodworking project, I foolishly decided to build a rabbit hutch without plans for my daughters new Easter Bunny. So I literally scratched some ideas on my wood working bench and started going to work. I did some construction over a decade ago, but never attempted to build any furniture before, so I'm pretty happy with how this came out.

I spent a few days researching various rabbit cages and for our place we needed something that was ascetically pleasing and functional as it was going in our living room. I got some ideas from the web and decided the best thing for us would be to have an entry ramp, 2 sets of barn doors for each level (for easy cleaning) and an open roof. We went with linoleum floors since she's already litter trained. The floors could easily be modified to add 1/2" wire mesh if we decide to change things down the line. Also, we chose an espresso finish with silver hardware to accent the wire mesh

I pretty much crashed and burned on the staining as I've never done that before, but it ended up looking ok after all. I did a light sanding, but will probably invest in a planer and jointer to get my wood in better shape before assembling in the future. Also, I'll probably lightly dab some stain on ends of wood before final assembly as it made it difficulty trying to hide the white pine with the dark stain.

Other cages I saw ran around $200-$350.00 so i don't feel so bad about the cost. It's really the time that it took learning and making mistakes. I'm sure if I had plans I could of cut my time in 1/2.

Total Cost came out to around $150.00 but probably would of been cheaper if I had some plans to go by. I probably wasted a few 2x2s and accidentally mis-cut a scrap piece of 1/4"plywood which added another $16.00 to the bottom line.

Here's a breakdown of my total cost.

Hardware - $30.00
Includes 5 latches, 4 sets of hinges (8 total) and a 3' piano hinge

Stain - $8.00

Linoleum Tile @ ¢.69 sq ft - $16

Brushes, Stain Rags - $5.00

Screws - $6.00

Wire Mesh Roll $30.00
Needed 2 rolls at $15.00 each. I used 1" Wire Mesh measuring 2'x15'

Total Wood $50.00-$60
I used 2x3's for the legs - 2 @ 8' - $2.00 each ($4.00)
probably 15-20 2x2's - $1.52 each - can't remember how many I used to be honest ($30.00)
and a few 1x6's for the Doors - $2.00 each ($6.00)
Sheet of 1/4 plywood - $12.00

Hi Ana
I made the storage bench from your plans, using 18mm Malaysian ply and customised it a little, by adding some half-round trim to the top edge, screwing two 3" x 2" at either end to give a larger under-surface when clamping and a shelf to set my drill on plus pencil grove. It's attached by a French cleat.
No staining, just a couple of coats of Danish oil to finish off.
Might be a tad OTT but I've now got a good work-surface to use, when doing clue-ups, marking out, etc.
Thank you for all the plans you give away and take care. - Walt from Northern Ireland

My son and I made this table this weekend in just a couple of hours with no problems. The directions were clear and easy to follow. Thank you for sharing them with us.

This is a mashup of several plans, combined into one big, bad ass, office desk. I've had a little experience years ago in high school woodworking classes, but haven't really built much since. This reminded me how much I enjoy working with wood. So rewarding to be typing this message at my new office desk!

I have a pet ferret that has little room to run around. So I seen this rabbit/ferret cage at the pet store. It was about $150 or so. So I took a pic of it on my phone, and found the Google Sketch app, and watched some videos, and now I have plans for the cage. Some 2x2's, 1x8's, plywood, chicken wire, and some locks and hinges for the ramp an lid.... Still tweaking it, but hopefully it will work out.

I was planning to make a train table trundle for my son's bed, but once I saw this plan everything changed. I'm so SO happy with it. Modifications: 1) We took off the bottom shelf because hubby likes to stretch his long legs out underneath. 2) We used laminated pine project panels for the top, they cost more, but they were already the correct size, and the finished look of the top would be nicer. We altered the design to make the panels go lengthwise. So far so good, neither have bowed whatsoever. 3) we used inset handles from Lee Valley with an antiqued finish. I had yet to lacquer this when I took the photo because we couldn't wait to get the trains in there! I have since done 3 coats of minwax Poly to protect it from little hands, crayons, etc.... We're hoping this table will graduate cars, then to legos, and then....who knows!? Thanks to Ana and all the contributors here.

Took the fancy hall tree bottom and added Mimi's hutch to the top. Added a little bead board to the bench and top edges to cover up the plywood, and voila! My wife's Christmas gift. 

Modified the design to allow me to roll lawnmower directly in the end. Fun project.

We love this fence refresh from the previous owner's solution to enclosing the pool equipment and a/c unit! It was the first time we fastened something to our house - drilling through stucco in the process. That was a big deal for us diy-ers! We made the frame out of 4x4's (which ended up being the most challenging part to the whole thing), applied the horizontal fencing boards and then used one of those $15 fence hardware kits - it was a great project that has made a huge difference in our backyard. Yay!

 The project was used using the same plans but I extended the floor to be 6 feet wide vice 4 feet the additional 2 feet provided the perfect amount space I wanted. I also added an extra windows  to get cross ventilation.    I also insulated the coop and put paneling on the walls and lenolium on the floors.  I dropped the back wall sheeting 1.5 inches for additional airflow since the shed doesn't have a ridge vent.   The plans are easy to follow and easily adaptable.   

Ready to grow my own vegetables.

Jeff DeVries

After waiting a year for my boyfriend to build me an outhouse for our camp, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This is the first thing I ever built and I'm so proud of it. It turned out great, and gave me inspiration to build more.  - Jenine