Community Brag Posts

I needed a large box to use at the base of my stairs for shoe storage, so this is it! I made 2 compartments, and put handles on the side for easy moving. Being solid wood, this thing is heavy and a lot larger than it looks.

I wanted to do Bri-wax as a test on a smaller project before possibly messing up a larger one. Bri-wax advised me to wait a week to let the stain 'cure' prior to using the product. The stain was beautiful prior to using Bri-wax, but didn't look nearly as good when the wax took off some of the stain and kind of changed the color. I love the look of the Bri-wax finish, but probably won't be using it again (unless the finish has been cured for a long time). Bri-wax also told me not to use it over varnish or poly, as it would damage that surface. I would be interested in hearing from you guys who have used it successfully on top of other finishes.

My dad built this for my daughter.

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

Floating Shelves

"Beginner" doesn't begin to describe me! I didn't know the difference between a skill saw & a miter saw before starting this project, but thankfully, my husband is a Mechanical Engineer & knows his way around a few tools. We're very happy with the end result, but they're not perfect. We learned a lot & I'm confident that the next project will be better. A couple of things I learned along the way--no need to buy exactly double the wood for two chairs. Probably obvious for those that are experienced, but I bought exactly double & could've saved a little $$ if I knew what I was doing. Not counting the investment of the saws & other equipment (that will now last my lifetime!), the chairs were less than $50 each for the wood, paint, screws, etc. We used the cheapest wood (whitewood, per the recommendation) available & now that I'm a bit more knowledgeable, I'll upgrade for my next project. The paint is regular Glidden Exterior, & the Home Depot reps were kind enough to mix samples of the two lighter colors so that I didn't have to buy a quart for such a small amount. Colors are Peach Crayon, True Peach, & Tropical Coral. It should be noted that samples aren't available in exterior, but the chairs will be used mostly on a screened porch--out of the direct sun and rain--so I didn't worry too much about it.

Super proud of these! Made them on my own while 7 months pregnant! Wonderful plan! Thank you!!!  

Built from recycled yellow pine bleacher seats my school I worked at wanted me to toss. No plans just made it up as I went along.

I followed lady goat's instructions but made the seat back taller and the sandbox wider (4'x5'). I have more details here:

http://www.statelykitsch.com/diy-sandbox-with-lid-benches/

I had my dad and father-in-law come help with this project. We are all pretty much beginners, but have done some building in the past.

Because I'm not experienced, I didn't find the plans to be in depth enough. Some parts weren't not fully explained and took some guesswork.

I also didn't know what a Kreg Jig was or how expensive it was! This upped my cost by $100. It was well worth buying however, and will be used again in future projects.

We added a railing to the platform since the bed is up against a window with a screen. If the kids were to fall off the platform and hit the screen, they could fall 2 stories. The railing is just screwed into the side of the platform and can be removed at any time.

Overall, I love how it turned out and so do my kids! It fits the toddler-sized DIY bed that my husband and I built right underneath so my 4 year old and 2 year old can now share a room.

More details and pictures are on my blog: http://themombot.com/crafting/2014/05/09/details-our-diy-bunk-bed

Very straightforward build. Lowes didn't have many 2x4's that didn't have some sort of warp or bend in them so the bottom shelf had to be trimmed slightly to fit. 

There is a sweet spot with the vinegar/steel wool that takes some mixing and testing to find. To strong a solution and the wood turns nice and brown to weak and it's a hardly noticeable light grey. My advice is get a strong 3-4 day old solution and mix 50/50 with vinegar and test on scrap, wait and hour or so to dry and adjust the mix from there until you love it. 

I finished with minwax polishing wax.

I made this for my Mom for Mother's Day. She has been wanting a little table to put next to her recliner (where she knits, reads and watches TV). For the top and drawer, I used Douglas Fir from Lowes. The rest is whitewood and redwood (legs). Overall the wood cost me about $50. I painted the body with high-gloss white paint and the stain on the wood is a mixture of min-wax Golden Pecan and English Chestnut. The finishing took the longest, but the build went very quickly.
I did notice that the cut list is a little off. You need 4 of the 1x2 pieces for the sides, not just two.

I may put a layer of varnish on it, but as of now it is not varnished.

Made a set in Kansas, moved em to Texas with us and couldn't move them to Kentucky, so I had to build another set! I know, such a shame right! Lol. These ones turned out better than the first! The first set was just stained, I got a little more crafty with these!!

Fun project!

I had a friend ask me to build this for her daughter. The bars are bungie cord that you can order by the roll. I made 3 frames the same size then put 2x2's on the inside corners and counter sunk the screws the stapled the bungie cord at the top and the bottom. I would highly recommend securing this to a stud in the wall incase a little one tried to climb on it.

Sliding barn door console