Community Brag Posts
Repurposed Demolition Trunk
I had an old chest I had gotten from the Army many years ago that was used to pack explosives. I had been using it to store some tools until I built a new tool shed. I went ahead and power washed it and then stripped it. I gave it a good sanding and then applied 2 coats of Minwax Antique Maple gel stain. I then top coated it with 2 coats of Minwax fast drying polyurethane. It turned out better than I expected. One of my sons uses it to store his book bags from school.
Comments
Thu, 03/01/2012 - 02:28
minwax poly
Just wondering, I always use 3 coats of Minwax fast drying polyurethane on my furniture builds or refinishes. The trouble that I have is the lingering odor. I recently built my son a bed and then finished it and he cant stand the smell and refuses to sleep in it and it has been about 2 weeks or more. Any ideas on how to get rid of the smell quicker. Everything that I have read says it just takes time but surely there has to be a quicker way!! Any suggestions from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
Thu, 03/01/2012 - 06:39
Cowboy Up
At least, that would be my suggestion for him. The smell will dissipate when the smell dissipates, and that's all you can do. You can speed that if the bed is stored in a very well ventilated space for a while, but it's just a matter of the urethane needing to fully cure. That manufacturer estimates four weeks for full cure.
Urethane has a distinctive smell. You can avoid it by using an acrylic finish instead (the water-borne finishes), but acrylic has its own smell that's probably equally offensive.
Sat, 03/10/2012 - 02:27
Poly Odor
It does take a little time to cure and eliminate the odor. Any oil based finish; poly, paint, etc. does have a little stronger smell than water based. Try an open box of baking soda. An open window also works wonders. Ever notice how wonderful sheets smell whenever you dry them outside?
Lego toy box
I built one for my kids and one for a nephew. I ordered the 10" x 10" Lego plates from Amazon. The sides and top are made from 3/4" plywood and the bottom is 1/4" plywood. The overall dimensions are 26 1/4" x 13 5/8" x 11 7/8" (not counting the top circles). I used a 4" hole saw to cut the circles then glued/nailed two together and used wood filler to fill the hole created in the center of the circles by the hole saw.
Other than changing the dimensions, I followed the original plans closely. The images in the original plans have 2 plates that are 15" x 15".
When cutting the circles, I clamped/screwed a scrap piece of wood under the plywood to produce much cleaner cuts.
I did paint the inside bottom white to make it easier to see the bottom and small pieces. I also drilled a pair of holes on each side to add rope handles.
My Potting Table
Loved making this. Took less than 2 hours, not including painting, which I haven't done yet. Plans were easy to follow but I couldn't find a cut list which would have made the trip to the lumber yard a little easier. I used some scrap wood and some new so very reasonable to make.
Clara Table
I stained the top with Dark Walnut stain and used perfect white paint.
Comments
Fri, 10/11/2019 - 09:38
What a beautiful set! Thank…
What a beautiful set!
Thank you for uploading so many brags - love it!
Outdoor Sofa and Table Set
Sofa with 2 ottomans and 2 side tables.
Vinny M
Easy Upholstered bench
Wonderful project! Very fun. Built a bench from scrap 2x4s (left in the garage by our home's previous owner, so they were free!) and a piece of MDF shelving. Perfect for our entryway. The bench itself was incredibly easy to build. The hard part, in my opinion, was finishing it. So many pretty things to choose from! I used a piece of 2-inch foam plus a double layer of batting for the top, some striped upholstery fabric, and 160 nailheads to finish it off. Love it.
Comments
Tue, 02/14/2012 - 12:45
This really came out nice,
This really came out nice, and lovely selection of fabric.
Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:54
Love it! Wondering if I could
Love it! Wondering if I could build it and have some type of slipcover on it. (house with three kids under 5 years old does not go well with permanent upholstery! haha)
Fri, 03/09/2012 - 09:06
slipcover for bench
If you check out Ana's original plans for the Easiest Upholstered Bench, you'll see that she DID use slipcovers! You could make different ones for each season, or for holidays like Christmas or birthdays...
Wed, 10/30/2013 - 08:36
fabric question
Hi Katie, I am having a difficult time finding fabric (hard to believe)! did you get yours online? How wide are the stripes? most fabric I am finding is not wide enough to cover the top and sides. Thanks for the help! Great build!
Our awesome new table.
This was a fun and easy project to do. We really like how it turned out and how it compliments the room. For the bottom shelf I used four 1x6 boards instead of a single 21" wide plywood board. For that worn look, I took a drywall rasp and chewed up the corners and edges. Staining was a two part job. The first coat was called weathered gray. After it dried I lightly sanded it with 180 grit and applied a second coat of dark walnut. The gray subtly shows through the walnut. If I had it to do it over, I may have applied a coat of ebony stain to the corners and edges to make the color less even. I did very little sanding on this piece because I wanted a rough texture, but I did enough to make it sliver-free. The project cost about $80.
Varethane Dark Walnut water based with polyurethane.
American Girl Doll Bed
My daughter wanted a bed for her dolls. American Girl Doll Bed beds are outrageous, soI decided to make one out of some scrap wood we had laying around. I modified it a bit and added a trundle bed below.
Twin Corner Beds with Storage Tower
Built this plan, added bolt hangars and flat face mounts, and corner braces to make it easily assemble or disassemble for moving
Hudson Dresser
Took us about three weeks mostly working on weekends. We could only work when our child was sleeping. A worth while project if you have the time, space and tools needed. It weighs a ton when done. Our higher cost is due to using a higher wood quality and $125 for the eight ball bearing drawer slides. All the plywood is birch, the top is an Aspen panel and the rest is select pine.
Comments
Thu, 10/25/2012 - 11:44
I'm about to start building
I'm about to start building this and I was wondering how you installed the drawer slides.
Thanks!
Computer Armoire aka my new office
From these plans: http://ana-white.com/2013/05/plans/toy-or-tv-armoire
For my quilting business, I needed an office for the paperwork, etc. that comes with running a business. With no spare room for an office, I built this armoire to hold my computer, business papers, and the bags that contain my quilting samples, forms, etc.
On the inside, I used pegboard for the backing so the electrical equipment would have ventilation. I also thought I might be able to hang stuff from the pegboard as well. If I had to do it again, I would set up the keyboard slide and side drawers a little differently. I used scrap wood for that part. I should have just gotten another piece of 3/4 inch plywood and fixed it right, with pocket holes. I'd intended to put drawer pulls on the drawers, but the doors hit the drawers when they close. So, I will need to cut some holes in the drawers to use as pulls.
Sewing Table
Sewing tables are quite expensive, the cheapest I've seen was about $160. I decided to make one myself. I spent about $30 for all the wood, bolts, and nuts that I used to make it.
Geo Thermal Anna White Greenhouse w/ Aquaponics system coming!
My Annawhite design with geothermal improvements. It will also have a 1000 gallon Aquaponics system inside!
Cottage End Table
Basically the same idea, I added doors with antique hardware.
Don H.
Plane Shelf
Had to build this when I saw it. My coworker just had their first newborn baby boy and wanted hanging shelf's so I built one out of some scrap wood.
Comments
Modified Kids Lounge Bench
In getting my boys (ages 8, 5, and 3) started in woodworking, I decided to try this bench. We had a ton of fun building it together.
As you can see, I beefed it up a lot - using 4x4's for legs and recessing the frame into the legs themselves. The boys did all of the sanding and assembling and 80-90% of the cutting. I was just there as training wheels. It took much longer to build with the 4 of us than if I had done it myself. I estimate I could have done this in 3-4 hours. Group effort made it about 20-22 hours.
My 5 year old was the one who campaigned for the arched backrest. I think that they did a great job, and just wanted to share.
Child's Picnic Table
A lot of detail and time spent in painting this, but I am very happy with how it turned out. I used wider boards for the top to accommodate the hand drawn and painted flag. So glad that it is finally done!
Farmhouse Queen Bed - Great Plans!
This was a great set of plans...easy to follow and everything was available from the local home improvement store. I appreciate the time and effort that you all put in to making the plans easy to follow.
Modern Outdoor Chair
Fun project!