Community Brag Posts

We followed Ana's "Toddler's Upholstered Bed" plan nearly exactly. The only major change I made was to add fancy looking french country legs I found at the local hardware store. They were screw in, so I used metal screw guides that popped right in after a little pre-drilling. I included some pictures to help explain this variance to help give others ideas. Thanks so much for these plans Ana!

Took a couple of weeks to complete but, hubby only worked on it in the evenings after he got off work. He had trouble finding untreated 4x4s so he glued untreated 2x4s together (which took extra time waiting for the glue to set up and dry). He used paint grade pine wood so our cost was a little higher than what was estimated. We ended up having around $350 in it after buying paint and everything. Overall, he said it was a fairly easy project.

For my sons airplane/helicopter Birthday I painted murals on 2inch thick cardboard. three mnths later they are still in the back yard, the cardboard has been rained on as well as the sprinklers have watered them almost daily and as you see they're still intact. so i decided to build them a frame out of pallet boards and hang them on the wall in the backyard. Since I used pallet boards, nails i already had, and remaining spray paint I have from my tractor tire project. This project cost me practically nothing, had to by anchor screws to hang..

This Rustic Table was built by my just-turned-15-year-old, Joey. He is amazing!

Joey is a Kreg Jig pro (and an engineering marvel) and this table is rock solid. The only change he made was the direction of the table legs (per my request) and he tapered the legs as well.

I finished the table using Ana's directions: http://ana-white.com/2013/05/staining-and-finishing-tabletops As a stain and poly novice, these directions were a life saver!!

Learning lesson: When I applied the stain (in several coats to match my cabinetry), I was nervous and patient. Then, I built up my confidence and decided to apply a very thick coat of stain. Don't do that; it was a sticky mess! I searched online and lots of people said that I would have to start over. Don't do that, either. One person (thanks to him!) said to be patient and wait it out. Fwew! So, I moved it onto the screened porch (and turned on the overhead fans) each day so that the warm Florida air could help dry it out (alternatively I imagine you could leave it in the house with some fans blowing across it). It took about a week of waiting (ugh), but it dried (yay!) so that I could apply the Spar Urethane.

Must do: Ana suggests using Minwax® Water Based Helmsman® Spar Urethane for a top that will tolerate water condensation, milk spills, etc. I did this and have no worries that my son's project will be ruined. This table is going to last!

The bench was also an Ana design. It was a really quick project.

Thanks so much to Ana for having these accessible, free plans. I could never have afforded a table of this substance and we are SO proud to tell visitors about Joey's Table when they ask.

All of the wood is recycled from pallets. The hardware is also recycled from old kitchen cabinets. All sides of the cabinet are paneled with planks of pallet wood. The plans were awesome to follow! After a certain point though, I had to go rogue because I was using different wood. 

My wife and I had been talking about buying a new dining room table for some time and we are just so sick and tired of paying good money for cheap, particle board furniture from Wayfair or box stores. And solid wood furniture is expensive AF! So, I decided to build a table myself, even though I'd never built a single piece of furniture in my life. When I found the plans for this table I realized that I could do it myself. The plans were straight forward and easy to follow. I had to size the length down to fit in my smallish dining room (and it is still a little bit too big), but I am so proud of what I was able to build by myself in a weekend. Thank you Ana!

Modified the Twin Farmhouse Bed slightly to meet the needs I felt were necessary for my 2 year old daughter.

I put the side rail cleats as low as possible to minimize height. I totally left out the Rail Supports for Footboard/Headboard (Part M), as they are unnecessary. I also added three center supports using 2x4 joist hangers. On the headboard posts I added two blocks to make assembly easy and uniform. The bed comes apart in 4 pieces and is easily put together by one person using screws. I will take more pictures if anyone has questions about anything.

Building the different pieces took roughly 6 hrs as I'm a little OCD. Finishing took a ton of time. I only have a palm finishing sander so I first sanded with 60 grit, then 120, then a final 220 (220 was recommended by Minwax). Finishing was time consuming as I had to finish one side of each piece at a time due to space limitations.

Minwax water-based stuff is a little tricky with pine as it causes "grain reversal" which is fine for me because I like the look. I think it was really designed for oak or other denser woods.

Tip: Use a low-profile box spring.

My wife wanted a dresser and a bed for our two year old foster daughter on her second birthday.  Since half the dresser drawers are not useful for a toddler I considered a Captain's Bed or Mate's bed but couldn't find one.  I modified the Traditional Wood Toddler Bed plan adding drawers underneath and painted it white.   My little girl loves it.   It turned out nice enough that my oldest daughter asked me to make another for my grandson since his convertible bed will be converted back to a crib with a new granddaughter on the way.  Her only request was to color it Espresso Brown.  I have included the picture.  Thank You for the ideas.   God Bless You and your faimily

Great barn door cabinet build by Chuck A.

This one started out in a lovely whitewash...then Kids happened.

Very easy plan to put together, my little client loves it!

Well this is my first project and it took me a long time. I have to think way to long before I actually do something. I redrew the drawings to fit my garbage can but it still didn't fit.
Oh well, it was a good idea at the time.
I used a biscuit joiner and glue to put everything together. For the door I used rail and stile bits. The panels are made of MDF, I used a bit made just for raised panel doors on the router table to make them, Oh by the way MDF makes a very big dusty mess, Please wear a mask it has to be really bad to breath.
I also added a slow close piece that is mainly used on kitchen cabinets, I just had to do that and it works very well.
Thanks Ana for such a helpful website

Chuck

smaller version of modern farm table at counter height

Console Table 

Loved building this chair. Super simple to put together and very sturdy once everything came together.

I modified it to create a larger and taller chair, using 2x6 and 2x4 lumber. Because of this change I felt like my math challenged brain was completing some sort of quiz, but to keep things simple I cut the pieces step by step recalculating lengths as I went.

I marked up the plan as I went, so if anyone is interested just let me know & I'll add the changes.

http://radcrafter.com/2012/06/simple-outdoor-chair-beefed-up/

Modified with arrows to go along with theme for baby room

We modified the Ana-White modular dollhouse meant for small dolls to build this Barbie size house! (Please ignore the workshop walls in the background of our pics! Lol!) Our daughter loves to set up all sorts of houses/school/hospital/stores, and commercial modern barbie houses are all covered in specific printed paper that restricts what a room can be used for. This way she can make buildings however she likes! It isn't much bigger than her old barbie house, and the pieces/room boxes are easy for her to move/stack. Each room box is 9" (w) by 18"(L) by 13"(h), with wall panels 4.5" wide. We also love that these room boxes can become bookshelves once she outgrows barbies! Thank you!