Community Brag Posts

This was our first project and I am VERY pleased! We modified Ana's plans to add a shelf... super easy to do. You do NOT have to have the Kreg-Jig to do this. We only have the basic tools (saws, drills and sanders) and didnt want to purchase another tool for our very first project, and it turned out fine. I painted directly on to the wood (no primer) with a semigloss paint and added floetrol paint conditioner and it turned out beautiful. You can still see the grain of the wood, which I like. I painted the table brown, except the tabletop and the backing is burgundy to match our decor. This is going to look GREAT once it is loaded with pictures and books and Im going to sit a couple of baskets beneath it. I estimated $45 for the cost assuming you already have paint & nails to use. You need the lumber, wood filler, sand paper and paint conditioner..

Love these two projects in getting my son's room organized, and he loves having a desk for his lego creations and his "projects". We used poplar for the sawhorses that we had cut from family land and planed down ourselves, then purchased a premade project panel for the top. Used a paint sprayer for the blue and finished the top with Rustoleum stain in Wheat with several coats of Rustoleum Satin poly. For the toy shelf we just purchased pine and finished with the same stain and poly.

Loft bed made from the camp loft plans. I used 4x4s for the legs for extra support.

Here is my first woodworking project. I followed the plans (that were so user friendly) for the cheap and easy console table. I spent 40 in material only because I bought a 8 ft board of decorative molding for the aprons that cost 20 bucks. I used a circular saw (that was scary and fun) and I hand nailed everything. Ugh My hands are sore. I really am in love with Spanish Colonial furniture and really dont have 300-3000 dollars to spend on a piece.
I beat the peices of wood with a metal chain and gouged it with the back side of a hammer. The kids had fun helping me with that! I also added more boards to the bottom shelf. Then used a wood conditioner. The stain i used is a dark walnut 2 coats and a satin poly on top.
This was the best web site for me!

Months ago while browsing online I stumbled across a cool coke bottle opener. I had no idea what I would do with it but I knew I had to have it! So after months of procrastination I finally decided it was time to use it.

I found a cheap esky at kmart and decided that I would be able to make an esky stand and use the coke bottle opener on it. So after a trip to Bunnings for some new timber I got to work. It only took about a week to get it done including staining it.

I am one of 11 children. My parents purchased a new home this summer that had a huge dining room.  I new exactly what I wanted to do for them for Christmas. I collaborated with several of my brothers to build them the tables and benches. I used sketchup to modify the design and then to create a cutlist.  My brothers and I worked on the project over several weeks as time permitted. The results are 2 tables that measure 14'4" long and 44 inches wide and benches to match. All the material was purchased at Menards. 

I built the loft bed and bookshelf for underneath.

My little boy asked for a "big boy bed with a ladder", and we wanted to make good use of space in his room, so I built this loft bed. I continued the 2x4's down one side instead of adding stairs, and raised the height of the bed a bit. I added space in the middle of the ladder section for him to have room to climb in safely. I also added a rope swing on the bottom, where he now spends much of his days looking out his window.

Awesome plans for the farmhouse table. Very easy to follow and the pictures were very helpful.  It took longer due to my schedule but the top took about four day to poly. The bench is also from Ana White. 

I chose to modify the outdoor daybed with canopy for my finished basement, to replace a secondhand sleeper sofa.

The only power tool I used was a drill, including screwdriver bit -- with hand tools it took longer, but wasn't impossible.

Picnic Table that Converts to Benches

After living in a house with a fireplace for 7 years, we recently moved to a house without one. When unpacking the Christmas box, our boys asked where we would hang our stockings this year and that got me thinking about how much I'd like a mantle for the holidays. After searching online, I found Ana's plan (of course she has one!) and scaled it down to fit the one small open wall in our living room. I didn't trust myself to cut an even arch, so I used an idea from another brag post and added architectural elements with leftover 1x2 & 1x3 to a 1x10 (which was a better size for our scaled down version) Lastly, I knew I wanted a chalkboard backing, but having no scrap plywood, I covered a large piece of cardboard with chalkboard contact paper and tacked it on the back before installing. Super happy with how it turned out and look forward to using it for many years to come! 

I made some slight udjustments on the ladder and rail. Other than that i folllowed the plans and flew through this project. My mother in laws boys love it.

Modified the plan to be suitable for outdoor use.  Built for a daughter who did not want the look of a traditional picnic table.  Use the X bench plans on this site for the benches.  Top is recycle 5/4 decking lumber.

This is the first project my husband let me use the chop saw on.* I used some old 1x6's (3/4 in x 1 1/2 in) leftover from a chicken coop he built that had been on the floor and already had some nail holes in them - I figured that was was pretty close to pallet wood. He turned this from a beginner project into an intermediate because he made me measure and cut each side and end to custom fit the bottom of the box as as all my "pallet wood" boards were warped (does that make sense?) So make your life easier and use new boards! With his help it took about 25 minutes per box to cut and assemble. Putting a finish on was a little tricky because the wood just wasn't okay with some leftover iron acetate I had, so I just used Ana's black tea trick and they turned out perfect in about five minutes. My husband says this is an excellent first project for a beginner because a lot of furniture you build is simply A BOX, just bigger. We also built the laundry basket dressers the next day because I'd learned the concept of building a box! and I am having a great time learning to build. Really wish I'd taken wood shop in high school. Good thing my husband did.

* We built the laundry basket dressers and I dutifully assisted in the building of the Rustic X console table and I am so excited to post pictures, I just need to get some better ones!

Took about five hours to make and $25, looks very nice and have been asked to make more by others who have seen it.

Slightly modified bottom shelves to be heavy duty. Used salvaged 60yr old mahogany paneling for shelves surface.

Made from re-purposed fencing slats, shims & copper tubing . The handle doubles as the bottle opener. I like that the piece will improve over time as the handle oxidizes. The Holiday Spirit now comes in packs of six.

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This was my first woodworking project! Thank you Ana for the easy to follow plans. Making this end table has given me the confidence for my next project - bathroom vanity unit, which is almost completed.