Community Brag Posts

I built this Benchmark Storage or Media Tower as I was looking for some thing to put beside our fire place.  I wanted to build some thing that would be about the same height as our fire place so it stands 40 1/4" tall.  Also, this month was a the contest to build things from scrap lumber so I took 2 x's that I had laying aorund and cut them down to 1 1/4", then glued together and planed down to make butcher block for the door and top.  The sides were actually built from 1 x 6.  I also ended up purchasing a Kreg shelving jig so that I could change the shelving.  A tool that I highly recommend if you are going to build alot of these projects with shelving.  One down and one to go! 

Made From Grandy Plans

This is a modified plan for Ana White's Farm House Table.

I shortened the table to about 72 inches with breadboards on the ends and added removable breadboard extensions for a total of about 100 inches of table for a 12x11 room. I also built the Farm House bench but shortened it to 48 inches.

The wood is white pine and Douglas Fir 4x4 legs. The total cost was $198 for the wood/screws and about $30 for the stain and sand paper. I bought an additional set of countersink bits for holes.

I used the following tools:

• Hand Saw
• Table Saw
• Compound Miter Saw
• Hand Drill with various bits and countersinks
• Square, pencil and straight edges
• Tape measure
• Clamps
• Wood Chisel Set
• Sharpening Stone
• Level

• It took about 35 hours of work.

  The stain is English Chestnut and we pretreated the wood to accept the stain by using wood conditioner. This made a dramatic difference in leveling out the stain between the white pine and Douglas Fir. I used 3 coats of clear polyurethane and 2 coats of satin on the top with gentle sanding in between coats.

I made this bed for my son. I was a beginner with little to no experience before I started this project. I learned a LOT along the way and now I'm addicted to building things. It wouldn't have taken me so long if  I had a little more experience. Staining was difficult, especially when you have two kids wanting to help. My drawers slides were absolutely impossible! Next time I will use a different method for the drawers. I still need to make the ladder. I haven't come across any plans for that so I'm going to wing it. The bed is not perfect by any means but my son doesn't care. 

I made the ends with 2x4s and the middle with 1x4s.  The most expensive thing was the seat cushions.

Easy project that has helped us stay more organized. We use Cozi to maintain the calendar, but this allows us to highlight things that the kiddos need to know during the week. We keep the chore schedule, laundry schedule, meal plan, and out of routine activities on the week calendar so the kids can tell what is going on at a glance. The allowance is also hanging up at the top as an incentive to get their respective jobs done for the week. I used galvanized sheet metal glued onto a 1/4 inch plywood base and coated it with whiteboard paint. This allows it to be magnetic and easily written on. Love the letter holder for homework and important paperwork.

Things we have used it for so far:
Activity schedule (swimming lessons, soccer practice, etc.)
Meal plan
Unusual activities (parties, movie night, etc.)
School stuff (project due, spirit week, etc.)
Chore schedule
Laundry Schedule
Room of the week: what part of the house gets a deep clean this week.
Servant of the week: which kid is the designated helper for non-chore activities when an extra hand is needed.

We are still figuring out all the ways to use this to good effect, but the kids really like being able to see what is coming up in the schedule for the week.

I made this table in a weekend, the plans made it so easy to do, thanks Ana for giving me the courage to take this on! I love building stuff!

Based off of Ana Whi'te Benchright Coffee Table with a chevron/herringbone table top

Super Easy.. I like it better without the doors. Recommend getting a KREG Jig. I have the Jr and it was perfect for this project.

Adapted to fit in a corner

Together with my wife, we decided to start making our own furniture and it was our first project. It took us a week to complete it (it took us longer than most people as we had to learn from scratch how to use the tools for each of the steps such as the circular saw, sander, pocket holes, etc.). We also learned the hard way how critical it is to use straight boards and how difficult it is to find straight 2x2. Overall we loved the process and are very excited by the final result!

This feeder worked out great for Sammy, who is about 95#. He seems a lot more comfortable now (and has started using his water dish instead of the toilet! ;) I wanted a more rustic look but wanted the easy clean up of tile on top.

Went together fairly easy. Although instead of kreg jigging the top together I decided to use a plywood base and use thin re-sawed maple, Cedar, white oak, and tigerwood as to not experience movement issues.

The bookshelf, of which I made last year, was made from crates. I used Ana's Clubhouse Bed idea as the basis for mine but I deviated from it quite a bit. Instead of a front entrance I made a side entrance and added two windows. Additionally I attached it to the wall instead of making it two sided.