Community Brag Posts

Build the open toy box using pocket holes for a smooth, secure and easy build.

Used the plans for the Rustic X End Table on this site, modified them a bit to fit the space I wanted to fill. Also changed the design a bit to incorporate a drawer. I wire brushed each piece with a wire wheel brush drill bit to give it texture and make the grain come to life, then after assembly I went over the whole thing with a blow torch to add some nice colour and make the grain further stand out. Finally finished it off with minwax classic grey stain. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Followed the plans for the sandbox for my granddaughter. She absolutely loves it and so do I since I have a seat I can sit at! I did enlarge it a little so added some supports. It works so great. - Sandy

My ex-marine uncle helped me build the modern farm table and benches. We bought pine from Lowe's. Not all of the pre-cut pine slabs fit the exact dimensions from the modern farm table and benches plans. We knew some of the wood would have to be cut again. A Lowe's worker was kind enough to use the store saw to cut some of the wood into the dimensions needed for the table and benches. He measured and remeasured.

Once in my uncle's garage, we first dry fit the furniture. My uncle started with the table. We dry fit the table on its back (in other words - we assembled the table upside down without drilling the table together). He then remeasured all of the wood for the table (while on its back). He wanted to be sure that all pieces would fit, once we started to actually assemble the table with drills. We did the same for each of the two benches.

Then we buffed out any dark marks or stamps on the individual pieces of wood. We did this by hand and not with an automatic tool. That part was BRUTAL.

Next we conditioned the wood. Wood conditioning is necessary, because pine stains unevenly. We waited 3 hours before applying the first coat of stain.

We applied the first coat of stain. Our stain was a mix of early american and golden oak. I did not intend for the table to come out as dark as it did. We mixed more of the early American stain than I had intended, because the table came out darker than I expected.

We waited in beween coats and we assembled the table and benches in between the first and second coat of stain.

We applied a second coat of stain to the assembled table and benches.

Then we applied polyurethane to seal and protect the stain.

After the polyurethane, we used wool to sand out any bubbles.

After the table and benches were assembled and everything drilled in place, we put wood putty in the places where holes were drilled.

Then, we stained the wood putty. The wood putty accepted the stain very well.

Duration

We built this table during the second week of August 2011. The project lasted between 28-30 hours over 5 days.

Make sure your boards of wood are fairly free from cracks. After inspecting them we put several boards back.

I love my table! I'm always complimented on its beauty. My materials cost around $230.00. I built this table, because the farm table and matching benches I wished to purchase totaled $2,000.00. Thanks to my ex-marine uncle, I have a fabulous table to last a lifetime. I mention his ex-marine status, because the military taught him perfectionism. Building a table with in 100 degree heat with a perfectionist was tedious and hard work. However, it clearly paid off in the end! Thank you Uncle!

 Thanks! I was able to use your plans for all the cabinets. Real easy to follow! 

Ok, so I was looking for a new headboard and stumbled on the plans for this Upholstered Bed.

Being without my full compliment of work this winter, I figured, what the heck. I'll try it.

Off I went to Home Depot, bought the supplies and got started.

I should mention that this was my first time doing any sort of carpentry, I have never used a jigsaw, and I had to borrow all the tools.

I found this SUPER easy! I had the headboard support finished in under an hour. Then I took my time cutting the plywood, just to make sure I didn't make any mistakes.

**I should mention right now, if you are planning on using a heavy upholstery fabric like I did, when you cut out the headboard insert, make 2 cuts! I wasn't able to get the insert to lay flush because the fabric was so thick! (I have since taking the picture added decorative trim to hide the little gaps)***

Once I had my plywood cut, I had no problem attaching it to the frame. The upholstery was a 2 person job that took a little time and a lot of staples, but not difficult.

I chose to tuft the headboard insert, and am so happy I did. It was time consuming, but worth it in the end.

All said and done, this took me a little over a week to complete. I had the construction done within a day or two, but the upholstery was very time consuming.

I love my new bed!

When I first saw the original plan on ana-white.com, I knew that this table and the bench would fit perfectly into my place. Since in europe we measure mostly in meters, I adapted the plan to a table top of 1,0 x 2,10 meters (or for 8 persons) and made the bench fit between the table legs. Luckily, a friend (he is a carpenter) could get me solid beech wood and helped me to get it into the right size (it took a weekend, since we started from raw tree trunks). Assembly was done in two days and I stained it twice afterwards (3 days, with rest ;) ).

Thanks ANA for the plans!!

I built a 15" wide by 8' long outdoor patio bar with locking casters. I modified the stool design on Ana's website and stained both to match. I finished the top with stone tile and grout. This area has become the main gathering point in our backyard when entertaining.

This is one of my favorite projects I've done! Very easy and fun! 

The twin beds that my boys were using took up way too much space in their small room so after much looking I found the Ana White site and this plan. The bed I made is per plan except for the addition of the side rails that slip fit onto the sides. When we change the sheets on the top bunk we just slip off the rail and stand on the lower bunk. We've had my two boys and three nephews all on the bed playing Xbox and it is rock solid!

 I added 6 inches to the height to be able to add a twin bed underneath. I also made the platform narrower to fit our room better. Love it. Cant wait to build more.

Weekend project for a friend. We built this for her husband for a Fathers day gift.. He is a fire fighter so we decided to paint it fire engine red.

This bunk bed was made out the Camp Loft bed plans. With my daughter out growing her toddler bed, we really needed a "big girl" bed without giving up too much space. This was perfect. It was really easy to add an extra set of 2x6's around the bottom of the loft, and poof, it’s a bunk bed. The kids really love it and it is really strong. I weigh about 250 lbs and it doesn't even move when I get on the top bunk. To accommodate for the lower bunk, I raised it to 72” high. As you can see, I also added extra vertical supports on the top rails. I did this so all the weight on the top bunk wasn’t only supported by the 2x6s, but also the 2x4s as well.

I also painted it white becuase that matched the other furnature in the room better than staining it. To keep the wood from seeping sap all over the paint, I sealed it with BIN primer before painting it with latex paint.

I don’t have much experience building furniture, but this was extremely easy. The wood cost us around $100. Slightly more than the post said, but I added a few extra 2x4s and since comparable bunk beds are being sold for about $800, this was a steal. The plans were great and my son and I had a great time building it. Thanks for posting it