Community Brag Posts

For my first woodworking project, I foolishly decided to build a rabbit hutch without plans for my daughters new Easter Bunny. So I literally scratched some ideas on my wood working bench and started going to work. I did some construction over a decade ago, but never attempted to build any furniture before, so I'm pretty happy with how this came out.

I spent a few days researching various rabbit cages and for our place we needed something that was ascetically pleasing and functional as it was going in our living room. I got some ideas from the web and decided the best thing for us would be to have an entry ramp, 2 sets of barn doors for each level (for easy cleaning) and an open roof. We went with linoleum floors since she's already litter trained. The floors could easily be modified to add 1/2" wire mesh if we decide to change things down the line. Also, we chose an espresso finish with silver hardware to accent the wire mesh

I pretty much crashed and burned on the staining as I've never done that before, but it ended up looking ok after all. I did a light sanding, but will probably invest in a planer and jointer to get my wood in better shape before assembling in the future. Also, I'll probably lightly dab some stain on ends of wood before final assembly as it made it difficulty trying to hide the white pine with the dark stain.

Other cages I saw ran around $200-$350.00 so i don't feel so bad about the cost. It's really the time that it took learning and making mistakes. I'm sure if I had plans I could of cut my time in 1/2.

Total Cost came out to around $150.00 but probably would of been cheaper if I had some plans to go by. I probably wasted a few 2x2s and accidentally mis-cut a scrap piece of 1/4"plywood which added another $16.00 to the bottom line.

Here's a breakdown of my total cost.

Hardware - $30.00
Includes 5 latches, 4 sets of hinges (8 total) and a 3' piano hinge

Stain - $8.00

Linoleum Tile @ ¢.69 sq ft - $16

Brushes, Stain Rags - $5.00

Screws - $6.00

Wire Mesh Roll $30.00
Needed 2 rolls at $15.00 each. I used 1" Wire Mesh measuring 2'x15'

Total Wood $50.00-$60
I used 2x3's for the legs - 2 @ 8' - $2.00 each ($4.00)
probably 15-20 2x2's - $1.52 each - can't remember how many I used to be honest ($30.00)
and a few 1x6's for the Doors - $2.00 each ($6.00)
Sheet of 1/4 plywood - $12.00

I wanted to make something for my mom so she could have a place to grow her herbs this year on the balcony for easier access instead of planting in the backyard. The project was stretched over a few days. Cutting on day one, sanding on day two, painting on day three and drilling and putting it together on day four.

With the exception of the legs, the entire bench was put together using the Kreg Jig mini. I added extra 1x4s to the legs. Though, next time I will change to either 2x4s or 4x4s for extra stability when sitting. I really love how it turned out. I almost don't want to put it outside.

We combined two plans to accommodate for a boxspring with a mattress. We also liked the plan with the 4x4 posts so we tweaked the two plans and made it work.

Easy to build! Took about 3 hours!

Thank you soo much for the apron plans. I've used a sewing machine about 5 times in my life, and I didn't know what "stitch in the ditch" or bias tape or trim was, but with the plans and some web searching, I was actually able to sew this apron. It took me considerably longer than others, especially because I don't have an iron, pins, or a seam ripper (ripping a seam took me over an hour). Again, thank you sooo much! I hope to never lose my pen and tape measure at the lumber yard again with this handy creation :)

Living on a small city plot, this vertical ladder planter was just what I was looking for to grow my herbs and flowers. I am not an experienced builder but the plans were easy to follow. It didn't take me much time at all to complete this project. Now I am looking forward to fresh herbs and flowers all summer.

Modified the dimensions to 13 inches deep, 40 inches wide and a lower clearance of 4 inches to accommodate a vent diverter for an exsisting heat vent.

I used Maple Plywood (3/4 inch) for the bench, and 1/2 inch for the back (to allow maximum seating depth on the bench).  The paint was leftover Valspar reserve paint from a recent bathroom project... and the paint dipped baskets were found at a local store called "the christmas tree shops" for under 25 dollars for both!

The project came in at just under $150 - well below our budget if we had purchased something in store. It was mounted to the wall for safety, as we have a dare devil toddler! 

Made this one with shelf edges/trim just on the sides. Somehow my top shelf didn't span the width so had to add a little shim on each side but it all worked out! We had all the pallets and used 1x3s for the frame because some of my pallet wood was heavy hardwood. It was not without frustration because I was working with uneven/warped pallet wood but it hits the rustic look.  I am happy with how it turned out.