Community Brag Posts

As a complete beginner in wood working (unless you count a year of woodshop over a decade ago), I decided that building a cart for the miter saw I just bought would be a great first project. So what did I do with that brand new miter saw? I left it in the box and made all of the cuts with a circular saw. Not sure what I was thinking there...

I mostly followed the excellent plan provided here but used wooden arms to prop up the wings in order to save on cost. I got the idea from the folding sling chair plan. It took quite a few screw ups and adjustments of the lower support bar before getting one of the wings level but I got it eventually.

Update 8/20/13: The miter saw has been a joy to use with the cart and the big flip up wings provide a ton of really convenient work space in addition to stabilizing 8 ft boards for cutting. I added a sliding drawer and some utility hooks for additional storage.

Once we hade the frame of it built, we stapled landscaping fabric and chicken wire to the bottom to keep weeds and moles/gophers from coming up through the bottom.

Other than that... We followed the plans as given.

The kids LOVE it!

Started the project last fall and finally finished it this Feb. Check out the cool weather station!

My attempt at the murphy bar featured on this site. Still have to add the sash locks. Added pallet crossmembers at the back, an x in the leg, and a french cleat to mount to the wall. 

This was my first DIY build. Having been inspired by my good friend, the brilliant Jen Woodhouse of The House of Wood, I decided surely I could do this too. So I picked something that looked like a challenge, but that we also needed. We have an old piano we bought from Craigslist that has heretofore been benchless. So I used the Flip Top Storage Bench plans, headed to Home Depot, collected the wood (and let them cut it - but made a few of my own cuts, too), and got to work.

I had a little trouble at first, simply because, after assembling the sides and aprons, the unit did NOT square up. I took a few pieces apart and realized it wasn't user error (what?), but warped wood. That's right: one of my 1x3s was warped and bendy. So I rebuilt that side with some of my leftovers, and made sure to square up after each step, and lo and behold it came together!

It's not perfect - one of my legs is a bit off, so it wobbles when no one's sitting on it, but there's no issue when it bears weight - but for my first build, I'm quite pleased! And now that I know I can do this...well, this is just the beginning!

Total time it took me was probably around 15 hours, which includes practicing using my circular saw and kreg jig (both of which were straight out of the box when I started), along with my rebuilding the side.

I used Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner after sanding, followed by two coats of Rustoleum spray stain in Kona. I sanded with 400 grit sand paper after each coat of stain, and finished with one coat of semi-gloss polyurethane. I considered a few more coats of stain, but so fell in love with the weathered look that evolved from the staining and sanding that I just left it!

I also spray painted the hinges - that was a bit of an accident (I didn't know how NOT to cover them in stain...), but turned out to my liking!

My estimated cost is about $100, which covers the wood (including the extra 1x3s and an extra 1x2 I needed for a screw-up), nails, screws, three cans of spray stain, polyurethane, wood conditioner, paint brushes, two packs of sandpaper, and my hand sander. All but the wood will be used in my next few projects too, so that cost covers QUITE a bit!

I loved the idea of this as soon as I saw it and decided to make it as as my daughter loves to watch cartoons on my ipad while sitting in her high chair eating her breakfast etc, 

I added a cap that can cover the end when it is not in use, a back and also painted it a very dark grey with gold accents on the feet, controls and also the little plaque I made.

My daugher cristened it "My TV" and loves it.

I am no longer allowed to play cartoons for her without "My TV".

Another great plan !

Onto the next one.

Simple Christmas Tree made from 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch square dowels, a bit of scrap 2 by 2 and some scrap 2 by 6.

The dowels were drilled and a metal rod inserted through them all.  Two nuts at top and bottom tightened once the dowels were arranged in place.

Each dowel was cut 0.5 inches shorter than the previous one so it was 1/4 inch sorted on each end.

Each dowel was placed 45 degrees from the one below it.

Pin For Later! 

Hand-made vegetable cupboard. Fun and easy project.

I was looking for something for my son's room that would last him until college, so I adapted your plans and added hooks and a bench and stained it.  Bookends are all we are missing to make it perfect. He loves it, and I don't think he will be able to break it.  I could use a suggestion for anchoring it to the wall, though. Thank you for the great, easy-to-follow plan!

I was in love with the RH Merida set because of its clean lines and modern style. Also, the plan seemed simple enough that I could re-create it without a pattern. The only thing that I did not like about it is the lack of arms. I really like to have a place to put my arm or my beverage :) - so I added arms to the design.

This project was very much needed in my house! My daughter loves playing dress up and is obsessed with all things pink and princess-y. It has been driving me crazy that she doesn't play dress up as much as she wants to, though, and the reason why is because we didn't have a good way to store/display her things. Up until we built this it all stayed in this storage bin, but since you had to pull it out in order to even see it, she never played with it. So once I saw this plan I knew it had to be ours. I'm so glad we did it! It turned out beautifully!

My husband built it (his second woodworking project), and, like his last project, he did a great job. No complaints or issues at all. I primed (although I doubt that was necessary) and painted it. I actually did all of the painting other than the letters before he built it, and that turned out nicely. My only complaint was the letters. I bought some stencils from Hobby Lobbby and used a smaller brush to paint them on. For one thing I wish I had of been more careful and paid more attention to how straight the letters were. For another, although you can't tell unless you're up close, there are spots where the paint pooled up under the stencil. My husband sanded it down as much as he could without messing it up, but it's still there a little. I'm no painting expert so I'm not sure how to go about doing this without having that happen. Even with those things, though, I'm so happy with it, and my daughter has been happily playing dress up all week!