DIY Octagon Picnic Table Project

Great project Thank you for the plans! Went overboard with 2x6 base all around & drilled hole for umbrella. TY - Joe Zimmerman

Great project Thank you for the plans! Went overboard with 2x6 base all around & drilled hole for umbrella. TY - Joe Zimmerman
Thank you Ana for the storage tote generator. Last night I spent an hour salvaging materials from my scraps and salvaged materials. Worked on it today and it’s all finished. Everything is stuff I had on hand. I have been storing a bed I made my son and I finally dismantled it. So even the screws were salvaged. Top was from a sheet that’s been behind the stairs in my shop since I moved in. It was so dirty and rough looking I was going to toss it. But it sanded up just fine. - Angie Williams
Took the plans and modified foot stools and side table. Used 2x4 and red cedar fence pickets sanded and top coated.
I wanted to bring flowers to our Easter dinner, so whipped up this cute little bunny tote with one fence picket in about 20 minutes. Great Easter project for under $5!
I built this potting table to donate for a Fire Department fund raising auction. I used treated lumber and added the backsplash and two diagonal braces and stained it with exterior stain to help make it last. - Jimmy Marranci
Little kids picnic table and grill. Ana`s plans are easy to follow and so fun to make!
I just finished the Farmhouse Bed for 18” Doll for my granddaughter. Her other Grandma is making sheets, pillowcases and quilt. Such a fun quick project! - Linda Hall Cardiff on Facebook Community
Over 60 and retired from teaching last year, I’ve never made anything before trying this chair from Ana’s 2x4 plans. I only have a circular saw, a jigsaw and a cordless drill and constructed most of this in the garden as I have no workshop space. Up close there are loads of things wrong with it, but I’m just amazed that I did this on my own and you can actually sit in it. Hopefully, when I build another one to (try to)make it into a pair I’ll see some improvement. Every day’s a school day but this site and the free plans have given me the confidence to give it a go. - Auds
Our favorite throne in town.
My daughter and I built the outhouse in the snow a few years ago. Once the TwoGa was named after the Stuga, the outhouse quickly became “The PooGa” (aka “The Ash-Hole “🤣). We use ash in the winter and sawdust in the summer, to keep away the stink, which works like a charm.
This is an adaptation to an Ana White outhouse design.
Fri, 08/04/2023 - 11:06
Love what you did here, the natural light and bright cheery interior, well done!
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
The need for a proper workbench in my garage/shop is a must, but. So is space! I already have a fold down workbench I’ve made with ¾ inch pipe & a door, but. I just need something that can handle all my tools. So, I stumbled upon these plans from the Family Handyman & couldn’t find a reason why this wouldn’t work in my shop. It has room for storage, can easily accommodate my tools & most importantly fold up to store. Easy to build too! Make sure you read all the plans first as some of the materials could be pricey, but well worth it. Technically it’s taken 2 months to build this bench, as I operate on a firefighter/teacher’s budget & during the holiday season no doubt. I ordered all the shelf standards & brackets through Amazon, $210.00 for those alone, but they hold so much weight to support your tools I figure it’s worth it. The rest materials (wood, screws) were purchased at Home Depot for around $150.00. The plans called for ¾ inch ply & it was $45.00 per sheet. However they did have a smaller thickness for $22.00 per sheet & was only a 1/32 inch thinner. I plan on topping all my surfaces with some ¼ inch tempered hardboard later on so I knew it would work. That also left me adjusting my screw size to mount my brackets. Due to the reduction in thickness of the plywood all my #8-1 inch screws needed to be adjusted to ¾ inch so to not screw through the ply. I also hit the molding isle to nab some pieces to use as furring strips to use under the shelves before attaching the brackets. This way I can sand each strip to match before mounting to make sure it lined up flat with the center top. One more thing; where it says “drill 1/8 inch hole in brackets make sure you use 1/8 inch pop rivets. I barrowed a pop rivet gun & was handed some rivets as well. Popped two & they had to be trashed because the rivet size turned out to be 5/32. So I stepped up in drill bit size & it all worked out. As I said, I’ll be topping it with some ¼ inch hardboard. I also plan to run it’s own electrical with an outlet on each post. I hope you all enjoy & this can help!
Thu, 11/29/2012 - 07:03
This is by far the best workbench I have ever seen!!! Thanks for sharing. And excellent choice of table saw and miter saw.
In reply to That is awesome! by Rusty Cottage
Thu, 11/29/2012 - 14:59
If I had it to do over I'd had gotten the contractor grade portable saw from Dewalt. The smaller version I have is the same 10" saw, but. It's maximum rip capasity is only 16. The other will at least rip a sheet of ply in 1/2.
Thanks for the kind words on the bench! I hope everyone that may find this valuable will. The plans came out of a 2005 issue & were hard to find on the internet.
Thu, 07/04/2013 - 18:28
I love this work bench and would love to build it but i cant find them. Could you post them or email them to me please. uniquetrio2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
Thu, 10/23/2014 - 09:04
After some searching, found the plans at http://us.readersdigest.com/images/offer/fh/project_plans/pdf/FH05DJA_W…. Hope that helps. This is on my list of things to make very soon.
Wed, 10/22/2014 - 13:31
I bought all the standards and brackets at Menards for $87.58 and this price included tax and shipping.
Mon, 12/10/2018 - 16:55
Thanks for sharing! Good job! Any chance you'd share palns? No luck on inet or with provided link. Thanks!
Wed, 08/07/2019 - 12:48
This is the perfect workbench that I’d like to build. Could I get the plans for it?
Thu, 03/12/2020 - 12:46
Were you able to locate the plans?
The link in this thread doesn’t seem to be active.
Sun, 07/12/2020 - 17:59
I found the PDF download for these plans, here is the link:
https://docplayer.net/28130746-Do-it-all-mobile-workbench.html
The only place where I could find them, FH doesn't have them online any more.
Tue, 12/08/2020 - 17:57
Great build. I would love to see an instructable on this. :) Thank you for sharing..
I needed sturdy stairs for my 2 60lb dogs. My bed is 33 inches from floor to top of mattress. So, this is my very first project completed by myself! Custom size pet stairs 24inx24inx24
We have a frosty faced blind girl and an aging tri-pawed that we wanted to be able to continue snuggling with us so we adapted the Farmhouse Bed with Storage to make it a king size. We made the drawer boxes deeper which allowed us to get rid of our dresser to create more space in our room. And we added a flight of stairs for the pups.
Fri, 12/30/2022 - 07:53
This is exactly what I’m looking for! Perfect for our dogs. Although, I wonder if a ramp would work or if it would be too steep? Hmmm
Tue, 01/14/2025 - 06:14
Are there modified plans available for this dog stairs option? I would love to build this!!!
I've been wanting to build this plan for quite some time! Took me about 2 hours to build and 1 hour to finish. Giving these as gifts for Mother's Day! Total cost was about $15 per planter. I scaled down the design after I found the plants I wanted to put in them. Ana has the best and easiest plans!
I had to do a 3ftx3ft square table since our eating area in the apartment isn't big enough for a dining table, but I really like how it turned out :) I also added breadboard ends because I can't stand how the cut ends look. I got the legs from osborne wood
Thu, 05/29/2014 - 23:09
I've been looking everywhere for a small farm table! Can you tell me which legs and lumber you used?
Sun, 01/22/2017 - 13:56
I love this table however i am a beginner. Where can i find the plans to this table and step by step instructions?
Thank you!
Tue, 03/28/2017 - 15:13
This 3x3 farmhouse table is exactly what I want to make with the breadboards. Any chance you can send your plans with the measurements for this 3x3 table. Thank you!
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
This was just a standard BBQ with an attached folding table. I used a combo of Ana's plans to add a little character and style to the BBQ and it made a huge difference in not only the BBQ, but also the backyard.
Mon, 05/23/2016 - 12:29
Hello: Very interested in which plans you used to build the BBQ Built In. Thank you.
Wed, 06/08/2016 - 09:22
Hello dbryant1977, please share the plans. Also, what's brand/model of BBQ? Very nice.
Thu, 04/09/2020 - 18:27
This is my guess on the plans used! https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/diy-grill-island-featuri…
Fri, 08/30/2019 - 09:50
Are there plans for this project or at least some pictures from while you were building it?
Thu, 04/09/2020 - 18:27
This is my guess on the plans used! https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/diy-grill-island-featuri…
Wed, 04/22/2020 - 15:52
Can you provide us with the plans for this? I would love to build one.
Mon, 03/04/2024 - 14:49
Hello: Very interested in which plans you used to build the BBQ Built In. Thank you.
Garage Shelves Plan with Added Doors - Built and shared by Jeremy Doyle