Community Brag Posts

This is our 2nd project - we liked building the bookshelf so much, we decided we're gonna keep going and need a good workbench. Got these plans from the Family Handyman Website (http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Woodworking/Workbenches/how-…). They claim the cost to be $50, but it was closer to $80 for us - still a GREAT project and easy to put together with the nail gun.

Pergola is 10x12 made of all cedar except posts.  Posts were 6x6 brown wood then covered in 1x6 cedar. Slats on top were attached using L brackets. Stained the same year.

I made this for my boy who's turning four tomorrow! (Sep 1st) He loves building forts and I don't mind rearranging the furniture, but set up and clean up is so time consuming, we'd both rather spend more time playing. This is an indoor tent, but I took it outside for pictures. Aside from the obvious difference of adding doors and a back, the changes I made from the original plans are: using an 8 foot 1x3 so the tent is 4 feet deep instead of 3. Instead of stapling the fabric on the 1x3s at the bottom, I wrapped the fabric around and used velcro so I could remove it for washing. I sewed a tube of fabric and attached it at the top to make removal easier. Time Investment is so long because of the sewing involved for the tent. If you have an Ikea near you, they've got this stuff called glaze paint (more of a stain, I think) in all different colors - it doesn't need a top coat (unless you want it shiny), it's solvent free and, are you ready? $6 for 12.something ounces, MORE than enough for this project. To make it even easier if you're using fabric instead of curtains like me and you've got the room, cut a 8ft 1x3 in half so you've got two 4ft pieces. Most quilting cotton at fabric stores is 44-45 inches wide selvedge to selvedge (the ends that don't fray) and if you follow the plan according to where to drill for the top bolt, you'll need 4-4.25 yards of fabric, depending on whether you are going to use velcro or staple. I would use 4.25 if using velcro, the fabric can go right over the top bar and over the other side if you don't want to sew a tube like I did. If you don't want to sew at all, use iron-on hem tape on the cut edges and iron on velcro. Make sure of placement of the velcro before ironing on. More pictures on my blog =)

I'm only moderately handy and these were fun and pretty easy.

Learned a lot and got better as I went along.

I found ways to make it as cheap as possible, probably did all three projects for 150 bucks.

I wanted to attempt making a dining room table. This is my very first woodworking project. I did use store bought legs from one of the big box stores. Your site completely inspired me to just go for it. It's not quite finished. I've got to do all the sanding and staining. I plan to use a mahogany tone stain to coordinate with my brown/black parsons chairs and hutch in my dining room. Finally finished and I think it looks great! It took a lot of sanding to get all the wood pieces even, but so worth the effort. I love the rustic country look.

I took the 25 cubbies plan and changed the dimensions to fit shoes. I made a simpler version for my husband too. This project went together quickly and was so fun to build.

This project took a week to build.  Working during my boys' nap time and late nights, I was able to complete everything in about 7 days.  I used cedar, and sealed with Cabots Bleaching Oil.  The cost of wood for the beds and stairs and drawers came to about $700.  The extra cost came from the additional side rails on the top bunk and the stairs and drawers.  Still comes in about $500 less than if bought commercially.  The famiy loves the bed and as my kids are 2 and 3, I expect to get many years out of the bunk bed.  Side note:  I had to add quite a few brackets and angle joists to secure and minimize wobble due to the additional weight of the top bunk.  (2 2x4s from the 4x4 to the side of the cleat and side rail of the bottom bunk, on the back side only, made a world of difference)

We modified this table to make it larger for our growing family. It measures 42" (10 inches larger than the original plan). We added 10 inches to the length of the 2X6's and added 5 2X2's to increase the width of the width of the table. We love the interest it added to the table. 3 coasts of minwax cherry and three coats of minwax helmsman poly.

I made this in an afternoon. Loved this project. It is made with 2x4's using a Kregs Jig and mitre saw (plus additional tools like a drill and square).  This was my frist time using the Kregs Jig and I am sold!!

The free plans were taken from another website. They are very detailed and there is even a video (I recommend it as he gives a great tip for making sure the back stays equal/level to each other before putting the back on). Even though you can build this by yourself, I did have help for the heavier sides once they were assembled.  I plan to build the additional side table soon and finish them both with sanding and staining when the weather seems less iffy for rain.

If you are looking for a good beginner project that doesn't take forever or have complicated steps, this is your project.

Easy to build, easy to customize, perfect for totes

This started out as the Outdoor Multipurpose Cart....and after my hubbies evergrowing wishlist, it quickly become THE GRILL TROLLEY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!! I added the bulk and the height which he wanted, a John Boos butcher block 24x18, which is removable. Funny thing is, I also sampled Ana's Farmhouse frame to cradle the butcher block! I didn't want to put any holes in the 100 clam butcher block so it has it's own little bedframe. It's totally waterproofed and stained since it's new home will be beside the pool. I used all Kreg joints, so you could sit on this it's so sturdy. I also added 2.5 inch locking casters for the bottom. There's a stainless steel bathroom towel rack which doubles as a handle, lots of hooks for his BBQ paraphenelia, and the most important addition...The Guinness bottle opener. Totally hubby customized. And the best thing> I did it myself, setting it aside whenever a problem arose, but always coming back to it. This was originally a Papa's day present