Farmhouse Toy Box
My second build from Ana's toy box plan. I had my son use his CNC machine to carve boy's name into the front. Depth of the letters is about 0.25". Looks really good.
My second build from Ana's toy box plan. I had my son use his CNC machine to carve boy's name into the front. Depth of the letters is about 0.25". Looks really good.
I absolutely love this build. I did end up using pocket holes for the carts to make them slightly stronger. I also had to do custom work on the top of my table saw cart due to rack and pinion fence. I routed the the plywood tops with a slight round over and waxed them smooth. I plan to add a dust collection hood around the miter saw and then install an inset stop block for the miter fence.
Fri, 07/24/2020 - 16:08
Very nicely done! It never even crossed my mind that the cart would need modifications to fit that table saw. That's the exact same table saw I've had my eye on, and I plan on purchasing any day now; so that is definitely good to know! My project is still a work in progress. I currently only have one cart built.
Do you have enough room to adjust your miter saw to make 45 degree cuts from the position pictured? Or do you have to move it forward in order to clear the work bench frame? I only ask because that's what I have to do with mine at the moment. I have to have it all the way forward on the shelf. I am considering making the miter saw shelf a little bit wider to remedy that minor issue.
Sofa table
I built the above corner bench based off of the frameless drawer bench plans (they are on the shelf help site) which are very similar to the essential entryway bench plans, but the drawers are included. The long bench is 60", the shorter side 42".
For the carcass i did use the shelf help pre cut plywood.
When I started the project beginning of 2021, there was no tutorial for the corner part yet, so I was very glad to see I did the right way when the corner 'add on' came out, also found on the shelf help site).
The shaker fronts were shown in the barn door console plans, so I adopted that.
I get loads of compliments and obviously even more when people hear I built it myself.
The hardest part about this project were the drawer slides and getting them to line up and work as expected. The I broke the soft close on one of the big drawers during final assembly and still didn't bring myself to exchange the slide to a working one... 😊
But overall I'm really proud of it!
Tue, 10/05/2021 - 12:03
Thank you so much for trying out Shelf Help, what a grand project!
When my wife and I moved we sold our old table and was in need of a new one. We've shopped around and didn't like anything we were seeing. She insisted that I build one but I never had any time due to my job. In the past it would've been easy because that's what I did was woodworking. So she researched and came across ana's plan and she loved it. Keeping the wife happy I made time. I made my material list & cutlist but was concerned with using construction grade lumber for the tabletop due to over time it likes to cup and warp in the right conditions. Instead I went with 8/4 Poplar which will make a solid tabletop and last forever. I was only able to work weekends on the project so it was finished in a month which I added the total hours & it equaled 1 week. She loves her new table and is now shopping for 5 canvas chairs to go with it. With her posting on social media I now have requests to build more. Where will I find the time?
The base of our playhouse felt like the perfect spot to use the sandbox plan with built-in seats. The bench seats actually fold flat to create a lid for the sandbox when it’s not in use. I followed Ana’s plans exactly and used the list of materials she provided. The only modification I made was eliminating the back supports. It was not necessary for me to add the back supports since we have the playhouse posts to support the back of the bench.
THE MOTIVATION
After a recent washer outage (that I was ultimately able to repair myself), my wife and I talked about eventually replacing our front-loading washer/dryer set. One of the bullets I hate biting is paying the exhorbitant prices for the matching pedestals for new washer/dryer sets.
Having just bought a good set of cordless powertools, and having watched my father when I was a kid build countless household fixtures, window dressings, furniture pieces, etc., I decided to try my hand and construct a permanent platform for our current washer/dryer set, thereby eliminating the need to ever buy manufacturer pedestals again.
The existing pedestals were a standard 15" high, with a storage drawer, which we felt was still not high enough for comfort. And, the washer pedestal drawer was entirely inaccessibl due to the 2" walls on the washer drain pan, so its drawer was totally useless, wasted space.
And, lastly, we really wanted more space for clothes baskets full of laundry, which we generally stacked (full and haphazardly) on top of the machines.
THE CHALLENGES
The largest challenges were mainly logistics, and gravity. The washer/dryer would have to be unavailable for at least 2-3 days while they sat disconnected in the next room waiting for their new home. So I coordinated with the family so they'd know when they needed to have their laundry done, or tough it out until I was done.
There was no way to know for sure what the drain connection for the washer pan looked like until I got the washer out. So it was a small gamble that I'd be able to get the parts needed to extend the drain pipe up to the new platform right when I was ready for them. Fortunately, this was no issue at all.
The biggest challenge turned out to be toward the end when it came time to lift our 230-lb. washer onto the new platform. I seriously considered disassembling the washer to the point that I could remove its molded concrete counter-weights, but instead (and arguably stupidly) elected to use a large hydraulic car jack to raise the washer. This ultimately worked, but I have to STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST trying this.
THE SPACE
Our laundry room is also the "mud room" between our kitchen and the garage. It is only large enough for the two machines, and the walk way between the two doors--in total, about 70.5" square. Building the platform from wall-to-wall made the most sense, and minimized framing by fastening edge framing directly to the wall studs.
THE PLAN
Pretty basic: 2x4's all around for the edge framing--back and sides fastened directly to the wall studs, and front 2x4 supported by two, notched 4x4 legs. 3/4" plywood for the subsurface, and 1/4" laminate faux-wood flooring on top (left over from reflooring, so it matches the floor below). Bore holes for the washer pan drain and the dryer vent. 1" quarter-round molding on the sides, and 5.5" face piece flush with the top of the molding across the front (spare lauan I had looks perfect). I also made a point of putting the machines on the platform before the face piece since it might have been in the way or damaged.
Anyone will tell you that it's best to at least sketch out what you want to do so you can minimize surprises, forgotten parts, etc. I, of course, did virtually none of that, and made several course changes and corrections along the way. For this project, I was lucky that I didn't need to backtrack at any point, and probably won't learn this lesson any time soon anyway. However, you SHOULD.
TAKE-AWAYS
The main mistake I made was while gathering the platform dimensions for cutting the plywood. It was only blind luck that kept me from having to do it more than once (and having to buy more than one 4x8 sheet). I know that it's actually very unlikely that two adjacent walls are perfectly square, so I made a point to measure the width between the walls at the back and at the front--and, sure enough, found a 1/8" difference--wider at the front. But when I measured and marked the plywood for cutting, I measured both distances from the precut edge, and then cut. By doing this, I inadvertently assumed that one of the back corners was perfectly square.
What I should have done was used a carpenter's square in each back corner to extend a square line from the back edge to the front, and then measured from the square lines to their respective side wall. This would have accounted for neither back corner being square.
Fortunately, my mistake wasn't big enough to keep the plywood from fitting, but it was very, VERY close.
GIDDY
I honestly couldn't be happier with the finished project (or more smug). We've raised the washer/dryer 9" higher than they were (24" off the floor), and we now have basket storage underneath all the way across. I placed two 24" plastic cabinets on top, which still leaves room for the detergent right over the soap inlet on the washer.
And, most importantly, I got to use every powertool I own. Kinda beats "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" thing, huh?
Fri, 04/17/2015 - 19:54
Thanks for sharing the ins and outs of your project! Looks great!
I modified the plans slightly to go taller so it could fit a standard propane tank. I also added a hinged lid based on an image I found on Pinterest that did something very similar. I still need to sand and stain it next weekend.
Like others, I had a little trouble keeping the fence planks from splitting when screwing them to the 2x2 legs, since there was about an 1/8” gap between. I tried to find some scrap to fill in the gap and didn’t overtighten the screws. The lid was made entirely of 1x3”.
Needed a new console that would match other living room furniture. We had inherited the electric fireplace and previously didn’t know what to do with it. I adjusted the plans slightly to fit it in and am happy with the results
I built this bench in one afternoon and did the finishing work on the other. Tools used were a handsaw, jigsaw, Kreg Jig Mini and electric sander.
I modified the plan to use 10 inch lumber for the sides so that it would fit in the space where it would be used. Overall length was increased to 30 inches. Most of the wood was already on hand, but a 12"x4' piece was purchase for the top (instead of reclaimed pieces)
Bottom shelf was joined with the Kreg screws. Aprons were fastened with brass screws. The top was put on with finishing nails.
After finding the build plans for this while browsing Ana White's site, I knew I had to convince my husband to help me create this. I'd been drooling over certain high-end decor store's version for a while now, but refused to pay the costly price tag. This is now one of my favorite pieces in our home, and I love saying that we built it ourselves :) See the full post at: http://www.fromourhidingplace.com/2011/07/how-to-get-your-husband-to-bu…
Mon, 08/01/2011 - 10:19
Mind sharing where you found your casters? I am having a hard time finding anything I like. Thanks!
In the middle of a much needed makeover on our back deck! We did not have skirting around the deck and decided that we would like to close it in for extra storage(ladders,compost bin...) and we came up with this little something as a bonus. We are always hosting backyard get togethers and seating is a challenge. Setting up and putting away chairs,ugh. This has been the perfect solution. This was completely an "as we went" plan but the biggest need to know is, heavy duty hinges! (As I said,the deck is getting a makeover so go easy on the appearance:)
Jodi and Matt B.
Loved these plans! Was my first project I tackled trying my hand with a new hobby of wood working to stave off quarantine craziness :-) finished project looked awesome and got me started working on other plans on the site.
**note**
Side table was just sanded and refinished, wasn't built just tried to match.
I honestly think Ana is a mind reader. Whenever I need plans for a particular piece of furniture, they magically appear on her site. Of course if she was a true mind reader, everything will be exactly as I need it requiring no modifications. That's what makes her plans so amazing. I can build bigger and better because I've learned to modify her plans to fit my current needs.
This Cart was no exception. I had to make mine a few inches deeper and change the height of the legs and it was a piece of cake. I put this together in less than 2 hours and finishing was easy too.
I did a blog post all about what I did differently including how I constructed a towel bar instead of the pipe. Check it out at www.thepursuitofhandyness.com
With six people in our household, we were in desperate need of easily accessed storage for our off season clothes/gear. This ended up being a perfect solution. We customized shelf heights to fit the bins that we use for storage as well as made an area for our cat box (at the bottom right). It's such a relief to finally have everything tucked away but easy to get at when we need it.
DIY Greenhouse by Trenton Kirby on Facebook!
First time wood working project!
I found a picture of this style of chairs, and I really wanted to make them for my table. I created my own plans and adjusted them until they were perfect. I’ve since made several sets of chairs for other people including this set of 6.
Wed, 12/18/2019 - 07:57
I'd love to make these for my parents, do you have the plans?
I've thought for a while about building a bed for our dogs, but wasn't sure where to start. We had an extra crib mattress so I set out to find a toddler bed that would work. I decided the Lydia Toddler Bed plan would work best. It doesn't look anything like it, but it was a great starting point.
First, I got rid of the canopy and the decorative side pannels. I also raised the bed 12 inches. (The hope is to add a rug on the floor underneath as sort of a "bottom bunk") The lumber store didn't have 2x2s so I used 2x3s for the legs. I also only used two 1x6s at the head and foot of the bed. They are seperated by 1" because when I got home, I realized they were actually 1x5 (RUDE).
All in all, it turned out exactly as I had hoped and the dogs love it! GOODBYE stinky dogbeds!
**Photo 1: Just finished building--the slats weren't screwed down yet.
**Photo 2: Deacon is testing out his new digs! See the stinky dogbed underneath?YUK!
**Photo 3: Dog Bed Completed! Mac & Deacon love it!
Thu, 10/16/2014 - 18:49
Thanks for sharing the great plans. We built this end in a few hours and she loves it!
Built the porch swing and was inspired to build the glider frame by another "Brag Post" Looks great and fits perfectly in my back yard!
Fri, 02/18/2022 - 08:20
Are there any dimensions for the glider part? I have first year agriculture students building this, but we are unsure of the cut list for this. I am sure I can figure it out as the teacher, but with 20 students in the class, it would be better to be able to give them instructions to follow on paper. Thank you!!!
I am not a carpenter, I do not even have a tape measure. I got tasked by my leadership dothan class to build a farmhouse table for the academic dream room which is part of the Bright Key Program. Which is being renovated at Honeysuckle Middle School. Found your plans and got inspired. One glitch they wanted this table to be able to sit fourteen chairs. So I had to make a few adjustments like increasing the main boards to twelve foot. Because of your plans, many urban middle schoolers will have a place to get tutored considering cafeteria tables are so expensive. I am a believer of your plans. The positive feedback I received was well worth my time and would not of been a sucess without your plans. I did mine with pocket holes as well.
Comments
Ana White Admin
Thu, 08/18/2022 - 16:42
Love it!
This is so cute, thank you so much for sharing, well done!!!