Community Brag Posts

Scooter for Christmas

Great plan! I curved the edges with a French curve and a bench sanding disk, and then used a router on all exposed edges. I used a dremel router table with a small bit for the small pine pieces and a full sized router for the two main platforms. If I were to do it again I’d be far more careful with angle accuracy.. I think my miter saw is a little off. My table saw was spot on for the plywood cuts. I also used smaller wheels and only have spinners on the front, preventing collision.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Barn Door Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/09/2021 - 19:57

This is my 1st wood project and I wouldn’t have tried it without your plans, thank you!

Took about 3 weeks between work and 3 kids. (My 2 year old wanted attention and pulled down what I put up in one pic) I also made some planter boxes in the middle to complete something and a side table that slides under the couch to test the finishes on before I completed this massive entertainment console.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Modish Adirondack Chair

Submitted by osuguy81 on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 10:49

This is my first build from Ana-White, I built these Adirondack Chairs in an afternoon, for my wife as an early mothers day present. Painted with Sherwin Williams Resilience Gloss latex Festival Green paint. Added some cushins from Target that we got on sale. It was a fairly easy built and I really enjoyed using the Kreg Jig to create the hidden pocket holes.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Painted with Sherwin Williams Resilience Gloss latex Festival Green paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner
Seasonal And Holiday

adirondack chair

Submitted by JennyInGex on Tue, 06/18/2013 - 12:47

LOVed building and painting this. Although using European wood is a headache as of course the standard wood sizes are different. ... always 4-6 mm off... so all my things are crooked. I don't care though and it is my new favorite chair. I used ArchiTect blue exerior color, two coats, and pine wood.
I am grateful for Ana White's metric conversion chart in the book I now have but when going to the hardware store here, I am confronted with numerous standard wood sizes that are not the same as in the US!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Truss Bookshelf in Antique White

Submitted by pcarroll on Wed, 05/27/2015 - 09:56

Friends of mine are having a girl and needed a bookshelf for the nursery. Loved the simplicity of this design and wanted to see in an antique white finish. Great plans and design.

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Two coats of white milk paint.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Parsons desk

I added an additional detached shelf so we can change the setup anytime. I also increased the space between the two main shelves to 30 inches and extended the depth to 22 inches overall. I left one shelf off to make room for the computer tower. The top is made from maple with a gunstock stain. This desk will mainly be for my kids gaming station. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$130
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax gunstock and Pro Finisher crystal polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Outdoor Sectional

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 13:18

Built this for my daughter in law for Christmas. Turned out awesome. Plans and directions were great!

Comments

Aqua Spa Bench for Entry

My husband modified the plans to make the bench longer to sit in our entry as a place to take off shoes.  Painted, distressed sanded, then stained with minwax ebony.  Finished off with polyurethane.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
around $35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
satin latex paint, minwax ebony stain, satin polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Just a ladder...

Submitted by ktkadoo on Thu, 06/20/2013 - 09:39

(I don't know why my picture is horizontal, it shows up fine on my computer).
In redecorating my oldest son's room, we needed him to have a loft bed, but all the commercial loft beds are too tall for his bedroom. So then, we thought we would re-work his current bunkbed. In order to use it as a loft bed we had to remove the bottom support rails and that meant we needed a new solution for a ladder (because it was part of the support system). After looking through the site, I decided that this ladder was the best for our needs. The ladder went together smoothly. We had to modify the directions just a bit to make it the right size. We put a set of U-brackets on the end of the ladder to put over the bunk bed. We also drilled through the bed frame and into the ladder for additional support.

Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

kikidolly45

Wed, 10/30/2013 - 12:14

Hi there! I'd like to rework my daughter's bunk bed like you did, but struggling to figure out how to raise it. I also need to build a new ladder. Can you offer any guidance on this? Thanks!

Modern Slat Top Outdoor Wood Bench

This took about 6 hours from beginning to end, but next bench should take about 4-5 hours. Most of the time was spent on sanding the wood and waiting for the stain to dry.

Main lesson learned: Drill pilot holes throughout. I used no-drill construction screws, but it didn't pull the wood tight enough against each other. Also, stain all the wood pieces before assembling (as opposed to just the top slats as suggested in the plan). Remember that the leg pieces will not need stain on the flat surfaces, just the sides that will be exposed. Use a square tool to stay as close to 90 degrees as possible.

Estimated Cost
$45 using "whitewood" (SPF) and pine 1x4's from Home Depot.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax red oak, wiped on with cloth.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Mission Style Dog Kennel

This project was really pretty easy. The hardest part was holding the pieces just right so they ended up where we wanted once the kreg jig hole screws went in. Also, we had to be sure not to overtighten the screws and cause splitting.

 

We did have to make two adjustments to the plans. I think the first was a typo...where it says 2 - 1x2 @ 15 3/4" (door sides) they should actually be 1x3 based on the images.

The second adjustment was the plywood for the back 17 3/4" x 21" ended up too wide for the end to fit on, so we made it 17 3/4" x 20"

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Early American stain and satin polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Knox11

Sun, 12/24/2017 - 17:17

This was my first wood working Project! I learned alot about what to do and not to do for future projects. We are excited about how it turned out!

Spice Cabinet

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 12/24/2021 - 20:39

Love to cook, didn't have enough space in the pantry for all my spices. Used the spice cabinet plan and it was perfect.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Our Farmhouse Table, Bench and Bar Stools

Our kitchen has been pretty much the same for the last 4 1/2 years but this last fall we started to undertake a huge do-it-yourself remodel. We painted our cabinets, replaced the sink and floors and even painted the counter tops! You can check out the transformation on our blog.

Now that our kitchen was looking so good we decided we needed some awesome furniture to match.

This is where the great Ana White and her wonderful blog stepped in. We were able to build some beautiful high quality furniture at an awesome price! This was the first time I actually had matching and completed furniture in my kitchen and I have loved it.

We built the farmhouse table, bench and the extra tall bar stools with some modifications.

Estimated Cost
We spent around $220 for all of the furniture.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
I used a wood conditioner, 2 coats of a Jacobean colored stain and two coats of a satin finish polyurethane.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Turnings

Submitted by Russell AP on Sat, 06/22/2013 - 21:30

These are a few of my turnings. They are available for sale. Message or comment for price and shipping.

Estimated Cost
100$
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Most of my finishes for turnings are Arm-R-Seal poly.
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Patio Table

I looked around to buy a patio and found they were often quite expensive or they were poorly made out of metal that would rust. I had some scrap pine and some table legs from an old table I wasn't using so decided to make a patio table myself.

For more details, check out my blog:
http://www.woodworkingfourdummies.com/blog/patio-table

Cheers,
Ian

Estimated Cost
$20 for paint
Wood was scrap
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint and Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Modified King Farmhouse Bed - Taller headboard.

Submitted by Ijc2000 on Thu, 12/28/2017 - 10:09

Modified the standard farmhouse king plan a bit. Made the headboard 4" taller and utilized 1x4's and 1x3's to fill in the headboard instead of 1x8's. I used 2x8 from front to back for the runners and horizonal 2x6's just under the lip of the 2x8 for the matress to sit on. It turned out great and we get lots of compliments. 

Estimated Cost
$350
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Picture included. Used the whitewash before using the restoration hardware technique.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Big enough for an adult, strong enough to survive my kids

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 12/26/2021 - 13:14

Thank you Ana! Your plans are so easy to follow, they make me feel like a master carpenter! I still cannot believe I built this myself. I look forward to building more this year!!

Comments

Tryde Coffee Table

I built Ana's Tryde Coffee Table.  Building was quick and easy and I am in LOVE with my new table!!!   You can see the modifications I made at our blog http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/04/coffee-table-reveal.html

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Dark Walnut and Rust-oleum Heirloom White Spray Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Nick & Leah's Farmhouse Bed

This was our first project & we worked on it together. My husband melded the Farmhouse plan with the Chunky Leg bed box. The box is reinforced & has 13 slats. We didn't sand out areas that had bark, but left them for the texture. We worked on it a few hours each night & then painted on Saturday & puit it together on Sunday. Design-wise we raised the bed so that the bottom of the frame sits at 12 inches. We also raised the footboard above the mattress level. These changes were just our preference, but we really love how it turned out. It is sturdy, substantial & beautiful!

Estimated Cost
$250.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar Signature Eggshell finish in Vanilla Steam. After sanding we only applied one real coat, but applied it liberally.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Table

Submitted by bosox43 on Sat, 06/06/2015 - 18:49

Great project, super easy to follow instructions and really easy to modify with some simple math.

Perfect weekend project, started the table around 1pm on Saturday, finished the bench and had the garage cleaned up and sitting at the new table by 330pm on Sunday!

Thanks for posting the plans, they were very easy to follow!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Deck table
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Faux fireplace

Submitted by nhsarah on Sat, 12/30/2017 - 12:00

I live in an apartment, so I had everything cut for me at the nearby hardware store except the trimming. I scaled it so that it fits in my living room. It was my first woodworking project since high school, but I’m happy with how it tuned out. Thank you so much for the easy to understand instructions!!

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner