Community Brag Posts

Sailboat playhouse in sunny Baja California Sur, Mexico!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/03/2016 - 15:56

We live in Los Cabos, Mexico, and the sun is hot and bright! My kids love playing outside in our backyard, but we had no shade. I started looking around, found this site, and though I have few tools and only helping experience with carpentry, decided to give it a go. It's a big hit with the kids and they assure me that it's a nice shady place in the yard! No sand added as we have plenty of dirt and cactus as it is. Tools used: a hand saw (!) and a drill. I really enjoyed it, so I need to go buy a circular saw soon.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50 or less, not sure as I bought some tools at the same time.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Amazing Climbing Wall!!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 08/01/2019 - 12:15

So the kids love to climb, mine probably more than most so we did a summer break project! So we looked around online and there's really nothing there for a home climbing wall to fit our needs, so we just like made it up.

I bought 9 planks of the heaviest plywood they had at walmart and ordered climbing grab handles from amazon in multi color but then we realized that it just looked a bit boring for this funnest thing ever!

So we went online to look for a good paint for plywood, but something that would also add some grip for the kids. So we found this bedliner called durabak was really highly recommended all ovr the internet for use on plywood, mainly by boats and stuff.

So we called durabakcompany.com and their customer service was literally the most patient and best I think I've ever dealt with, They had so much patience and gave me lots of ideas and said that Durabak gets used a lot on climbing walls! Yay!

They gave me the idea to go with dark blue and dark grey and draw out a random pattern and paint it all with 3 coats of Durabak and it just looks so awesome I bring everyone up to see it now. The kids totally love it and it just makes me so proud that I built that thing with my kids! They're super psyched about it too.

Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Durabak 18 Textured Dark Blue and Dark grey
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

2x4 Sectional

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 05/03/2023 - 12:04

My husband whipped this up in one day using Ana’s plan. This is my new favorite spot to relax.

Comments

Queen Bed

I did this bed today in just a few hours. I am new to this site and have lots of project to be posted. I thank my wife for the lovely display. I am stationed in the Navy overseas and good furniture is hard to come by. The Euro makes stuff expensive and the military store carries lots of expensive "cheap" stuff. I started with a picnic table for the kids this past summer and my Facebook went out of control with request to build stuff. So, I do a lot of look a likes. I get to build things and my fellow service members get nice furniture for the cost of wood.(I get a little for me too). I hope you enjoy my projects because there are many more to come. If you want plans just ask I keep them in my head and can type them down and email them to you. Thanks Ana White for the great ideas! Happy New Year everyone.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
120.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
White stain
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Growth Chart Ruler

This was a super easy project and I like the way it turned out. I just got a 1x6 board in pine (that cost about $3.50) sanded it, stained it and marked all the inches with a pencil. I then used a painter's pen in black along with my square to get all the lines straight. Then I used some stencils to do the numbers - also with the painter's pen. The whole project took probably an hour to do (besides waiting for the stain to dry).

Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Golden Oak - 2 coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Storage bed

Submitted by Firemedic on Fri, 02/05/2016 - 20:49

First time posting on here, made several items from this site. Thanks for all the plans. I modified this to a twin size for my daughters first bed and added a few features so I wanted to share. Twin is 39x75 so I just made it 21 inches narrower and almost 5 inches shorter. I say almost because I made the storage boxes 75 3/4 so that the drawer boxes would divide evenly into 3 to be the same size. The height of the bed is the same as Ana's plans. A few other small additions I made were webbing stapled to the slats and a small peice of scrap wood at each end to keep them taught so I didn't have to screw them all in. This makes it easier to move later as well. I also attached scrap wood 3 1/2 inches from the bottoms of the boxes so that they can easily rest on the 2x4s from the head and foot board. This makes it easier to assemble, especially if you plan on moving the bed in the future. just rest them on those 2x4's and screw together. My daughter loves her new bed.

Estimated Cost
300
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Sherwin Williams latex paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rustic X Console Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 08/22/2019 - 14:09

I fell in love with this design right away, and rushed out to buy the wood. The build itself was super quick... 4-6 hours start to finish. Oxidizing the wood took a lot of trial and error... I was hoping for a more grey look like the plans showed, but I ended up with a richer brown. Still love it!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
For the oxidizing, strong tea followed by steel wool dissolved in vinegar, as described here: http://thefriendlyhome.blogspot.com/2012/05/oxidized-x-console.html

For the final finish, Vermont Natural Coatings Poly Whey Furniture Finish, Clear Satin Finish.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

King Bed and Nightstands

Submitted by kwlogue on Sat, 05/06/2023 - 18:28

Fun and rewarding projects to finish. Took me way too long to finish, but 2 sever TBIs will do that to a person. Made a few modifications to the original King and nightstand plans but worked out fine. Thanks for these plans Ana!

Comments

Parson Chair

Submitted by marla on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 21:29

Made this for my son's playroom. I added the cross supports in the base to make a sturdier chair.

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

SWING TO BENCH

Submitted by Swhite on Thu, 11/21/2013 - 13:01

Really simple edition to make this project portable and efficient for group functions. Add some legs lol. Measure the height you want from your kitchen seat, cut, and screw to the bottom. The pictures should help with how to place them.

Hope you like it

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$160 for both benches, screws, glue, brushes, and stain.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Coffee colored stain from home depot
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modified Rustic X Console

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 02/07/2016 - 21:55

I started the project on a day off and finished it over a few long nights in the garage after work. It turned out pretty nice. I ommitted the middle legs, shortened it from the original plan to 65" long, and made it 31.5" tall. I also added breadboard style ends to the top to show less end grain. It is shown with a 55" TV on top of it for perspective. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$70-90 including lumber, sand paper, stain and poly
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax wood conditioner, Minwax Dark Walnut, and Minwax Satin Polyurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Chairs

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 09/08/2019 - 14:58

Really like this project and am anxious to do another :) if you have any for porch swings I want to make one of those too:) thank you for sharing!!!!

Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)

Comments

Chippendale Chest of Drawers

This is a Chippendale Chest of Drawers in Cherry. I did it a couple of years ago and it is still holding up very well. It was my first experience with ogee bracket feet and I was very happy with the way the feet turned out. It is a lot easier than it looks. There is no secondary wood, it is wholly out of American Black Cherry (prunus seritina). It took about four months to build and it has exposed dovetails on the top as the carcass is dovetailed together. Brasses are from bail pull type brasses.

Estimated Cost
$400.00
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Antique Oil Finish
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Comments

MINI FARMHOUSE BEDSIDE TABLE

Submitted by blacorc on Mon, 11/25/2013 - 05:44

I made the mini farmhouse bedside table as my first attempt at wood-working! It was really fun, and turned out pretty good for my first shot. I need to learn how to cut more consistently and get better at making things square. Thanks for the plan!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
White enamel spray paint and Rust-Oleum stain (Kona color) plus polyurethane coat over the stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Guest/All Purpose Room Closet Makeover

Submitted by JessMN on Wed, 02/10/2016 - 13:31

We are slowly remodeling our 1972 townhouse and it was time to do the guest bedroom closet so that we could get a bit more storage in the house. I contemplated getting a pre-made organizer but decided to make my own after perusing Ana's site. Its my first "from scratch" furiture-type of project and I chose the cheapest quality plywood, which was a mistake and cost me extra hours in trying to "pretty" up the wood. but overall I'm happy with how it turned out!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
enamel paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Full Size Modern Farmhouse Bed

Submitted by lmelendi on Sun, 09/22/2019 - 11:39

We made the full size bed. We added 4 inches of height on the bed so there was room to slide a twin mattress underneath.  

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
We used Weathered Gray Varathane stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Front porch table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/22/2023 - 07:30

My father in law was a very good woodworker. He had a great shop with all the power tools anyone could want. He passed away 2 years ago and one day I went in his shop and remember thinking this woodworking could be sort of fun.
I searched the internet and came across the Ana White instructional site. Your site and instructional videos have helped me so much. The photos attached are my first attempt at furniture making. I used and modified one of your plans for this piece of furniture. It was SO helpful. Thank you for making these videos and plans available for those that are leaning this craft.

Built from Plan(s)

farmhouse night stand

Submitted by CoreyS on Sun, 01/08/2012 - 20:51

I just Built two of these for my wife and I. the plan was great and easy to follow for the most part i would really suggest spending as much time on the drawers as possible it makes such a big difference getting them to slide easily. now hopefully with anyluck ana will find time in her busy life to post a farmhouse tallboy dresser plan or something close to it!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
1 coat of mixwax pre stain wood conditioner then two coats of chocolate coloured stain then two coats of semi gloss poly
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Variation of Planked Sideboard

Worked on this piece on and off for about 4 months! Was hard, but worth every penny. Spent about $300 on materials. Has seeded glass inset cabinet doors with soft close hinges. 80" long x 34" high x ~ 20" deep (I think). Bought black cherry through a specialty lumber supply (I highly recommend cherry!!). Used a cherry dye on it, and Waterlox original to seal it.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Water based cherry dye (1 coat) followed with top coat of waterlox sealer (3 coats)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Linda7

Wed, 11/27/2013 - 18:59

This is probably the most professional appearing project I have ever seen on this site--both in building and in finishing! I love cherry finish, and this one gorgeous! Kudos!

joeyrego

Sat, 11/30/2013 - 12:22

Hey johnhawkfan56,

It looks awesome man. Great job! Got some questions. Would you mind telling me a bit more about the top? I'm assuming you used 3-4 boards glued together? Would you mind sharing some details about making and gluing up the panels? Did you use pocket holes or maybe biscuit joints to keep them even? Did you use a jointer or a thickness planer for the boards? Lastly the finish is incredible. Any pointers or tips on applying the dye or Waterlox?
Thanks
Joey

jayhawkfan56

Sun, 12/01/2013 - 13:08

Joey-
Used a biscuit joiner to put top boards together, it was 3 boards of differing widths. A lot of times with the different woods (cherry, walnut, etc) the boards aren't as uniform. Don't have a planer or jointer, so just got lucky/used some heavy sanding with orbital to smooth things out. The finishing was really easy. Go to a specialty wood shop and ask for cherry dye that penetrates the wood well. Only one coat is needed. Keep in mind, some folks don't recommend dyeing or staining cherry because sunlight naturally darkens the wood to that color. For waterlox, make sure it's in a well ventilated area. I sanded to 240 and did not sand between coats. 3 coats would be enough. Waterlox on cherry alone looks fantastic as well, but it's not that red right away.

Slatted Sofa Table

Submitted by raybwright on Sat, 02/13/2016 - 09:36

I based this design of the simple Sofa Table by Jenna Sue. Instead of a 2x8 across the top, I opted to use 1x4s side by side. This slatted look matched some of the other items in the house and to allowed me to create two hinged sections. These sections allow for easy access to wall plugs and include small notch for the cables to come through.

Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Wodd Finish Dark Walnut Stain with Minwax Clear Satin Polyeurethane
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner