Community Brag Posts

Rustic Fireplace Build by Becky Roque

After making the Providence Table, I whipped up these benches to match! They were super easy to make in one day. I love the sturdiness of these (and the look too). 

We started from the benchmark media console plan, but then adapted it to our room and needs.
It's entirely made of plain wood (no plywood, except for the drawers bottom) which probably adds to the cost a little, but gives a very nice finish! All the boards (for table top, shelves and sides) are made from 1x4, assembled with wood glue and pocket holes.

The doors are made of glass cut to fit, and glued with silicone.

Only trouble was with the door hinges.. Since we wanted them to be concealed inside but I hate Euro-Style hinges, so we ended up finding Soss "invisible hinges" that conceal in the thickness of the door, and used a dremel as a router to install them... This proved a bit more challenging than anticipated, but all in all it worked out pretty well.

My husband and I built these shelves in our garage this past weekend.  This is one of our first diy projects and we are very happy with how it turned out.  The shelves are 30" deep, around 8 feet tall and 12 feet long.  This was also our first time using the Kreg jig, which we loved!

The family needed a safe place for backpacks, shoes, jackets and everything else needed for school. I modified Ana's plan since this project was made with recycled shipping pallets. Rather than struggle with warps, twists and other imperfections I embraced them with glossy white paint. I added the waxed pine panels to absorb the daily use and abuse and be readily buffed when necessary.

This is a quick and easy cheap build. I priced planters this size at the store and they were about $75 with a trellis. I built this one for under $20. Thanks Ana!

We have some large open spaces at our office and are converting them into workspace areas. We needed some large tables that would accommodate four people but we did not want to spend thousands of dollars on furniture. We needed something that would be useful and inexpensive to build. I started poking around on the web and found the iCoffee Table from the “A Touch of Arkansas” blog. I loved the design and I thought with a little bit of tweaking I could make it work for us…and it did!

Thank you for the plans!

I used the following for the wheels,  they are AMAZING and dont require you to tear apart any pulleys. These wheels have bearings in them too,  which make them slide super quiet and smooth!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Barton-Kramer-1-1-2-in-Precision-Bearing-Stainless-Steel-Wheel-2-Pack-43/205649620

Tony S.

A few months ago we decided to build ourselves a new table based on the Farmhouse Table plans. We knew we wanted to make the table out of some red oak that I had gotten for free, so we would deviate from the plans a bit. Long story short, I deviated from the plans _quite_ a bit. We had planned to make the table essentially with free materials, but that changed when I spent several days squaring up the rough stock I had been given. I also joined a crowned plank in the center of the table-top...big mistake. After glueing, screwing, and sanding, I realized there would be no way to get the crown out of the top. So...the first table-top became the bench cover and the other half is going to be used for a computer desk in another room. After a trip to the local lumber yard, I had about $220 worth of red oak: 4 1x4x14ft planks for the legs and 7 1x6x6ft planks for the table top.

I began by cutting the 14 ft. 1x4's to length and then joining them with lots of glue and clamps to form the legs. Next I set up the table saw to notch out the tops of the legs to receive the box. I prefer this method over using a circular saw or jig-saw. Picked up my wood-chisel to clean things up and then sanded, scraped using a card scraper (I would highly recommend a scraper for the smooth finish and handcrafted feel the tool provides), applied two coats of stain, and finished with two coats of wipe on poly.

I followed Ana's plans to construct the 2x4 base, modifying it to fit the size of my table and the specific overhang I sought. I also simply used 2x4 scraps to span the width of the box, and then Kreg jigged them to the box and table-top for support.

I joined the table-top planks using a Kreg Jig and glue. Lots of sanding and scraping again, and then I flipped the top, attached the box, and attached the legs. I used more of the 1x4's for the skirts to hide the 2x4 box.

We decided that we wanted to build a built-in bench for storage instead of a free standing one to accompany the table. I followed the plan at the following site, modifying it as necessary to match the length of our table. I also only built the bench and not the wall unit (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20301255,00.html). My mistake with the first table-top ended up being a blessing of sorts when we were looking for a sturdy bench-top.

All in all, we love it! It took a good deal of time to finish the table—in part because I'm a horrible perfectionist. The bench, on the other hand, was finished in a day's work.

The table is constructed entirely out of red oak. The bench-top is also red oak. The bench is birch plywood and pine.

Total cost for table: $220 for wood; we already had all other supplies
Bench: $25; again, we already had most of the materials needed.

We revised the design a bit to make it fit in our space. We also made room for our dog food bin at the bottom

My entry into the IG Builders Challenge. Modified the Ana White Bailey Console a few ways. Instead of 2 large drawers, I installed 2 doors on each end, with 2 drawers in the middle. Century old barn wood used throughout. The legs are reclaimed oak floor joists, front stretchers are oak, rear stretchers are poplar. Heart pine planks users as door and drawers fronts. Heart pine front the same barn used as the top as well. Barnwood skins used on each end and the middle of the backside. Reclaimed shutters were used on the door compartment bottoms, and the rear.  I may eventually add a lower shelf with some of the leftover poplar and barnwood skins at a later date. 

We have received so many compliments on these. Hub built 2 of them. Such a great look!

This bed has been a true labour of love over the last few months!

I made all cuts with a hand saw, and mainly used a kreg jig to assemble the bed.

The 'insert' in the headboard is made from macrocarpa window trim and tongue-and-groove panelling, which was leftover from when my parents built their house. The rest I bought from a local supplier as rough sawn timber, which I got dressed by a woodworking guy who lives nearby. Had I bought all the timber I used, the cost would have been closer to $400.

I didn't add the moulding that is included in the plan - it's just my preference.

It took a bit of work to convert Ana's plans into metric measurements, but I got there in the end! I love my bed

A friend wanted a small box for her cosmetics. She gave me the dimensions of her present container but my mind and my saws envisioned a different end. My only promise was that she would get three drawers. To keep cost low I used only scrap lumber I found around the garage. I added oak dowels for strength and decoration.