Community Brag Posts

Just finished this maple bookcase with fluted trim for my daughter's room.  I chose all maple trim even though it's painted because I wanted a good hardwood with low grain that would look good for decades to come.  Full build details are on my website.  Router bits used were a roman ogee and a core box bit.

My most *favoritest* project ever. I modified the Braden plans like crazy to fit my family's needs for the sunroom/mudroom. I kept the bottom open so the it woould allow for baskets to slide it easily (which makes sweeping inside a snap). Also, I added some braces about midway down to hold the coat hooks for my 3 and 5 year-old. I had them show me how high they could reach and I just placed the braces there.

I literally used up whatever I could find in my garage for this project. We had a TON of scrap wood in varying thicknesses and lengths so I just used that. The only thing that I had to buy for this project was some 1x2 to finish off the trim.

Can't wait to get hardware on and style her up pretty! Will post final pics as soon as I do. :) I've been DYING to get something up on Ana's brag board and I can't wait to keep 'em coming.

Built this from Ana's plan. Made a few small floor changes and added casing, baseboard, trim and cedar shake shingles.

Bookcase followed plans exactly, finished in rustoleum white, varathane carbon gray stain for back paneling. 

Finished with satin oil based poly to add some protection.

For this project, we combined plans from the Farmhouse table and also the Tryde coffee table. We have a smaller dining room so we had to modify the plans to fit our ideal size (44"wide x 62"long). I did not want the stretcher underneath as it would take up leg room and it is very sturdy without it. We used 2x12s for the tabletop & 2x8s for the breadboards. We used 4x4 posts for the legs and 2x4 for all the other support pieces. We constructed the table in 2 pieces: the frame and then the table top so it would easier to move into place then do the final assembly. This was our first time building furniture and first time using the Kreg Jig. I think the Kreg was easy to use and worth the investment. Overall, we were surprised at how well it turned out and will look to Ana for more plans in the future!

I have always loved benches at the dining table. They are so practical for cleaning, kids, and for cramming extra people at a table! We are (mostly) happy with our current table, but I was so sick of 6 clunky chairs floating around my kitchen, and these benches were the perfect solution. They were very simple to make and are exactly what I wanted!

I mixed my own color of stain for the top board from two Cabot colors (Golden Oak and Walnut) to create a color that break up all the oak in the room, while still fitting in. I painted the bases of the benches a creamy ivory for the same reason, to break up all the oak, and distressed the edges lightly.

I omitted the "x" feature in the plans because I was happy with the look of just the board along the bottom.

Used Maple on top with pine for the frame. Thanks Ana-White!

My husband made this table in less than a week. He said it was one of the easiest woodworking projects he's done in a while! We love it.

I built it from pine 2x4s. I bought outdoor chair cushions and they work great.

My son loves his tower! We didn't attempt the curved sides, but made it work by adding a door with a toy steering wheel instead :)

Solid wood is an amazing material because it can be cut, re-shaped, extended, filled, sanded, stained, painted, and essentially re-used almost endlessly.

Last week, I took old cabinet doors (from when we gutted the mouse-hole kitchen cabinets that used to be in our apartment before we moved in) and turn them into a free cubby for my daughter's closet. :)

I used Poplar for the top and Pine for everyting else.  Only took about two hours from start to finish.  This is my first project using a Kreg Jig and now I don't know why I didn't get one of these years ago! 

Had some scraps hanging around and thought I would try using Ana's plan to organize the mess. Wow. What a difference. So nice to build something to fit your space rather than working around a preformed, plastic or metal utensil holder. Thank you Ana!

Utilizing the Hannah Canopy Bed plans, I made 2 changes that I am really glad I made. First, I added bead board to the headboard to give it a little style instead of the flat plywood. Second, I used 2x4's on all 4 corners because I could not find any 2x3's that were anywhere close to being straight. Overall I love the final project! It was nice, simple, and quick to get it all put together!

This is my first wood project, and first time using a Kregg jig.  A HUGE THANK YOU TO ANA!  Next is the matching end table and then outside chairs and a pagoda.  

Jeff F.

I built this storage bench and my wife stained and painted it. It is for use at the kitchen table as well as have storage for baskets underneath. This is my 1st project I have used my Kreg Jig on. Absolutely love it!!!

I made this as a gift for my niece. I fully assembled it, instead of presenting it as a kit. When I made the frame, I hadn't quite figured out how to make perfectly straight cuts with my circular saw, and I cut all the pieces before I came across Ana's tutorial on using a circular saw. So the bed is not perfectly square. Fortunately, a few pieces of thin craft foam glued to the bottom of a couple of the legs eliminated most of the wobble. That, and a generous application of pocket holes and screws. Each side rail is attached to the headboard/footboard with (6) 1 1/2" screws! I could probably jump up and down on the frame and it wouldn't budge. And I think I over-painted. Not to good with my spray painting technique yet. Plus, I forgot to sand between coats, and I didn't have time to add a clear topcoat.
When I look at this project, I see every flaw and mistake and feel dissatisfied. But, I just remind myself that I am my own worst critic. My niece, on the other hand, loved it. And no one else seemed to notice the mistakes: I received several nice complements. And the best part: it was practically free! I bought a can of pink spray paint, but everything else came out of my wood stash or my fabric stash. A present made with love, not money. And my first "real" building project.

Okay, I hope you like this... it was the second and third thing I ever built!!! The table is made from 2 doors hinged together with accent hinges screwed on top. In the middle there are locks (hook and latch) for design. The frame is oak. measures 81X 56 and fits a good 10 people around.

The bench is an old cherry tree slab that someone I know did not want. its about 72 inches long and it is slighly curved. I ushed a shilac and kept the same color....  I just sanded it down.