Two years ago a friend of mine introduced me to http://ana-white.com/ (it's the same website as knock-off wood if you have heard of that one) and I have fallen in love with building my own things. I'm not very good at it, but I love it. Some people have suggested that I add some of my items to this blog but I don't think it would be very practical to give a verdict to a blueprint that I messed up.
But what I will do is give praises to this website and tell you why I love it. If you have ever been interested in woodwork then this website is a fantastic place to start. You can find countless plans for building anything from a simple picture frame to a bunk bed. You can search plans by categories, room, skill level, price etc. And if you have zero knowledge of tools and working with wood, there are a lot of great tutorial videos and forums that will answer any questions you have.
"But wait, I don't have any tools" you might say. Well guess what my friend, all you really need is a power drill. Lowe's and Home Depot will cut the wood for you and if you bat your eyes at the workers, they will even pick out the wood for you and haul it around the store. Ok, they will do that without the flirting, all you have to say is "help please" and usually they are ready to jump in. One time a worker spent 20 minutes telling me all he knew about drill bits.
Having a sander is nice because it cuts down a lot of work and time, but you can sand everything by hand. I have used a jigsaw on many occasions but most of the time it wasn't necessary, usually it was because I messed something up and had to adjust things.
Before you start any building project I suggest that you read everything about that project. Even the comments. Even though it takes time, and sometimes there are more then 100 comments I have always found something helpful by reading them.
Let me show you the projects I have done so you can see the great variety the website has. Again, they aren't great, but when I started all I knew was how to use a power drill.
This library cart was my very first build. The wheels have since broken off (Trying to wheel it with 50lbs of books on it wasn't a good idea) but it has held up great. It holds a lot of books and it's right at the kids level
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This end table/mini TV stand was a little bit more challenging because of the drawer. You can see that it's a bit crooked. This project also taught me how unforgiving stain is. It highlights any scratches you have and I don't care what the bottle says, there is no such thing as stainable wood filler.
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Dog food bowl.
The kids have a cute little table I bought on craigsilst a few years ago. One of the chairs broke, so I made another one using scrap wood I had.
My sons platform bed.
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A play kitchen for the kids
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My daughters bed, and the source of my concussion. That 5 foot, 50lbs headboard was leaning against the wall and I was crouched below it messing with the railings. I'm not sure what happened, but that thing came down and got me in the back of the head. I don't think i was fully knocked out but I have no memory of crawling out from under it and laying down next to it. Apparently when working with wood I should start wearing a helmet. It will look good with my oh so attractive safety glasses.
