Let’s Build a Deck!

Materials I Used to Build a Deck

• Wood
• Nails
• Saw
• String Line
• Nailer
• Wood Tape
• Pro-wood Lumber

How I Chose Materials for the Deck

I’ve personally chosen pro-wood for all of my pressure treated. Needs. They not only have super high standards, but they are also used in the latest technology called MCA where the C stands for copper. I love this because that means that it’s not harmful to plants, people or pets. But it is harmful to microbials that cause rot, or fungi. The treated lumber does come in levels of treatment so choosing lumber can get tricky, but pro-wood has black end tabs that make it easy. Whether you need light duty, ground contact, or something else.

Step 1: Preparing the Deck Posts

Lets start off with showing you the before shot. Everything here was in pretty decent shape other than the staircase but I’ll get into that later so all I did was remove the railing and refinish what was there that I could start building onto it. The framework for any deck is comprised of four main components: the posts, the beams, the joist, and the deck board. We start with setting the posts. Different areas will have different depth requirements for how deep you have to dig your hole so be sure to check with your code before getting started.

Next I put on a post saver sleeve. I do not put a post in the ground without one of these guys. What you need in order to create rot on a post is moisture and air, and where the post is most susceptible is about two inches above ground level. The line here indicates this goes two inches above where the ground level is and this will protect this zone that I most susceptible to rot.

The inside of it is lined with a tar like feature so that it creates a water and air tight seal to prevent oxygen from having access to the post. The sleeve takes heat to shrink it perfectly to size. I used my propane torch while somebody else turns it. It only takes a few seconds, then I cool it with a roller dipped in water.

Step 2: Pouring Concrete to Secure the Posts

If you have a large job like this one I personally think its worth it to rent mixer so that you can do three bags at a time. Remember to slope the concrete away. You don’t want to create an area that more water can pool.

Let me give you guys a tip on using a string line to set post. A lot of times when you see people pull a string line they pull it and then they try to set the post up right next to the it, the problem is if you end up bumming it too much even sightly with one post you’re gonna knock the string out of alignment. What I recommend instead is moving the string line away from it, in this case its going to be 18 inches so that whenever you set the post you can then pull your tape measure set the tape and hit that mark.

Alright so that is all of the posts set, lets move on to cutting them to height so that we can set the beams.

Step 3: Cutting the Posts to Height

So this line comes from using the laser level on all of the posts. Once you get the face mark now you can translate that around using the speed squarer. My favorite speed squarer to have on site is this crescent one that goes not only from a 6 inch but has a very quick flappable ruler that goes to a 12 in extension.

For all of the framing I’m using pro woods pressure treated wood and more specially for the post I’m using their label that says “for in the ground”. I’ll tell you more about their laboring press later. Jacob is now going through and marking off all of the shoulder locations. These headers are going to be attached to an actual shoulder so that they’re resting on a notch out on these beams so he’s just using a speed square to mark the depth.

The thing with making these shoulders is that the circular saw is not going to have enough throw in it to do it all in one. You can use the circular saw and set the depth in order to make this face cut to where it doesn’t go past your shoulder, in our case it can be all full depth without going past it but then make all of the cuts around here and as jake is going through doing that, I’ll come back and finish it with the saw. That wraps up cutting in all of the shoulders. The next thing is to cut all the beams to length to set on the shoulders.

Step 4: Setting the Beams

These are already crowned you can go through and crown your board and then whenever you find where the curve is you put an arrow on it so whenever you set these in pkae you can make sure it’s facing up. This one is gonna go halfway on this post. I’m going to come back with screws but for now I’m just gonna pop in a nail.

For the beams I’m using adoubled up 2 by 12. You want thse boards to be as untied as possible for strength so that means sucking them together. I first used three inch spacks power lags to pull the cup out then I came back with a framing nailer to nail it all throughout. This was my first job using the Senco framing nailer and I was very impressed with how rapidly it fired off.

At the end of setting al the beams in place it looks a little something like this.

Step 5: Mounting the Joists

The next step is to set the joist. Often you see joist go in hangers and are mounted on the face of the beam, but in this case they will be mounted to the top which first means I need to go through and flatten the top of the beam. A chalk line comes in handy to give a visual on the high points. Next I used an electric planer to flatten the top. Since the job site was sloped the lowest beam was pretty easy, the middle section as a shoulder workout, but the far beam was way too above my head.

Tip: if you don’t have  planer than another option would be to use a fence or a circular saw to make the top perfectly flat

Step 6: Setting the Joists

Lets start with the third major framing component: setting the joist. At the very beginning I ended up demoing the rim joist that use to be here so that we could have access to the joist from the existing deck and sister on these boards to them instead of going with joist hangers on the rim joists. By doing it this way, we’re not gonna have to cut to height each board, we’re just let it run wild into there, but we do have to notch it to get a 2 by 10 made up to this 2 by 8. On the opposite side, Jacob just set it right on top of it and this should come out level.

Whenever you’re deciding how many joist you want you can do either 24 inch centers, 16 inch centers, and you can play with doing 2 by 8s or 2 by 10s. actually with using 2 by 8s and 2 by 10s I could’ve gone to 24 inch centers but I made a decision to go with 16 in order to not make it so spongy feeling. The cost is very little difference so I would recommend sticking with 16s.

The complication here is making sure what we’re doing is going on square to the other surface, so we’re actually going to hop to the last one so that we can then pull diagonals and make sure the structure we are putting in is square. So out at the beams, I’m gonna have to toenail in the joist.

Tip: take off the tip of your nail gun This is really good whenever you’re in bump mode or nailing on flat but if you’re gonna be toe nailing and you’re going to take this off, they give you spikes in order to go in at an angle without it moving around on you.

The two measurements that I’m really paying attention to here in that these tails are the exact length apart and then that these are on 16 in center.

Step 7: Day two! Finishing Setting the Joist by Spacing them Evenly

So whenever setting joist, at the very last step you should attached a rim joist that connects the tails of each one. Its important to get the overhang of each joist as exact with each other as possible. So whenever measuring these 16 on center you never wanna go from the top because they’re not secured there, so you want to go from the bottom and then what I love about this tape is it has the numbers on both sides that makes measuring from the bottom very simple.

Step 8: Taping the Joist

Before doing anything else I want to do the joist taping which will drastically prolong the life of the boards. The tricky thing about my particular situation is the ground is so uneven I would have to move the ladder five or six times per joist, to prevent that I ended up doing some sort of leap frog activity where I used two 2 by 8s as seats and then just alternated them a little bit as a I worked my way back with four or five pieces of tape at a time. I’d progress the first two feet, move my board back then move my board back and progress the next two feet until I got to the end.

Now on this joist tape you do want to wrap it around the end and cover up the end grain which is where the wood actually absorbs the moisture.

Step 9: Completing the Deck Frame by Adding a Rim Joist

As Cindy and I were tackling the joist taping, Jacob was finishing off the last of the framing members for the pool. This is the only portion of the deck that includes joist hangers. For this we are using a Senco Nailer made specifically for joist hanging.

The last thing we do to conclude framing is add on the rim joist. This it the board that will tie all the tails of the joist together. Another important thing it does it plumb the joist. With the joist you always start with the board on one end and progress to the other end of the joist one at a time. As you go one person should be making sure that the top of the rim joist is not only flush to the top of the joist but that the joist is also at a ninety so that it can be nailed at the top and the bottom. It’s easiest with two people on this job.

I check with a speed squarer to ensure it is flush and will push or pull it if it isn’t. If the joist is twisted then I use a crescent hammer with a spur on it to grab the joist and use leverage to twist it straight while tell Jacob “top” so he knows he can stick it.

Deck Framing Completed!

And that is going to wrap up the first video of the deck series. I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed building it. But stayed tuned because I have plenty more deck to build and I’ll be bringing you along on the entire journey. In the mean time, feel free to check out my website for tons of project plans and templates. Until next time!

Let’s Build an Outdoor Storage Bench!

DIY Storage Bench

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You can go a lot of different ways for material for this storage bench but I went with an exterior rated MDF called Armorite. I know, I know, it’s typically a cardinal rule that you can’t use MDF in situations where it could get wet, as standard MDF swells and is forever ruined. Just look at how much that expanded? This Armorite is not only moisture resistant but is also treated with zinc borate to resist rot and termites. plus it machines so clean compared to standard MDF, this is straight off without any sanding.

I’ve created a set of build plans to help making building your outdoor storage bench simple.

Materials I Used to Build the Outdoor Storage Bench:

• Wood
• Storage Bench Plans
• Brad Nailer
• Paint
• Screws
• Drill
• Hinges
• Wood glue

Step 1: Organizing Storage Bench Parts and Pre-Drilling

I first organized my parts on one of my work areas before getting started. To start the storage bench assembly, I first join together the front to one of the sides. Since this project will be going outside, I’m using an exterior wood glue on all the joints then pre drilling and running in a screw. I place my pieces near the end of my workbench so that I don’t have interference with my drill when pre drilling. After getting the first side connect, I repeated to connect the other.

Step 2: Placing the Bottom Between the Storage Bench Walls

Now before attaching the other side, I’m going to slip in the bottom, this should fit perfect between the two short sides. Once in place, I run around the three sides and add in screws to attach it. With that done, now the final fourth side of the box can be added in the same way. Nice and easy. Keep in mind that I’m making mine for outdoor but you can make yours into a end of the bed bench or a keys toy chest, or anything where you need decorative storage.

Step 3: Adding Legs to Get it off the Ground!

The storage bench body is done. Lets add some legs to it. Everything is made from Armorite and to distinguish the legs some, I took all the pieces to the miter saw first to cut in a slight angle. Now they can be added to the body. Two pieces will make up the leg, one is narrower than the other so that both look the same width once they are attached. I’m using wood glue once again but now switched over to using 1 1/4” brad nails instead of screws. In order for the legs to come out looking the same width, they need to be attached properly. Meaning the small side needs to be placed on first.

Well while I’m fixing my mistake I might as well show you a tip to remove brad nails. Instead of clipping them, which never leaves them perfectly flush, I like to pull them out on the backside. I do this with the large set of Crescent’s square nose pliers. I get a good grip on it then roll the nose so it pulls the nail up straight. Sometimes it breaks, but it’s easy to get another grip and pull it the remainder way.

Step 4: Placing the Side and Decorating the Body

With the short side in place, now I can butt this one right up flush and everything will come out looking correct. Another way you can do it is by placing the unit on it’s head, yeah actually this way is much easier, as you have the workbench as a reference point for both of them instead of holding one up while trying to get it flush to the top.

Lets stand it up and take a look. Yes, perfect.

Noooow, lets tilt it back down in order to decorate the body. I’m going with a lap siding look. This is very easy to achieve. You can start off with a small strip piece down at the bottom, this will create a bump off for the first siding strip. For everything on this step I’m using a little bit of wood glue and brad nails.

Actually, I’m going to go ahead and lower this to the floor as it’s just high enough to be annoying….or maybe I’m just short enough. This will be much easier to see and use my nail gun at this height but now I just need to grab one of my rolling around stools. 

Step 5: Attaching the Long Sides

Ok to start attaching the siding, this goes quick and easy. I laid down the first strip so that it’s flush with the trim piece below. From there, each strip is cut to fit in between the legs so that’s easy to get right but the overlap amount can vary. To make sure they all come out consistent, I cut a spacer. Now I just have to line this spacer up to the bottom side of the previous strip then nail it in place. I move this spacer over to the right and repeat. Then to the center and repeat.

With it stuck in place, I throw in a few extra ones in between before moving on to the next and repeat the process again. When you’re shooting in brads, keep in mind the over lap that each board will have and make sure to place your brads in this zone. That way the next board you lay down will cover up the nail hole. Oh I don’t know if I mentioned before, but the entire body is made from 3/4” but the slats I made from 1/4”. Armorite comes in varying sizes, I’ve even used 1” before on projects.

Something else to talk about on this step is adhesive. There is just a corner of the slat making contact to the body so you can’t use wood glue. You’ll want to switch to construction adhesive and my go to for projects is DAP Dyna Grip. It’s rated for interior or exterior and a small bead in a few places under each new slat works great.

Step 6: Attaching the Short Sides

After I got the long side complete, I flip the unit up on end and repeated with the short side. That’s another distinction with Armorite it takes brad nails so much cleaner than standard MDF. You don’t get that mushrooming and chipping.

Now, down we go and lets have a look. Well, that is pretty darn cute. And so quick!

Step 7: Placing the Top of the Storage Bench

Lets keep the momentum going by adding the top. For my lid I went with a plane slab of MDF because I plan to have cushions on it for sitting. But know you could always cut in a cool patten or make it look like individual boards like I show how to do on an outdoor cabinet. I’ll link that for you below. I line up the top to the body so that it’s flush on the back then pre drill and attach the hinges.

Step 8: Painting the Storage Bench

Worked like a charm. Note that I didn’t add a handle or cut one in because there is a built in lip that’s easy to grab all along the front. Let’s break all of these edges and get ready to throw a coat of paint on it! I actually did an entire video on how to properly paint MDF so I’ll link to that below if you’re interested. You can definitely roll or brush on paint, but since I have an HVLP, that’s what I used to really get in all the nooks and crannies, easily.

After letting it dry I moved it into place and tested it out. Since I knew I would be sitting my bench up next to the house, I left the lid as is, but another option is to add a chain to catch the lid from opening too wide if you are placing it somewhere without a wall. I can sit the cushions in place, but then when I want to stow them away, I can simply open the lid and put them in until next time.

All in all, this project only takes about two hours to complete once the parts are cut. So it’s nice and simple but will create a decent amount of storage for a variety of different spaces. Remember that I have a set of plans and a CNC cut file if you’re interested in building your own.

Extra Things I Used For This Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

Today we’re going to be running power to an outdoor shed. I’ve done quite a few electrical videos, so if you need any other tips, check out my website!

Step 1: Locate the Breaker Box and Drill a Hole for an LB

This process could be use for anything in your yard that you want to get power to whether it be a pool, or an outdoor kitchen, or even a yard feature like a pond. Just consider if you have enough space in your breaker box and of course all your local codes. I’m comfortable tackling this project on my own, but if you’re not then there is never in any shame in hiring a professional. Lets go ahead and get started.

The first thing I need to do is locate the breaker box so that I can figure out a path to get to the outside of the building I am wiring. Quick change of scenery here but this is the outside of the wall I was just referencing. I’m using a hole saw bit the size for an LB fitting to go through.

Step 2: Placing the Conduit

To get to the inside, the piece isn’t even all the way through the wall. So, you can just cut a piece of conduit to get you all the way through. Know that they do make a different cement for electrical conduit instead of the regular PVC one that you’re used to. I’m going to be adding in an outlet so I’m going to be adding a straight piece of conduit and then put my outlet up high so that it’s easy to access. Then from the outlet I’m going to be going into another straight piece of conduit that will go down into the ground from the outlet, then go into a 90 degree fitting.

According to code, the sharp edge on the conduit is still too sharp. To get around that, you need to put on a male fitting to protect the wiring. After gluing the joints together, I secured the outlet box to the building, then also placed a strap near the bottom. A great thing about conduit is the flex it has so I used my boot to push it into the building as I was securing it.

The purpose of an LB is so that you can go around a tight corner in two steps rather than one, meaning you can take off the back, pull through your entire amount of Romex and then feed it back down. You can make this tight corner really easily.

Step 3: Trenching to Code

Okay lets talk about material you’re going to need for going in the ground and the depth of your trench. It all correlates to one another. In my case I am using a PVC conduit but if I were to use metal conduit I can get away with (by code) only going 6 inches into the ground. I didn’t want to deal with bending or anything like that so I went with PVC conduit meaning that I have to go at least 12 inches into the ground.

The minimum depth of my trench has to be 12 inches with the stipulation that a GFCI needs to be on the circuit somewhere. That is the reason I am adding an outlet. Not only is it handy to have outlets anywhere you’re going to be doing electrical work but it also means I can go the 12 inches whereas if i didn’t add a GFCI the minimum I would be required for my trench is 18 inches.

Just be aware that there are stipulations on how deep you have to go with your trench depending on what you’re using.

Step 4: Feeding the Power Line into the Trench

This line coming out is my Romex that’s coming in from the breaker box but now I’ll be feeding in my direct power line which is rated to be buried directly in this trench. I’m trying to feed it in with my right hand and pull it through with my left and I’m using my boot to keep the pipe down.

I fed through enough power line to go down the trench then whatever length to get me to where I would install my first outlet. Now that I have my wiring over here it’s the same song and dance. You need some sort of hole to now get you through to the inside for a LB to fit, again stubbing through to go all the way to the inside. From here, you have a straight piece of conduit and this will all be glued. Down here I’m going to have another 90 with that fitting in order to make sure that it meet code. Once you glue it up then you can feed it in.

Step 5: Securing the Power Wire and Closing up the Trench

A little prebend goes a long way. Also note they make lubricant for chasing wires and it really does make it easier. Again, taking off the back of the LB to make chasing this wire up and in quick and easy. I attached another clamp to the bottom of the conduit then buttoned up the back and called this project done.

Well, other than filling in the trench, which is the easy part. There. Like it never happened except it did.

I hope that you enjoyed watching this project, I’ll leave you a link in the description to the many other electrical videos I’ve done incase any of those are useful for what you’re doing.

Things I Used During the Power Project

• Gloves In A Bottle

This thing is so cool! It’s a great hide-away bar, but also perfect for storage around the house. Let me show you how I made it.

Let’s Build a Liquor Cabinet

Liquor Cabinet Plans

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I’ve created a set of liquor cabinet build plans to help you get through the process of building this liquor cabinet.

Materials I Used to Build the Liquor Cabinet

• Wood
• Doweling Jig
• Mallets
• Clamps
• Drill
• Screws
• Liquor Cabinet Plans
• Wood Finish

Step 1: Preparing to Make the Moving Portion of the Liquor Cabinet

I made a set of liquor cabinet build plans with a cut list for the liquor cabinet build so I started by cutting the parts needed and milling them to their final dimensions. I labeled all my parts as I made them with a piece of tape so I could pull whichever part was needed as I was moving through the steps.

I’m going to start the assembly by making the shelf portion that will raise and lower with the bottles on it. I grabbed the four solid wood parts needed for the body of this shelf and laid them out. Paying attention to which areas would be seen in the final product and being intentional about the direction it faces.

For joinery on almost this entire build I’m using a simple doweling jig that Rockler makes. After lining up joining boards and drawing pencil marks across the seam, the jig can be clamped into place so that I can drill a hole to the depth needed. You based the depth of the hole off the length of dowels you’re using. There is a collar on the bit that allows you to adjust the depth easily.

This jig works well for boards that are flush with an end but it doesn’t work for boards spaced off the end. For those I used a home made jig and a second collar to make sure I don’t go all the way through the material. You could always do these free hand if you don’t feel like whipping together a jig.

Step 2: Assembling the Moving Shelf

With the holes drilled, now I can assemble it. Remember that you only have a few mins, around 3-5, to get things set in clamps. So I have everything ready; the dowels, a mallet, clamps, and all the parts. When using dowels I always place a small amount of glue in the hole then tap in the dowel. Make sure to not over hit it and distort it’s shape. Then I place glue in the mating part before setting it on the dowel.

If you move things to the ground like me, make sure to lay something down for it to rest on to not mar the surface. Once things were seated all the way, I set a few clamps on it until the glue was dry. Checking for square before walking away from it.

Step 3: Setting the Back of the Shelf in Place

While it sets up, I start drilling in the pocket holes for the plywood panel that will be the back of the shelf. Again, I looked at both sides before drilling any so that I could choose which side would be the final seen face of the final product. I don’t worry about using pocket holes here because it will never been seen. After drilling them all around the perimeter, I set it in place and use screws to attach it.

Then before calling this shelf finished, I add in one more piece of wood. This will later be what rests on the lift so I not only screwed it in place but also used glue. And that is the first big assembly of the build done. I set it aside and started working on the liquor cabinet body.

Step 4: Assembling the Liquor Cabinet Legs

I grabbed what will be the legs and cut in a small taper at the base to create a foot. I like to place an X on the two sides before making any cuts just to make sure my backwards brain doesn’t mix things up. Then I use the Rockler Tapering Jig which easily allows me to chop away the material not needed on two sides.

Ok, that’s the only part that needs something special before building the side assembly, so I grabbed my other parts and started assembling.

Glue Notes:

I always do a dry fit before applying glue. When I do apply glue, I do just a dab. To save on time in the end I actually sand all my parts before assembling them so I do my best to prevent glue squeeze out. A bottle is great for accurately getting glue into the holes but I use a chip brush to get glue on the edges. I also like to have a rubber mallet around to switch over to when things need more force to seat all the way.

If you only have a wooden one, use a scrap piece of wood on your board to prevent it from getting marred. Last thing to think about: you can drastically simplify this project by using pocket holes as the joinery method instead of dowels.

After I made the first, I repeated by making a second side the same way, then also put together the assembly that the lift will later rest on.

Step 5: Joining the Sides of the Shelf

Once dry, I continued building the liquor cabinet body of the cabinet by joining the sides. It is very easy to get things mixed up (it’s a lot of square parts), after I did a dry fit I set out all the parts in their given position and orientation. This way as soon as I started applying the glue I could just run through it.

The first step is pretty easy, applying glue inside each dowel location then tapping in the dowels. The second step is also pretty easy, apply a little glue to the ends of each part and tap it into place. The third step is tricky. There are 14 dowels to get aligned all at the same time and this needs to happen quickly before the glue starts drying. Honestly, it went pretty dang smooth. It’s always a good feeling when things seem to be working. I turned it sideways, complimented it, but then set it in clamps for a few hours to dry.

Step 6: Preparing the Panels for the Other Sections of the Liquor Cabinet

While the body is drying, you can stay busy by cutting all the plywood panels that will go in the different sections. I have all of these on the cut list in my liquor cabinet plans but I cut all of them oversized to start so that I could wait until the body was done and get an exact measurement on what each one needed to be. I again considered the final look I wanted on each panel so I could cut it just so.

To secure these in place, I drilled a few pocket holes on the inside face. Something I do when going into hardwood like the legs here is predrill through the pocket hole to prevent splitting once I run in the screw. It adds time, but nobody wants to split a component at this point.

Step 7: Installing the Center Panel

After getting both side panels in, I repeated with the center panel. This one is slightly tricky because there is no lip for it to rest on. So I grabbed some scrap wood that was the correct height so that I could set the big panel in place while I secured it around the perimeter. I flipped the unit over in order to have better access to the underside to secure the next two panels in place.

Clamping Tip: Clamp a scrap board to the underside of the rails so you do have a flush surface to rest the panel on while securing it.

For the middle shelf, not only is it a slight puzzle to get in…first the shelf, then the clamp can go on, but then I also had to switch to a right angle attachment because of the tight squeeze….but hey! It all worked in the end.

Alrighty, lets flip this liquor cabinet back over and see the progress. My gosh this thing is heavy. Hickory isn’t messing around!

Step 8: Splitting the Top Cubby and Prepping Door Hardware

Up top I put in a few boards that will later give me a surface to attach some door hardware, then I also split the top cubby into two by adding in a center divider. With that in, it’s time for me to work on adding in the rising/lower shelf portion of this build.

I moved back to the shelf assembly I started this build off with and first added in some threaded inserts into the back panel. I did this by counterboring some holes the size of the inserts, then using an Allen to screw them in until flush. The placement of these inserts go with my exact lift, which is a unit made by Progressive Automations. It’s actually marketed as a tv lift so if you wanted to sub this liquor shelf for a TV, you can easily use the plans for a completely different function.

The lift is easily secured down into the support members of the body, then I placed the final back panel in so that I could go to the inside and trace the hole locations with a pencil. After punching through with a drill bit, I could set it back in place then secure it to the lift with bolts. Then go around the boarder and screw in all the pocket holes, making sure the panel was flush.

Step 9: Testing and Adjusting the Moving Pieces

This is the first moving part to test out to make sure things look like they are working and I was very impressed with how quiet it is. What I did was extend the lift all the way up right now, I’ll set the limit later. This way I could grab the shelf and set it on top, using that lip I created earlier, to rest it in place while I secured it with bolts through the threaded inserts I place in the shelf. Then I did the second moving test, which was muuuch more suspenseful. Haha, did I do everything correctly for this shelf to fit inside the body? Lets see.

That front corner rubs slightly but that’s an easy fix. Let me show you the unit from the front as this is where it gets even more exciting. With the body and the shelf working well together, now I need to add on the top but in order for the back to raise and lower independently, I need to have two sections for a top. I start by being selective on wood and grain to come out with the look I will love for the top pieces, and cut it down to size at the table saw. This front section will be fixed in placed, however this back section will be floating and have a small space between the two.

Step 10: Fixing the Front of the Liquor Cabinet

Lets work on fixing the front of the liquor cabinet first. I put an even reveal on all three sides so I used a combination square to make sure it was uniformed, you can see I used a clamp to pin that corner once it was good while I work on adjusting the other side but then I could pin it in place from the underside with pocket holes I drilled in the stretchers before building the frame of the body.

Once that was fixed, I worked on the floating one. This was an experiment, wasn’t sure if it would actually work. What I did was set a collar on a drill bit then counterbore into the body. Here the depth doesn’t really matter, but straightness does. Next, I thread in some screws. I picked screws that had a decent amount of threads but then an unthreaded portion near the top so that after I threaded in the body, I could lop the heads off. I used a grinder for this.

My intention is to create four pins sticking out of the body. I transferred these pin locations to the underside of the floating top section and counterbored more holes. These are just slightly larger than the pins I just placed. The goal is to be able to set the top in place and it not struggle to go on. That’s success one, but success two will be if it goes down without interfering with the fixed front, lets push buttons.

All the successes! Everything works and it feels great. This lift is not only quiet but it’s so stable and smooth on the launch and the landing in both directions. I do have a 5% discount code on the lift columns if you’re needing a lift for an upcoming project. I set the upper limit so that the bottom of the shelf will land flush to the top of the top.

Step 11: Mounting the Liquor Cabinet Doors

I was so happy with how the project worked at this point but I had one more big section to tackle before I was in the clear and that my friends is mounting the doors.

When planning this liquor cabinet project, I wanted a piece of wood that had a ton of contrast, character and visual BAM for these drawer fronts. As you can see, I found the board for me. I waited until this point to cut them so they would be exact to my openings and so I could make it have continuous grain from left to right.

I started by using the Rockler jig again to put a few dowels in that center partition so that I could glue on the portion of solid wood that would cover up the edge. Next I could start attaching the hardware. The right cubby will be a drop down door so I placed two non mortise hinges on the bottom and a catch on the left.

Step 12: Opening the Drawers with a Push

For the catch! I installed something I think is super cool. It’s two parts, here is the body, then here is ball that fits into it’s jaws. When pressed, the jaws close around it. When pressed again, the jaws release it…I took that and turned it horizontal and installed it on the underside of the drawer opening. The tricky part here is getting the depth correct so the door comes out flush to the reveal you’re aiming for. Which in my case is flush to the center partition. I’m dyslexic so any time I get math correct on the first go, I’m super proud and want everybody to see.

I love this mechanism because it means I don’t need to clutter the front with a drawer pull, just a simple push of a finger will open or close the door.

I could have done another drop door on the left however for fun, lets change it to two swing doors. These hinges are mounted on the sides instead of the bottom, then more math to get the hungry hippo openings mounted properly.

Ah. I showed you when I won math, so I’ll show you when I lose. No problem, the hardware is very simple to adjust. Since the left was correct I used a combination square to get the right one set to the same depth. Now lets try that again. That’s more like it!

Step 13: Finishing Touches! Coating the Liquor Cabinet with Wood Finish

Whew, how incredibly satisfying guys! I’ve had this idea for about two years now but I can add things to my list way faster than I can build them, so to see this cabinet complete and working so fabulously, I was on cloud nine. Remember I have a set of plans with all my dimensions, a cut list and even a material shopping list if you’d like to build your own.

Alright, the liquor cabinet build is complete at this point so lastly lets wrap this up with a coat of finish to make it pop and protect it. I am going with one of my favorites which is Gleam by Total Boat. I’m going to go with a three part mash up, where I first apply a coat of Gleams wood sealer. This layer fills the grain, seals wood fibers, and levels the surface to make for an ultra smooth finish.

After I let that dry for two hours, I move on to step two which is Gleam 2.0. I actually want a satin finish as my final look but if you want either a satin or matte final you need to use a Gloss to build up a few layers first. So I laid down three coats of the gloss, waiting an hour in between coats. This stuff dries very fast and evenly so it’s easy to knock out multiple coats in a single day.

Once I got to coat four, I switched over to the Satin. If you’re curious, if you use matte or satin to build up the layers then it can sometimes create a cloudiness. So always use gloss for the build up then use whatever sheen you want as your top layer.

Liquor Cabinet Build Conclusion

When the finish was dry, I moved the liquor cabinet into the house and put everything back together. And wow! What a difference! The table I had here before, was actually one of the first things I ever built but my biggest complaint is I think having all the exposed bottles and mixers on top is just messy looking. I much prefer the prohibition style where it’s sneaky and hidden until you want it exposed.

The Progressive lift comes with a remote on a wire that I velcro to the right side so it’s hidden. With a simple push of a button, the bottles can be raised up. As you can see the lift is so smooth and stable that there is no problem with things moving around and getting broken. I can even place nit nacks on top. In the cubbies I have storage for mixers, accessories, glasses, or even a nice decanter. I love the opening and closing hardware of these doors. Very fun.

I really hope you enjoyed this liquor cabinet build. Don’t forget I have a set of plans, not only for this project but for many others, over on my website. I’ll see you on whatever I’m tackling next.

Things I Used in This Liquor Cabinet Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws
• Rockler Jig

Let’s Build a Laundry Drawer!

DIY Laundry Drawer Plans

$9.99

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Materials I Used to Build the Laundry Drawer

• Wood
• Wood Glue
• Clamps
• Screw
• Drill
• Drawer Mounts
• Laundry Drawer Plans

Step 1: Cutting Pieces for the Drawer

It takes 7 parts to make the body. So not many. If you would like a set laundry drawer plans with dimensions then I have that available, it also comes with a CNC cut file if you have a CNC. I personally painted my cabinets so I just used whatever 3/4” sheet material I had scraps of which is MDF in this case.

I start by laying the side pieces on their back and attaching what will be the bottom. When joining things together, it will be the same process on everything, I used DAPs weldwood wood glue then predrill and run in a screw

Step 2: Preparing the Toe Kick Plate and Attaching Laundry Drawer Sides

This ledge here will be where the toe kick plate goes in, which is this board here. I’m using it as a spacer to make sure the bottom is attached square. After using it to align the board from the inside, I also used it as a spacer to guide me on where to pre drill and run in a screw. Double checking that it worked; it did, so I continue attaching. I used this trick again when I needed to run in the center hole. As long as the board is flush to the front, it will indicate where the 3/4 material starts for the pre drill hole.

After attaching the first side, I attached the second side the same way. However since the toe kick now can’t fit inside to check for square, I just used a tape. I measured the top, then made sure the bottom matched before driving in my screws to attach it.

Step 3: Attaching the Toe Kick Plate

Next is to attach the toe kick, which should line up perfectly flush to both of the side pieces and the front and the back. Same with the back board that will make up the back of the platform once this cabinet is stood up right. Perfect, that is the bottom done so now lets flip this around, but still leave it on it’s back, and start working on the top boards. This board here will join the sides out on the back edge while also giving me a place to screw it into the wall later on when installing it in the space.

When joining something flush like this, I like to move my work piece to the edge of my workbench if possible. This way my drill has room to go in straight instead of at an angle where I could blow out a screw.

Step 4: Attaching the Last Board

The last piece to attach here is a similar board as the last but this one joins the front edge of the sides. Since I can’t use my workbench to rest it against, what I like to do is use a clamp to act as a third hand. These squeeze clamps are great to hold them in the general area while I get one side at a time perfectly placed and attached. This board will give me something to screw up into a countertop later when it gets installed.

Step 5: Adding the Back to the Laundry Drawer

Ok, with that attached, now let me spin this around, tilt it up, and just like that we have a cabinet. Oh, I forgot the back. Hold on, that’s a quick add. Lets just lay this thing back down, but this time laying it on it’s face. I made the back from 1/4” mdf as it doesn’t need to be super thick. 1/4” material will do a great job at holding it square and keeping it from racking.

You’ll see that my back is in two pieces. That’s because I’m using scraps and don’t care about the back, which will be on the inside and never seen, has a seem. If it does bother you though, you can always make it from one solid piece

Alrighty, and now that’s a completed body. So for now, lets just slide this on over to make room for me to bring in the parts to build out the inside drawer that will hold the hampers.

Step 6: Securing the Fit and Attaching the Sides

All of these parts are also included on the plans and cutlist but I grab for what will be the bottom first. I personally always like to make sure it fits within the body before attaching things just because I have been known to grab the wrong part before but once I made sure it fit, I attached the two sides which look like wings. These have dados cut into them for the bottom to slip right into.

This bottom will be locked in once the front and back are attached, but I went ahead and threw in a few screws. I went to the back and attached the specialty designed back. These slots and these predrilled through holes are needed for the under mount drawer slides that I’ll be using.

If you use my exact dimensions then you can not only use the exact hampers that fit in this laundry drawer but also the exact drawer slides. However, know that if you want to change dimensions then you’ll probably have to get different drawer slides and change the design of this back part. Another option is to change the dimensions to what you want, but then use side mount drawer slides and not worry about the under mount ones. Lots of options.

Step 7: Completing the Front Assembly

Going to the front of this assembly, I attach the large front panel. This might seem big and boring right now but you’ll see why the scale is needed. For now, let me go ahead and put it inside the body to make sure it all looks good……annnnd it does. It’s as simple as that, now everything here on out are finishing details.

Step 8: Making the Laundry Drawer Slide!

I could attach the under mount drawer slides to the bottom side of the cabinet. Looks like this here. Then go to the inside of the cabinet and attach the rails with screws. To connect the two, I could carry the inside portion over to the body, set it on the rails, then push it in until the two components clicked together. It’s so satisfying. Then since I’m making mine look like two doors and a top drawer, I crawled inside and attached these pieces to the outside by screwing them in on the inside while Jacob held them to the correcting spacing.

Conclusion: The Finished Product

It’s kinda hard to get a good angle of this cabinet because the space is really tight but without the counter top in place you can see how it works. Two hampers fit perfectly on the drawer so that you can pull it out and toss in your clothes, then hide them away again by pushing it in. Soft closed of course.

Even with the countertop on, I have plenty of room to take the hampers in and out or simply toss in clothes then reshut it. I love how it looks like three components. Where as the unit on the left really is a top drawer and two doors on the bottom.

I have a four part series of videos where I cover how to properly paint MDF, how to build custom cabinets, how to upgrade store bought cabinets, and also how to build a countertop from scrap 2x4s! So basically if you want to see how I built out the entire room you’re looking at, then check the links in the description. If you can imagine it, you can build it and I hope I’m an inspiration or guide to help you get started. I’ll see you on my next project.

Additional Things I Used to Build This Laundry Drawer

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

In this video I’m going to show you how I built this shelf. It might look simple, but it was actually full of little tricky things to figure out. But! It was worth it, as I had this very generic store bought shelf in my home before, and was finally able to replace it with something I’ve made instead.

Let’s Build a Modern Wall Shelf!

Modern Wall Shelves

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Materials I Used to Build this Modern Wall Shelf

• wood
• Wood Glue
• Saw
• Screws
• Wood Finish
• Nailer

Step 1: Cutting the Wood for the Modern Wall Shelf

I had walnut and maple in my shop already so I made mine from that. I started by cutting to length all the parts to make up the center hexagon that’s made from walnut. I cut all these boards just slightly longer than really needed. So that in the next step, when I cut in all the angles, I could have some wiggle room to get them all perfect. I first cut in the miter cut on one end of each board needed. Then when cutting the second side, I set up a stop block so I could make sure they all turned out the same. You can test the accuracy by placing them back to back to each other.

Step 2: Fit Test for the Hexagon Part of the Shelf

Next I did a test fit just to make sure things were looking correct. They were, so next I prepped to start applying glue. When doing miters it’s a good trick to lay down a piece of tape on the inside face first because there will be glue squeeze out and the inside face is always a little time consuming to clean up but a piece of tape lining the miter, solves that.

Another tape trick to help with gluing up miters is to lay out a length of tape long enough for all the pieces. My arms are just barley long enough, and I actually laid down two because of the depth of my pieces. This is so I can lay all my parts, perfectly end to end, on top of the tape. Then I apply the glue. I’m not going overboard on the glue, I’m just making sure the entire face of each miter is covered.

Now I can start on one end, and roll things together. Using that tape to help each each miter in it’s place as I make the roll. The tape can also act as a clamp, giving me a way to hold the hexagon together as the glue has time to set up. However, since I have a 23 gauge nailer, I went ahead and shot a few pin nails into each joint so I wouldn’t have to wait for the glue to dry. If you don’t have a pin nailer, then give it an hour before removing the tape.

Step 3: Cutting the Straight Shelves

There’s actually two more walnut pieces to this unit but they are just straight shelves with no explanations needed so lets move on to the maple triangles that accompany the walnut hex.

These can absolutely be cut the same way as the walnut mitered pieces at the miter saw however I wanted to show you a different method that is typically more accurate and that is with a sled at the table saw.

If you have a table saw then I do recommend doing all the pieces this way. What I did was tilt the blade of my saw then use a sled to move my piece through the blade to cut one end on all the pieces. Then I set up a stop block to cut all the board’s second end, also cutting the board to length with this cut. Any time you’re making a geometric shape like these, the final product will look the best if all the pieces are as identical as possible which is where using a more accurate tool will pay off but know that it can still be made regardless on which tool you have.

Step 4: Piecing the Triangle Shelves Together

Unlike the hex, the triangle will actually have an exposed miter cut on all three sides so I did a dry fit to first align things…..there we are. This way I could make sure I was applying glue to the correct portion of the board. The roll up tape trick doesn’t work on a connection like this so instead I threw in a few pin nails on each side. However, if you don’t have a pin nailer remember that tape is a great clamp while glue sets up!

Since my design has two triangles, I repeated the process to make a second.

Step 5: Joining the Hex and Triangles

Now, the tricky part folks. Joining things together. In the end product, these triangles will slip right over the horizontal portion of the hexagon shelf. I would actually prefer to make these cuts at the table saw but the blade on it will only go to 3” and I needed 4”. So instead I used the miter saw.

After making all my marks indicating where the cuts needed to be, I set the depth on my miter saw so it could go 4” deep. I cut the outline lines of my marks, actually going slightly inside them because you can always take away more but it’s hard to put back. My intention was to take away the remaining inside one cut at a time, but the first cut was enough to break it out of there. With that done, I just had to get the bottom flat which I did by lowering the saw to it’s full depth of 4” then slowly moving my board left and right until the blade hit the side walls of my cut.

I kept my shelf piece handy so I could test fit things and make adjustments. It was too small to start, so I took a little bit more away until the shelf could easily slip into place.

The thing I like about the miter saw for the triangles is I was able to cut both slots at the same time but on the shelf I took a different approach to show you an alternative method should you want to build these

For the shelf I used the bandsaw.

The thing with the bandsaw is the deck will tilt but only one way, and I’m going to show you that cut first even though I made it second in real life. This cut is easy, tilt the deck, line up the blade, make both outside cuts first, then chop away the inners until you have a nice rectangle hole. To get a flat bottom, I like to get close to the line with my straight cuts, but then, just like what I did at the miter saw, I move the piece slowly left and right going across the blade to level things out.

Step 6: Making the Second Cut on the

For the second cut, which is opposite of the first, you can’t move the table down so instead I moved the part up by way of a jig. This jig is a scrap of wood that is cut to the proper angle, that is secured to the miter gauge of the bandsaw, then another scrap is attached to the top to give me a fence to hold my part flush up against. This will allow me to hold my part in place and move it into the blade at a 90 but it actually be cutting in at the angle needed to slip right on the other parts.

Step 7: Finishing touches! Staining the Modern Wall Shelf

Lets see if it worked. On this part I was being very careful because those outside pieces will be fragile and break off if I forced it down too much. So I took my time to wiggle it on nice and square.

That was the last complicated bit, now it was just down to finishing. For a hanging method, I attached some simple store bought brackets to the top walnut horizontal shelf. Since everything is attached, it’s the only thing that’s needed.

Then I put on a coat of finish. Something I’ve taken to doing is applying some shielding lotion to my hand prior to finishing. This lotion is called Gloves in a Bottle and bonds with the top layer of your skin to prevent things like stains, paint, or any other finishes from penetrating that first layer. It’s such simple protection if you keep a pump bottle in your shop like I do. Oh and don’t worry, it doesn’t leave your hands greesy.

After letting the coat of finish dry, the only thing left to do was remove the old boring shelf and install my new custom one. I know it’s a little unconventional but there are enough flat surfaces to hold the items I like to store over here, which include a speaker, glasses, clutches, and keys. I only placed hooks on one side to keep the light switch in the area, clear.

Modern Wall Shelf Conclusion

We did it! You’ve built a modern wall shelf to help spice up your living space. I love how much stuff you can put on these.

If you liked this project, check out my website where I have a ton of building plans to help you with another project.

Things I Used to Build this Modern Wall Shelf

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans

In this video I’m tackling a project that will drastically improve the curb appeal of my home. Today I am painting my garage doors. This is a one day project and is very simple so if it’s been on your to do list, then I hope me documenting my process helps you get the confidence and motivation. Lets get into it.

Let’s Repaint the Garage!

Things I Used to Upgrade my Garage Door

• Paint
• Dish soap
• Scrub Brush
• Self Stick Drap
• Paint Sprayer

Step 1: Preparing the Garage Doors to Paint by Removing Hardware

First let me give you a clear view of my set up. I have two doors and started off by clearing out everything I could in front then using my blower to get all the loose dirt and grass out of there. I don’t want it blowing on the doors when they have wet paint.

Next I started removing things that I didn’t want painted….such as the keypad. On most of these you remove the battery door and there is a screw to unthread.

Next I started removing the hardware. These guys are just decorative metal straps screwed on. However, after the first one I stopped because the next step is to thoroughly clean the doors and I figured if I left the hardware on, they would get a good scrub at the same time.

Step 2: Cleaning the Doors

Ok, don’t judge me for how dirty these doors are. It’s never even crossed my mind to give my garage doors a wash, but it’s been added to the regular to do list now! For this step, I used a bucket with some dawn soap in it. I recommend buying a scrub brush with a handle to make it easier. In fact, this one can connect to a hose which is pretty cool. Although I didn’t use that feature. I made sure to get the weather stripping back to white as well because that will be taking paint but paint won’t stick to anything with dirt on it.

After the scrub, I followed it up with a good rinse to get all the soap off before I started taking off all the hardware. Now I had to spot clean behind the hardware when I removed it so you can make the call on if you want to leave it on or not. Be careful if you run bare hands over the holes because some have metal frayed up from punching the hole.

Next I dried it off. You can use a blower or a rag, you just want a nice dry surface for tape and paint to stick to. A tip though is to raise the door up to a good working height instead of benching down low when you don’t have to.

Step 3: Protecting the House from Paint

Ok, now lets protect the house. Although I hate the color of this stone, I don’t want it blue. You can pick up a roll of this awesome clingy plastic that has tape already built in on the top. This way all you have to do is unroll it and stick it where you want it. My plan is to paint the door and the weather stripping all the same color but then paint the trim a different color. I’m masking off starting around the middle of the trim so I don’t have to worry about being precise. This means I will overspray paint onto the trim then paint over it later.

For now, I walk this roll all the way around until I get to the bottom. It’s very quick and easy. I cut off the excess, then unfold the drap. Know that this drap length comes in different sizes. You want at least 12” to protect your house. My store only has 18” so that’s why mine is larger. It does a great job at self sticking to things like this stone but you can always use a few pieces of masking tape as well to make sure it doesn’t blow up as you’re painting.

While having the tape out I went to the bottom side of the door and masked off the bottom gasket. Again, lifting the door so I can work while standing up instead of crouching down…..I first make sure the gasket is completely dry but then I use some exterior masking tape to stick right up to the starting of the garage door.

Step 4: Protecting the Concrete from Paint

Alright we have the house, and the gasket protected, last thing to protect is the concrete. I always keep a large sheet of cardboard in my garage for situations just like this. I grabbed it, then laid it down right up to the lip of the door’s opening. If you don’t have a large sheet like

 this then taping a few boxes together would work as well. Or laying down another strip of the plastic wrap.

Step 5: Starting to Paint the Garage Door

And alllll of that leads up to painting. Prep is like 90% of this job but it’s what will determine a good durable finish so don’t skimp on it. I’ll be using my Wagner Control Pro 170 to spray on my paint but know that an HVLP like the 3500 or even a roller like the ez roller would work as well. I quickly set up my gun, which is nice and simple, then placed my one gallon paint container inside a 10 gallon bucket. This is just incase I knock it over, I won’t get paint all over my driveway.

Then I started spraying! I chose to go vertical as the panels on my doors have those vertical lines however whichever direction you go, you want to aim for 50% overlap. If you do that, you should only need one coat of paint. It took me less than 3 mins per side with my sprayer. If you’re interested in getting an airless then I definitely recommend checking out this Wagner 170.

It features high efficiency airless technology that decreases overspray by up to 55% compared to traditional airless sprayers while delivering softer spray, improving control and providing a more-consistent finish. It’s the perfect addition for the homeowner who wants to save money by doing jobs themselves instead of hiring a contractor.

A tip is right after you get done with painting, raise the door up! This way it will dry flat and if you sprayed a little heavy, the paint won’t drip.

Oh, I forgot to address which kind of paint. It isn’t anything special. Any exterior latex paint will work great.

Step 6: Painting the Garage Door Trim

After letting that dry completely, I ripped off the plastic around the doors then started on the final painting step which was painting the trim. It’s at this stage you’ll see me go over all that blue overspray in the previous step. I applied this with a roller and the only thing to really note is I personally left my weather stripping and it’s trim piece, blue but another option is you can raise the garage door when painting the trim and paint it all to match the trim instead.

Conclusion

Lets stand back and admire the change. Man, that stone is even more awful now haha, but doing something with that can be added to the list. I definitely love the blue more than I like the drab beige, and truly what a simple process for such a drastic change. If you have some garage doors that need a makeover then I hope this video inspires you to tackle it come the next nice weathered weekend.

I’ll see you on my next project. Check out the plans listed on my website for inspiration for your next project!

Materials I Used to Upgrade my Garage Door

• Wagner Control Pro 170
• Plastic Drop Cloth w/Tape
• Brush
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

Let’s Build a Rotating Shelf

This rotating shelf is awesome! I love how it helps me keep my shop functional but also saves me some space.

DIY Flip-Around Shelf Plans

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I’ve created a set of rotating shelf plans that will help you take on this build.

Materials I Used On This Build

• Wood
• Allen Wrench
• Drill
• Screws
• Wood glue
• Sliding Hardware
• Rotating Shelf Plans

Step 1: Prepare the wood by pre-drilling

Lets start off with a piece of plywood. This will make up the wall that will hold the shelves and rotate around. I have a ton of walnut scraps around so that made my choice but know you can use any 3/4” stuff.

Ok next is to drill some holes in what will be the top and bottom framing members. Actually there are a few parts that require a few different holes in it. I took those parts to the drill press and did them all at once. Some counterboring, some through holes. If you would like exact dimensions and specs for this unit, I have a set of plans with all the details over on my website.

This is one of my favorite new things in the shop. Instead of having to clamp my bench vise down to the drill press table which is always a pain, this base has four knobs that activate or deactivate magnets. It makes adjusting parts a breeze.

A tip for you: this part will end up being on about this long but I left it longer to make it easier to hold onto while drilling for the holes.

Step 2: Putting a threaded insert into the left and right parts of the shelf

These three pieces will make up an assembly but first I want to take the left and right part and put in a threaded insert, one of these here. It’s important for it to go in as straight as possible so I thread on a wheel that will later connect to it because on the top is an insert for an Allen wrench. This gives me a way to use a screw driver to start the insert and turn it. I used a speed square to keep an eye on my alignment as I started it.

Once it’s grabbed a few threads into the wood, then the speed square can be tossed aside. There still came a point where my strength wasn’t enough to continue turning it so I put a washer into some pliers to finish, turning the plier handles horizontal so I can use leverage to crank it around. With that finished I can finish attaching the rest of the components including a pin that will work as a pivot point and a drawer slide.

Step 3: Creating the sliding piece for the top of the rotating shelf

Ok now I repeat to make something similar for the top of the rotating shelf. This one has a few less parts but it still needs the pivot point pin, then a drawer slide attached to the backside. Now I have two crawly things that will make sense in just a few mins. For right now, I set them aside and started building a box. This is simple construction with wood glue, a predrill, and a few screws to hold things together.

I started by attaching the bottom, then added the first side, then rotated it around to attach the second side. I slide it to the edge of my workbench so it won’t interfere with my drill as I’m pre drilling.

Step 4: Making the top and attaching it to the base

For now I’m going to leave off the top. I still need to make the top. This is that short piece I drilled holes in earlier and to make sure I got both lined up with my marks, I went ahead and ran in two screws so the point was sticking out. This way I could set them in my predrill spots and know it was lined up straight without having to measure. The center hole can get a threaded insert so that I have a way to attach this aluminum piece that will be a swing arm. I know this is looking a little crazy, but it should make sense in the next step.

With the top made up, I can go ahead and attach it. I first stood up the piece that will hold the shelf and set it on the bottom pivot point. I precariously left it leaning on the box body while I went and grabbed the top. Now I can set this part on the top pivot point. I’m leaving off the wood glue on the part just incase I need to get back in here to make adjustments.

At this point, I’m still not sure if it was going to work or not. So just a few pre drills and screws to set the top in place. However, instead of the final product just spinning freely in a circle, it will actually just flip like this from one side then to the other, then back again. To do that, I tilted the center shelf so that I could crawl inside slightly and attach those swing arms I made earlier. There is one I snaked my arm in to attach at the bottom, then also the same at the top.

Step 5: Hanging the rotating shelf!

Now I originally intended to hang the rotating shelf on a few studs up on my wall so that it’s at a comfortable height, but then I saw my plumb toolbox and figured I would use it to set the unit right on top of! But know that hanging it is certainly an option.

Ok, now what to store on it?! The great thing about it being a bare center wall is you can custom design any shelving unit to hold whatever it is you personally want to store, whether it be shoes or towels for the house, or hardware and sandpaper for the shop! That’s what I’m going to use mine for. I used the CNCs to cut out some custom shelving that would allow me to take this big pile of mess and instead organize it.

Other Thing I Used In This Rotating Shelf Build

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

Who doesn’t like sitting outside with a good fall breeze and some crisp air? It’s finally time to start getting ready for fall, what better way than building a good fire pit. Grab a set of plans and follow along with this video so I can show you how I made mine.

Let’s Build a Fire Pit

DIY Fire Table Plans

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I’ve created a set of plans to make building this fire pit super simple and easy to follow.

Materials I Used for this Build

• Wood
• Wood Glue
• Saw
• Nails
• Brad Nailer
• Wood Finish
• Casters
• Fire Pit Plans

Step 1: Building the Fire Pit Frame and Assembling

The first thing I’m going to do is build a frame from 2x4s. This will be a big box to hide the propane tank needed to feed the fire. I intentionally bought a tank that can safely be laid down on it’s side so I could keep my table lower to the ground. By the way, if you want a cut list and dimensions of this table, I have a set of plans for it over on my website. If this table is too big for you, I also have a smaller version available

After using the miter saw to cut down a few 2x4s, I assembled them. I first lay out all my parts to do a dry fit. This way I can make sure it all looks right before sticking things together. Here I’m using exterior rated wood glue and a few screws on each joint. This is designed so that the top boards overlap the joints of the bottom boards. This will create strength but it also makes it quick to put together.

Step 2: Creating the Boxes Body

Next will be to sheath it, to put plywood around the frame to create the box’s body. Since this will be outside, I’m using an exterior plywood that is treated. I also painted the outside faces which you’ll see I’m making sure to attaching pointing towards the outside of the body.

This is because I plan to do a slatted design outside of this layer and wanted a dark color to be in between each slat. I’m attaching these sheets by first pre drilling then running in a screw along the bottom. Then also running in a screw to connect the top of the boards together. When going into thin wood like this 1/2” plywood, I switch over to using trim head screws like these here.

Step 3: Framing out the Top and Attaching it to the Body

The next thing I did was frame out the top side. These members will give me support to secure the top in the next step. They can be tricky to add since there is nothing except the plywood to connect them to the bottom framing so what I did was use a clamp to hold it in place once I got it lined up to the top of the ply. Again using the trim head screws to secure it. I started with the two longer pieces then connected the two shorter sides in between.

Alrighty, now lets throw the top on. This is another piece of exterior rated plywood that I painted the top side of. The hole in the center will be where the fire tray gets inserted later. I lined it up to the body then secured it down by first pre drilling around the perimeter then running in some screws. All over I made sure to sink the heads of the screws so that nothing would prevent the slats that will come next, to attaching flush to the body.

I’m going to leave that as is for a bit and start making the slats that will cover it.

Step 4: Making the Slats to Cover the Body

For this part I’m going with western red cedar 1×4 boards. This is what will take this boring box and turn it into something gorgeous to look at. I started by taking my full length boards and ripping them to width at the table saw. I made the slats half the width so two slats could come out of one board. Now I’m going to go with a water fall look so that the top boards will miter over into the side boards. To achieve this, I turned my table saw blade to a 45 and used the miter gauge to

 cut the boards to length. When setting up my fence, I place a clamp and a scrap board to act as a stop block. Notice how I place this far enough back on the fence so that the board will no longer be touching this scrap once it contacts the blade. If it contacts both at the same time, it creates a pitch zone which causes kickback. This is a fast way to make lots and lots of repetitive cuts.

To put the miters together, I use exterior wood glue once again then also reenforce the joint with a few 23 gauge brad nails. Nice and simple. Next I repeated that same process to create a whole bunch of them. Since the pattern is the same in all four quadrants, I could prep all the parts and have them staged on my workbench. This also gave the glue time to set up.

Step 5: Applying the Slats to the Fire Pit Body

With that done, this next step will fly. Lets start applying the slats to the body. So the sides will have verticals that come up and meet the top slats. With that, I want the top covering the end grain of the verticals so I make sure to hold up a scrap to get the spacing correct. You can see I move it along as I work on securing that first board, but then after that the rest can get laid down with just a spacer. I also move this spacer along to make sure the slat is getting attached parallel the entire length of the board. See me using it on the top but also on the side.

My spacer is just a random scrap I found to be the size needed for the gap. When I get to the inside most slat, I hold it in place so that I can go to the inside with a pencil and mark the center hole opening. I think it’s easier to cut this now with a bandsaw but know that you can also attach it and cut it after the fact with a jigsaw or even a flush trim bit in a router. The fire tray with cover it so no need to make it super pretty.

Step 6: Creating the Propane Tank Door

I’m using a few streaks of DAP Dyna grip on each one of these before the brad nails. This is my favorite construction adhesive as it’s incredibly fast setting and works for both interior and exterior projects. You can see next I repeated much of the same process but this time with just straight vertical boards. These are butted up right to the underside of the overhanging top slat and I make sure to use the same spacer so things remain consistent.

All these slats hang past the body slightly because I personally wanted casters on mine so that I can make this thing mobile when not in use. The overhanging amount will cover the added height. This big gap here will be a removable panel to allow me to access the inside propane tank. I’m using magnets here and attach them by counterboring into the framing material then screwing in a magnet.

Now I can attach a washer on a screw to the door on all four corners to correspond to these magnets. Once the door is in place, I could repeat the process of attaching verticals to make it disappear into the body.

Step 7: Applying Finish to the Fire Pit

Lets go ahead and put a coat of finish on them to really see them pop. In order to get in all the nooks and crannies of the sides of the slats, I’m spraying on my finish but you could absolutely just roll or brush it on instead. I’m using my Wagner HVLP which makes very quick work of this step. For a finish I’m going with the Total Boat Gleam 2.0 as it dries quickly, does a great job at leveling out on it’s own, and what I most like is that it has UV resistors in it so this cedar will hold up even though it will be outside.

Step 8: Adding Casters to Make the Fire Pit Mobile

Oops, If forgot to show you when I attached the casters. But back after attaching all the slats, I tiled the box over and screwed on a few casters which is what is allowing me to rotate this thing around to show you all sides.

I personally like the idea of it having casters on it because it will only be getting used during the winter months but for the summer months, I like the idea of pushing it out of the way and using this space for something else. Once I picked out where I wanted my fire table to be I started loading in the appliances to make it work. The tray slips right into the center opening and comes with pretty simple instructions on hooking it up to a propane tank.

You can’t lay a normal propane tank on it’s side so if you build one of these you either need to redesign it so it can stand upright or buy one that is designed specifically to be laid over.

Step 9: Finishing details! Adding Rocks, Chairs, and Drinks!

Now I need to fill it with rock, grab my portable chair, and a drink and enjoy. As you can see there is plenty of space for company to join me and also plenty of space to set drinks or a plate of food on the unit itself. However remember that I have plans for this larger unit but also a more compact unit if you’re interested in building one yourself.

Conclusion

If a fire pit has been on your to do list then I hope this video has given you some good inspiration to tackle it this fall. Be sure to check out my website for a set of plans for this build as well as several others. I’ll see you on whatever I’m building next.

Additional Things I Used in the Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Triton SuperJaws

If you’re looking for a place to store your firewood that also is super cool to look at, check out this firewood holder DIY. Before, I would just have my different sizes piled up in containers around the hearth, which was really unattractive. So on a whim I threw these together. The three compartments allow me to separate small, from medium, to large pieces of wood. Grab a set of plans and let me show you how I build them.

Let’s Build A Firewood Holder

DIY Firewood Holder

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I’ve created a set of plans to make building this firewood holder quick and easy!

Materials I Used in this Build:

• Wood
• Nails
• Screws
• Firewood Holder Plans
• Wood Glue

Step 1: Selecting Material and Cutting to Size

I did design and build these on a whim so when selecting material, I just looked around my shop to see what I had already that would fit the sizes. I found this stack of 3/4” cut off from some shelves I tore a part that I’ll make the body from. Then for the back, I have some 1/2” plywood from who knows what.

I started off by ripping the sheets down to width needed. If you want exact dimensions, I have a set of plans available over on my website. I tilted the blade over to then cut in the angles needed to created the pointed miters. Since there are a lot of repeated parts, I set up a stop block so that I could make them all the same. When you do this, you want to make sure to set the stop block back far enough so the board won’t be touching it when it contacts the blade. As this is what can cause kick back.

To save from switching the blade back and forth, after cutting one side with the needed angle, I would flip the board and cut the other side since it still had a 90 on one end. This will leave the remaining board with angles on both end, that I can chop up for the mitered parts. I personally like to always do a test first and a dry fit to make sure things are going to work as I have them planned. That looks good though.

Step 2: Banding the Edges of the Firewood Holder

Now I just needed 12 of them total so I locked in the new distance for the fence for this part and chopped up the remaining bit into pieces.

This project only consist of four different parts. What I’ll call the side, the tops which are slightly longer than anything else, the horizontal shelves, then the mitered points. Keep in mind that it would be simple to add more to subtract the number of cubbies, depending on your spaces needs.

Alrighty, now I’ll edge band the edges that will be facing the front. Actually, on second thought, I like the idea of painting them instead. Note: that if you edge band you’ll need to do that before joining the parts together, but if you want to paint, then you can go straight into assembling.

Step 3: Assembling the Firewood Holder Cubicles

For assembling, I started off on top of my workbench and what I did is apply some wood glue, I’m using DAPs weldwood here, to every joint, then pin nailed things together using my 23 gauge nailer. This is a pretty weak joint until the wood glue has time to set up, so I was being careful as I was moving it around to attach the next leg. If I didn’t have a 23 gauge, I would have used a 18 gauge instead.

After getting a few attached, I thought it would make things easier to do it on the ground so I could see everything clearly as I was attaching legs. So I moved it down to the floor and continued. I would juke and jive to create the points of the cubbies, then attach the horizontal that will create the separation between.

I paused when I got to the very top because the way I have it designed, the top edge will actually be seen. With that, I edge banded both of these parts before adding them on. This is as simple as heating up an iron and warming up the glue on the back of the banding until it sticks to the plywood edge. This will be slightly different than the ply, but it doesn’t bother me.

Step 4: Painting the Firewood Holder Cubbies

 I left that where it sat to give that glue time to set up and dry. While it was, I grabbed pieces that will make up the back from my 1/2” plywood scraps. I also grabbed the pieces that will make up the sides. I want both of these to be painted the same color as my wall which means I need to give them a few coats before attaching the cubbies.

Since I have the paint out, I also wanted to paint that front edge of the cubbies. I first give them both a good sanding to get them smooth. Now when working with plywood, there are typically voids on every single edge. In order to get a smooth looking paint surface, I apply some wood filler on a putty knife. I’m using DAP Premium wood filler. This stuff not only dries fast but is easy to sand and is great to color match if you are staining something.

After letting it dry for about 30 mins, I came back with a sanding sponge to knock it down flat so that I could roll on the paint onto the pieces of the firewood holder.

With finishing out of the way, let me just push this button here to raise my finishing shelf up and locate the hardware I’ll need to attach the cubbies to the back.

Step 5: Shaping the Back to Fit the Firewood Holder Cubbies

I started with a back slightly larger than what I needed, then plopped the cubbies down onto it and lined it up so that the bottom cubby was flush to the end of the plywood. I used my pin nailer to just tack things in place to start. The end is easy as it should be flush, but to make sure the rest weren’t crocked, I pulled a tape to get the spacing perfect before tacking the rest. With it not able to fall off now, I tilted the entire unit on it’s face so that I would have access to the underside to throw in screws. Here, I made sure to pre drill to prevent splitting.

Step 6: Securing the Firewood Holder Cubbies to the Back

The top location is easy to locate because you have a visual on where the shelf is located. However, the second one is tricky because it’s in the middle of nowhere. What I do is grab a speed square, this Crescent one has an additional 6” flip out rule so that I can position it in the center of the shelf, go down to the dimension needed, and pre drill. If you don’t have this speed square or another long one, then a level would also do the trick.

For the angled portion of the shelves, the speed square wouldn’t work, so I grabbed a scrap and cut in an angle at the tip. This way I could rest it on the shelf and allow me to mark the height. Making sure to keep it in the same location, I moved the scrap to the face closest to me to now drop it down back to the line I made which gives me the location of the angled shelf to pre drill and attach a screw.

With the back on, this thing now feels really secure and strong. I flipped it up to take a look. I actually think it looks pretty good with a square back on it and was considering leaving it as is but then I decided to stick to my original plan and make the back flush to the geometric shape. I wasn’t able to locate my palm router, which is actually the ideal tool to trim the back off, so instead I put a flush trim bit in my router table and trim it off that way. The key here is to keep the unit nice and flush on the table as you move it along.

I laid the unit over and attached the side. This will help support the horizontal shelves that will actually be supporting the load of the firewood.

Step 7 : Installing the Firewood Holder and Cutting Firewood

 Last thing to do was install them. Now I personally wanted mine up off the ground so I wouldn’t block an outlet I have over on the right hand side. Then I also like to use this area for storing my games and puzzles. With that, I propped the units up, found the studs, then drove a few screws into the back of the unit to attach them.

Ok lets load it down and see how much it can hold. Now that, is much better than before. Instead of ugly boxes and totes, I now have a nice firewood holder with dedicated space for the wood. This will allow me room to store and separate all different sizes of firewood during winter. Then I personally like the look of wood enough to keep it full year round, but I could also store other kinds of nicknacks during spring and summer should I want to.

What do y’all think about them? Remember how easy it is to make larger or smaller. I even think they would look good horizontal, depending on your space. I have a set of plans for this project as well as many other over on my website. In fact, if you want firewood storage ideas, I have a few of them.

I’ll see you next time.

Material I Used For This Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

Modern Dog House

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Materials I Used to Build The Dog House

• 3M Solar panels
• Wood
• Modern Dog House Plans
• Brad Nailer
• Nails
• Screws

Step 1: Laying out parts and pre-drilling

There are four main components to build: The deck, the front, the back, and the roof. I started off by grabbing all the parts that will make up the deck and laid them out on my workbench so that I could predrill and attach things together with screws. I do have a set of plans for this project if you would like a material list and a cultist to build your own.

Next I laid out all the flooring material to attach it to the topside of this framing. I was shocked that the price was a 1/3rd of the cost and I just made sure to put the ugly side down! You’ll want to make sure the frame is square before attaching the decking. I used an 18 gauge nailer to quickly attach things.

Step 2: Attaching the pieces to make up the front of the dog house

Ok, first big component down. Now lets set that aside and pull in the pieces that will make up the front. I cut all the parts according to my cut list then did a dry fit first just to make sure there weren’t any obvious problems. Once everything was laid out and things seemed to work, I started attaching things. As you can see I’ve pre-painted mine and that’s because of the color scheme I wanted in the end, it’s much easier to paint the framing beforehand.

After getting done, I set it aside and repeated those same steps to frame up what will be the back wall, then set it with the others.

Step 3: Making the dog house roof

The last major component to build is the roof. If you use my plans to build this dog house, I would recommend keeping the pieces separated like this so it makes building time go much quicker. At each stage, I was able to bring in the needed parts for that assembly then quickly arrange them, and screw them together. If you notice me skipping the wood glue it’s because it doesn’t stick very well to painted parts. If you have raw parts, then you could use some on each joint, just make sure it’s exterior.

After knocking out the framing for the roof, I applied this tonge and groove material on top. You could absolutely use some sheet material like OSB or Plywood, but I wanted the inside of the roof to match the siding I will add later. Tonge and groove is awesome because it goes together so nicely and connects with the previous board.

I’m once again using my 18 gauge nailer here to pin it to the framing. I started on one end, then worked my way down to the other. When I got to the end, I held the board in place, making sure the tonge and groove were facing the correct direction, made a mark on the underside, then cut this board to the needed depth to fill in the remaining space.

Step 4: Attaching all of the assemblies together

Alrighty, now lets play shuffle and start throwing all the main components together. I’ll set the roof over here, move the front and back, so that I can grab the deck and set it on the workbench again. Now I’ll grab the back to start and if done correctly, it should just slip right onto the deck. I predrilled and threw in a few screws to attach it. Then repeated with the front. Since this dog house is a little bougie, there is a porch so the front is set back a ways to create said porch.

Now lets throw the roof on. I found it easiest to climb up on my workbench to do this, but building it on the ground could also work. The framing of the front and back walls have ‘ears’ on them to help locate the roof, but it might need some help to seat the roof all the way down since it’s a tight fit. Something that helped is backing out the top screw in the framing to allow that ‘ear’ to flex out slightly. Once the roof was seated all the way, I could tighten back up on the framing but also attach the framing to the roof to secure it down.

Step 5: Installing the siding of the dog house to close the walls

Next up is siding! This is made up of that same tonge and groove material I made for the roof and it’s just as simple to throw on vertical as it is horizontal. Once cut to length, you just need to make sure the board going on is seated all the way down on the previous board. Again, I’m using my nailer to attach things. Nice and simple. When I get closer to the top, I use my bandsaw to cut in the angles needed. RT audio I’m calling that good. I did the same exact process on the other side.

Step 6: Completing the front and back walls of the dog house

Let’s complete the front and back walls. I’m sure you were wondering why there are so many empty cavities designed in. It’s because I wanted the dog house to have class paneling. I don’t know about your pups, but mine like to be able to see what’s happening in their domain. Instead of one large panel, which you can very well do if you want to simplify things, I decided to break up the space into multiple small ones.

This is where our first 3M science product comes in. Not the glass…..but the film applied to the glass. A fun fact: visible light is light you can see and infrared light is what you can feel. 3Ms Sun Control Window Film Prestige Series reflect the suns infrared light significantly reducing the hat coming through windows. In addition to that, they also reject up to 99.9% of damaging UV rays. These films are designed to be applied directly to your existing windows to provide an easy and cost effective upgrade vs replacement. It allows my pups the openness windows provide without letting the heat and UVs in.

If you can’t tell, I am loving this thing.

Step 7: Building the Roof of the Dog House

Ok moving on to the roof! Before adding shingles, I went around the edges and added metal drip edge. What I do to install this is I hold it up on the edge, starting with the short side first, then cut it where the corners land. You’ll want to use roofing nails to attach it down. Since one piece won’t wrap all the way around, I let the leftover amount hangout, then used a new piece to finish covering the remaining side. Using a roofing nail to tack through both.

With that down it was a simple matter of nailing down the shingles. I figured out the overhang on the left then let the right run wild. I’ll cut it later. The shingles have a yellow zone to use the nails on.

While I work my way from the eve to the peak, let me tell you the awesome science of these shingles. 3M is making smog pollutant reducing granules (the tiny particles that make up the shingles) that might sound like a mouth full but it’s fascinating. These granules will absorb and hold onto nitrogen oxide in the air that touches it.

Then it will turn it into water soluble ions that not only safely wash away with the rain but then carry the nitrogen to the ground below which helps plants and grass. To put it simply, these granules, the shingles turn a roof into a smog fighting surface where it will take nitrogen from a place we don’t want it, and carry it safely to a place we do.

And that my friends, is how you can build your dogs a bougie house, very simple and easy but so stylish. Also remember I have a set of plans available if you want to build your own.

Step 8: Showing off some 3M products

I’m going to go ahead and add more accessories in order to show you two more really cool products 3M has initiated and released to do their part in changing the world.

First up is a dog bed. 3M innovated a 100% recycled featherless insulation called Thinsulate. I’m using it as the stuffing material in a dog bed (I just bought one then replaced the stuffing inside with insulation) However, it’s everyday application is actually within performance apparel and outerwear. It’s made from 100% recycled content such as plastic bottles that end up in the landield, meaning it’s helping to address global waste. It’s lightweight as natural down and still performs when wet.

Then the last thing to show off is called the Midsummer solar roof panel where 3M’s Ultra Barrier Solar film is incorporated. Due to low material consumption, a unique manufacturing process and production, Midsummer’s solar roofs have a 90% lower carbon footprint compared to traditional solar panels.

I’m so proud to be partnering with a company like 3M who isn’t only concerned with their bottom dollar but are setting goals for themselves to be carbon neutral and then investing time, money, and research to innovate products to accomplish it. Every new 3M product has a sustainability value commitment that shows how it contributes to the greater good. The four products in this dog house are just an example

I really hope you enjoyed this project. Check out my website for a set of plans not only for this

Things I Used in this Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaw

Compost Bin Plans

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Material I Used to Build The Compost Bins:

• Wood
• Compost Bin plans
• Decomposed granite
• Hardware cloth
• Saw
• Chisel

Step 1: Building the posts for the Compost Bins

I have a set of plans for this larger size I made myself but I also have a set of plans that is smaller. Since I live on land and have a huge garden, I wanted the extra capacity. I’m placing this right outside my garden, next to a potting shed I built a few years ago. I’m going to skip digging holes because that’s standard practice but know there are 8 needed for this build and a 4×4 can be placed in each one. The back posts are simply cut to size, then plopped in their spot.

The front ones, have a center channel that runs most of the way down. These are what make the front slats adjustable. To cut these in, I go to the table saw. A trick to cutting in the channel easily is to set up two fences. I make my first pass by using the table saw fence which is set up to establish the far right boundary of the channel.

On my second pass, I use a scrap straight board that is aligned to the left of the needed channel. Another scrap is placed on the outfeed table to establish the depth of the channel. When it comes time to run the third pass, I don’t use either fence, but instead float my 4×4 in between the two to clear out as much of the center as I can.

Don’t worry if you don’t get it all though, a chisel can do the rest of the clean up work. Typically when working with a chisel, you want to use the big flat portion to move along the wood. However, in situations like these where the handle prevents you from getting down flat, know you can flip it over and use this small bevel instead. It’s a smaller surface area so it’s harder to keep flat, but just place a finger or two down on it to help.

Step 2: Preparing the Posts to be Placed in the Ground

Ok, with the channels made, lets put these posts in their place in the front line up. With posts going in the ground, make sure you’re using pressure treated wood. In fact, I recommend using Prowood which even has labeling to help you pick out the correct treated material for your specific project. For my posts, I made sure to find the label that said “ground contact”.

One of my favorite things about Prowood is they use the latest advancement in pressure treated lumber to color treat their wood! So instead of the standard green tone, you can now choose from a variety of colors and skip the staining step. The wood is color infused so pigment is driven deep into the wood fibers that’s warrantied to stand up to the elements for years

Step 3: Placing the Posts in the Ground

Let’s move on to setting these posts in the ground. I didn’t feel like messing with concrete so for this project I used decomposed granite as an alternative. This stuff can be found bagged in the garden section. On every post, I fill the hole up about 1/3 of the way, then I tamp it down, aka compact it.

To get it started I prefer to use a short scrap and I chose a 1x so I can fit into the tight spots around the posts. I’m going for enough compaction to keep the post from leaning a ton so that I have both hands to place a level on one side of the post and push it into plumb. Once I have it there, I compress more, then repeat on the other face of the same post. After getting it just right, I fill up the hole further then really try my best to compact it tight.

I have a rock bar, because everybody in the hill country does, and it actually comes with a 2” round tamp on one end, so that’s what I use.

I recommend you start with an end, then hop down the line to set the other end post, then knock out the in betweens. More than making sure each post is plumb on two faces, you also want to make sure the faces are square to one another, I’m using that long 1×4 to test this.

Step 4: Leveling the Posts

Next I made all the compost bin posts level to each other. To do this, I found the height of the shortest post, then cut the top off the others posts to match it. I did this with two passes using a circular saw. This is faaaaar easier than trying to get all 8 holes exactly to the same depth.

While I was cutting, I cut in a shoulder on all four of the back posts. Be watchful because if you move around a post as much as I did here, you’lI absolutely have to replumb it. A good tip is to don’t be too worry about perfectly plumb until now, just get it close, because the next step is to add a 2×4 that reaches across all four of these back posts to secure them together.

At this point I made sure the posts were perfectly plumb then I could tamp away and compact it as much as I could.

Step 5: Adding Screening to the Compost Bin

Go ahead and take your time on setting these posts because if they are plumb and square, then it will make everything else from here fly. The next step is to dress off the back of the compost bin. There are a few options you could go with for screening but I recommend hardware cloth. I’m using a crown stapler to pin it into place, trying to work out the bubbles as I go. I pin it in just a few places to hold it down, then once I don’t have to hold it any longer, I go back and thoroughly attach it. I imagine there will be a decent amount of pressure once these compost bins are full.

To cut hardware cloth you can absolutely use a pair of side cutters but a much faster way is to use a right angle grinder with a cut off wheel. Don’t worry if you get into the wood a bit.

Step 6: Cutting Railings for the Compost Bin

At this point I go back to my shop and cut some rails that will span from the back posts to the front ones. I use my bandsaw to cut in two different shapes on one end of these pieces. The T’s will be placed in the center, while the Ls will be placed on the outside. On all of these, I start by attaching the back of the rail to the back post. When I move to attach the front, I move the rail in or out with my knee. Things should be plumb at this point, but each one was slightly off. No problem though, After pinning it in front, I could once again tamp down the granite.

Step 7: Hardware Cloth for the Compost Stalls

With these rails in place you can see the shape of each stall appearing. To complete it, I wall it in using hardware cloth on all the inside faces. These are roughly cut to size first to make handling them a little bit easier, but once I start pinning them, I let them run long on the front because it’s easy to trim perfectly to length after. In fact, if you have a buddy around, have them grab a pair of square nose pliers and pull the hardware cloth tight while you secure it. This is most useful on the front home stretch.

Note: that this air gap in between each stall is intentional. Airflow is a big contributor to a healthy compost pile that won’t stink. If you do compost right, which includes air flow annnd a balance of brown and green layers, then odor shouldn’t be an issue.

Step 8: Walling off the Front of the Compost Bin

Alright, lets wall off the front. To keep the bottom slat from resting on the ground, I ran in a screw to interfere with the track on the 4x4s. This means, I can now feed in slats as tall or as low as I want for each stall. I’ll probably leave them all high while filling and letting the compost cook, but it will be very useful to take off slats as I’m removing the compost for use.

Note: treated wood vs. non-treated wood

if you’re worried about using treated wood around compost know that the main ingredient in Prowood pressure treated lumber is actually copper, which is used in frying pans and even water lines. The technical name is Micronized Copper azole which still makes the wood termite and fungal resistant but means you can use it on food prep surfaces. It also means other benefits like it’s more natural looking, less corrosive to fasteners, and color treated boards will outlast cedar and redwood boards, hands down.

Step 9: Protecting the Compost Bin by Adding Lids

Ok one last component and this compost bin project will be a wrap, in order to keep animals out, next I built some lids. These are pretty simple construction with some 2x2s and more hardware cloth. I built these inside my shop because it’s way easier to do on a large surface than on the ground.

I started by attaching the cloth to one of the 2x2s, then flipped it over and attached the long side to this short side. Then just repeated on the remaining two sides. Again, going for air flow but a no critter zone.

To attach them to the compost bin, I started by screwing on a few hinges to the back of the body. Then I set the lid in place, lined it up to this hinge then secured it with screws. Regardless on how long you have the front wall, this lid will close down but lets go ahead and install all the slats and take a look.

You can absolutely leave it as is but I installed a simple string attachment with a small weight in order to make lowering the doors a little easier. And you’re done! You’ve built your own compost bin!

I am just now getting into composting so I know I don’t know much, but I think this three section compost bin rock! There are three bays because there are three stages of composting. I’ll always have one that I’m filling, one that is in the cooking stage, then one that will be ready to use compost. It will be close to two years before I have this third ready to use but once I invest the time, I should always have a stall rotating into use.

The front wall is super easy to lower, or raise depending on the task that’s needed, the lids will keep animals out but lets in moisture and airflow, and unlike compost methods that require tumbling, I’ll be able to layer up green and brown things to let sit until ready. It’s a super low maintenance compost bin.

****Remember I have a set of compost bin plans if you would like to build your own. I have this set which is large, but also the same design on a smaller scale. You can also go to prowoodlumber.com and find out where to buy Prowood for your next build. **** I’ll see you on my next project!

Additional Things I Used in this Build

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

Have you ever wanted to give your food that smoky flavor but don’t want to deal with the hassle of a huge smoker? I recently discovered cold smoking food and I’m obsessed! Cold smokers can be made out of anything since they don’t have high heat or a flame. Let’s make one!

DIY Cold Smoker

$9.99

Shop now

Materials I Used to Build This Cold Smoker:

• Wood
• Wood Glue
• Brad Nailer
• Wood Stain
• Cold Smoker Plans

Step 1: Preparing Materials for the Build

First know that I have a set of plans for this one plus a larger unit if you’re interested in building your own. The smaller one you’ll see me build has four racks but the larger unit has more.

I have so much scrap wood piled up in my shop that I pulled from it instead of buying anything new. To start, I went to the table saw and ripped down some material to make up the legs. Regardless if you use scrap or buy new, just don’t use anything that’s treated since this will be around food.

I made two sets of legs by using a cross piece to join two legs to each other. On all these joints, I pre drilled first to prevent splitting. Next I laid out marks for where I wanted my shelves on the inside of the legs. These will be what my racks rest on. I went to my scrap bin to find something suitable then chopped them to size before attaching. To attached, I used a little bit of Daps Weldwood wood glue then my 18 gauge brad nailer. I repeated on the other set of legs. I set both assemblies next to each other so I could just make sure the racks lined up with one another.

Next is to flip the assemblies 180 but it’s important to keep them situated so that the racks stay aligned to one another. Now I’ll sheath this side, which will be the outside.

Step 2: Sheathing and Creating the Leg Assemblies

Now the sheathing can be made from a lot of things but since you don’t want gaps, I used a thin tongue and groove pine paneling that I’ve actually had left over from a project I did back in 2013. The tongue and groove feature will allow each piece to connect seamlessly to the next board. Since I have a lot of the same length needed in this next step, I set up a stop block at the miter saw, then made sure to hold the length of board in between this stop and the blade, as this is the point that could kick back, then chopped the needed number of parts.

I took these over to my workbench with my leg assemblies and started attaching them. Again, I’m using a bit of wood glue on each one then throwing in some brads to hold it while it dries. I made sure to keep the orientation of the legs because they aren’t identical, they need to mirror each other but as you can see, it goes nice and quick. After getting the second side skinned I joined them to each other with some cross members at the top. Again, pre drilling and driving in screws.

Step 3: Attaching a Bottom and Making the Back of the Cold Smoker

To attach a bottom, I stood the unit up and grabbed some more cedar scrap since it’s 3/4” thick. I didn’t bother nailing them in as I’m thinking these might need to get replaced in the future.

Next I laid it back down and started making a back. This is also made from that tongue and groove paneling and I just laid the boards out starting from one side and work my way over, then cut the last piece to fit. Once I liked the fit, I flipped it over so that I could attach some horizontal pieces that will keep all these back boards held together. Again using wood glue and brad nails here. Now I could flip it over and secure it in place. To do this, I placed one screw at the top and one at the bottom.

Step 4: Making a Door for the Cold Smoker

Oooook, now lets flip it 180 and repeat almost all the same steps to make a door for the front. The one draw back to this paneling is how thin it is. Actually I like how thin it is because that means it’s light weight, but since a hinge needs meat to attach the door to the body, I built up it’s thickness by grabbing more cedar boards, mitering the ends, and creating a border that I then glued and nailed onto the front side of the paneling. I flipped the door on it’s face to put the brads in from the backside so you won’t see the holes from the front.

Perfect, and now I have a door. To attach it, I grabbed two hinges and placed them near the top and bottom, making sure to pre drill to prevent splitting.

Step 5: Building a Roof for the Cold Smoker

Alrighty, that works just as it should. I’ll worry about a handle and keeping it shut in a few steps. For now, I’m going to build out the roof. The roof is made a little uniquely as it’s important to have adjustable vent holes at the top of the unit. In order to do this easily, I attached one board of cedar with screws, but then grabbed one piece of that thin paneling for the next board. This I brad nailed in place. Then followed it up with another cedar board to finish. Screwing this one down as well.

Ok next, I cut another piece of paneling to the same size as the center board, held it in place, then used a forstner bit to drill two vent holes through both boards at the same time. This will mean the holes line up perfectly with one another when the boards are in line. However, if I want to close off or even partial open or close off the vents, then I just have to slide the top board one way or the other. Cool.

Step 6: Putting Vent Holes into the Side of the Cold Smoker

Ok great, now lets work on the side vent holes. Now remember I’ve just learned about this cold smoking thing so I’m not sure if there are better placement for the holes or not, but I put some up top and some down low. I wanted to utilized some of the paneling cut offs so I made two short pieces for the top. I glued and nailed these in place with my 23 gauge pin nailer. Then I held in place a full width panel then another a bottom rail, if you will.

The idea is the full width panel will slide so I connected the tongue and groove feature to the top rails already in place but then pulled it down just slightly to create some room. I glue and nailed on the bottom rail. I took some measurements and made some marks so that I could drill my two vent holes, again going through both layers at the same time. Now if all is done right, I’ll be able to open or close the vents by simply sliding this outer most board.

Of course that one I pick to show on camera is the hard one. Ha. This center board has a slight bow to it which make it stick slightly, but it’s still easy enough. Here look at the others….see easy. : )

Step 7: Adding Finishing Touches

Ok, now just some finishing touches to the cold smoker! On the outside of the door, I put a handle. Then on the inside, I applied a strip of some foam gasket stuff. My thinking here is to seal the door way off better. I honestly don’t know if it matters because it isn’t like you’re going for 100% airtight here, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. It’s a simple peel and stick process.

Then once that was in place, I worked on a latch. I utilized a clamp lightly applying pressure on the door to get the placement of this latch correctly. This way, when it’s latched shut, the door will be just slightly compressing that foam gasket. Yay!!!

Lets knock out a finish. I need something food safe for the inside and my go to is this Wood Honey by Total Boat. This finish is not only easy to apply, as you can see I’m just wiping it on, but it’s good for anything that will be around food such as bowls or countertops. Then for the outside of the cold smoker I’m going with Total Boat’s Halcyon. This is another one that is really easy to apply, I chose to use a foam brush, but it also dries to a UV stable gloss or stain finish. I recommend five coats of this but don’t worry, it dries so fast, you can easily apply them in a single day

Testing out the Cold Smoker!

Ok ok ok, lets try it out!

Ok so the concept is you place a tube with smoke pellets down here. I went ahead and laid down a piece of steel just in case an ember falls out of the tube. You light up one end….not to where it has a flame, but is just smoldering. This apparently will go for hours and you can buy pellets in all different flavors like hickory, pecan, apple, and mesquite. I made the sizing of my unit fit cooking racks so that I can place whatever I want to smoke, on top and slide them in.

I also bought a thermometer so I can stay in touch with how cool or hot the smoker is. For cheese, it needs to be kept around 80-85 degrees. I’ll tell you right now, this is a blast. The olives and okra only take about 20 mins and the cheese takes 2 hours. It smells great, tastes good, and is a very quick and easy build. I hope you enjoyed following along and remember if you want to build your own cold smoker, I do have a set of plans for a few different sizes.

Things I used to Build the Cold Smoker

• DAP Weldwood Wood Glue
• 1/2″ Peel & Stick Weather Stripping
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Halcyon (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Wood Honey (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Halcyon (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)

In the last few years, kitchen DIYs have gotten very popular. They don’t have to be over the top and they also don’t have to break your wallet. If you’re looking to add a cheap way to get some solid countertops then you’re reading the right blog. Check out my countertop plans and follow along!

Materials I Used to Build the Countertop

• Wood
• Miter Saw Stand
• Wood Glue
• Clamps
• Sander
• Saw
• Countertop Plans

Step 1: Moving Material to the Shop and Cutting Edges

The first thing I did was move my mobile cart to the side of my miter saw stand. This is so I can flip out the wing and pull material directly from the cart to the saw and cut the ends. Whenever you’re joining boards together you need all the edges and ends to be at a 90 and straight. The miter takes care of all the ends. It’s also at this step that you can cut your boards to length. I recommend taking the measurement your top needs to be then leaving yourself and extra 1” or 2. You will cut it down perfectly later on.

Step 2: Rounding The Edges of the Material

Next is to knock off the rounded edges of the material. If you have a jointer, then you can use it to get one edge flat…..and one face flat. Next I move the pretty large pile to my table saw. Here I make sure to place the jointed edge up against the tablesaw fence to get the second edge parallel. Then I use the thickness planer to get the second face flat.

Now if you don’t have a jointer then I’ll leave you a link to two videos I’ve done where I show how to use a table saw or a router as a jointer. But you can definitely keep this project simple and let it be a little imperfect. If you only have a tablesaw, you can use it to cut off each rounded edge, then leave the face alone. This method will require more sanding and you might end up with a few small gaps, but you can still build yourself some countertops.

Step 3: Creating the Countertop Pattern

Ok after getting all the material square and straight, I next laid out my boards to get the depth my countertop and shelf needed then started rearranging them. The first thing I do is line up one side of the boards to be in line with one another. Now my finished countertop will land about here but it’s aways best to make a bigger than needed slab then cut it down in the end.

Next I look at the tree ring direction and try to stagger them. See how these rings curve down? This one is pretty center but this one curves up, this one down, What you want you avoid is all the rings facing the same direction as that will promote the entire slab to cup in that direction whereas alternating them will oppose forces.

The next thing I look at is where all the seams line up, see how most all land right in this zone? I want a little more variety so what you can do is take smaller boards and place them at the front. Just flip flop the two boards and that will push the seam away from the others. To where after I did that with a few other rows, now my seams were spaced out all across the slab.

Ok then last thing I looked at before sticking things together, was the butt joints. You can see this joint doesn’t close nicely. If it doesn’t close nicely now, it definitely won’t one you put glue on it so take the time to re cut both ends here at the miter saw.

Step 4: Assembling the Countertop

Ok now lets do the thing that I would bet causes the most stress in woodworking. I’m talking about glue up! It is common when you’re first starting to build to make a big slab like this and try to glue up all the boards at one time. However, you learn really quick that it’s way better to do multiple small glue ups so they come out right rather than rush it and mess it up or stress yourself out.

When you’re glueing things together with yellow wood glue, my go to is DAPS Weldwood, you typically have about 3-4 mins of working time, which is not a lot. So have as many things ready to go as you can such as clamps, brushes, mallets, and bisquets in my case. Which lets talk about next. You can definitely cut all your boards and just glue then clamp them together but where bisquets help is with aligning the tops.

Once you apply glue to two surfaces they will slip and slide and getting a perfectly flush top is almost impossible. By cutting in bisquets slots…. this tool references the top of each board to cut in a slot on each edge so that when you insert a biscuit, it will automatically align each board and not allow it to slip around while applying pressure. Alternatives that achieve the same thing are dowels or a domino but remember you can definitely just glue up the boards if you don’t have anything, it will just require more flattening in the next step.

Step 5: Altering the Countertop Thickness (optional)

Actually, I added in a step. See after milling my boards, my 2x4s turned out to be only 1 1/4” thick. Which is good but I personally wanted the look to be closer to 2”. To achieve this, I cut a nose that is the thickness I want and simply attached it to the very front. So know this is a trick you can use to make your glue up look thicker.

Step 6: Thinning out the Countertop

Ok, now lets flattening this thing. Like everything in building, there are several ways to do everything. The countertop is too wide for my thickness planer so I just did this by hand with my 4” belt sander. You want to choose the widest belt sander you have so it’s easier to keep it flat and not create divots. I also like to turn my sander to a 45 in the first pass to hog away material faster, then I sand out the scuffs this creates in the lower grits. For my skinner matching shelf, I threw this through the drum sander and this makes quick work of it.

Step 7: Cutting the Countertop to Length

I now cut my top and shelf to their exact needed length. I chose the sliding portion of my tablesaw to make sure this cut was at a perfect 90 but a track saw or circular saw with a fence would work as well. Next I wanted to set the countertop in place and see how it was going to look up against my wall. No wall is ever perfectly straight so expect to have some gaps on your install.

You can cover up this gap with a backsplash board or you can trace the exact shape of your wall onto the countertop, this is called scribing. I did this with a washer but you can use just about anything. Once I had my line established I used my sander once again to take away material up to it. If you have a big gap you can always use something like a multi tool to cut away more material up front then refine it with a sander.

Step 8: Applying Finish

Ok and that’s it for the technique building part, I now have a countertop ready to install but before doing that I finished it. I’m using Total Boat’s Gleam 2.0 which is a Spar Varnish that is super easy to use, a high gloss (exactly what I was going for here), and my favorite feature: it’s fast drying. I like to use their Wood Sealer varnish primer before hand which fills in the grain to create a smoother finish.

Finishing Tip:

Have you ever seen white washed items before? Well I wanted a slight grey tint so I did the same thing where you can take latex paint and dilute it with water to create a more translucent stain sort of finish, but I did it with grey. The more water you add, the more translucent it will be. I used a foam brush to wipe it on, then almost immediately wiped it off. After letting that dry I applied a clear coat to protect everything.

Step 9: Installing the Countertop

To install the countertop I simply crawled inside and screwed through some wooden scrap strips I screwed into place…and you can see how taking the time to scribe the two edges really makes a difference. Then for the shelf up here I screwed a cleat to the corner where there is framing, then cut in a receiving notch so my shelf could sit on top and allow me something to screw down onto. The left terminates into the cabinets so I could go to the inside and go directly into the end grain.

Annnnd I’m going to call that another project done. I’ll leave you links to the videos showing you how to build cabinets and also me installing these in case you’re interested. I hope this video has given you some good tips or inspiration if making cheap countertops is on your to do.

Things I Used to Build The Cheap Countertop:

• Triton Oscillating Belt Sander
• Total Boat’s Gleam 2.0 Spar Varnish
• DAPS Weldwood Wood Glue

Let’s Build A Bar In A Box

In this video, I’m going to show you how to build a bar in a box. Not only is it great for entertaining, it’s great for small spaces. It can be easily compact when not needed but open up when you’re entertaining. Let me show you have to build it.

Materials I Used to Build the Bar in a Box

• Wood
• Woodglue
• Screws
• Armorite
• Caulk
• Bar in a Box Plans

Step 1: Building the Main Body of the Bar in a Box

I’m going to start off by building the main body. I’m using DAP weldwood wood glue on every joint then a brad nailer to pin things together. For material, I’m using an exterior grade MDF called Armorite. Armortie is a dream to cut on the CNC so it’s my first choice for projects I’ll be painting.

Step 2: Placing Trim Around the Edges of Each Body Section

Next I could lay the box I’m making over, overhanging the bottom so the unit lays flat on the workbench. Then I crawled inside and laid down a bead of glue all along the edge. This is so I could pin on some trim. This might seem confusing for a moment but you’ll see how it all comes together shortly.

For right now I only placed four pieces of trim on, and left a gap in the center. This is so I could flip the entire thing over, again moving the unit to the edge so it lays flat, then applied more glue to the inside of the overhanging trim boards. These trim boards will catch a panel that will eventually become the front of the unit. Mine was a little tight but it was nothing a little stomping couldn’t fix. To hold it in place while the glue set up, I used a few pin nails all along the perimeter.

I wish I would have stood it up at this point to show you what I was doing, but I didn’t. So let me skip ahead and give you a visual on where I’m going with all of this. Once placed on it’s bottom, it will not only be able to be rolled around, but the panel and trim will create a front, then what I do next with a divider will create a sectioned off inside.

Step 3: Adding Dividers Inside the Bar in a Box

Now that you see where I’m going, lets go back to adding in the divider. This will create two inside cubbies so I placed it right in the center. To avoid measuring, I actually grabbed the shelves that I already cut to length and used two to act as spacers, setting one at the base and one at the top to make sure the divider was going in parallel. To pin it in place, I used my speed square to project down in the line of the edge. Unlike typical MDF, Armorite doesn’t mushroom out or flake off when using a nailer.

Step 4: Making the Bar in a Box Mobile

With that in, I moved to the side of the unit to start building a box. This will be the bottom platform that will house the casters. I again used wood glue and brad nails to join things together. BTW: I have a set of plans that have a cut list and material list if you want to build your own.

This box, I clamped to the bottom side of the unit so that I could climb back on top of my workbench to secure it from the top side.

As far as mobility goes, I don’t expect to move this thing a lot so I only put on two fixed casters. However, another option is to put on four swiveling casters that will give you more mobility. I placed my two fixed casters on one side then what I’ll call a foot on the other. This foot is just long enough so that when the unit is sitting flat, the casters don’t touch the ground. This will ensure the bar can’t roll around until I tilt it slightly up on one end and intentional wheel it where I want to go. While giggling of course.

Step 5: Finishing the Front Trim and Adding Shelves

Ok with the bar in a box body upright, now I can finish out the front trim. This is as simple as cutting the pieces to length then gluing and nailing them in place. I carried the bottom right trim piece to my house and forgot it, so just image that in place as well.

Now lets go to the inside of the unit and add in some shelves. Keep in mind you could add as many or as few as you wanted but I personally only wanted one shelf per side. My plan for keeping things from falling over is to run small metal tubing across the front. I made all my location marks using a square then counterbored with a drill bit just slightly larger than the tubing. On the center divider, I made a through hole. This way, once done, I could feed the tubing in from the left, go through the center, and go into the right wall.

I’ll glue these in later but for now, I left them dry and moved on to making the doors. Which is a really similar process to making the bar in a box body.

Step 6: Making the Doors

I started by building a box using wood glue and brad nails. Then I lined the edge with a bead of more wood glue to add on trim. Again, this trim will eventually be the show face you see. So right now I’m building it upside down. But by doing it this way, I’m able to flip it over and easily insert the front panel so that it’s captured to this trim and flush to the front. You just have to make sure it’s seated down all the way when you’re securing it.

Step 7: Adding Shelves to the Doors

Next I did the same process that I did to the body by adding in shelves where I wanted them, if you use my plans you can certainly use my dimensions which fit standard bottles, or you can adjust them to store the items you’re looking to shelve. After adding in the cabling, I added on an adjustable foot.

So when the wings fold out, this foot will be able to drop down to the ground and lock into place. To do this, I started by drilling two through holes for carriage bolts. Once put through the foot’s slots, I added a wing nut to the inside to give me a locking feature. The great thing about this is even if the bar is on slightly uneven ground, it won’t matter because each wing will be able to drop it’s foot down independently of the other.

While I had the door on my workbench, I DAPed and caulked everything. I’m using Platumn Patch by Dap to fill in any of the nail holes or seams that will show on the face. Then for the caulk I used Alex’s Fast Dry.

After doing it once, I repeated it all again to build a second. Making sure they were mirrored to each other and not identical!

Step 8: Hanging the Wings onto the Body of the Bar in a Box

Things are looking right, so lets hang them on the body! I used a small spacer to rest on the platform of the body to set the door on and create the clearance needed. I tried to drop the foot down to hold it’s position. Didn’t work, so I instead hooked my foot on the underside and just made sure to have my drill ready. I like to pre drill for the smaller screws that come with the hinges but it’s really as simple as pre drilling then attaching with screws.

After repeating on the other side, I’ll now show you what I got. I’ll stand on the other side of the bar to not obstruct your view, but the idea is I could have a consolidated footprint when not in use, but then easily flip out a door, drop the foot. Then flip out the other wing, and drop the foot….when I do want to use it. Cool.

Step 9: Building a Top to the Bar in a Box Body

Now let me work on a top. I went with two layers of the same material that this entire unit is made from which is an exterior rated MDF called Armorite. You can get 1” thick Armorite but 1/2” is way easier and cheaper to get a hold of so I cut then glued two pieces together to create the 1” thickness.

Armorite Tips and Tricks

Since I discovered Armorite last year, you’ve been seeing use it more and more for projects where regular MDF simply wouldn’t be an option. To have an exterior rated MDF truly is a game changer. Even when getting wet, it does not swell and fall a part, it’s incredible to machine coming right off being cut nice and smooth, and it has Zinc borate in it to resist termites and other insets. I’ll leave you a link to locate Armorite near you.

Step 10: Expanding the Top of the Bar in a Box

To accommodate the body expanding by the doors folding out, I also need the top to somehow expand out. That’s where these cool little hinges come in, they are called flap hinges. They are kinda tricky to drill for because they are only a portion of a circle so you can’t use an entire forester bit like you can on regular cabinet hinges. However, a simple fence at the drill press solves this issue.

I set the fence so that most of the bit was going into the material but the rest was going into the fence. Then I would use the hinge itself to gauge the depth. Once I repeated this on two sections, I could screw the hinges in place and test it out.

Ok so the idea Is to place the two sections at the center, right on top so that when they are folded in, it’s nice and compact. But then I can flip them out to expand. After positioning the top sections squarely, I pre drilled then secured with screws. I didn’t like how the doors could be set at any angles, so I added in a stop block to dictate the exact position. Nice and simple.

Step 11: Painting the Top of the Bar in a Box

I actually have an entire video outlining the proper way to paint MDF so I’ll link to that video for you. For the top I chose a black laminate which can be a little tedious to apply but is actually quite simple. First thing to know is you want to band the edges first. I cut a big sheet into small strips that are slightly oversized.

To apply it, you use something called contact cement. It’s traditionally sold in a can that you can brush on but Dap has actually come out with a spray form that I love. I use cardboard as a backer to catch the overspray.

When using contact cement you need to apply it to both surfaces that will be adhered together. You can see I use an assortment of trash to collect the overspray. Then unlike wood glue, you actually let the surfaces dry until the cement is tacky, this is anywhere from 3-10 mins depending on climate, then you push them together. A roller is a great tool to have around to apply pressure but you can use anything that won’t scuff the surface.

Step 12: Placing Edging on the Face of the Bar in a Box

After getting all the edges banded, then you repeat on the faces. I actually wanted the two center pieces to be seamless so after biscuit joining them together and screwing them down to the body of the unit, I repeated by spraying both the MDF and the laminate, making sure to get the edges really well coated.

The reason you want to leave the piece oversized is because it’s way easier to use a flush trim bit and router to make it perfectly flush after the fact, than trying to align two pieces perfectly fit for each other. Again apply pressure with anything that won’t scuff the surface. Haha.

One last thing to note, once the surfaces are in contact with each other, they don’t come a part easily. Again, it isn’t like wood glue where you can slip it around after the fact. So make sure you like it before you stick it.

Step 13: Pre-drilling For and Adding Door Hinges

Last thing I needed to do was drill for the hinges. To prevent the forester bit from walking around on you when you start drilling, you first want to predrill with a small drill bit. Then to prevent the edge and the face of the laminate from tearing out, I clamped a board in place. I used my glue cauls on the edge and a jig with a through hole for the bit on the top. Once the tip of the forester bit found my pre drill, I clamped the jig in place and drilled down until the depth was correct for the hinge to be flush. Once you break through the laminate, you can remove the jig.

Step 14: Attaching the Wings to Finish the Bar in a Box!

Next, the second pair of wings can be attached and I’ll call this project done!

I ended up adding a handle to the side to help tilt it up and move it. This is what it looks like when it’s compact and stowed away, but then to use it I just have to fold out the door and drop the foot. Fold out this door, and drop it’s foot. Fold out one top, and two top, and the bar is officially open. For you to see it from the bartenders side, I put two barrel bolts on the doors to keep them shut. On the inside there is plenty of storage space for bottles or shakers or glasses.

Actually, glasses are probably a bad idea if your unit will actually be moved a lot but I see keeping mine full during the nice seasons then I’ll empty it and stow it away during the really cold season.

Thing I Used in The Bar in a Box Build:

• DAP Weldwood Wood Glue
• Brad Nailer
• Armor Dog Peg Clamps
• Wilker Do’s DIY Plywood Workbench Plans

Thinking about building your own DIY storage bench? Check out this easy DIY storage bench project! It can be completed in 1 day!

In this video, I’m going to be building an outdoor storage bench! It’s at a nice and comfortable sitting height, but the lid is on a hinge so I can open it and stow away the cushions when they are not in use.

This is a quick one-day project! So if you are needing a storage trunk for anything, I have a set of plans (that includes material and cut lists) and a CNC cut file:

• Indoor Outdoor Storage Bench Build Plans
• Indoor Outdoor Storage Bench Build Plans with CNC Cut File

DIY Storage Bench

$9.99

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DIY Storage Bench – CNC Cut File

$4.99

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Check out the video above to see how I built it!

Introduction to DIY Storage Benches

A DIY storage bench is a great way to add storage and seating to any outdoor space. It is perfect for storing cushions, toys, and other items that you want to keep out of sight but still within easy reach. These benches come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, so you can find one that fits your needs and looks great in your outdoor space. Plus, they are easy to build and maintain, so you can enjoy your new bench for years to come.

Benefits of DIY Storage Benches

DIY storage benches offer many benefits over traditional outdoor furniture. First, they are more affordable than buying a ready-made storage bench from a store. You can save money by building the bench yourself and using materials you already have on hand. Second, you can customize the design of your bench to fit your outdoor space, allowing you to create a unique piece of furniture that will be the centerpiece of your outdoor area. Finally, a DIY storage bench can provide extra seating for entertaining or simply relaxing outdoors.

Materials Needed for a DIY Storage Bench

Building a DIY storage bench requires a few basic materials. You will need wood for the frame, plywood for the panels, and screws or nails to hold the frame together. You will also need a saw, drill, and other tools to cut the wood and assemble the frame. Finally, you will need paint or stain to finish the wood and protect it from the elements.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a DIY Storage Bench

Once you have gathered all the materials you need, you can begin building your DIY storage bench. The first step is to measure and mark the wood for the frame. Next, cut the wood to size and assemble the frame. Once the frame is assembled, add the plywood panels and attach them to the frame using screws or nails. Finally, seal the wood with paint or stain and let it dry before using.

Tips for Building a DIY Storage Bench

Building a DIY storage bench is not difficult, but there are a few tips that can make the process easier. First, make sure to measure twice and cut once to ensure that all the pieces fit together correctly. Second, use a power drill to make drilling holes in the wood easier and faster. Finally, use a sanding block to smooth any rough edges on the wood before applying the finish.

Decorating Ideas for Your DIY Storage Bench

Once your DIY storage bench is built, you can add some decorative touches to make it unique and inviting. One easy way to spruce up your bench is to add cushions or pillows for extra seating or to make the bench more comfortable. You can also use outdoor fabric to make a removable slipcover for the bench or to create a patterned design. Finally, add some outdoor accessories such as lanterns or planters to complete the look.

Troubleshooting Common Problems with DIY Storage Benches

Building a DIY storage bench is not without its challenges. One common problem is that the frame may not be square if the wood is cut incorrectly. To fix this problem, use a square to check the frame before adding the panels. Another problem is that the wood may warp if it is not sealed properly. To prevent this, make sure to seal the wood with paint or stain before using it.

Where to Buy Storage Benches Pre-Made

If you don’t want to build your own storage bench, there are many ready-made benches available for purchase. These benches come ready-to-use, or with all the materials you need to assemble the bench, including the wood, screws, and other hardware. You can buy these online or in home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot.

Conclusion

Building a DIY storage bench is a great way to add storage and seating to your outdoor space. With a few basic materials and tools, you can create a unique piece of furniture that will last for years. Plus, you can customize the design to fit your space and add decorative touches to make it one-of-a-kind. If you are needing a storage trunk for anything, I have a set of plans (that includes material and cut lists) and a CNC cut file. These two plans are here Indoor Outdoor Storage Bench Build Plans, or here if you need the CNC file – Indoor Outdoor Storage Bench Build Plans with CNC Cut File. Start building your new Outdoor Storage Bench today!

Things I Used in This Indoor Outdoor DIY Storage Bench Project:

• Roseburg Armorite Exterior MDF
• Armorite Prime/Paint/Finish Guidelines
• Sealing/Priming/Painting Armorite Video
• Crescent Linesman Pliers
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

If you want to build your own, I have a set of DIY rising shelf plans and a parts list, including everything I used:

First, I started off by building the main body of the rising shelf. It consists of a piece of plywood with a 2×4 attached to the backside of it. On this 2×4, I attached some hooks. Then, in the four corners, I attached some garage door rollers. These rollers are really versatile and were key in making this project work.

For a track, I actually wanted to buy something off the shelf and ended up looking at garage door tracks. They use to be cheap, but like everything else, have skyrocketed in price. Instead, I decided to build my own tracks from wood. I grabbed the hardest wood I had in my shop that was long enough, which was oak, and arranged it into an L. For the tracks, you definitely want something hard for long-term durability. I attached it to the wall by holding it in place and throwing in a single brad nail. This will hold it just long enough for me to put a level on it and plumb it up. I only had a 4’ level in my shop so I moved to the bottom, then top, and placed a few brads as I straighten it out. Once it looked good, I came back with screws. I pre-drilled the holes to ensure the oak didn’t split. Next, I repeated the process by attaching the right track the same way as the left.

Now that the tracks are attached, I moved to the top and attached some pulleys. These will be what the cable will go up to, before veering right to the hoist. I used some lags to go into my wall here. Then, even though it isn’t needed, I added a ledger board…just to be safe. A lot of the force on these pulleys will be vertical since it’s going to be reaching down and pulling the rising shelf upward. To directly oppose this force, I ran screws up into the ledger board. This is in addition to the lags that went into the wall.

Moving on, the next step is to go back to the shelf and attach a few components. The first is a thimble hooked onto the anchor point on the 2×4. This is used so the wire rope has a track it can be placed in and then it can be looped back onto itself. To secure it, I used what’s called “wired rope clamps”, which are tighten down onto both the lead in and lead out strains. I used DAP’s Tank Bond Thread Locker on all of the project’s hardware that had a nut on it. I applied it to the threads before I added the nuts. It a fast-dry coating that creates a tight seal that absorbs shock and vibrations, preventing fasteners from unintentionally backing out. I really love it because the treated fasteners remain completely adjustable, removable and reusable if I have to replace them in the future. I use it on anything that has vibration. 

At this point I was able to set the shelf in place. It’s large and awkward so help was needed for this step. Jacob and I brought it in from the bottom, slightly tilting it so the top roller would slip into the track, then straightening it out vertical.

I fed the cable up to the pulleys from both anchors, but now needed to join them into one. What I did here functions the same exact way that a window blind does. In the shelf set-up, the component I used is called a turnbuckle. This allowed me to attach both cables to one side, then shoot one cable from the other. Also, this gave me the ability to make small, micro-adjustments later on once everything was installed and it was time to do final tuning.

The last component to add is the hoist itself. The mounting bracket is a simple DIY one made from some square tubing I had laying around. The holes are drilled in locations to match the stud location of the wall it will be mounted onto. The hoist is kind of heavy, but nothing unmanageable. I screwed a temporary 2×4 to the wall to give myself a resting shelf to set the hoist onto as I put lags into the studs.

The last step, I added the shelving needed to hold all of the products I wanted to store here. One of the coolest things about this project (I mean, besides the fact that it’s a rising shelf), is that you can customize it to hold just about anything. Just keep on eye on the total weight of the objects that you’re storing – it will need to be below the capacity of the hoist and the components you used. The key things to pay attention include what the hoist is rated at and do all of the components have the same rating. One weak link in a chain will cause it to fail. I built the rising shelf as an ultimate shop storage system to organize spray paint cans, tubes of caulk, paint cans, and paint supplies such as brushes.

Before I forget, another thing I did was extend the pendent to be over near my shelf instead of up by my hoist. Now, if my shelf is raised when I need to access to my hardware, I can walk right up to the wall and lower it down. Then I can either keep it here or I can raise it back up to store at the top of my wall and keep the hardware rack exposed. Cooooool!

Are you ready for the before and after?! Check it out!

By the way, I have a blog and video on how I made this in-wall hardware rack if you want to do the same. 

Don’t forget to check out the DIY Rising Shelf Plans!

Interested in organizing your shop? If so, I have several DIY workshop plans to help you out! See y’all next time!

Trying to hide your dirty laundry? Why not build out a DIY sliding laundry cabinet right next to your washer and dryer?!? Check this easy DIY project out!

A few weeks ago I built out my laundry room with new cabinets. During that project, I built a custom cabinet that holds two laundry hampers on a pull-out drawer. That way the hampers inside are hidden when the drawer is closed, but easily accessible by a simple pull of the drawer handle.

This is such a quick and easy build! I love it so much so I wanted to share it. Check out the video to see how it went together.

Sneaky Drawer Plans (+ CNC file!)

DIY Laundry Drawer Plans

$9.99

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Things I Used in This DIY Sliding Laundry Cabinet Project:

• MakeByMe
• HomeByMe
• DAP Weldwood Wood Glue
• Hamper Baskets
• Drawer Slides
• Locking Device
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Trying to figure out how to refinish a deck? In this DIY project I’ll show you how, and figure out whether to sand it or strip it, and without chemicals!

Check out the video above to check out my process.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

Thinking about building your own DIY Fire Pit Table? Check out this DIY project where I used a really easy to use gas burner to speed up this project!

To prepare for fall, I decided that I’m going to build myself a DIY Fire Table!

I designed the table with a slatted design that has plenty of room for multiple people to sit around. Check out the video above to see how I built it!

Small Fire Table Plans

Large Fire Table Plans

DIY Fire Table Plans

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Things I Used in This DIY Fire Pit Table Project:

• Western Red Cedar
• TotalBoat Wood Sealer (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Gleam 2.0 (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• Wagner HVLP Sprayer
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• 18″ Fire Pan Kit
• Horizontal Propane Tank
• Fire Glass Beads (3 x 10lbs)
• Cover

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(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Trying to figure out how to build your own DIY wood countertops that are inexpensive? Check out this project where I used 2x4s to build my own!

This week I am building some simple countertops for my laundry room!

Earlier this year I demo’d a shop building. And in that process, I ended up with a ton of scrap material that I de-nailed and threw into a pile. You can definitely do this project with any material, but I’m going with 2×4’s and 2×6’s since I have an abundance of them.

Check out the video above to see how I built them!

Things I Used in This DIY Wood Countertops Project:

• Total Boat Wood Sealer & Gleam 2.0 (use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• DAP Weldwood Original Glue
• Triton 4″ Belt Sander
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about upgrading with new DIY laundry room cabinets for cheap? Check out this DIY project where I completely upgraded my laundry room!

This week, I am transforming my laundry room by taking it from a simple room that just holds a washer and dryer, to a functioning room with lots of storage.

I’m doing a laundry room. But regardless of the room, here is a tip for building cabinets: Buy stock cabinets from any home center… and then upgrade them! Let me explain the video above.

Simple Cabinet DIY Plans (with CNC File)

Simple Cabinet Plans (with CNC file!)

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Also, you can check out my related How to Paint MDF Video!

Things I Used in This DIY Laundry Room Cabinets Project:

• Wagner Paintstick EZ Roller
• Front + Center – Doors and Refacing Supplies (use code aprilpaint for 20% off!)
• Triton TMNRTR 1.2HP Trim Router with Plunge Base
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

MDF is great. It is cheaper, more machinable and cheaper than wood, which makes it perfect for painted cabinets or trim. But, if you’re painting MDF, you encounter one problem. Anytime you cut an edge, it leaves a fuzzyness. Check out the video above to see what you can do to ensure a smooth finish on MDF.

Things I Used in This Painting MDF Cabinets Project:

• Front + Center – Doors and Refacing Supplies (use code aprilpaint for 20% off!)
• Wagner FLEXiO 3500
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

Primers For MDF:

• Zinsser’s BIN is my favorite because it dries fastest and sands easiest.
• But I also like Kilz Original and Zinsser Cover Stain. All of these are solvent-based, so cleanup is a pain.
• Both Zinsser and Kilz have a few versions of water-based stain-blocking primers. They clog sandpaper more than solvent-based products. But I still use them when I want easy cleanup.
• Instead of primer, some people use water-based polyurethane (such as Minwax Polycrylic) to seal MDF. It dries fast and sands very well. But it’s not really a primer and paint may not adhere to it as well.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

Trying to figure out how to repair a deck yourself? Look no further because in this post I’ll show you how I repaired my rotting deck and saved my house!

Ok maybe I’m being a little dramatic but technically it is true. I started noticing signs that things were not right and began investigating, only to find some serious issues with my deck structure.

Check out the video above to see what I found and see how I fixed it!

Things I Used in This How To Repair A Deck Project:

• Fence Armor Postsaver® Pro-Sleeve & Pro-Wrap
• DynaGrip Heavy Duty
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

Looking to build your own DIY Raised Planter Box? Look no further because in this DIY project I’ll be showing you exactly how to build your own!

In this video, I’m going to be building myself this simple free-standing herb planter. A few weeks back I made a multi layered planter and loved it. But, I wanted a taller one for my porch. Let me show you how I built it!

DIY Free-Standing Planter

$9.99

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DIY Free Standing Planter Plans

You can also check out this really cool set of planter templates and plans!

Pyramid Planter Templates and Plans

$9.99 – $29.99

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Pyramid Planter Plans

Things I Used in This DIY Raised Planter Box Project:

• Lomi by Pela
• Triton Sander
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Looking to build your own DIY folding chair? In this DIY project I’ll show you how to build your own portable chair that’s easy great for storage!

Check out the video above to see how I built it!

Things I Used in This DIY Folding Chair Project:

• Western Red Cedar
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Triton Oscillating Spindle & Belt Sander
• Crescent EX6 2-in-1 Extendable Layout Tool

Portable Chair Plans & Templates

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

Thinking about building your own DIY Storage Cabinet? Check out this easy DIY project where I built my own storage cabinet for my garage!

Today I’m taking an unorganized outdoor patio and tidying it up some by building an outdoor cabinet. Instead of having outdoor yard tools and other miscellaneous things scattered around looking messy, they can all be in the same area and tucked away out of sight.

Check out the video above to see how I built it!

Outdoor Cabinet Plans

$9.99

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Cabinet Plans

Things I Used in This DIY Storage Cabinet Project:

Roseburg Armorite Exterior MDF

Armorite Prime/Paint/Finish Guidelines

DAP Weldwood Contact Cement

Shop Sabre CNC

Stihl RE110 Pressure Washer

ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

3/4″ Overlay Hinges

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Looking to build your own DIY Planter in the shape of a pyramid? Look no further because I just built my own, plus designed easy-to-use DIY Plans!

In this video, I’m going to show you how I built this herb planter! Outside of finish, it only takes a few hours. So if this is on your to-do list, check out the video above and jump into the steps.

Pyramid Planter Templates and Plans

$9.99 – $29.99

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Planter Plans and Templates

Things I Used in This DIY Planter Project:

• Western Red Cedar (Real Cedar)
• TotalBoat Wood Sealer (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Gleam 2.0 (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• Triton TPT125/Planer
• Triton TQTRSS/Orbital Palm Sander
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about adding a DIY storage shelf to your garage? Look no further because I just build my very own, and walk you through the whole process!

In my new shop, I was thinking about how to store all of the shipping supplies we’ll need. Then I looked up and realized that there is a vast empty space overhead, and taking advantage of that would be pretty easy. I’m calling it a loft, but it’s pretty much just a giant shelf. Check out the video above to see how I built it.

Things I Used in This DIY Storage Shelf Project:

• Simpson LU24 Joist Hanger
• Simpson LUC26Z Joist Hanger
• Simpson Self-drilling Screws
• Louisville PINNACLE PRO ladder
• Louisville Tripod ladder
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Looking to build or design your own DIY cabinets for your kitchen, garage, or bathroom? Look no further because in this project I’ll walk you through it!

In this video I’m going to be showing you how to make super simple shop cabinets! They are quick and easy, but also strong and durable. If you are needing basic cabinets for a shop or laundry room (or anywhere) check out this process in the video above.

Simple Cabinet Plans (with CNC file!)

$14.99

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Get My DIY Cabinet Plans Here!

Things I Used in This DIY Cabinet Project:

• Roseburg Armorite Exterior MDF
• Armorite Prime/Paint/Finish Guidelines
• Simpson Finish Trim Screws
• Simpson Wafer Head Construction Screw
• DAP Weldwood Instant Wood Adhesive
• DAP Weldwood Original Wood Glue
• Shop Sabre
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about doing your own DIY Spray Foam Insulation? Look no further because in this project I’ll show you exactly how to put in your own!

Welcome back to the new shop build series! So far, I have done demo, roughed in for a toilet and then added new wiring for walls and the ceiling lights. And this week, I’m covering the spray foam insulation portion of the build. Check out the video above!

Check out the other videos in my Shop Renovation Series:

• Demo, Layout, Planning and Ideas
• Wiring the New Shop

Things I Used in This DIY Spray Foam Insulation Project:

• SES Foam, LLC
• Texas Insulation
• Wagner Control Pro 170
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about adding outlets and lighting to your shop? In this DIY project I’ll show you how I wired in new outlets and lighting into my new shop!

In this video above I’m going to be adding 110 outlets to the walls and ceiling of this new bare shop space!

Check out my last video where I explained the new space and why I ripped out all the existing wiring.

Things I Used in This Adding Outlets And Lighting Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• 1000Bulbs
• Lighting Fixtures: 65W Linear Low Bay Fixture
• Linear High Bay w/ Rotatable Panels
• Linear High Bay w/ Sensor
• Motion Sensor Remote
• 42” LED Under Cabinet Light
• Louisville PINNACLE PRO Ladder
• Louisville Tripod Ladder

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about doing your own workshop remodel? Check out this project where I plan out my demolition, layout, and ideas for my new workshop!

Shop #3!! I might have a problem

I’m about to renovate my third shop! Check out the video above so I can bring you in, show you around and tell you about my plans.

Things I Used in This DIY Workshop Remodel Project:

• EcoFlow Delta Max Portable Power Station
• EcoFlow Delta Max Portable Power Station on Amazon
• Stihl TSA 230
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

This video is all about how I built a record stand out of a live edge slab! I picked a slab that has plenty of character in it, but also has a built in cubby for my vinyls, speakers, room for the record player, and even an album display. Check out the video above to see how I built it.

Introduction to DIY Record Player Stands

A record player stand is a great way to keep your record player stable and secure while listening to your favorite tunes. But why buy an expensive record player stand when you can build your own? Building your own DIY record player stand is a great way to customize it to fit your specific needs and add a personal touch to your music listening experience.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the process of building your own DIY record player stand with built-in storage. We’ll discuss the benefits of building your own record player stand, the design considerations you should keep in mind, the materials and tools you’ll need, step-by-step instructions for building your record player stand, and additional tips for making the most of your DIY record player stand.

Benefits of Building Your Own DIY Record Player Stand

Building your own record player stand is a great way to customize it to fit your specific needs and add a personal touch to your music listening experience. There are several benefits to building your own DIY record player stand, including:

• Cost Savings – Buying a ready-made record player stand can be expensive, but building your own DIY record player stand is much more affordable. You can save money by using materials you already have on hand or sourcing them from local stores.
• Quality Control – When you build your own record player stand, you have complete control over the quality of materials used and the overall design of the stand. This means you can ensure that your record player stand is sturdy and stable, which is essential for keeping your record player secure.
• Personalization – Building your own DIY record player stand is a great way to add a personal touch to your music listening experience. You can customize the design to fit your specific needs and style preferences.

Things I Used in This DIY Record Table Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Triton Tools Website
• Triton Tools on YouTube
• Triton Tools on Instagram

Design Considerations for Your DIY Record Player Stand

When building a DIY record player stand, there are several design considerations you should keep in mind. These include:

• Size – You want to make sure your DIY record player stand is large enough to accommodate your record player and any additional storage you may want to add.
• Sturdiness – Your record player stand needs to be sturdy enough to keep your record player secure. Consider using sturdy materials, such as wood or metal, for your stand.
• Style – You want your DIY record player stand to match your style preferences. Consider the colors, textures, and materials you use for your stand to ensure it fits in with your existing décor.
• Storage – If you’re looking to add extra storage to your record player stand, consider adding shelves, drawers, or cabinets for additional organization.

Step-By-Step Instructions for Building Your DIY Record Player Stand

Now that you have the materials and tools needed for building your DIY record player stand, it’s time to get started. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building your own record player stand:

1. Measure your record player – Before you start building your record player stand, you want to make sure it’s the right size. Measure your record player and make sure to leave a few inches of extra space on all sides.
2. Cut the wood – Using your measurements, cut the wood to the appropriate size for your record player stand.
3. Assemble the frame – Once you’ve cut the wood, use screws and nails to attach the frame of your record player stand together.
4. Finish the frame – Once the frame is assembled, use sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges. Then, apply paint or stain to give your record player stand a finished look.
5. Add legs – To add stability to your record player stand, attach legs to the bottom of the frame.
6. Attach the record player – Once the stand is finished, attach your record player to the top of the stand. Make sure to secure it firmly in place.

How to Add Built-In Storage to Your DIY Record Player Stand

If you want to add extra storage to your record player stand, you can easily do so. Here are a few options for adding built-in storage to your DIY record player stand:

• Shelves – You can add shelves to your record player stand for additional storage. This is a great way to store your vinyl records, CDs, speakers, and other music-related items.
• Drawers – If you want to keep your items out of sight, you can add drawers to your record player stand for easy access to your music-related items.
• Cabinets – You can also add cabinets to your record player stand for additional storage. This is a great way to store larger items such as turntables or amplifiers.

Finishing Touches for Your DIY Record Player Stand

Once you’ve finished building your DIY record player stand, it’s time to add the finishing touches. Here are a few ideas for adding the perfect finishing touches to your record player stand:

• Paint – If you want to add a personal touch to your record player stand, consider painting it with a custom design.
• Stencils – If you’re looking for a more subtle approach, consider using stencils to add decorative touches to your stand.
• Decorative Pieces – You can also add decorative pieces, such as knobs, handles, or even antique pieces, to your record player stand for a unique look.

Creative Ideas for Your DIY Record Player Stand

Building your own DIY record player stand is a great way to add a personal touch to your music listening experience. Here are a few creative ideas for your record player stand:

• Multi-Purpose Stand – Consider creating a multi-purpose stand that can also be used as a media stand for your TV or a buffet for entertaining guests.
• Floating Stand – Create a floating record player stand by mounting your record player to the wall. This is a great way to save space in your home.
• Industrial Stand – If you want to add an industrial touch to your record player stand, consider using metal pipes and brackets to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Additional Tips for Building Your DIY Record Player Stand

Building your own DIY record player stand is a great way to customize it to fit your specific needs and add a personal touch to your music listening experience. Here are a few additional tips for building your record player stand:

• Plan Ahead – Before you start building your record player stand, it’s important to plan ahead. Consider the size, style, and materials you’ll need and make sure to have all the materials and tools ready before you begin.
• Take Your Time – Building your own record player stand can be a time-consuming process, so it’s important to take your time and be patient. Take the time to measure, cut, and assemble your stand correctly to ensure it’s sturdy and secure.
• Ask for Help – If you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused, don’t hesitate to ask for help. There are plenty of online tutorials and guides that can help you build your own record player stand.

Conclusion

Building your own DIY record player stand is a great way to customize it to fit your specific needs and add a personal touch to your music listening experience. With a few simple materials and tools, you can quickly and easily construct your own DIY record player stand with built-in storage to really bring your music listening experience to the next level.

So what are you waiting for? Gather your materials, tools, and supplies, and get started on building your own DIY record player stand today!

Thinking about building your own DIY Standing Desk? Thinking about building one out of scrap wood? Check out this project where I used tree cookies!

In this video I’m going to be building a sitting/standing desk. One desk that can raise up or lower to suit whatever mood I’m feeling. I’m using a Progressive Desk base, but I’m made my own top using a fallen tree limb. This one was a lot of fun and I’m really happy with the way that it turned out. Check it out above!

Things I Used in This DIY Standing Desk Project:

• Stihl MSA 220 Chain Saw
• Progressive Desk Solo Ryzer Frame (Use code APRIL for 10% off entire Progressive Store)
• Progressive Desk RT-11 Remote
• Total Boat Thick Set Epoxy (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

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(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about putting in your own DIY floor electrical outlet? Check out this fun DIY how-to project where I did it myself! Not easy, but not that hard!

With so many outlets in my house, why is it that I never seem to have power where I want it? I recently bought a turn table and I’d like to have power for it in the center of my living room. So now I’m trying to figure out, “How do you get power in the center of a room?”. Check out the video above to see.

Things I Used in This DIY Floor Electrical Outlet Project:

• Leviton Pop Up Outlet
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)

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(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about building your own DIY Floating Wall Shelves? Look no further because in this project I’ll be showing you exactly how!

Do you have a boring wall that you just don’t know what to do with? Me too. Or, I did! Until I designed this custom floating shelf system for my wall and completely transformed it.

Check out the video above to see how I did it.

Things I Used in This DIY Floating Wall Shelves Project:

• Wagner FLEXiO 3500
• Wagner EZ Roller
• Washbox
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)

Floating Hexagon Shelves | How To Build

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Do you ever want to slide in to a picnic table design instead of stepping over the bench seat? If so, this is the picnic table for you. Check out the video above!

Things I Used in This Picnic Table Design Project:

• Southern Yellow Pine
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)

Two Person Picnic Table Plans

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Two Person Picnic Table Plans

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Looking to build your own DIY nightstand or end table? Check out this project where I show you how to building you own, plus the DIY plans!

Today I’m showing you how I built an end table that has two built in hidden storage compartments!

Check out the video above to see how I did it.

End Table or Night Stand with Secret Storage Plans

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Also, find the End Table or Night Stand with Secret Storage Plans here!

Things I Used in This DIY Nightstand Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• DAP Weldwood Glue
• DAP Weldwood Instant Wood Adhesive

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about doing your own DIY kitchen remodel? Check out this project where I did one in one day, and on a budget! Easy kitchen renovation.

In this video I show you how I completely updated the look of this kitchen in just 2 days by giving the cabinets a much needed makeover!

Check it all out in the video above.

Things I Used in This IY Kitchen Remodel Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Front and Center (use code APRIL for 20% off)

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

In this DIY project, I’m showing you how to build a rotating workbench! I wanted a workbench that could house my Glowforge Laser, but then move away when not needed and allow another workbench surface to show up in its place.

Check out the video above to see how we did it!

Rotating Workbench Templates + Plans

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Find Rotating Workbench Templates with Plans to build your own here!

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Want to put in your own DIY dog door? Check out this project where I show you how I built a DIY dog door for my pups at the house!

Today I’m showing you how I cut a hole in the side of my house and installed a dog door! This was surprisingly easy and has made my life, and my dog’s life, much easier. Check out the video above to see how I did it.

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(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about putting in your own DIY deck railing? Check out this project where I put railing on my own backyard treehouse deck! Easy!

You guys remember my awesome floating tree deck at the Hill Country Wood Shed? Today, I’m finishing the build by showing you how I installed a DIY rod railing system by Viewrail from start to finish. This modern rod rail system is easy to install, perfect for exterior use and gorgeous to view!

Check out the video above to see how we did it.

You can also watch part 1 and part 2 of my floating deck build here.

Things I Used in This DIY Deck Railing Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Viewrail Aluminum Slim Slide Mount Posts
• Viewrail Ipe Air Dried Handrail
• Viewrail Rod Installation Kit
• Cut Off Tool
• Stihl BGA 86 Battery Blower
• Armorite Exterior MDF

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Looking to add storage space to your kitchen with DIY toe kick drawers? In this project, I’m showing you how I turn my hollow toe kick area of my kitchen!

Turn cabinets into hidden drawer storage! This is a great way to find more storage space under your cabinets.

Things I Used in This DIY Toe Kick Drawers Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Triton Multi Tool
• DAP Weldwood Glue
• Brad Nailer
• Melamine Edge Banding
• DAP DynaGrip
• Felt Bottoms

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Today we’re discussing the DIY electrical wiring basics! I walk through how to choose the correct wire and what is inside, as well as the connectors available. You’ll definitely want to check out the new, easy push in connectors and the outlets that make side wiring so much easier…. and more! Watch this video, quickly learn the basics and you can wire your next switch or outlet without the cost of an electrician!

Check out my other electrical videos here!

Things I Used In This DIY Electrical Wiring Basics Tutorial:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Crescent 2-In-One Pliers
• Wire Nuts
• Direct Bury Wire Nuts
• Push In Wire Connectors
• Aluminum/Copper Wire Connector

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(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about building your own slide out pegboard cabinet? Check out this project where I built one and walk you through each DIY step!

Slide Out Pegboard Cabinet Plans

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In this video I’m showing you how I built pegboard tool storage for my garage workshop. I built it to slide out so I can access the tools, but it is space saving and out of the way when the drawers are back in place. This would also be a great solution for a craft room or garden tool storage!

Things I Used in This Slide Out Pegboard Cabinet Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• DAP Weldwood Original Wood Glue
• Miter Saw Station
• PVC Edge Banding

Slide Out Pegboard Cabinet Plans

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Be sure to watch the video above to see how I did it!

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about putting in your own DIY Outdoor GFCI Outlet? Look no further and check out this project where I show you exactly what to do!

This week, I’m showing you how to very easily install an outdoor GFCI outlet from an existing interior outlet. It’s a fast DIY project for anyone that needs an exterior outlet in a new location!

Things I Used in This Outdoor GFCI Outlet Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Lufkin Tape Measure
• Electrical Box
• Outdoor Weatherproof Electrical Box
• Crescent 2-In-One Electrical Pliers
• Wiring Push Connectors

For more outlet related content, check out my other video where I added indoor outlets in my garage!

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about doing some DIY Cabinet Painting? Check out this project where I took outdated bathroom cabinets and painted them for cheap!

Today I’m showing you how I easily and quickly painted some outdated cabinets on a bathroom vanity. This is an inexpensive, yet high quality fix! And can easily be done in a weekend.

Check out my other bathroom remodel video!

Things I Used In This DIY Cabinet Painting Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• DAP Premium Wood Filler
• Wagner Flexio 3500 Sprayer

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)